Vishal Sikka to head Infosys
Our Correspondent : 12 june 2014, Bhopal

IT major Infosys named Vishal Sikka, former executive board member SAP AG, as its first non-founder Chief Executive Officer.The Vadodara-born, doctorate in computer science from Stanford, will take over from incumbent S.D. Shibulal on August 1. The company said in an early morning filing to the exchanges on Thursday that company founders N.R. Narayana Murthy and S. Gopalakrishnan will step down as Executive Chairman and Executive Vice-Chairman on June 14. However both co-founders will continue on the board to ensure “smooth transition” till October 10 in non-executive roles, post which Mr. Murthy will be Chairman Emeritus.

Mr. Murthy’s office, which was set up last June when he returned from his retirement to “build a desirable Infosys, will be dissolved effective Saturday. Putting an end to speculation over a larger role for his son Rohan Murthy, Infosys announced that his appointment was co-terminus and he will exit the company on June 14. The announcement brings to a close a tightly watched CEO hunt, which officially lasted exactly two months. On April 12, the second largest IT services exporter in the country had indicated that Mr. Shibulal might step down before his official retirement date in March 2015. Mr. Shibulal and Srinath Batni will step down from the board on July 31. Infosys also said that 12 leaders have been elevated to executive vice-president roles, indicating a full management revamp.

Infosys also announced that president and whole-time director U.B. Pravin Rao has been elevated to the post of Chief Operating Officer. On the appointment, Mr. Sikka said, in the release, “I look forward to working with and learning from talented Infoscions around the world. Computing technology is reshaping every industry across every walk of life. We, at Infosys, have a unique opportunity to deliver breakthrough solutions that will bring greater value to our clients, employees, investors and other stakeholders.”

Mr. Murthy, who first tweeted the announcement in the morning, said: “Vishal brings valuable experience as a leader of a large, global corporation. His illustrious track record and value system make him an ideal choice to lead Infosys.” He thanked the members of my office, the Chief Financial Officer and the head of Human Resources for their fabulous support through my second innings at Infosys.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan commented, in the release, that he was glad that the Board chose a “thought leader who has demonstrated how technology can be leveraged to help businesses become more competitive”. Mr. Shibulal thanked the Board, employees and investors for the support.

Sensex recovers 56 points ahead of IIP data
Our Correspondent : 12 june 2014, Bhopal

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex gained nearly 56 points in early trade on Thursday on selective buying in oil, IT and banking stocks ahead of industrial output data for April to be released later in the day.
The 30-share index, which had retreated from record high by losing almost 110 points in the last session, recovered 55.77 points, or 0.22%, to 25,529.66 in early trade. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty moved up by 4.35 points, or 0.06%, to 7,631.20. It breached 7,700 level for the first time on Wednesday.

Brokers said fresh buying by funds and retail investors ahead of of industrial production data for April and Consumer Price Index Inflation for May to be released later in the day contributed to the gains. Stocks of IT, healthcare, oil and gas, realty, capital goods and metal sectors led the gains.
Oil major ONGC was trading up by 1.55%, HDFC by 1.19%, and Hindalco by 1.35%. Infosys, which announced the appointment of new CEO Vishal Sikka and MD on Thursday, was trading up by 1.14%.
Brokers said a weakening trend on the other Asian markets following overnight losses on the US bourses, limited the gains on the domestic markets here.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.80% while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.84% in early trade on Thursday. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.60% lower in Wednesday's trade.

Euro under fire in Asia, stocks sit on gains
Our Correspondent : 11 june 2014, Bhopal

The euro came under mounting pressure on Wednesday as the European Central Bank's embrace of negative interest rates encouraged flows out of the zone, while Asian shares consolidated near recent highs. The single currency was slipping across the board as investors looked to borrow euros at super-low rates and buy higher-yielding assets abroad, the so-called carry trade.
In contrast the dollar found support in a run of improving U.S. economic data which pushed up Treasury yields and stoked speculation the Federal Reserve might sound less dovish on policy when it meets next week. That diverging outlooks shoved the euro down to $1.3524 and further away from a $1.3668 peak scored at the start of the week. It also hit a seven-month trough on the higher-yielding Australian dollar and to near its lowest against the pound since late 2007.
Action in equity markets was more muted with many indices already having come a long way. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2% from a three-year peak. The MSCI index of emerging markets has also been on a roll to reach its highest since May 2013, in part on speculation the ECB's increasingly aggressive easing will encourage fund flows to the emerging world. Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.3% aided by MSCI's decision to remove South Korea and Taiwan indexes from its review list for reclassification to developed markets, keeping them in the emerging markets classification.

There had been speculation Tokyo equities would take the brunt of rebalancing if Korean and Taiwanese shares were reclassified to developed markets. Moves had been minor on Wall Street with the Dow up 0.02%, while the S&P 500 down 0.02% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.04% firmer.
The flow of U.S. data has been bright enough to soothe worries over the economy after a disappointing first quarter. Tuesday's releases showed small business confidence and job openings reaching heights not seen since 2007. That in turn has led the futures market to nudge forward the likely timing for a first rate hike from the Federal Reserve, though that is still well into 2015. Likewise, U.S. Treasury yields have reversed decisively higher with 10-year paper paying 2.646% compared to a trough of 2.402% just two weeks ago.

"The bull moves in bonds that began early this year are now officially over," said William O'Donnell Treasury strategist at RBS Markets. "As such, I still expect cash 10-years to trade at 2.80% over the coming month." The prospect of higher yields has offered some support to the U.S. dollar and it firmed to 80.880 against a basket of currencies, a long way from May's low of 78.906.
Still, the broader moves in currencies were more about euro weakness than dollar strength as the single currency came under increasing pressure in the wake of the ECB's easing. The adoption of negative deposit rates by the ECB has sparked talk reserve managers at other central banks were trimming their euro holdings, and that the very low yields offered by peripheral euro zone debt was finally discouraging demand for the paper. In commodities, gold was firm at $1,261.70 an ounce as a breakdown in strike talks in South Africa buoyed palladium and platinum.
Brent oil gained 23 cents to $109.75 a barrel, while U.S. crude prices added 11 cents to $104.46.

Oil higher in Asian trade as OPEC gathers
Our Correspondent : 11 june 2014, Bhopal

Oil prices rose in Asia today ahead of the release of a key indicator of US energy demand and a meeting of the OPEC oil cartel. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery was up four cents at USD 104.39 a barrel in mid-morning trade and Brent oil for July added nine cents to USD 109.61.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which pumps out about one third of the world's oil, is expected to maintain its production output at a Vienna meeting later today. The "OPEC meeting will probably confirm official production target of 30 million barrels per day", research house Capital Economics said.

Producers have said they are comfortable with current price levels at more than USD 100 a barrel, with Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi describing the market at "stable and balanced". Analysts said ongoing disruptions to Libyan output mean there is no pressure on other OPEC members to cut back.
The market is also tracking European Union-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia to resolve a bitter natural gas dispute while keeping an eye on a weekly US Department of Energy report of oil inventories later in the day. The US inventories data is important for clues on the state of demand in the world's biggest oil consuming nation.
Analysts expect the report to show a decline of 1.7 million barrels, according to a survey of analysts by Dow Jones Newswires.

RBI simplifies KYC norms for opening bank account
Our Correspondent : 10 june 2014, Bhopal

Customers need to submit only one documentary proof of address — either current or permanent — while opening a bank account or while undergoing periodic updation, the Reserve Bank of India said on Monday.
“In case the address mentioned as per ‘proof of address’ undergoes a change, fresh proof of address may be submitted to the branch within six months,” the RBI said in a notification to banks.

The RBI said it had been receiving representations/references from various quarters, especially migrant workers and transferred employees, regarding problems faced in submitting a proof of current/permanent address while opening a bank account. “In case the proof of address furnished by the customer is not the local address or address where the customer is currently residing, the bank may take a declaration of the local address on which all correspondence will be made by the bank with the customer. No proof is required to be submitted for such address for correspondence/local address,” the RBI added. However, this address may be verified by the bank through ‘positive confirmation’ such as acknowledgment of receipt of letter, cheque books, ATM cards; telephonic conversation; and visits.
“In the event of change in this address due to relocation or any other reason, customers may intimate the new address for correspondence to the bank within two weeks of such a change.”

Rupee down 7 paise against dollar in early trade
Our Correspondent : 10 june 2014, Bhopal

The rupee depreciated by 7 paise to 59.27 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to increased demand for the American currency from importers.
Besides, dollar's gains against other currencies overseas also weigh on the rupee but a higher opening in the domestic equity market limited the fall, traders said.

The rupee had lost 3 paise to close at 59.20 against the dollar on late demand for the American currency from importers.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 130.90 points, 0.51 or per cent, to trade at an all-time high of 25,711.11.

Sensex at fresh high of 25,601; Nifty breaches 7,600-level
Our Correspondent : 09 june 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE Sensex climbed to a new record high of 25,601.07 and the NSE Nifty crossed 7,600-mark for the first time to trade at 7,646.25 in opening trade today as foreign funds and retail investors indulged in creating positions amid a firming Asian trend.
The 30-share index, which had rallied by 590.63 points in the past two sessions, spurted by another 204.61 points, or 0.81%, to trade at fresh record high of 25,601.07.
All the sectoral indices led by realty and capital goods were trading in the positive territory with gains of up to 3%.
The wide-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange breached the 7,600 mark to scale a new peak of 7,646.25 by gaining 62.85 points, or 0.83%.

Brokers said the trading sentiment remained extremely bullish on continued capital inflows, and persistent buying by retail investors, driven by positive domestic and overseas cues, lifted the indices to new highs.
Among Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 0.77%, while Japan's Nikkei moved up by 0.52% in early trade today in response to an impressive US jobs report, an upward revision of Japanese economic growth and healthy Chinese export figures.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.52% to close at record close in Friday's trade.

No social schmes in budge: Arun Jaitley
Our Correspondent : 09 june 2014, Bhopal

Finance minister Arun Jaitey has expressed his inability to accommodate the social welfare schemes due to fiscal constraints in his general budget, which he will present in the first week of July. Jaitley, during a meeting with the labour leaders as part of pre-budget consultations, has also blamed the Congress-led UPA government for leaving the economy in a shattered state.
According to sources, Jaitley has blamed the erstwhile regime of bringing the economy too low. Sources quoted Jaitley saying in the meeting, "We have inherited an economy with high fiscal deficit numbers. Growth and inflation are also a matter of concern."
According to sources, when the labour leaders demanded increasing income tax exemption limit to Rs five lakh and increasing allocations for the anganwadi workers, Jaitley apprised them of the country's fiscal situation expressing his inability to take steps which affect the fiscal deficit.
Jaitley has already hinted that tough measures need to be taken to overcome the challenging times. "We must move towards an era of fiscal discipline where we can reduce the fiscal deficit, contain inflation and improve upon our growth rates. Short-term disciplining till we reverse the present trend will give us long term benefits," said Arun Jaitley in his blog a day before starting work on his first general budget.
The NDA government's manouverability on announcing welfare schemes is also limited by the fact that a lot of payables from the UPA regime has to be met by the NDA government.
Liabilities such as payment to oil marketing companies for their losses on selling subsidised diesel, which were supposed to be paid last year (in the UPA regime), were carried forward to this financial year so that UPA could show a clean deficit number.
The outstanding on the oil front is Rs 35,000 crore.

Jaitley to chair FSDC meeting today, meet FIIs
Our Correspondent : 07 june 2014, Bhopal

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on his maiden visit on Saturday to the financial capital since assuming charge at North Block, will hold talks with sector regulators led by RBI Governor and Sebi chief to take stock of the economic situation.
Jaitley, who also holds the defence portfolio, will kick off his day with a visit to aircraft carrier INS Viraat and review the operational preparedness of the Western Naval Command, which witnessed two major submarine mishaps in the last one year.
In the afternoon, according to the RBI, the Minister will chair the 11th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) at the Central bank's Mint Road office.
Apart from top finance ministry officials, the meeting will be attended by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Sebi Chairman U K Sinha, Irda Chairman T S Vijayan, Forward Markets Commission head Ramesh Abhishek and PFRDA Chairman Anup Wadhawan among others.
Fiscal situation, external sector environment and developments in financial markets are likely top the agenda, which would also include financial sector reforms, particularly in the banking sector, reeling under bad loans and depleting core capital.
An RBI panel report by PJ Nayak recently suggested that government should bring down its holding in public sector banks below 51 percent apart from calling for their merger.
Jaitley would also interact with institutional and overseas investors in the evening.
The FIIs have been pumping large amounts of money into the financial markets in the run-up to the polls and also post BJP victory hoping for major reforms and swift decision making by the Narendra Modi government.
The meeting with FIIs assumes importance as the government is expected to usher in a slew of reforms on the FDI front and aggressively pursue divestment to shore up non-tax revenue.

No surprises in monetary policy
Our Correspondent : 07 june 2014, Bhopal

The first bi-monthly policy from the RBI after the new government took charge has nothing new to offer on the interest rate front. On expected lines the rates have been kept unchanged at eight per cent on repo and four per cent on CRR; some easing was done on the SLR up to 50 basis points that would allow the banks a bit of liquidity in the coming months.
Repo is a repurchase agreement that banks enter into with RBI to borrow money on short-term basis that reflects the borrowing cost which in turn affects its lending rates. CRR & SLR are such portion of funds that banks has to compulsorily maintain with RBI in form of cash and eligible securities respectively, which is part of RBI’s risk management norm.
Due to persistent inflation levels and subdued economic growth the central bank has been hawkish about the key interest rates in the past few quarters, keeping the rates tight including liquidity in an effort to contain the surge in inflation. But for a change this time the RBI’s stance has been more dovish than hawkish, signalling a positive sentiment post-election results. Perhaps the RBI too expects easing of various problems that have been plaguing the economy and the positive steps that the new government is expected to initiate may have tilted it towards taking a lenient stance.
The mid-June budget may throw some clarity on sector-wise focus of the newly elected government which RBI too is looking forward to, which may lead to some easing on the interest rate front in its coming policy announcements.
The next RBI policy due in August 2014 may offer some respite particularly for the housing sector. Existing borrowers who have been reeling under higher interest rates paying higher EMIs may find some relief leading to some serious saving opportunities. The overall lending rates too are expected to ease in the coming months which could provide the much needed fillip to the housing sector as also to new borrowers.
Easing of lending rates would have two positive impacts: (1) increase in real estate activity; (2) lower EMI outflow leading to higher spending & saving opportunities. Both would surely lead to a vigorous economic growth in the medium to long term.

Sensex extends gain, up 210 points in early trade
Our Correspondent : 06 june 2014, Bhopal

Extending yesterday's gains, the benchmark BSE Sensex spurted by another 210 points in early trade on sustained foreign fund inflows amidst a firming trend overseas in response to ECB measures to boost the eurozone economy. The 30-share Sensex shot up by 210.51 points, or 0.84 %, to trade at 25,230.02 with stocks of oil and gas, realty, capital goods, PSUs and banking sectors rallied.
The gauge had climbed nearly 214 points in the previous session. The 50-share NSE Nifty, regained 7,500 mark for the first time since May 16 by gaining 50.10 points, or 0.67 %, to 7,524.20. Brokers said buying momentum picked up further on sustained foreign funds inflows amidst a firming trend in the global markets in response to European Central Bank measures to boost the eurozone economy.
Stocks of Reliance Industries shot up by 2.93 % to Rs 1,120 and ONGC gained 3.78 % to Rs 435.50 after reports that the government is likely to hike natural gas rates from July 1 after a new price formulation is approved by the Cabinet. Other major contributors to the rally were SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Larsen and Toubro and BHEL. Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.53 %, while Japan's Nikkei was up by 0.39 % in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59 % to close at new high in yesterday's trade.

Arun Jaitley to meet India Inc today for budget parleys
Our Correspondent : 06 june 2014, Bhopal

Finance minister Arun Jaitley began his pre-budget consultations across sectors on Thursday. In his representation to Jaitley on agriculture, the country's ace geneticist and Green Revolution leader M S Swaminathan made a strong pitch for a new fund to be set up for the women working in the agriculture sector, provision for Kisan TV, and soil testing in every panchayat, among others.
Apart from meeting the agriculture sector representatives, Jaitley also met trade bodies on Thursday. He is meeting the country's top business honchos on Friday (today). According to finance ministry officials, Swaminathan is believed to have told Jaitley that since a large number of rural women double up as agricultural labourers, there should be a fund to take care of them. He has also made a strong pitch for funding soil testing facilities in all village panchayats and irrigation facilities.
Interestingly, the agriculture ministry is formulating a national irrigation scheme, which is likely to be one of the flagship NDA programmes. Jaitley is most likely to allocate fund in his budget for the scheme. During the meeting one of the representatives pointed out that while the country seems to be more interested in finding out whether there is water on moon, not much of thought is going into how to feed over 125 crore people.
The pre-budget consultations will continue till next Tuesday. On Monday, Jaitley will meet all the state finance ministers. Sources say Jaitley is likely to extend an olive branch to the state finance ministers in form of the pending central sales tax cut compensation to move forward on Goods and Services Tax. But the meeting focus mostly on pre-budget consultations. On Tuesday, Jaitley will consult the economists on the current macroeconomic situation.
The budget is most likely to be presented in the first week of July, when the second session of the 16th Lok Sabha will be convened.

Rupee trading a tad strong at 59.32
Our Correspondent : 05 june 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI,: The rupee was trading a tad strong at 59.32 against the dollar at 11.20 a.m. local time.The domestic unit opened strong at 59.28 per dollar against the previous close of 59.34 on the back of forward-looking measure announced by the RBI.
Increased selling of dollar by exporters and the dollar's weakness against other currencies also supported the rupee.
The rupee hovered in the range of 59.24-59.35 against the dollar in the morning trade.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major global currencies, was trading marginally lower at 80.64 against its previous close of 80.66.
The overnight call money rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches) opened flat at 8.30 per cent from 8.35 per cent.
Yield on the benchmark 8.33 per cent, maturing in 2023, softened to 8.57 per cent against the previous close of 8.59 per cent. Prices of the security rose a tad to Rs 101.65 from Rs 101.54.

Finmin plans new entity for flushing out NPAs
Our Correspondent : 05 june 2014, Bhopal

The finance ministry led by Arun Jaitley is considering a six point agenda to handle the menace of the non-performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs two lakh crore in the banking system. To top it, the government is planning to set up a National Asset Management Company, to take over the bad debts of the banking consortiums, and re-energising fourteen asset reconstruction companies in the country.
There are four other initiatives that the North Block is considering given the urgency of the matter as the new government has accorded this issue the topmost priority.
Speaking about the setting up of the company, a finance ministry official told dna, "We are as of now in discussion with the banks on the stake holding pattern for the new entity. It is likely to be a 51:49 partnership between the government and the banks. The amount of capital each of the public sector banks will put in will be decided in due course. The company will take over the NPAs on its balance sheet and will also work for the revival of the sick units."
The other issues that the government is examining are creating a special resolution mechanism for the infrastructure sector, re-looking at corporate debt restructuring mechanism, improving the effectiveness of the insolvency regime, and liberalising norms to increase capitalisation of asset reconstruction companies. "The fourteen asset reconstruction companies need a push. We are looking at various ways of incentivising their operations," said the official.
As a part to holistically address the matter, the government is also looking at ways to fast-track the dispute resolution mechanism. Going forward, certain changes will be made in the DRT legislation. The idea is to make the tribunal dispense the Cases in a time-bound manner. As of now there are lots of adjournments and there are over 45,000 cases pending in 33 Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRT) across the country.

Sensex up 67 points in early trade on funds buying
Our Correspondent : 04 june 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE Sensex gained over 67 points in early trade on Wednesday on continued capital inflows by funds and retail investors, following the RBI's decision to cut the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR).
Rising for the third straight day, the 30-share barometer surged 67.31 points, or 0.27%, to 24,925.90 with stocks of consumer durables, realty, capital goods and auto sectors leading the rise.
The index had gained over 641 points in last two trading sessions.
On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty continued its winning streak and rose 11.40 points, or 0.15%, to 7,427.25.
Brokers said trading sentiments remained bullish as the central bank, in its second bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2014-15 on Tuesday, unlocked about Rs 40,000 crore of banking fund by reducing SLR to 22.5%.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.29% while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.22% in early trade on Wednesday.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.13% lower in on Tuesday's trade.

Rupee rises 4 paise against dollar in early trade
Our Correspondent : 04 june 2014, Bhopal

The rupee recovered marginally by four paise to 59.34 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters.
However, the dollar's strength against other currencies overseas, capped the rupee's gain.
The rupee fell by 23 paise to close at 59.38 in Tuesday's session amidst the RBI announcing a cut in SLR that is expected to release nearly Rs 40,000 crore into the markets.
Forex dealers said fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and a higher opening in the domestic equity market helped the local currency to recover.
Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 67.31 points, or 0.27%, to 24,925.90 in early trade on Wednesday.

Five takeaways from the RBI policy
Our Correspondent : 03 june 2014, Bhopal

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan lived up to market expectations by keeping interest rates unchanged.The policy repo rate has been left unchanged at 8 per cent, as has the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks, at 4 per cent. But the governor provided more liquidity in the system and gave banks more leg room by reducing the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) by 50 basis points (0.5 per cent).
However, analysts and economists give more weightage to the language used by the governor these days, and derive their inferences from it. On this score, the language Rajan used today is certainly more dovish than what we have been hearing since the time he took charge.
Following are the five key takeaways from RBI's credit policy:
1. Rather than dwelling on a scenario for a rate hike or maintaining the status quo, Rajan has talked of a scenario for reducing rates in the policy document. While maintaining its stance that RBI remains committed to keeping the economy on a disinflationary path, the apex bank said that if disinflation, adjusting for base effects, is faster than currently anticipated, it will provide headroom for an easing of the policy stance.
2. The RBI governor, by reducing SLR, is preparing ground for future growth. The rationale given by RBI for reducing SLR is to provide for a pick-up in credit offtake. Consider the following statement: "As the economy recovers, investment demand and the need for credit will pick up. To the extent that this contributes eventually to supply, it is important that banks have room to finance it. A reduction in the required SLR will give banks more freedom to expand credit to the non-Government sector."
3. Though RBI is providing for growth, it have not yet revised its growth estimates. RBI continues to expect a growth of 5-6 per cent in FY15, with risk evenly balanced around 5.5 per cent. A weaker outlook for agriculture due to the EL Nino effect is being offset by expected easing of domestic supply bottlenecks, implementation of stalled projects and growth in exports.
4. Inflation however, continues to be a cause for concern for RBI. The governor expects CPI inflation at 8 per cent in the current fiscal, and 6 per cent in the next. CPI inflation other than food and fuel has been coming down. Food inflation, on the other hand, has been rising on seasonal issues which can get worse with the El Nino effect. RBI, however, feels that the upside risk of El Nino, geo-political tensions and their impact on fuel prices and uncertainties surrounding the setting of administered prices at this stage appear to be balanced by the possibility of stronger Government action on food supply and better fiscal consolidation.
5. Rajan is comfortable with the foreign exchange position, given the inflows of portfolio investment, supported by foreign direct investment and external commercial borrowings. As a result of this, he has allowed foreign portfolio investors to participate in the domestic exchange traded currency derivatives (by way of hedging) market not only to the extent of their underlying exposures in various asset classes, but an additional $10 million. He has further increased the eligibility limit of foreign exchange remittances from $75,000 to $125,000.

Indians can now remit up to $1.25 lakh overseas
Our Correspondent : 03 june 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI: A strong rupee has emboldened Reserve Bank of India to relax some of the foreign exchange related restrictions including the individual overseas remittance limit of $75000 per year which has been hiked to $125000.
The central bank has also allowed foreign institutional investors to hedge upto 110% of their investments using exchange traded currency derivatives and has promised to allow domestic entities the same flexibility.
The overseas remittance limit comes under the liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) which was reduced to $75,000 last year when the rupee was in a free-fall against the dollar. "In view of the recent stability in the foreign exchange market, it has been decided to enhance the eligible limit to $125,000 without end use restrictions except for prohibited foreign exchange transactions such as margin trading, lottery and the like," RBI said in its bi-monthly policy statement today.
The central bank has allowed foreigners and Non-Resident Indians to take out currency worth Rs 25,000 out of the country to facilitate their travel requirements. Earlier the limit was at Rs 10,000 and was available only for Indian residents. This facility is however not available to citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Money changers say that Indian currency is already being exchanged in several foreign cities and the liberalized scheme will increase the acceptance of the rupee.
The stability in the forex market has also encouraged the central bank to open exchange traded currency derivatives for foreign institutional investors. "With a view to improving the depth and liquidity in the domestic foreign exchange market, it has been decided to allow foreign portfolio investors to participate in the domestic exchange traded currency derivatives market to the extent of their underlying exposures plus an additional US$ 10 million. Furthermore, it has also been decided to allow domestic entities similar access to the exchange traded currency derivatives market." RBI said.

Sensex snaps losing streak, up 91 points in early trade
Our Correspondent : 02 june 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE Sensex recovered over 91 points in early trade on Monday as funds and retail investors made fresh buying on the back of strong corporate earnings.
Snapping its two-day losing streak, the 30-share barometer rose 91.06 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 24,308.40, on gains in capital goods, PSUs, oil & gas, realty and power sector stocks.
The gauge had lost 338.75 points in the past two sessions.
Similarly, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 25.35 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 7,255.30.
Brokers said fresh buying by participants, triggered by Larsen and Toubro’s strong earnings, helped the Sensex to trade in positive territory even as the country’s economic growth data for 2013—14 are disappointing.
The L&T stock was trading 4.06 per cent higher at Rs 1,611.85.
India’s economic growth remained subdued at 4.7 per cent in 2013—14 and at 4.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY14.

Maruti sales up 19% in May
Our Correspondent : 02 june 2014, Bhopal

Country’s largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday reported 19.2 per cent rise in total sales in May to 1,00,925 units as against 84,677 units in the same month last year.The company said its domestic sales rose 16.4 per cent during the month to 90,560 units as against 77,821 units in May 2013.
Sales of mini segment cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, declined by 7.5 per cent to 29,068 units as compared to 31,427 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement.
The company said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz rose 53.9 per cent to 26,394 units in May this year as against 17,147 units last year.
MSI said sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire rose 9.8 per cent during the month under review to 18,953 units as against 17,265 units in May 2013.
The company’s mid-sized sedan SX4 registered a drop of 75.9 per cent to 121 units as against 503 units in the same month last year. There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month.
Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, rose 22 per cent to 5,253 units in May this year from 4,307 units in the corresponding month last year.
Sales of vans — Omni and Eeco — increased 50.2 per cent to 10,771 units in May this year as compared to 7,172 units in the same period of previous year.
Exports during the month rose 51.2 per cent to 10,365 units as compared to 6,856 units in May last year, the statement added.

Rupee down 15 paise in early trade
Our Correspondent : 02 june 2014, Bhopal

The rupee had lost eight paise to close at 59.11 against the US dollar in its previous trading session on Friday. The rupee weakened by 15 paise to 59.26 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to appreciation of the American unit against other currencies overseas amid the country’s subdued economic growth in FY14.
India’s economic growth remained subdued at 4.7 per cent in FY14 and at 4.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013—14 which weighed on the rupee, forex dealers said.
However, a higher opening in the domestic equity market capped the fall, they added.
The rupee had lost eight paise to close at 59.11 against the US dollar in its previous trading session on Friday on month-end demand of the US currency from importers.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 91.06 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 24,308.40 in early trade today.

India’s growth remains subdued at 4.7% in 2013-14
Our Correspondent : 31 may 2014, Bhopal

Smart farm sector growth spurred India’s economy to grow 4.7 per cent in 2013-14, according to the gross domestic product (GDP) provisional estimates released on Friday. The GDP growth rate in the previous year was a decade-low of 4.5 per cent. This is the second year in a row during which the economy’s growth remained below the 5 percent.
The last time the economic growth rate had pierced the 5-per cent mark was in 1984-85 to 1987-88.
Good harvests in both the seasons lifted farm sector growth to 4.7 per cent for the year. It had grown 1.4 per cent in the previous fiscal. In the three-month period January-March, the farm sector grew 6.3 per cent against 1.6 per cent growth in the same period of 2012-13.
The data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) confirms that both the manufacturing and mining sectors shrunk in 2013-14 with fall in output. Lacklustre infrastructure activity dampened construction growth as well. The manufacturing sector contracted (-) 0.7 per cent in 2013-14 against 1.1 per cent in 2012-13. Mining and quarrying declined (-) 1.4 per cent against (-) 2.2 per cent in 2012-13.
Investments or capital formation fell due to low movement in infrastructure and high interest rates.
“...the ushering in of a stable government, post elections, has revived sentiments and lifted investor confidence which would pave the way for growth. But much more is required to turn around the economy,” Confederation of India Industry Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said in a statement. FICCI President Sidharth Birla said in a statement: “Announcements made by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet ministers over the last few days leave us with an encouraging outlook, as the governmental actions will definitely have a positive impact on the investment sentiment.” “Going forward, the emphasis has to be on effective implementation and timely action.” The CSO’s advance estimate for GDP released in February had pegged the growth rate for 2013-14 at 4.9 per cent. The estimate for per capita net national income in real terms (at 2004-05 prices) in 2013-14 is Rs.39,904 against Rs.38,856 in the previous year. The growth in per capita income is estimated at 2.7 per cent.
PTI reports:
Echoing similar views, PHD Chamber President Sharad Jaipuria said: “Though growth of real GDP at 4.7 per cent for 2013-14 is below growth projections given by the CSO in its advanced estimates, it is expected to improve in the current financial year 2014-15 as the government is taking significant steps to rejuvenate the economy.”

RIL rules out any connectivity between its & ONGC’s reservoirs
Our Correspondent : 31 may 2014, Bhopal

NEW DELHI: Reliance IndustriesBSE -0.74 % Ltd (RIL) has accused Oil and Natural Gas CorporationBSE 0.96 % (ONGC) of trying to camouflage its own failure to develop gas fields by alleging that RILBSE -0.74 % had drawn natural gas illegally from a reservoir that the state firm says straddles the adjoining blocks of the two firms.
In its final affidavit to the Delhi high court, RIL ruled out any connectivity of reservoirs in the company's KG-D6 block and the adjoining area of ONGC. The state-run firm has taken RIL, oil ministry and the directorate general of hydrocarbons to court alleging Reliance may have drawn gas worth thousands of crores of rupees from a common reservoir in the KG-D6 block, while authorities turned a blind eye to the issue.
"It is impossible to allege much less to conclude that the discoveries within the ONGC BSE 0.96 % and RIL blocks are connected and it is the case of these respondents that there is no continuity or connectivity between the RIL block and ONGC block as is being falsely suggested by the petitioner," RIL said. "The petition (of ONGC) is completely devoid of any merit or substance whatsoever and is a mala fide attempt on the part of the petitioners to hide and camouflage complete inaction on the part of the petitioner, acting in breach of the PSC, for approximately 13 years and the lackadaisical approach of having completely abdicated its duties and obligations in contravention of every cannon of public interest," RIL said in its affidavit.
ONGC has argued that Reliance had drilled wells very close to the common boundary of the blocks, but RIL says this does not mean that reservoirs are connected. "Independent discoveries, unconnected to each other have been found in more proximate distances than the distances mentioned by the petitioners," RIL argued.
It said the petition was based only on ONGC's "belief", not technical data. It said all the wells drilled by RIL are within the boundaries of its block and had the approval of the management committee consisting of government representatives in accordance with the provisions of the PSC.

Hope to work with Modi govt to battle inflation, RBI chief Raghuram Rajan says
Our Correspondent : 30 may 2014, Bhopal

TOKYO: Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Friday he expected to join hands with the country's new government to bring down high inflation.
Rajan, speaking at a seminar in Tokyo, said the new government's plan to curb food inflation seems sensible and that he expected the public's inflation expectations to fall in the future.
Indian bond yields fell on Friday after Rajan's remarks, showing the level of concern about high inflation and investors' anticipation that the central bank will continue efforts to stabilize the economy.

Sensex up over 82 points in early trade
Our Correspondent : 30 may 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE Sensex on Friday gained over 82 points in early trade on the back of buying by funds and retail investors following beginning of new settlement for June month in the derivatives segment.
Besides, a mixed trend in the Asian markets also buoyed the trading sentiment here.
The 30-share index, which had lost 321.94 points in the previous session, recovered by 82.67 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 24,316.82 with capital goods, power, healthcare, PSUs and oil and gas sector stocks leading the rise.
Also, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose 26.10 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 7,261.75.
Brokers said emergence of buying by participants amid beginning of new monthly settlement in the derivatives segment amid a mixed trend in Asian markets following overnight gains on the US markets influenced the sentiments here.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 0.26 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.55 per cent in early trade today.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.39 per cent higher in yesterday’s trade.

Gold price futures extend weakness on global trend, subdued demand
Our Correspondent : 30 may 2014, Bhopal

Gold price futures prices today fell by 0.23 per cent to Rs 26,768 per 10 grams as participants engaged in trimming positions amid weak global cues.
Besides, subdued demand at domestic spot markets, too, weighed on the prices.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in June, fell by Rs 62, or 0.23 per cent, to trade at Rs 26,768 per 10 grams in a turnover of 453 lots.
Similarly, the metal for delivery in August shed Rs 28, or 0.11 per cent, to Rs 25,810 per 10 gm in 194 lots.
Globally, gold fell by USD 2.70 to USD 1255.10 an ounce in New York yesterday.
Analysts said off-loading of positions by speculators on sluggish spot demand and a weak trend overseas, mainly put pressure on gold prices in futures trade here.

Tata Motors warns on India operations profit for FY14
Our Correspondent : 29 may 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI: Tata Motors, India's largest automaker by revenue, said its domestic operations would likely not post a profit or would have "inadequate" profit for the fiscal year that ended in March, hurt by sluggish demand.
Slowing economic activity, weak consumer sentiment, increasing competition and high interest rates impacted the company's performance, Tata Motors said in a notice to the stock exchange on Tuesday.
The company's Indian operations posted a profit of 3 billion rupees ($51 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, a 75 per cent fall from the previous year.
Tata Motors, part of the diversified Tata conglomerate, has grown reliant on its luxury Jaguar Land Rover unit over the last two years to make up for weak performance at home.
The company said it planned to launch new passenger vehicles from July to improve performance, without giving details.
Tata Motors had said in February it would roll out its Bolt hatchback and Zest compact sedan in the second half of the year.
The company will report its results on Thursday.

Rupee trading strong at 58.84
Our Correspondent : 29 may 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI,: The rupee was trading up by 9 paise at 58.84 against the dollar in the morning trade on sustained selling of the US currency by banks and exporters amid hopes of foreign capital inflows, despite firm dollar overseas.
The domestic unit resumed slightly higher at 58.92 per dollar against the last closing level of 58.93 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and firmed up further to 58.84 at 11.00 a.m. local time.
It moved in a range of 58.79 and 58.92 per dollar during the morning trade.
In the New York market, the dollar rose against the euro yesterday after weak euro zone data added to expectations that the European Central Bank will ease the monetary policy next month.
Meanwhile, state-owned banks have been buying the US currency in the last few days, most likely on behalf of the RBI, limiting the sharp appreciation of the rupee.
Market investors will keenly watch for the monetary policy by the RBI next week. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has hinted at a hawkish policy stance by saying that it will be targeted at inflation.
The overnight call money rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches) opened higher at 8.05 per cent from its previous close of 7.10 per cent.
The yield on the benchmark 8.33 per cent, maturing in 2023, softened to 8.68 per cent from Wednesday's close of 8.70 per cent. Prices of the security rose to Rs. 100.93 from Rs. 100.81. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Additional spectrum: Hearing against Mittal, Ruia on Sept. 15
Our Correspondent : 28 may 2014, Bhopal

A special court in New Delhi on Wednesday fixed September 15 for hearing the additional spectrum case in which Bharti Cellular CMD Sunil Mittal, Essar Group promoter Ravi Ruia and others have been summoned as accused.
Special CBI Judge O.P. Saini adjourned the proceedings after the counsel appearing for the accused said that the pleas filed by Mr. Mittal and Mr. Ruia, challenging the March 19, 2013 order of the trial court summoning them as accused in the case, will be heard by the Supreme Court on August 5.
The apex court, in its April 26 last year interim order, had said that hearing against Mr. Mittal and Mr. Ruia will remain “postponed” in the trial court until further orders.
Former Telecom Secretary Shyamal Ghosh, who is also an accused in the case, was present in the court during the proceedings.
Mr. Mittal, Mr. Ruia and Canada-based NRI Asim Ghosh, who was then a Managing Director of accused firm Hutchison Max Telecom Pvt Ltd, were summoned as accused by the trial court.
Mr. Mittal, Mr. Ruia and Mr. Asim Ghosh were not named as accused in CBI’s charge sheet filed on December 21, 2012.
Three telecom firms Bharti Cellular Ltd, Hutchison Max Telecom Pvt Ltd (now known as Vodafone India Ltd) and Sterling Cellular Ltd (now known as Vodafone Mobile Service Ltd) are also accused in the case.
The CBI, in its charge sheet, had named Shyamal Ghosh and the three telecom companies as accused in the case relating to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) allocating additional spectrum which had allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs. 846 crore to the exchequer.

Gold Futures Down on Weak Global Cues
Our Correspondent : 28 may 2014, Bhopal

New Delhi: Gold prices fell further by 0.40 per cent to Rs. 26,205 per 10 grams in futures trade today as participants engaged in reducing positions in tandem with a weak trend overseas where precious metal dropped to over 15-week low.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in August eased by Rs. 104, or 0.40 per cent, to Rs. 26,255 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 134 lots.
Likewise, the metal for delivery in June shed Rs. 90, or 0.33 per cent, to Rs. 26,868 per 10 grams in 778 lots.
Market analysts said a weakening trend in the overseas markets where gold fell to over 15-week low as encouraging US economic data backed the case for the Federal Reserve to keep on reducing monetary stimulus, while demand in China showed signs of waning, and weighed on the precious metal at futures trade here.
Besides, strengthening dollar also reduced the appeal of the bullion, they said.

New finance minister Arun Jaitley promises to contain inflation, promote growth
Our Correspondent : 27 may 2014, Bhopal

New Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley pledged on Tuesday to contain price rise, restore confidence of investors in the economy and promote growth while keeping the fiscal deficit under check.
Stating that the country's economy was passing through difficult times, he said, "The challenges are very obvious. We have to restore the pace of growth, contain inflation, and obviously concentrate on fiscal consolidation itself."
Veteran lawyer and senior BJP leader Jaitley was talking to reporters soon after taking charge of the Finance Ministry. He also said that he would be looking after the Defence portfolio as additional charge only. "For a transient phase, I will be looking after Ministry of Defence also, but that's only an additional charge till there's an expansion in cabinet itself," he added.
Referring to his priorities as Finance Minister, Jaitley said, "I am conscious of the fact that I am taking over at a very challenging time particularly when there is a need to rebuild the confidence of the Indian economy... The mandate with which our government has received has an inbuilt hope in it...the political change itself sends a strong signal to the global community as also the domestic investors. I think over the next two months by expediting decision making processes we will be able to build on that."
Jaitley further said the entire policy of the new government would be spelled out in the next few days. "You will have to wait for a few days before we spell out the entire policy of the new government," he said.
On whether he would focus on inflation at cost of growth, Jaitley said a "the balancing act" will have to done.
India had registered over 9% growth for a few years before the global financial meltdown of 2008 pulled it down. The economic growth rate slipped to decade's low of 4.5% in 2012-13. It inched up to 4.9% in 2013-14. In the current fiscal the growth rate is expected to rise further to 5.5%.

Sensex falls from record high on profit-booking, down 160 points
Our Correspondent : 27 may 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE index Sensex today retreated from record high by losing over 160 points in early trade as cautious investors booked profits in recent outperformers mainly power and PSU sector stocks.
The 30-share barometer, which had gained over 418.86 points in the past three sessions, shed 160.88 points, or 0.65%, to 24,556. The gauge had closed at a new record high of 24,716.88 in yesterday's highly volatile trade. On similar lines, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 22.35 points, or 0.30%, to 7,336.70.
Brokers said profit-booking at record level by participants who had created positions, in the wake of the Narendra Modi-led NDA coming to power, snapped record-setting spree but narrowing current account deficit at 1.7% of GDP in FY'14 from 4.7% in FY'13 limited the losses. They said a mixed trend on other Asian markets too influenced trading sentiment here.
In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.09%, while Japan's Nikkei Index edged higher by 0.87%. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.38% higher yesterday.

Rupee down 28 paise against dollar in early trade
Our Correspondent : 27 may 2014, Bhopal

The rupee lost 28 paise to 58.99 against the dollar in early trade on Tuesday, extending weakness for the third day, on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to month-end demand of the US currency from importers.
Forex dealers said dollar strengthening against other Asian currencies in the global market and a lower opening of the domestic equity market also weighed on the rupee.
The domestic currency had closed lower by 19 paise at 58.71 on Monday amid demand for the American currency from oil importers and late profit-booking in equities.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 160.88 points, or 0.65%, at 24,556.00 in early trade on Tuesday.

Statement from Mr Ajay Shriram, President, CII
Our Correspondent : 27 may 2014, Bhopal

CII warmly felicitates Prime Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi on assuming office after a momentous verdict in the elections and wishes him all success as Prime Minister. We look forward to the new Prime Minister’s sagacious and astute leadership of the nation at a challenging period. CII also welcomes and congratulates the new Cabinet of Ministers which has taken charge.
We believe this is a pivotal moment in the nation’s history that can shape the future of our 1.2 billion people. Hon’ble Prime Minister’s stress on growth and development has translated into an unequivocal mandate for change, and Industry looks forward to a new era of reform and liberalization of the Indian economy. At the current juncture, it is vital to revive the pace of GDP growth, bring down inflation, and create new jobs on a large scale. CII anticipates a quick and proactive agenda of economic and governance policies, including fiscal consolidation, fast-tracking of stranded projects, and sectoral initiatives for infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture and mining.
CII looks forward to working closely with Shri Narendra Modi and the New Government.

Sensex regains 25k mark ahead of Modi’s swearing-in
Our Correspondent : 26 may 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE Sensex regained the 25,000 mark by soaring 344 points in opening trade on Monday on increased buying by foreign funds and retail investors ahead of swearing-in of Narendra Modi as the 15th Prime Minister of India.
Rising for the third straight session, the 30-share Sensex shot up by 344.19 points, or 1.39 per cent, to trade at 25,037.54 with all the sectoral indices, led by power, PSUs, capital goods, auto, realty and banking sectors, trading in positive zone and rising up to 2.13 per cent.
The gauge, which earlier breached the 25,000 mark on May 16, had climbed 395.33 points in the past two sessions.
On similar lines, the 50-share NSE Nifty reclaimed the 7,400-level by spurting 90.35 points, or 1.22 per cent, to trade at 7,457.45.
Brokers said persistent inflow of foreign funds on hopes that the new government led by Narendra Modi would take a series of measures to revive the country’s economic growth and a firming trend in the global markets buoyed the trading sentiments here. Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.39 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.73 per cent in early trade on Monday.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.38 per cent higher in Friday’s trade.

Rupee recovers by 12 paise against dollar
Our Correspondent : 26 may 2014, Bhopal

The rupee recovered by 12 paise to trade at 11-month high of 58.40 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased foreign capital inflows ahead of swearing-in of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India.
Besides, increased dollar selling by exporters, a higher opening in the domestic equity market and strengthening of euro against the American currency overseas also supported the rupee.
The rupee had depreciated by five paise to end at 58.52 against the US dollar on Friday on demand for the American currency from oil importers.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex regained the 25,000 mark by surging 344.19 points, or 1.39 per cent, to touch 25,037.54 in opening trade on Monday.

SBI shares extend gains as brokers raise target price after earnings
Our Correspondent : 26 may 2014, Bhopal

Mumbai: Shares in State Bank of India (SBI) gained as much as 2.85%, adding to Friday’s 9.6% jump, after earlier hitting their highest level since April 2011, as brokers raised target price and estimates on the stock, citing January-March earnings.
Jefferies Group Llc raised its target price to Rs.3,415 from Rs.2,875, while maintaining its “buy” rating on the stock, while Credit Suisse Group AG upgraded target price to Rs.2,405 from Rs.2,049 and maintained “neutral” rating on the stock.
The bank on Friday reported a drop in bad loans and market-beating quarterly net profit. SBI shares were up nearly 0.6% at Rs.2,772.10 apiece at 11:21am on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex was trading 1.57% higher at 25,080.35.

Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe to pay $325 million to settle hiring lawsuit
Our Correspondent : 24 may 2014, Bhopal

Four major Silicon Valley companies have formally agreed to pay $324.5 million to settle claims brought by employees who accused them of limiting competition by colluding not to poach each other's talent.
The settlement, between Apple Inc, Google Inc, Intel Corp, Adobe Systems Inc and roughly 64,000 workers, was disclosed in papers filed late on Thursday with a federal court in San Jose, California.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has been asked to preliminarily approve the accord at a June 19 hearing, over an objection by one of the four named plaintiffs, Michael Devine, who says the settlement let the companies off too easily.
The payout was originally reported by Reuters but not officially confirmed.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs may seek up to 25 percent of the settlement amount in legal fees.
Filed in 2011, the lawsuit accused Silicon Valley companies of conspiring to limit competition and keep wages down for engineers, programmers and other technical staff.
The case has been closely watched because of the potential $9 billion of damages sought, and its occasional embarrassing revelations into how Silicon Valley operates.
Among the communications that became public were pointed emails from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that at times admonished then-Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to stop raiding his company.
Thursday's settlement gives workers only a few thousand dollars each on average.
The companies' combined profit in their latest fiscal years was about $60 billion, with three-fifths coming from Apple.
In court papers, two law firms representing the plaintiffs said Devine's objection should not doom what they consider a fair and reasonable settlement for an antitrust case, and which serves the best interests of the class.
They pointed to a July 2012 jury verdict in the same court that found Toshiba Corp conspired to fix prices in the liquid crystal display market but awarded just $87 million of damages, one-tenth of what was sought.
"The amount of the settlement does not relate to the size or profitability of the companies we sued," Joseph Saveri, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an interview. "It relates to the claims we made, the law that applies to them, and the facts that we could prove at trial. Based on that, I think the settlement is a significant achievement."
Devine did not immediately respond on Friday to a request for comment.
Koh on May 16 approved separate settlements totaling $20 million over alleged poaching by Walt Disney Co's Lucasfilm and Pixar units, and by Intuit Inc.
The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is In re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-02509.

SBI overtakes HDFC Bank to regain top spot in terms of market cap
Our Correspondent : 24 may 2014, Bhopal

After trailing HDFC Bank for more than a year, the State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday overtook the private sector lender to regain the top spot in terms of m-cap.
At the end of Friday’s trading session, the total market capitalisation of the largest lender in terms of loan book stood at Rs 2.05 lakh crore against HDFC Bank’s Rs 1.89 lakh crore.
On Friday, the HDFC Bank scrip slipped 1.63% to Rs 789.50 on the BSE following reports that government will turn down its proposal to raise the cap on foreign institutional investment to 67.55%.
In May, the HDFC Bank scrip has gained 9.92%, underperforming the BSE Bankex, which has gained 19.15%. Meanwhile, the SBI scrip has outperformed the index with gains of 32.53% in the month.
On Friday, the SBI scrip surged nearly 10% to a three-year high of R2,755.25 after the bank posted better-than-expected results. The bank saw a 7.8% y-o-y decline in its net profit to Rs 3,041 crore, but beat Bloomberg consensus estimates of Rs 2,807 crore. Axis Capital raised the target price on the SBI scrip to Rs 2,929 from Rs 1,992 and upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ after the results.

Flipkart buys out Myntra for $300 m
Our Correspondent : 23 may 2014, Bhopal

Putting an end to months of speculation about what is being termed as the biggest acquisition in the Indian e-commerce business, domestic e-retailer Flipkart announced that it has acquired rival and leading fashion e-tailer Myntra.com. The move is widely being read as a response to global e-commerce leader Amazon’s ramp up of its year-old India operations, and the narrowing gap between Flipkart’s sales and that of fast-growing rival Snapdeal.
No details on the deal size or structure were shared, and analyst speculation pegging the buy out at over $300 million remained unconfirmed by both companies. Both companies will be run independently, with no immediate plans to merge the fashion business on the two portals or even join forces in terms of content or go-to market. Myntra CEO Mukesh Bansal joins Flipkart’s board, and will head the fashion vertical at Flipkart and Myntra. They also announced that while Myntra employees would “remain in current positions”, they would be offered stock options in Flipkart.
Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal insisted that this was a “completely different acquisition story” as it was not “driven by distress”, alluding to a plethora of small e-commerce players either having wound up or been bought over in the past two years. Together, both company heads claimed, they were scripting “one of the largest e-commerce stories”.
$100 m investment in fashion vertical
Mr. Mukesh Bansal said that on its own Myntra.com held 30 per cent of the market share, but together the two companies would account for 50 per cent of the online fashion market.
“We hope to take this figure to about 60-70 per cent in the long-term,” he said. Mr. Sachin Bansal added that Flipkart would invest $100 million in its own fashion vertical in the near-term. While the electronics vertical is the largest revenue generator at Flipkart (and will continue to be even after the acquisition), Mr. Bansal hoped that in the near-term fashion would be the “largest sales category for Flipkart”. Flipkart started fashion as a shopping category on its site two years ago.

Sensex rises 121 points on capital inflows
Our Correspondent : 23 may 2014, Bhopal

Maintaining its upward trend, the benchmark BSE Sensex on Friday rose further by over 121 points in early trade on the back of rally in realty, auto, power and capital goods sector stocks amid increased fund inflows.
Besides, a firming trend on other Asian markets supported the upside.
The 30-share Sensex spurted by 121.05 points, or 0.50 per cent, to trade at 24,495.45. The gauge had gained 76.38 points in Wednesday’s trade.
The 50-share NSE Nifty also moved up by 22.90 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 7,299.30.
Sectoral indices led by realty, power, PSUs, capital goods and bankings stocks continued to trade in the positive territory with gains up to 2.40 per cent.
Brokers said sentiments remained extremely bullish on persistent buying by foreign investors who expect the new BJP-led NDA government to take measures for reviving the investment climate.
With the improvement in trading sentiments, buying activity also gathered momentum in mid and small-cap sector stocks, having potential to appreciate, they said.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.25 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.94 per cent in early trade on Friday.
The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.06 per cent higher in Wednesday’s trade.

Workshop on Dynamic Leadership: Discovering the Leader in You
Thursday, 26th June 2014: Hotel Lemon Tree, Opposite Anand Vihar ISBT, Delhi NCR

The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be. The only thing a title can buy is a little time – either to increase your level of influence with others or to erase it. You can find smart, talented people who are able to go only so far because of the limitations of their leadership. Personal & organizational effectiveness is proportionate to the strength of leadership. Leadership drives the teams / individuals to go for higher, faster, stronger, thereby helping teams and individuals to grow in life.

“Leadership develops daily, not in a day”- John Maxwell

This one day interactive workshop is designed exclusively to help professionals working in managerial roles to identify and fine tune leadership qualities. The workshop would help in transformation of one’s leadership skill to the next level – from leading functional teams to leading businesses.

Objective:
· Definition of a leader; Manager Vs. Leader
· Identify the ability to lead and communicate
· To enhance your personal and professional excellence
· Nurturing more leaders around you
· Maintaining the balance between goal and people orientation
· Five Leadership Myths

With the above background, I am pleased to inform you that CII Western UP is organizing a Workshop on “Dynamic Leadership: Discovering the Leader in You from 0930 hrs (Registration) to 1700 hrs on Thursday, 26th June 2014 at Hotel Lemon Tree, EDM Mall Opposite Anand Vihar ISBT, Delhi / NCR.

Who Should Attend:
The training programme seeks participation from Vice President – sales & marketing, General Managers, Functional Heads, Plant Head Middle & Senior Level managers in Sales & Marketing, HR, Planning, Purchase, Supervisors, Executives, Team leaders and all others related to the given functional areas.

Faculty:
Mr Suresh Mohan Semwal is Co-Founder, POSSIBLERS. Mr Semwal’s inspirational and thought provoking messages emanates from his enriched experience of 22 years in the field of finance, travel, construction and corporate training. He has addressed 100000+ people in 250+ organization through 2400+ interventions & is a certified NLP practitioner by American Board of NLP. He is a passionate reader, writer, observer, key-note speaker and coach. His understanding of Indian ethos, culture and pattern of thinking helps him to relate with participants instantly.

Delegate Fee:

1. Members:
Micro & Small Companies
Rs 2500 + 12.36% Service Tax

Medium & Large Companies
Rs 3000 + 12.36% Service Tax

2. Non- Members
Rs 4000 + 12.36% Service Tax

Note: Companies nominating 4 or more delegates will be offered 10% discount on the delegate fee.

Register before 30 May 2014 with payment to avail early bird discount of 5% on the delegate fee.

CII would award a Certificate of Participation to the delegates.

I am writing to invite you to take advantage of this workshop by confirming your participation and that of your colleagues through the enclosed Registration form. I look forward to receiving your confirmation.

With kind regards,
Prateek Garg
Chairman – CII Western U.P Zonal Council

For further details pls contact:

Rohin Agarwal
===========================
Confederation of Indian Industry
Western UP Zonal Office
CMA Tower
A-2E, Mezzanine Floor, Sector - 24
Noida 201 301
Uttar Pradesh
Tel : 0120- 4345973 (D)/ 6541957
Fax: 0120- 4345973
Email : rohin.agarwal@cii.in
Web : www.cii.in
*************************************
Download- REGISTRATION FORM Click Here

Download- Programme Outline Click Here

RBI eases gold import norms
Our Correspondent : 22 may 2014, Bhopal

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Wednesday, allowed star trading houses (STH) and premier trading houses (PTH) to import gold under the 20:80 scheme. This follows representations made by jewellers and bullion dealers over the last several months.
The guidelines specifically tackle the 20:80 scheme, which were introduced to combat a huge current account deficit (CAD) last year.
According to the guidelines of the scheme, importers can buy gold provided a fifth of the imported quantum is exported as finished products like jewellery.
The RBI has also permitted banks to provide gold metal loans (GML) to domestic jewellery manufacturers out of the eligible domestic import quota to the extent of GML outstanding on their books as on March 31, 2013.
The RBI had banned import of gold through star trading houses in August 2013 but this led to a rise in the parallel market, resulting in high premiums.
“The number of institutions which can now import gold will go up, and this will increase supply of gold which was choked,” Suresh Jain, Director, India Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA), said, adding that it was a very welcome step. “This is exactly what we have been asking for,” he said.
Once there was relaxation, there would be an easing of prices, said one bullion dealer.
“It is a relaxation, and the very indication of the likely relaxation saw premium drop from $125 levels two weeks ago to $80 an ounce,” Mr. Jain said, adding, “It will surely go down even further and could drop to $20 an ounce level.’’
Mr. Jain felt that gold price could reach Rs.26,000 per 10 gram level soon and would remain flat.

Sensex recovers 125 points in early trade
Our Correspondent : 22 may 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded over 125 points in early trade on Thursday after Wednesday’s fall as funds and investors made fresh purchases in consumer durables, realty, metal and PSU sector stocks amidst a firming trend in Asian markets.
The 30-share index, which had slipped from record highs by falling 78.86 points in Wednesday’s trade, recovered by 125.37 points, or 0.52 per cent, to trade at 24,423.39.
All the sectoral indices, led by realty and consumer durables, were trading in the positive zone with gains up to 7.77 per cent.
In a similar fashion, the broader National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 18.45 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7,271.35.
Brokers attributed the recovery in stocks to revival of buying by funds and investors amidst a firming trend on other Asian bourses on indication of an improvement in Chinese manufacturing activity and overnight gains on the U.S. markets.
Jewellery stocks were back in demand after the Reserve Bank yesterday eased gold import norms by allowing select trading houses, in addition to already permitted banks, to procure the precious metal to boost exports.
Stocks of Titan Company climbed up by 10.40 per cent to Rs. 342.40, P C Jewellers rose 15.93 per cent to Rs. 120.10 and Gitanjali Gems surged 14.17 per cent to Rs. 104.35.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.38 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.60 per cent in early trade on Thursday.
The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.97 per cent higher in Wednesday’s trade.

Mindtree inducts Manisha Girotra as board member
Our Correspondent : 21 may 2014, Bhopal

Bangalore: Mid-sized software services firm Mindtree Ltd has made significant changes to its board appointing investment banking executive Manisha Girotra, while also elevating finance chief and co-founder Rostow Ravanan as an executive director to the board. The appointment of Girotra, who is currently chief executive of the India arm of investment bank Moelis and Co., is effective immediately. Ravanan will continue in his existing role of CFO.
“As we move into the next phase of Mindtree’s growth, Manisha’s vast global experience will be a great asset in guiding our strategy and providing us with enlightened oversight. She is a nationally respected business leader known for her ability to drive change,” said Mindtree chairman Subroto Bagchi in a stock exchange filing.
The Bangalore-based firm, which was founded in 1999 by former Wipro Ltd executives, has made a number of changes to its board over the past year. Last year, it appointed Apurva Purohit to its board of directors—the Bangalore-based firm’s first woman board member—and elevated company veteran and co-founder Parthasarathy N.S. as an executive director.
Girotra’s appointment to the Mindtree board also marks one of the handfuls of instances of women representation on the boards of Indian information technology (IT) services firms. According to a survey conducted by Dataquest magazine in 2012, women account for 22% of the Indian IT sector’s over three million workforce. But they are highly under-represented to company boards.
Among top Indian IT firms, Infosys Ltd currently has two women board members—Biocon managing director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and former White House energy and climate change director Carol Browner.
Bangalore-based rival Wipro appointed former McKinsey executive Ireena Vittal as a director last year—its first woman board member in nearly three decades. Rival HCL Technologies Ltd has two women on its board—former VeriFone CEO Robin Abrams and Roshni Nadar Malhotra, daughter of HCL founder Shiv Nadar.
US-based Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. has one woman board member—former Towers Perrin chief financial officer Maureen Breakiron-Evans, but larger peer Tata Consultancy Services Ltd has no woman representation on its board.

Sensex slips from record high; down 47 points in early trade
Our Correspondent : 21 may 2014, Bhopal

The BSE benchmark index Sensex today retreated from record by losing almost 47 points in early trade on profit-booking by speculators in oil and gas, PSUs and banking stocks, amid a weak trend in the global markets.
The 30-share barometer, which had gained over 562 points in the past four sessions after the BJP-led NDA swept the polls, shed 46.88 points, or 0.19%, to 24,330.00. On similar lines, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 12.80 points, or 0.18%, to 7,262.70.
Brokers said besides booking of profits by participants amid pause in buying by funds at prevailing record levels, snapped four-session winning streak, which took key indices to historic highs. The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty climbed to a lifetime high of 25,375.63 and 7,563.50 on May 16. Besides, a weakening trend on Asian bourses following overnight losses on the US market, influenced the sentiment, they said.
In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.52%, while Japan's Nikkei Index edged lower by 0.75%. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.83% lower yesterday.

Rupee down 13 paise vs dollar in early trade on May 21
Our Correspondent : 21 may 2014, Bhopal

The rupee today weakened by 13 paise to trade at 58.76 in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to increased dollar demand from importers.
A lower opening at the domestic equity market due to profit-booking, and dollar's gain against euro overseas also put pressure on the rupee, traders said.
The rupee had retreated four paise from its 11-month high levels to close at 58.63 against the dollar yesterday on fresh demand for the US currency from importers, amid some profit- booking in stocks.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 46.88 points, or 0.19%, at 24,330.00.

India’s gold demand down 26% at 190.3 tonne: WGC
Our Correspondent : 20 may 2014, Bhopal

Gold demand in India declined by 26 per cent to 190.3 tonne during the January-March quarter due to higher import duties and supply curbs imposed by the government, the World Gold Council on Tuesday said.
In the first quarter (Q1) of 2013, the gold demand in the country had logged in 257.5 tonne, according to WGC Gold Demand Trends report.
In value terms, gold demand witnessed a fall of 33 per cent to Rs. 48,853 crore during the first quarter of 2014, compared to Rs. 73,183.6 crore in Q1, 2013.
“During Q1, 2014 the demand went down by 26 per cent illustrating the continued impact of higher import duties and supply curbs imposed by the Centre to reduce the Current Account Deficit due to which gold prices were higher in the spot markets,” WGC Managing Director, India, Somasundaram P.R. told PTI here.
He said however that gold continued to enter India through unofficial channels although the estimates of the grey market vary, and there is now a far greater understanding of the adverse impact it is having on the gold industry.
“Gold demand in UAE went up by 13 per cent, which shows that many Indians are buying there and bringing it to the country,” he pointed out.
The total jewellery demand was down 9 per cent at 145.6 tonne compared to 159.5 tonne Q1 of 2013.
In value terms, jewellery demand saw a fall of 18 per cent at Rs. 37,377.8 crore, from Rs. 45,331.2 crore in Q1 2013.
Total gold recycled went up marginally in Q1 2014 at 21.3 tonne, from 21 tonne in Q1 2013.
Total investment demand for Q1 2014 was down by 54 per cent at 44.7 tonne from 98 tonne in the same quarter last year.
In value terms, gold investment demand dropped by 59 per cent to Rs. 11,475.2 crore, from Rs. 27,852.4 crore in the same quarter last year.
“With the election of the BJP and its declared pro-business approach, there is an expectation that the short term curbs will be removed creating a favourable system that deals with gold as a fungible asset category, reflecting its importance in culture,” Mr. Somasundaram said.
In 2014, gold demand is expected to be around 900-1,000 tonne, he added.

Sensex trims initial gains, still up 151 points
Our Correspondent : 20 may 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex trimmed its initial gains but was still quoted higher by 151 points on buying mainly in realty, metal, IT, teck, healthcare, consumer durable sectors in view of persistent foreign capital inflows into equity market.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying spree by investing a net Rs. 1,350.04 crore yesterday, according to provisional data from the stock exchanges.
A decisive mandate for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls also boosted the market sentiment.
The Sensex resumed higher at 24,555.31 and firmed up further to a high of 24,587.16 on initial strong buying. But, declined immediately to 24,353.03 before quoting at 24,513.88 at 1000 hrs, still showing a gain of 150.83 points, or 0.62 per cent.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved up by 48.35 points, or 0.67 pct, to 7,311.90 at 1000hrs.
Major gainers were Hindalco (3.06 pct), SSLT (3.05 pct), Wipro (2.81 pct), Tata Steel (2.60 pct), Dr Reddy’s Lab (2.31 pct), Infosys (2.31 pct), BHEL (2.21 pct), TCS (2.21 pct) and Bharti Airtel (2.13 pct).
Most Asian stocks edged higher in their early trade. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Japan rose by 0.11 pct to 0.86 pct.

Vodafone says 2015 earnings to fall on investment plans
Our Correspondent : 20 may 2014, Bhopal

Britain's Vodafone said core earnings would fall in 2015 due to the investment needed in the business as it recorded impairments of 6.6 billion pounds ($11 billion) due to fierce competition and regulatory changes in Europe.
The world's second-largest mobile operator has reported record falls in underlying revenue in the last 18 months, as a result of numerous European rivals, regulator-imposed price cuts and European consumers reducing the number of calls they made during the recession.
On Tuesday it wrote down the value of its assets in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and Romania by 6.6 billion pounds and said core earnings in 2015 would fall due to vital spending on its network to boost speed and coverage.
After selling its US business in a $130 billion deal, Vodafone plans to invest around 19 billion pounds over the next two years, which includes the money assigned as part of its investment programme called Project Spring.
That will bring core earnings down to a range of 11.4 billion pounds to 11.9 billion pounds for 2015, from the 12.8 billion pounds it recorded in 2014 - itself down 7.4 percent, though results were in line with forecasts and helped by an improvement in underlying trading in the fourth quarter.
"Our operational performance has been mixed," Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said.
"The Group's emerging markets businesses have performed strongly throughout the year. In Europe, where we continue to face competitive, regulatory and macroeconomic pressures, we have taken steps to improve our commercial performance, particularly in Germany and Italy, and are beginning to see encouraging early signs."

SpiceJet targets top 3 tourist spots, to offer special packages
Our Correspondent : 19 may 2014, Bhopal

Airlines Air India (AI) and low-cost SpiceJet are introducing more flights and offering special packages for tourist destinations during the summer holidays. SpiceJet will operate special flights from Delhi to country's top three tourist hotspots - Srinagar, Goa and Bagdogra - to meet the increased traffic demand during the peak holiday season.
As a part of this policy, the Gurgaonbased carrier has now increased the frequency on the Delhi- Srinagar route to five flights a day from four from June 3. Services on the Delhi- Goa and Delhi- Bagdogra route, which apart from being a gateway to the North- East is a tourist destination as well, have also been increased to three flights per day from June 3, it said.
Stating that the airline is increasing flights on these routes especially to accommodate more demands for summer vacations, SpiceJet chief commercial officer Kaneswaran Avili said that these additional flights will be operated only till June 30, when the summer vacations period ends.
The airline is also offering an introductory all- inclusive fare of Rs 4,999 on the Delhi- Goa and Delhi- Bagdogra routes and Rs 5,999 on Delhi- Srinagar route, the airline said.
A senior AI official told Mail Today that the Maharaja is also introducing additional flights to cater for the summer holiday rush especially since government officials normally avail of their LTC at this time of the year. The national carrier has also tied up for holiday packages which include stay at hotels and the deals can be made through its website, he added.
The holiday packages include deals such as a Rs 27,224 trip from Delhi to Srinagar that throws in a four- night twin sharing stay and a Delhi- Kathmandu trip for Rs 16,667, which includes a three- night in the Nepalese capital.
The Maharaja is also planning to start new flights to Milan, Rome and Moscow with return fares starting from Rs 33,907. The AI official said that the airline's team is already in Moscow to take mandatory approval for the first flight between Delhi and Moscow. The approvals are expected shortly after which services will begin, he added.
According to the airline official, though the service will first start with Boeing 747s due to climatic conditions, it will soon be shifted to 787s as more of these aircraft are expected to join the fleet in the coming months.
Spicejet piled up a huge loss of Rs 321.5 crore in the March quarter. This is nearly twice the loss of the previous year.

Rupee rises 32 paise to hit fresh 11-month high against US dollar
Our Correspondent : 19 may 2014, Bhopal

Extending its rising streak for the fourth straight session, the rupee today jumped by another 32 paise to trade at a fresh 11-month high of 58.47 against the US dollar in early trade on sustained foreign capital inflows after the BJP-led NDA swept the Lok Sabha elections.
Increased selling of the dollar by banks and exporters amid sustained foreign capital inflows supported the rupee, dealers said. Besides, a strong rally in domestic equity market in opening trade and the euro's gain against the dollar overseas also helped the rupee, they added.
The rupee rose 50 paise to 58.79 to end at 11-month high against the dollar on Friday. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 275.82 points, or 1.14%, to trade at 24,397.56 in opening trade.

Apple, Google call truce in long-running smartphone patent war
Our Correspondent : 17 may 2014, Bhopal

Apple Inc and Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit have agreed to settle all patent litigation between them over smartphones, ending one of the highest-profile lawsuits in technology.
In a joint statement on Friday, the companies said the settlement does not include a cross license to their respective patents. "Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform," the statement said.
Apple and companies that make phones using Google's Android software have filed dozens of such lawsuits against one another around the world to protect their technology. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs called Android a "stolen product."
Google and Apple informed a federal appeals court in Washington that their cases against each other should be dismissed, according to filings on Friday. However, the deal does not apply to Apple's litigation against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
Apple has battled Google and what once were the largest adopters of its Android mobile software, partly to try to curb the rapid expansion of the free, rival operating system.
But it has been unable to slow Android's ascendancy, which is now installed on an estimated 80 percent of new phones sold every year. Motorola, the U.S. company that pioneered the mobile phone, no longer ranks among the biggest smartphone makers. Both Motorola and HTC Corp have been eclipsed by Chinese Android adopters such as Lenovo Group Ltd - which is buying Motorola - and Huawei and Xiaomi.
The most high-profile case between Apple and Motorola began in 2010. Motorola accused Apple of infringing several patents, including one essential to how cellphones operate on a 3G network, while Apple said Motorola violated its patents to certain smartphone features.
The cases were consolidated in a Chicago federal court. However, Judge Richard Posner dismissed it in 2012 shortly before trial, saying neither company had sufficient evidence to prove its case. Last month, the appeals court gave the iPhone manufacturer another chance to win a sales ban against Motorola.
Apple's biggest victory against Android came against Samsung, where U.S. juries have awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages. Those verdicts are on appeal, and despite years of court challenges to Android, Apple has not been able to win a crippling sales injunction.
Google acquired Motorola Mobility in 2012 for $12.5 billion, and this year announced it was selling Motorola Mobility's handset business to Lenovo, while keeping the vast majority of the patents.

NDA win to prop investor sentiment in stocks rupee: Moody's
Our Correspondent : 17 may 2014, Bhopal

Positive investor sentiment, which got a boost in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, is likely to be sustained following the thumping victory of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, Moody's Investors Service said on Friday.
Any change in India's sovereign credit profile hinges upon the government's fiscal position, regulatory constraints on investment and output and growth in social and physical infrastructure, the rating agency said.
It assigns a 'Baa3' rating to India, signifying moderate credit risk, with a stable outlook.
Moody's also projected a downside risk to 5 per cent GDP growth this year.
"The significant parliamentary majority won by the BJP-led NDA in India is likely to sustain the investor sentiment which has recently boosted equity indices and the rupee," Moody's said in a note.
While policy measures to revive the economy are likely over the coming months, India's growth, fiscal and inflation metrics are unlikely to improve immediately, Moody's said.
"We expect GDP growth to continue to be below potential, at about 5 per cent this year, and the possibility of a sub-par harvest due to El Nino effects poses downside risks," it said.
The agency said the impact of election results on the country's credit profile will be apparent over the next several months as economic policy measures are implemented.
In the medium term, the extent to which these steps revive the economy will depend on the specific measures adopted by the new government and the pace of their implementation, it added.

Election results: RIL shares shoot up 9% on BJP's lead
Our Correspondent : 16 may 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI: Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday soared by as much as 9% as the BJP-led NDA appeared to be heading for victory in the Lok Sabha elections. Mukesh Ambani-led RIL scrip surged 8.47% to touch one-year peak of Rs 1,142.50 at the BSE as result trends poured in this morning indicating a clear lead for the BJP and its allies.
On the NSE, the blue-chip stock zoomed 8.71% to hit its fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,145.25.
Shares of another listed-entity Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd rose by 3.94% to Rs 455.85.
Later, RIL was trading at Rs 1,112.80, up 5.6%. RIL shares have gained 20.6% since BJP announced Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on September 13 last year.
The energy major's market capitalization has gone up by Rs 58,196.85 crore in these eight months.
Shares of Reliance Industrial Infrastructure has gained 38.58% during this period.
The broader market too was witnessing sharp gains as the sensex was trading 824.32 points higher at 24,759.27 at 1050 hrs. Earlier it had crossed the 25,000 mark, gaining more than 1,100 points.
Ambani's Reliance has refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat. The BJP-led NDA appears to be heading for a victory in the Lok Sabha elections with the trends in the counting of votes giving the saffron party leads in 257 seats on its own while its allies led in 39 seats.

Raghuram Rajan's RBI rushes to buy dollars to halt rupee gains on election results 2014 day: Traders
Our Correspondent : 16 may 2014, Bhopal

Guv Raghuram Rajan-led Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was likely buying US dollars via state-run banks starting around 58.70 rupee levels after the rupee earlier hit its strongest against the dollar in 11 months, three traders said.
The rupee was trading at 58.87/88 per dollar by 0615 GMT, off its session high of 58.62, its highest since June 19. The currency closed at 59.29/30 on Thursday.
The rupee gained after early counting showed Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies leading in 335 seats, way above the 272 seats required to win a majority in the lower house.
Traders however said dollar buying was sporadic and not as aggressive as in recent sessions.
The main share index was trading up 3.7 percent, after earlier rising as high as 6.15 percent.

Sensex up 56 points in morning trade
Our Correspondent : 15 may 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose 56 points in morning trade today on fresh buying in consumer durables, power, realty and FMCG sectors amid persistent capital inflows by foreign funds despite mixed Asian cues.
Key benchmark indices edged higher in early trade as the market sentiment was boosted by data showing foreign funds made substantial purchases of Indian stocks yesterday, ahead of the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections.
The 30-share index Sensex resumed slightly lower at 23,809.42 on initial selling, but recovered immediately to a high of 23,971.78 before quoting at 23,870.94 at 10 a.m.
It showed a gain of 55.82 points, or 0.23 per cent, from its last close.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved up by 13.40 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 7,122.15 at 10 a.m.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs. 1,520.08 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Major gainers were Sun Pharma (1.83 per cent), NTPC (1.75 per cent), Gail India (1.71 per cent), Tata Power (1.24 per cent) and HUL (0.90 per cent).
Most Asian stocks fell in early trade.
Key benchmark indices in South Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan were off between 0.03 to 0.88 per cent while indices in Singapore and Hong Kong were up between 0.22 to 0.3 per cent.

Sun Pharma settles patent suit with Novartis in US for Gleevec copy
Our Correspondent : 15 may 2014, Bhopal

Mumbai: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. have agreed to settle their legal dispute in the US on a generic version of patented cancer drug Gleevec, the Indian company said in a statement on Thursday.
Sun Pharma in 2007 applied for marketing approval for generic imatinib mesylate tablets, which is sold by Novartis as Gleevec.
This drug, on which India denied a patent for Novartis in 2006, is used for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. Novartis’ sales of this medicine in the US were about $2 billion in 2013.
Sun Pharma’s US subsidiary may launch the generic copy in the US in February 2016, though the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals.
“We are expecting Sun to generate sales and profit of $160 million and $95 million during the first six months of the launch of the generic version,” said Hitesh Mahida, a sector analyst with Antique Stock Broking Ltd.
Sun Pharma has got a tentative approval for the generic drug from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Rupee trading strong at 59.51
Our Correspondent : 15 may 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI: The rupee was trading strong by 19 paise at 59.51 against the dollar at 11.40 a.m. local time. The rupee opened at a 10-month high of 59.48 per dollar against the previous close 59.70 against the dollar on the back of strong inflows in the domestic equity market.
The markets cheered up to the exit poll prediction, released late Monday evening, of a comfortable victory for the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government in the national elections. The final election results will be released on Friday.

Call rates and G-Secs
The overnight call money rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches) opened lower at 8.45 per cent against the previous close of 9 per cent.
The yield on 10-year benchmark 8.83 per cent bond, maturing in 2023, softened to 8.77 per cent from the previous close of 8.78 per cent. Bond prices dropped to Rs 100.33 from Rs 100.29. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Chinese police charge former GSK China head with bribery
Our Correspondent : 14 may 2014, Bhopal

BEIJING/SHANGHAI: Chinese police on Wednesday said they had charged the British former China head of drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC and other colleagues with corruption, after a 10-month probe found they paid billions of yuan in bribes to doctors and hospitals.
Mark Reilly and two Chinese executives, Zhang Guowei and Zhao Hongyan, were also suspected of bribing officials in the industry and commerce departments of Beijing and Shanghai, the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting police in Hunan province.
It is the biggest corruption scandal to hit a foreign company in China since the Rio Tinto affair in 2009, which resulted in four executives including an Australian being jailed for between seven and 14 years each.

SBI tells CBI that Kingfisher Airlines has done no fraud, only business failure
Our Correspondent : 14 may 2014, Bhopal

The CBI has returned empty-handed from the State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, in a case involving a loan to Kingfisher Airlines.The CBI's Bank Securities and Fraud wing, which is looking into a number of cases of bad debts amounting to Rs2 lakh crore, had put in a request with the SBI to allow it to examine documents related to a Rs6,000-crore loan to the airlines. That loan is now marked as 'bad debt'.
SBI was the lead banker in a consortium of 17 banks that granted Kingfisher Airlines the Rs6,000-crore loan, with Rs1,500 crore of it from the SBI kitty.
According to sources, SBI has claimed that the recovery process was on, and that the company could not repay the loan as its business had gone bust.
"The CBI recently asked the SBI to share documents related to the loan. The bank, however, said there is no fraud involved in the non-payment of loan and that it was simply a case of business failure," a source told dna.
With that kind of response from the bank, the country's premier investigating agency, which is looking into many other similar cases of default on loans, was forced to return empty-handed.
SBI did not respond to a mail sent by dna seeking information on steps taken to date to recover the loan from Kingfisher. Officials, however, claim the bank has recovered nearly Rs400 crore of the Rs1,500 crore loan to the company.
Banking sector experts told dna that the steps taken by SBI were "cosmetic" and were an eyewash.
A banking industry expert told dna: "The sum raised from the Kingfisher is only on its books. SBI says it has taken over brand Kingfisher, worth Rs200 crore or whatsoever. But it is an amount, which is only on its books and does not have any tangible value."
Also, SBI did not take any concrete steps to recover the loan after it classified the Kingfisher account as a 'bad debt' in January 2012. Sources said that for a long time, SBI has not convened a meeting of the consortium to discuss the issue.
If industry sources are to be believed, steps haven't been taken to take possession of Kingfisher House in Mumbai and Mallya's villa in Goa, forcing lenders to knock on the doors of the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Bangalore.
According to the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), top corporate entities, such as Lanco Infratech and Deccan Chronicle, figure in the list of 400 companies that were given bank loans amounting to Rs70,000 crore, but which have not bothered to pay back the loans. These bank loans now figure in the list of non-performing assets of banks. In all, the NPA account in the banking system runs into a mind-boggling Rs2 lakh crore.

Sensex Scales above 24,000 for First Time on Exit Poll Euphoria
Our Correspondent : 13 may 2014, Bhopal

The BSE Sensex surged over 500 points to edge above the psychological 24,000 mark for the first time on Tuesday as markets reacted positive to exit poll results announced on Monday. The Sensex has now gained over 1,700 or nearly 8 per cent in just three sessions since Friday.
The broader Nifty jumped around 160 points and traded above the key 7,150 levels. This is the third straight day when Indian stock markets have hit record highs.
Most exit polls have projected a win for Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance in elections concluded on Monday. The BJP-led NDA is projected to win between 249 and 340 seats, according to six exit polls. It needs 273 seats for a simple majority. The BJP's own tally could be over 210-220 seats, the exit polls predicted.
If the exit poll projections come true, India might be heading for a stable government under Mr Modi, something investors have been rooting for.
"Anything between 235 to 240 will be viewed positive for NDA...anything above 240 will be extremely bullish... and I think if that were to happen there has not been a rally to that," Samir Arora of Helios Capital told NDTV on Monday.
Narendra Modi-led BJP is seen by markets as being more investor- and business-friendly. The Nifty has already surged around 20 per cent since Mr Modi became the BJP prime minister candidate on September 13. A large part of gains have come on account of strong buying by foreign investors, who have purchased cash shares worth about $4.3 billion so far in 2014.
"A lot of expectation-based flows have come through. Looking through the noise, if the base scenario (BJP majority) happens, two things change structurally - first, you get a pro-investment government and one that is focused on infrastructure," said Salman Ahmed, global fixed income strategist for Lombard Odier Investment Managers in London.
Over the last two sessions, FIIs have bought shares worth around Rs. 2,500 crore. Domestic institutional investors, who have been net sellers in markets so far, also turned buyers on Monday, although the quantum of buying was very small at Rs. 90 crore.
Interestingly, NSE's volatility index, or India VIX, fell as much as 23.88 per cent, and headed for its biggest single-day fall since August 26, 2009 after exit poll results confirmed market expectations of a BJP win.
Retail investors, however, should be cautious even though the consensus outlook on the Street seems to be bullish. That's because exit polls have got it horribly wrong in the past.
Any results that show BJP falling short of a majority could cause shares to plunge 8 to 10 per cent in one day, and up to 20 per cent in the aftermath, analysts say.

Rupee up 45 paise against dollar in early trade
Our Correspondent : 13 may 2014, Bhopal

The rupee became stronger by 45 paise to 59.60 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market amidst exit polls forecasting the BJP-led NDA forming the government at the Centre.
Increased selling of the dollar by banks and exporters amid sustained foreign capital inflows also supported the rupee, dealers said.
Besides, strong rally in domestic equity market in opening trade also helped the rupee post gains but dollar's strength against other currencies overseas limited the gains, they added.
In a volatile session, the rupee ended one paise down at 60.05 in on Monday's trade on late demand of the American currency after rising to nearly ten-month high of 59.51.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 370.91 points, or 1.57%, to hit a new record high of 23,921.91 in opening trade.

Reliance Industries shares up over 5%; hits 52-week high
Our Correspondent : 12 may 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI : Shares of Reliance Industries today gained over 5 per cent after the company and partners BP plc of UK and Canada’s Niko Resources slapped an arbitration notice on the Government over the delay in implementing the revision of natural gas prices.
RIL’s stock rose by 5 per cent to Rs 1,048 — its 52-week high on the BSE.
On the NSE, the scrip gained 5.15 per cent to touch its one-year peak of Rs 1,049.
RIL and its partners were to get a new rate from April 1 for gas from their Krishna Godavari basin KG-D6 fields in the Bay of Bengal after the expiry of the price of USD 4.205 per million British thermal units, which had been fixed for a five-year term.
Although the Cabinet approved a new formula to price all gas produced domestically by private and public sector firms on December 19, 2013, and formally notified it on January 10, the new rate was not announced as per the stated procedure.
“RIL, BP and Niko have issued a Notice of Arbitration on May 9, 2014, to the Government of India seeking the implementation of the ‘Domestic Natural Gas Pricing Guideline 2014’ notified on January 10, 2014,” the firms had said in a statement on Saturday.

Gold futures down at Rs 28,436 per 10 gm
Our Correspondent : 12 may 2014, Bhopal

NEW DELHI,: Gold futures prices fell 0.31 per cent to Rs 28,436 per 10 grams today as participants indulged in reducing exposures, largely in tandem with a global trend.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in June fell Rs 89 or 0.31 per cent to trade at Rs 28,436 per 10 grams in a turnover of 207 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in August shed Rs 66 or 0.24 per cent, to Rs 27,850 per 10 gm in three lots.

Globally, gold lost as much as 0.7 per cent to $1,280.02 an ounce, the lowest level since May 2 in Singapore.
Analysts said a weak trend overseas amid speculation that the Federal Reserve will press on with reducing monetary stimulus, weighed on gold prices at the futures trade.

Dow Ends at Record High; Apple Drags on S&P 500, Nasdaq
Our Correspondent : 10 may 2014, Bhopal

New York: The Dow Jones industrial average ended at a record high on Friday, boosted by IBM, while a rebound in high-growth momentum names helped the broader market.
Consumer discretionary shares also lifted the market, with the stock of Gap Inc up 3.3 per cent at $40.52 after the apparel retailer reported upbeat April sales and gave a profit forecast that surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The S&P consumer discretionary index was up 0.6 per cent.
Apple Inc was the biggest drag on both the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100 on news that it is close to paying a record $3.2 billion for Beats Electronics, an expensive foray into music streaming and headphone gear, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Some analysts questioned whether Beats, valued at $1 billion during its last funding round in September, was worth that price. Apple shares fell 0.4 per cent to $585.54.
Momentum names advanced, with shares of Gilead Sciences Inc up 1.3 per cent at $79.76.Netflix Inc shares rose 2.1 per cent to $328.55 after the company increased the price of its most popular video streaming plan by $1 a month.
The gains came after a volatile week for those shares. The S&P 500 has alternated between gains and losses each day this week, and the Nasdaq has dropped for three straight sessions - its longest losing streak since early April - as Internet-related stocks came under pressure.
Trading was mostly lacklustre, with about 5.7 billion shares changing hands on the US exchanges, below the 6.2 billion month-to-date average, according to data from BATS Global Markets.
"The volatility and the decline in a lot of growth stuff is wearing people out," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. "There's a lot of trader fatigue."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.37 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 16,583.34.
The S&P 500 gained 2.85 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 1,878.48.
The Nasdaq Composite added 20.374 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 4,071.869.
Shares in International Business Machines Corp rose 0.6 per cent to $190.08 and helped lift the Dow to a record close.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.4 per cent, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 1.3 per cent. This marked the Nasdaq's biggest weekly percentage decline in a month.
The Russell 2000 gained 0.9 per cent. Early in the session, it flirted with correction territory, defined as a 10 per cent drop from a recent peak. At its session low, the Russell touched 1,091.50, nearly 10 per cent below its all-time closing high of 1,208.65 reached on March 4.
Healthcare stocks rose, with shares of Merck up 0.7 per cent at $55.21 a day after US health regulators approved a blood-clot prevention drug developed by Merck for use by patients who have had a heart attack or who suffer from blockages in the arteries of the legs.
The S&P healthcare index was up 0.6 per cent.
Among the day's big decliners, Rocket Fuel Inc shares tumbled 21.5 per cent to $21.83 after the technology provider for Web-based video advertising forecast current-quarter revenue far below expectations, prompting downgrades from Goldman Sachs and BMO Capital.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of about 17 to 13, while on the Nasdaq, nearly 17 stocks rose for every nine that fell

I decide monetary policy, govt is supportive, says Raghuram Rajan
Our Correspondent : 10 may 2014, Bhopal

Asserting independence of the central bank, Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday said it is he who determines the monetary policy and the government can fire him if it wanted.
"I determine the monetary policy. I say what it is. The government can fire me, but the government doesn't set the monetary policy. So, in that sense, am I independent! Well, I am happy to talk to the government. I am happy to listen to the government but ultimately the interest rate that is set is set by me," he said at St. Gallen Symposium in Switzerland.
Rajan was replying to a question on how much independence and real power he enjoyed as RBI Governor during a programme that was broadcast on Bloomberg TV.
The central bank, he said, works with the Finance Ministry and he has regular conversations with the Finance Minister.
"We (RBI) control the monetary policy. In India, what happens is when we want to do something big, we go, tell the government this is what we want to do and the government is usually supportive.... We talk to each other," he said.
Replying to questions on growth, Rajan exuded the confidence that India would revert to 7-8 per cent growth rate with right kind of policies. However, he added, achieving higher growth would be difficult.
India had registered over 9 per cent growth for a few years before the global financial meltdown of 2008 pulled it down. The economic growth rate slipped to decade's low of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13. It inched up to 4.9 per cent in 2013-14. In the current fiscal, the growth rate is expected to inch up to 5.5 per cent.
As regards inflation, Rajan said there was a need to bring it down.
Once inflation comes down, he said, it would be possible for the RBI to deal with other problems facing the economy, especially growth.
Finance Minister P Chidamabaram yesterday had said that Rajan had an outstanding record and the next government must respect his appointment.
Chidambaram's statement was made amid speculation the RBI Governor could be changed if the Narendra Modi-led NDA comes to power after the general elections. The nine-phase election is under way and counting of votes is scheduled on May 16. Rajan, a career economist, was appointed for a term of three years by the UPA government and assumed charge at the RBI on September 4 last year.

Sensex up 38 points in early trade
Our Correspondent : 09 may 2014, Bhopal

Extending on Thursday's gains, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 38 points in early trade on Friday on selective buying by investors amid a mixed trend on other Asian bourses.
The 30-share index, which had gained 20.14 points in on Thursday's volatile session, rose further by 38.72 points, or 0.17%, to 22,382.76 with stocks of power, banking, IT, realty, metals and FMCG sectors moving up.
The National Stock Exchange index Nifty also moved up by 6.40 points, or 0.10%, to 6,666.25. Brokers said buying was selective as participants preferred to adopt a cautious approach ahead of the results of the Lok Sabha elections.
A mixed trend at other Asian markets influenced the trading sentiment here, they added.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.37%, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.59% in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.20% higher in on Thursday's trade.

Rupee down 3 paise against dollar in early trade
Our Correspondent : 09 may 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI: The rupee on Friday fell marginally by 3 paise to 60.10 against the dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to appreciation of the US currency overseas.

Dealers attributed the domestic currency's fall to dollar gains against other currencies overseas, but a higher opening in the domestic equity market capped rupee's losses.

The rupee had gained 6 paise to close at 60.07 against the dollar in yesterday's trade on fresh selling of the American currency by banks and exporters in view of strong capital inflows.

Fin Tech slips 5%, MCX down 9% as cops arrest Jignesh Shah, aide
Our Correspondent : 08 may 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI: Shares of Financial TechnologiesBSE -5.00 % and Multi Commodities Exchange fell as the trade began after the Mumbai Police arrested the 46-year-old Jignesh Shah, founder of the FT Group and his trusted lieutenant Shreekant Javalgekar.
"Both Fin Tech and MCX have large foreign investment and the arrest of Shah would slow down plans to remove him from ownership and sell his stake in the company to potential bidders," said Maybank KimEng India report.
Meanwhile, Financial Technologies has called a board meeting to discuss the arrest of Shah.
"I am really shocked at Shah's arrest. The board meeting has been called tomorrow to take stock of the situation and decide about the future course of action," FTIL director and former MCX chairman Venkat Chary told PTI.
At 09:25 a.m.; Financial Technologies was locked at 5 per cent lower circuit at Rs 276.70 and MCX was 3.97 per cent down at Rs 511.50.

Delhi HC agrees to hear plea against grant of flying licence to AirAsia India
Our Correspondent : 08 may 2014, Bhopal

New Delhi: It seems like hurdles AirAsia India are yet not completely over, for The Delhi High Court has agreed to hear plea against grant of flying licence to AirAsia India by DGCA.
After a nine-month-long wait and legal hurdles, new airline AirAsia India was yesterday granted the flying licence by aviation regulator DGCA and said it plans to launch flights in about three months with low fares.
Continuing his tirade against proposed carriers AirAsia India and Tata-SIA Airlines, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had urged the Election Commission to restrain DGCA from giving flying licences to them till a new Government takes over.
Chief Justice G Rohini said a special bench comprising her and Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Rajiv Sahai Endlaw will start hearing the petitions, that also include a PIL filed by Swamy, on July 11.
Besides Swamy, the Federation of Indian Airlines has filed two separate petitions challenging the approvals granted to the Tata-Airasia and Tata-SIA Airlines deals respectively.
Tata-SIA Airlines Ltd is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA), while AirAsia India is a joint venture between Tata Sons, Malaysia-based AirAsia and infrastructre firm Telstra Trade.

Delhi power crisis: NTPC Limited to snap supply to cash-strapped BSES from June
Our Correspondent : 07 may 2014, Bhopal

Delhi’s power crisis worsened with the Supreme Court allowing NTPC to cut supply to BSES electricity distribution companies (discoms) in case BSES’ firms BSES Rajdhani Power (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power (BYPL) are unable to clear Rs 788 crore of dues by the end of the month. In addition, NTPC will present another bill of around Rs 400 crore to BSES in June for electricity supplied in May.
An SC bench comprising justices SS Nijjar and AK Sikri on Tuesday directed the two BSES discoms to pay up “as per the figures, duly signed by both NTPC and BSES firms, submitted to the court... Now that you are agreeing on the figures yourself, you should clear the current dues. All this is (of) your own making. The other company (Tata Power Delhi Distribution or TPDDL) doesn’t have any problem. We are talking about present dues and not past dues... We have to balance the equity...”
Though the current discussion in the Supreme Court is only about NTPC’s dues, several other suppliers who have not been paid — as of March 31, BSES’ dues were R6,412 crore — may also start cutting off supply. Damodar Valley Corporation is in the Supreme Court against BSES and Aravali Power is at the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity.
BSES, for its part, has said it does not have the money to pay as the R10,000-crore loan it has approached Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation for is contingent on the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) hiking its tariffs so that it can quickly get back R20,700 crore due to it by way of ‘regulatory assets’.
In addition, BSES also runs up a deficit — the difference between its costs and the revenues it gets from customers — each month, which prevents it from paying even the recurring bills of suppliers. In the case of BRPL, in January-March 2014, it had a deficit of R440 crore while the figure was R500 crore for BYPL.
While DERC has put out an eight-year schedule for discharging R8,000 crore of the regulatory assets, the lenders are learnt to have said they need DERC to shorten the period by way of higher electricity tariffs.
When contacted, DERC chairman PD Sudhakar said, “We have clarified our position to PFC/REC... They appeared satisfied, but if they want more discussion, they can come.”
On the issue of whether the Rs 26,197 crore of regulatory assets — including TPDDL’s

Rupee up 9 paise to 60.02 against dollar in early trade
Our Correspondent : 07 may 2014, Bhopal

Continuing its rising trend, the Indian Rupee strengthened by another 9 paise to 60.02 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market as the American currency weakened against rivals overseas.

Besides, increased dollar selling by exporters supported the rupee but a lower opening in the domestic equity market restricted the gains, forex dealers said.

The rupee had gained 10 paise to close at 60.11 against the dollar in yesterday's trade on fag-end selling of the US currency by banks and exporters.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 21.92 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 22,486.50 in early trade on Wednesday.

Rupee sheds gains as oil firms buy dollars
Our Correspondent : 06 may 2014, Bhopal

The rupee is trading at 60.22/23 after rising as high as 60.05 in opening deals and largely steady from its previous close of 60.21/22, with dollar demand from oil firms hurting the Indian unit.
Traders, however, do not expect the rupee to fall below 60.30 levels as local shares continue to trade stronger, while other Asian currencies also trading higher versus the dollar.
The dollar hovered near a three-week low versus a basket of currencies on Tuesday as U.S. bond yields struggled to pull away from their recent troughs, with moves subdued in holiday-thinned trade.
Traders expect the rupee to hold in a 59.90 to 60.30 range during the session with domestic shares being watched for cues on foreign fund flows.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading up 0.35 percent.

Sahara Chief Subrata Roy to Remain in Jail
Our Correspondent : 06 may 2014, Bhopal

Subrata Roy, the chief of the unlisted Sahara conglomerate, was refused bail by the Supreme Court today for his company's failure to refund investors in illegal bonds schemes.
The judges used strong language to censure Sahara and Mr Roy for repeatedly defying court orders and for "calculated mind games" to claim that his detention is illegal.
Mr Roy, 65, who was arrested early in March, will stay in jail, the judges said, rejecting Sahara's latest proposal to pay, in instalments, the Rs. 10,000 crore bail that has been set for the 65-year-old's release.
The court also asked Sahara to make a new proposal, warning that so far, the facts it has shared appear "totally unrealistic and could well be fictitious, concocted and made up."
The core business of Sahara, which owns New York's Plaza Hotel and London's Grosvenor House, includes selling financial products, largely to small investors in towns and rural areas.
Two such products were ruled to be illegal and the Supreme Court ordered Sahara in 2012 to repay nearly Rs. 24,000 crore it had raised in the schemes.
While Sahara says it has repaid most investors and its total liability is less than the Rs. 5,120 crore it has deposited with the securities regulator, the regulator and the court disagree.
The court had asked Sahara to come up with a concrete and acceptable proposal to repay the money, while ordering its chief to be held in jail. Mr Roy has not been charged with any crime.

GE makes $389 million share tender offer for Alstom's India units
Our Correspondent : 05 may 2014, Bhopal

General Electric Co(GE.N) on Monday made tender offers to buy shares worth up to $389 million in two of Alstom SA's(ALSO.PA) India units to comply with local rules, following its $16.9 billion bid to buy the French group's energy unit.
GE has offered to buy 25 percent in Alstom T&D India Ltd (ALST.NS) from public shareholders at 261.25 rupees a share in a deal valued at up to $278 million, according to a notice issued to Indian stock exchanges by the offer manager Credit Suisse.
GE is also seeking to buy 26 percent of Alstom India Ltd (ALSM.NS) at 382.20 rupees per share for up to $111 million, said a separate filing. GE will proceed with the offers only if its bid for Alstom's energy arm goes through, the filings said.
Cash-strapped French engineering group Alstom said last week it would explore a $16.9 billion offer from General Electric for its energy arm while leaving the door open to a rival bid from Germany's Siemens (SIEGn.DE).
Shares in Alstom T&D India were up 6.4 percent at 289.15 rupees, while Alstom India lost early gains and were tradingdown 0.8 percent at 452 rupees at 10:34 a.m. The Nifty was up 0.28 percent.
GE will indirectly acquire Alstom's 75 percent stake in Alstom T&D and 68.6 percent in Alstom India, if its bid to buy the French group's energy unit is successful, requiring the U.S. group to launch tender offer as per Indian market rules.
($1 = 60.2100 Rupees)

Reliance Communications shares drop as earnings disappoint
Our Correspondent : 05 may 2014, Bhopal

Mumbai: Shares in Reliance Communications Ltd (R-Com) fell as much as 2.5% on Monday after the mobile carrier’s consolidated net profit dropped more than expected in the March quarter.

Reliance Communications, controlled by Anil Ambani, said late on Friday that consolidated net profit fell 48.5% to Rs.156 crore for its fourth quarter from Rs.303 crore reported a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs.215 crore, according to Thomson Reuters data. The results of the latest and the year-ago quarters included one-off items.
Shares of R-Com were trading 1.48% lower at Rs.120.20 apiece, while the benchmark Sensex was up 0.36% at 22,483.95

Shoppers avoid big buys on Akshay Tritiya
Our Correspondent : 03 may 2014, Bhopal

RANCHI: The hangover of recession, coupled with soaring prices of gold forced residents of the city to stick to their budgets and spend judiciously this Akshaya Tritiya, which fell on Friday. Jewellery shops across Ranchi, which had decked up in anticipation of good business only managed average trade, as residents settled for just enough to usher in prosperity.
Hundreds of buyers who turned up at jewellery shops across the city gave heavy jewellery and gold coins a miss and settled for lightweight ornaments as gold price remained steady at Rs 28,300 per 10 gram, recording a rise of 12.3% since last Akshay Tritiya. While gold was priced at Rs 26,985 per 10 gram in May 2013, it shot up to Rs 30,300 in April 2014. It fell to its current price beginning May this year.
The buyers, who otherwise make large investments in heavy gold ornaments this time every year, are opting for lighter jewellery to suit their budgets. Homemaker Poonam Singh was happy to buy a pair of earrings for Rs 5000. "The rates are way too high to make huge investments," she said.
Nivedita Srivastava stopped short of spending beyond Rs 10,000 owing to the high rates. "We made large investments last year. This time, I bought only a pair of bangles and mangalsutra," she said.
Veena Mahto, sales executive at a leading jewellery chain in Lalpur said, lighter ornaments are the trend this season. "Buyers are preferring earrings, finger rings and lighter necklaces this season," she added.
City-based jewellery shop owner R R Verma blamed the average sales on the gold prices.

Foreign retailers' woes continue, Carrefour-Bharti deal in limbo
Our Correspondent : 03 may 2014, Bhopal

The woes of foreign retailers on Indian soil have continued unabated. After Walmart, the French retailer Carrefour's plans to ink a deal with an Indian partner for retail operations aren't heading anywhere. Differences over valuation with Indian businessman Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Enterprises and certain mandatory business terms seem to have put a spoke in the wheel.
Global retailers looking to establish presence in the over $518 billion retail market in India have been having a tough time making it a viable business proposition. Lack of clarity from the Indian regulators on foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail have only made it difficult for global giants like Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco among others to make concrete plans for their India operations.
Earlier in March, UK retail giant Tesco became the first supermarket chain to make India foray after it sealed a joint venture with Tata Group's retail venture Trent Ltd that would have seen an investment of $140 million. However, in April Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) came out with its 42-page manifesto that opposed foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail sector.
A sword now hangs on the Tesco-Trent joint venture if at all BJP comes in to power.
Last year the Bentonville, Arkansas-based World's largest retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc called-off its joint-venture with Bharti Enterprises thus deciding to go solo with cash and carry operations in India.
In the last few years, a lot has been spoken FDI and the need to have a foreign partner to make retail a profitable business operation in India. However, the recent developments with few home-grown companies have shown retail can be both scalable and profitable. For instance, Reliance Retail recently turned around operations booking profits and has demonstrated the success of modern retail in India despite challenging business environment and economic slowdown
Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak, said, while foreign retailers have been finding it tough in India, few home-grown companies like Reliance Retail and D-Mart have demonstrated that retail is not only scalable but also profitable. "D-Mart is a profitable business operation with over Rs 5,000 crore turnover. Both are great examples of capabilities of Indian companies to run a profitable retail operations on their own," said Singhal.
While FDI in retail is being pushed for, every now and then, retail industry experts feel ground reality is completely different and that other retail companies are having a second thought on whether they need a foreign partner at all. The way Indian retail has shaped up in the last few years, has brought power and position in the hands of the home-grown companies who are now in a position to dictate terms with foreign retailers.
"Success of some of the companies have certainly brought that confidence in the retail companies who now want to take a call if they really want a foreign player on board and with terms and conditions that are favourable to them," said another retail industry expert.

Black Money: India Steps Up Pressure on Switzerland to Share Bank Information
Our Correspondent : 02 may 2014, Bhopal

New Delhi:India has strongly objected to Switzerland's denial of information about account details of certain Indians at HSBC's Swiss bank branches, in whose cases "incriminating evidence of tax evasion" have been found here.
In a strongly-worded letter to his Swiss counterpart, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has also warned that an effective exchange of tax-related information was "extremely important" for economic co-operation between the two countries and Switzerland must honour its "rights and duties" agreed to in their bilateral Direct Tax Avoidance Convention (DTAC).
This is Finance Minister's third letter to Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer Schlumpf within four months on this matter and he again reiterated that India would continue to take a position at the Global Forum about Switzerland lacking legal and regulatory framework for an effective exchange of information.
Mr Chidambaram also said that the interpretation made by Switzerland that it can not share information as per India's request was not in accordance with international standards.
Switzerland communicated its decision against sharing the information through a letter dated April 7 to Mr Chidambaram, pursuant to which India has now stepped up its pressure on the European nation, which has been long perceived as a major safe haven for alleged black money stashed by Indians and other foreign nationals due to its strong banking secrecy laws.
Under global pressure, Switzerland has agreed to ease its banking secrecy laws in recent years and it also signed a revised tax treaty with India in 2011 to facilitate greater flow of information about alleged black money.
However, it has refused to share information with India about the accounts mentioned in the so-called 'HSBC list' which India had received from France through a bilateral treaty.
However, it has been widely reported that France had received that list after data was stolen by a disgruntled HSBC employee in 2011 and those names eventually found their way to tax authorities across the world including India.

Rupee trading strong at 60.19
Our Correspondent : 02 may 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI : The rupee was trading strong at 60.19 against the dollar at 11.32 a.m. local time.The domestic unit opened strong at 60.20 per dollar against the previous close of 60.35 on the back of a strong opening in the domestic equity market.
According to dealers, dollar selling by exporters and banks and increased capital inflows helped the domestic currency to strengthen. However, gains in the dollar index overseas capped the rupee’s overall gains.
The overnight call money rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches) opened lower at 8.5 per cent against the previous close of 9 per cent.

The yield on 10-year benchmark 8.83 per cent bond, maturing in 2023, softened a tad to 8.81 per cent from the previous close of 8.82 per cent. The price rose to 100.08 per dollar against the previous close of 100. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

BSE, NSE, forex and money markets closed for Maharashtra Day
Our Correspondent : 01 may 2014, Bhopal

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the National Stock Exchange (NSE), forex and money markets will remain closed on Thursday on account of 'Maharashtra Day' holiday.

Sensex pared early gains to close down by 48 points on Wednesday due to profit booking in bluechips in a volatile trade, extending losses for the fourth day in a row.

The broad-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange lost 18.85 points, or 0.28 per cent to settle at 6,696.40. During the session, Nifty shuttled between 6,780.15 and 6,656.80.

Maruti Suzuki India April sales decline 11% to 86,196 units
Our Correspondent : 01 may 2014, Bhopal

Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest carmaker, on Thursday reported 11.4 per cent decline in total sales in April to 86,196 units, against 97,302 units in the same month last year.
The company said its domestic sales declined by 12.6 per cent during the month to 79,119 units as against 90,523 units in April 2013.
Sales of mini segment cars, including M 800, Alto, A-Star and Wagon R, declined 25.4 per cent to 26,043 units as against 34,927 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement.
The company said sales of the compact segment, comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz, rose 9.9 per cent to 23,659 units in April this year as against 21,535 units last year.
MSI said sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire declined 17.7 per cent during the month under review to 16,008 units as against 19,446 units in April 2013. Mid-sized sedan SX4 registered a decline of 87.4 per cent to 76 units as against 601 units in the same month last year.
There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month.
Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, declined 5.8 per cent to 5,011 units in April this year from 5,318 units in the corresponding month last year.
Sales of vans -- Omni and Eeco -- declined 4.3 per cent to 8,322 units in April this year from 8,696 units in the corresponding period.
Exports during the month rose 4.4 per cent to 7,077 units as compared to 6,779 units in April last year, MSI said.

Gold prices fall in futures trade on weak global cues, profit-booking
Our Correspondent : 29 April 2014, Bhopal

Amid a weak trend overseas and profit-booking by speculators, gold prices fell 0.45 per cent to Rs 28,840 per 10 grams in futures trade on Tuesday.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in June eased by Rs 130, or 0.45 per cent, to Rs 28,840 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 325 lots.
Likewise, the metal for delivery in far-month August shed Rs 73, or 0.26 per cent, to Rs 28,329 per 10 grams in 12 lots. Analysts said besides profit-booking by speculators, a weak trend in the overseas markets on speculation that the Federal Reserve will further reduce US monetary stimulus as it starts a two-day policy meeting today, put pressure on the gold prices at futures trade.
Globally, gold traded lower at USD 1,295.69 an ounce from USD 1,296.74 in Singapore on Tuesday.

Rupee hits one-week high on corporate dollar flows
Our Correspondent : 28 April 2014, Bhopal

Reuters Market Eye - The rupee rises to as high as 60.51, its highest since April 21, after a large infrastructure development company was spotted selling dollars.

The rupee was last trading at 60.58/59, compared with its close of 60.60/61 on Friday after earlier falling to as low as 60.7450.

The infrastructure developer was seen selling dollars for a second straight session, traders said.

Further gains in the pair seen limited ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meet beginning Tuesday.

Gold prices rise in futures trade on global cues
Our Correspondent : 28 April 2014, Bhopal

Gold prices rose 0.35 per cent to Rs 28,481 per 10 grams in futures trade as speculators created fresh positions after the precious metal climbed to over one-week high in the global markets.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in August was up by Rs 98, or 0.35 per cent, to Rs 28,481 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 13 lots.

The metal for delivery in June moved up by Rs 79, or 0.27 per cent, to Rs 28,984 per 10 grams in a turnover of 413 lots. Market analysts said recovery in the precious metal in the global market where it soared to more than one-week level as a worsening crisis in Ukraine fuelled haven demand, influenced gold prices at futures trade.

Meanwhile, gold rose by 0.30 per cent to $1,306.59 an ounce in Singapore, the highest since April 16.

Shares edge up to hit record highs for 2nd straight day
Our Correspondent : 22 April 2014, Bhopal

Indian shares edge higher to hit record highs for a second consecutive session.
The BSE Sensex gains as much as 0.28 percent to hit a high of 22,828.58, while the broader NSE Nifty advances as much as 0.2 percent to hit a record high of 6,831.75.

Capital goods shares continue to gain for the second straight day, with Larsen & Toubro gaining 1.4 percent and * Bharat Heavy Electricals adding 1.2 percent.

Overseas investors underpin sentiment, as they continue to buy Indian shares for the second straight session. Foreign investors bought shares worth of 2.13 billion rupees ($35.22 million) on Monday, provisional exchange data showed, adding to $67.58 million on Thursday.

Rupee trading weak at 60.64
Our Correspondent : 22 April 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI : The rupee was trading weak at 60.64 against the dollar at 11.22 a.m. local time.The rupee opened weak at 60.67 per dollar against the previous close of 60.60 on strong demand for the American currency from oil importers.
According to dealers, gains in the dollar index has been hurting all emerging market currencies which has also weighed on the domestic unit.

Call rates, G-Secs
The overnight call money rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches) opened sharply higher at 9.2 per cent against the previous close of 8.1 per cent.
The yield on 10-year benchmark 8.83 per cent bond, maturing in 2023, hardened a tad to 8.88 per cent from its previous close of 8.86 per cent. Prices fell to Rs 99.65 from Rs 99.78. Bond yields and prices move in opposite direction.

Rupee drops by 8 paise against dollar
Our Correspondent : 21 April 2014, Bhopal

The rupee dropped by 8 paise to 60.37 against the American currency on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers due to firmness of the US unit in the overseas market.
The rupee resumed slightly lower at 60.30 per dollar as against the last weekend’s level of 60.29 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 60.38 per dollar before quoting at 60.37 at 1000 hrs (IST).

It moved in a range of 60.30 and 60.38 per dollar during the morning deals.
Fresh demand for the US unit from banks and importers in view of higher dollar in the overseas market mainly affected the rupee value against the greenback, a forex dealer said.
In New York market, the dollar rose against the Japanese yen on last Thursday after a round of positive US data in a holiday-shortened week.

Reliance Jio enters tower lease pact with ATC India
Our Correspondent : 21 April 2014, Bhopal

Reliance Industries' telecommunications unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm, which holds nationwide 4G permits, has agreed to lease mobile phone masts from infrastructure provider American Tower Corporation's (ATC) local arm.
In a statement announcing the deal on Monday, Reliance Jio and ATC India did not give financial details of the agreement.
According to the statement, ATC India has 11,000 mobile phone towers in the country. Boston-headquartered ATC has 67,000 mobile phone towers across 13 countries, it added.
Reliance Jio's agreement with ATC India Tower Corporation comes after its tower-leasing pacts with local firms Reliance Communications, Bharti Infratel and Viom Networks. Reliance Jio also has an agreement with Bharti Infratel's parent Bharti Airtel to share network.
The company, controlled by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, bought 4G airwaves in a 2010 government sale, but is yet to launch services. It added some airwaves it can use to offer 4G services from an auction this year.

RIL first private company to post annual sales of Rs 400,000 cr
Our Correspondent : 19 April 2014, Bhopal

India's richest man makes a mind-boggling Rs 1,100 crore every day. The figures speak for themselves with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) reporting a whopping Rs 401,302 crore turnover for the financial year 2013-14 on Friday compared to Rs 371,119 crore in FY13.
RIL also posted its highest quarterly profit in more than two years as robust petrochemical margins and a surge in export earnings on a drop in rupee value offset weakness in the natural gas business. Net profit rose 0.8 per cent to Rs 5,631 crore, or Rs 17.4 per share, in the January-March period from Rs 5,589 crore, or Rs 17.3 a share, in the same period a year ago. For the full financial year, RIL reported a record net profit of Rs 21,984 crore, the highest by any private sector firm in the country. Net profit was 4.7 per cent higher than Rs 21,003 crore in 2012- 13.
Earnings from oil refining climbed 12.3 per cent while those from the petrochemical segment were up 10.6 per cent offsetting a 17.8-per cent dip in the oil and gas business, the company said in a statement. RIL, which operates the world's biggest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, earned $9.3 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in the quarter compared with a gross refining margin of $ 10.1 a barrel a year earlier and $7.60 a barrel in the preceding three months.
Earnings got a boost as the rupee declined to 61.8 against the dollar in Q4 from 54.2 a year earlier.
Sales rose 13 per cent to Rs 97,807 crore in Q4. Refining business delivered the highest ever profit with a sharp recovery in gross refining margins towards the end of the year. Petrochemical earnings grew sharply with margin expansion across polymers and downstream polyester products.
"While we continue to face technical challenges in growing domestic upstream production, the US shale gas business grew significantly during the year and has become a material contributor to our earnings," RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said. Shale gas business in the US continued to grow in 2013-14 with revenue jumping 45 per cent to $ 893.3 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rising 37 per cent to $ 659.4 million.

700 trainees accept quit Nokia Chennai
Our Correspondent : 19 April 2014, Bhopal

700 trainees accept quit Nokia Chennai.Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia, which is facing some trouble in finalizing its agreement with US software giant Microsoft due to some tax disputes in India over its plant Chennai, on Friday heaved a sigh of relief as 736 trainees of this plant accepted the voluntary separation scheme (VRS).
It is learned that the company has decided to extend the offer to its 6,600 permanent employees, as the employees[' union is getting ready to call a strike on Monday.
"We can confirm we have launched a VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) at our Chennai, India facility," the Nokia spokesperson said. However, the move has been opposed by employees union, which is planning to for a Japanese-style strike on Monday.
Some 5,200 employees will not accept the free lunch and snacks given by the company and will continue to work during the break to register their protest against VRS scheme.
"As of now, the protest is only for Monday. Our next course of action - including the decision to continue will be made after the management's response," Saravana Kumar, president of Nokia Employees Union, said.
"We have set no target for the VRS in terms of the number of employees," the Nokia spokesperson said.

Sebi issues detailed corporate governance norms
Our Correspondent : 18 April 2014, Bhopal

Sebi on Thursday came out with detailed corporate governance norms for listed companies providing for stricter disclosures and protection of investor rights, including equitable treatment for minority and foreign shareholders.
The new rules, which would be effective from October 1, require companies to get shareholders' approval for related party transactions, establish whistle blower mechanism, elaborate disclosures on pay packages and have at least a woman director on their boards.
Sebi's norms issued today are aligned with the new Companies Act and is aimed to encourage companies to "adopt best practices on corporate governance".
The capital market regulator has amended clauses -- 35B and 49 -- of the listing agreement. Now, under changed 35B norms, listed companies are required to provide the option of facility of e-voting to shareholders on all resolutions proposed to be passed at general meetings.
Under clause 49, pertaining to corporate governance, listed entities have to get shareholders' nod for related party transactions. It would be effective prospectively from October 1 onwards.
"All existing material related party contracts or arrangements as on the date of this circular which are likely to continue beyond March 31, 2015 shall be placed for approval of the shareholders in the first general meeting subsequent to October 1, 2014," Sebi said in the circular on Thursday.
Besides the market watchdog has come out with norms to ensure "equitable treatment of all shareholders including minority and foreign shareholders".
Apart from providing adequate and timely information to all shareholders, listed companies should also facilitate the exercise of voting rights by foreign shareholders.
"The company should devise an effective whistle blower mechanism enabling stakeholders, including individual employees and their representative bodies, to freely communicate their concerns about illegal or unethical practices," the circular said.
The new norms, which have been finalised after detailed consultations over draft regulations released in January 2013, excludes 'nominee directors' from the definition of independent directors.
Besides, there would be expanded role of audit committee and enhanced disclosure of remuneration policies. Separate meetings of independent directors, and constitution of 'stakeholders relationship committee' are also a part of the proposals.
The watchdog has decided that the maximum number of boards an independent director can serve on listed companies be restricted to 7, while the directorship would be capped at three if the person is serving as a whole time director in any listed company.
The board of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had approved the new set of norms during its meeting held in February.

Credit Suisse upgrades Titan to outperform, shares gain
Our Correspondent : 16 April 2014, Bhopal

Titan Company shares gained 1.4 per cent in morning trade after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "neutral".
The brokerage has also raised the stock's target to Rs 310 from Rs 250 on expectations that gold regulatory frameworks would be dismantled in 6-12 months.
Credit Suisse said the expectations are based on comfort in India's current account deficit and the rupee, and consensus among political parties for easing restrictions on gold imports.
The investment bank also expects a pick-up in demand for jewellery and a turnaround in the company's watches segment.
India had allowed five domestic private sector banks to import gold, in what industry officials say could be a significant step towards easing of tough curbs on the metal imposed last year.

Infosys slips as ADR declines
Our Correspondent : 16 April 2014, Bhopal

Infosys fell 2.69% to Rs 3,172.60 at 10:33 IST on BSE after the company's American depository receipt, or ADR, fell 4.68% to settle at $52.98 on New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, 15 April 2014.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 4.18 points, or 0.02%, to 22,489.11.
On BSE, so far 47,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 72,949 shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 3,257 and a low of Rs 3,162.05 so far during the day. The stock hit a record high of Rs 3,847.20 on 3 March 2014. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 2,190 on 29 April 2013.
The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 15 April 2014, falling 3.81% compared with the Sensex's 3.10% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 12.13% as against Sensex's 5.62% rise.
The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 287.12 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.
The decline in Infosys' ADR was triggered by the company announcing its Q4 March 2014 results before trading hours on Tuesday, 15 April 2014.
Infosys' consolidated net profit rose 4.1% to Rs 2992 crore on 1.2% decline in revenue to Rs 12875 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013. Infosys' non-operational income jumped 16.4% to Rs 851 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013. The results are as per International Financial Reporting Standards. Shares of Infosys rose 0.76% to Rs 3260.45 on BSE on Tuesday.
Infosys has forecast revenue growth of 7% to 9% in dollar terms for the year ending 31 March 2015 (FY 2015). The company has forecast revenue growth of 5.6% to 7.6% in rupee terms for FY 2015. The guidance in rupee terms is based on rupee dollar conversion rate of 60.
Infosys had liquid assets including cash and cash equivalents, available-for-sale financial assets, certificates of deposits and government bonds at Rs 30251 crore as on 31 March 2014, higher than Rs 27440 crore as on 31 December 2013.
Infosys said that the company's current policy is to pay dividends up to 30% of post-tax profits. The board has decided to increase the dividend pay-out ratio to up to 40% of post-tax profits with effect from FY 2014. The board of directors recommended a final dividend of Rs 43 per share for FY 2014.
Infosys and its subsidiaries added 50 clients in Q4 March 2014 and 238 clients in FY 2014.
There was gross addition of 10,997 employees during the quarter and 39,985 during the year by Infosys and its subsidiaries.
Infosys is a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions.

Infosys gives 6-7% wage hike to employees
Our Correspondent : 15 April 2014, Bhopal

Bangalore:Country's second largest software services firm Infosys has raised salaries of its employees in the country by 6-7 per cent and by 1-2 per cent for onsite workers, effective April 1.
"We have increased salaries. We have given salary hikes of 6-7 per cent for offshore and 1-2 per cent onsite employees, effective April 1," Infosys CFO, Rajiv Bansal said.
The increase in salaries and promotions that have been rolled out and the investment in new visas is likely to impact the first quarter margins by about 3 per cent, he added.
Infosys added 10,997 employees (gross) in the last quarter of FY'14 and 39,985 during the fiscal to take its total headcount to 1,60,405 people.
"This is the second time we are giving compensation mincrease over the last nine months. Nine months back, we had given a compensation increase of 6-8 per cent offshore," Infosys CEO and MD, S D Shibulal said.
The company has been showering its employees with incentives including promotions and salary hikes in a bid to boost morale and check rising attrition.
The Bangalore-based company, which has trailed peers TCS and Cognizant on growth, is also looking at weeding out non-performers to improve efficiency.
People following developments at the firm said focus is on retaining quality talent, while letting go non-performers, something founder and executive chairman NR Narayana Murthy has reiterated at various fora.
About 12,500 employees have been promoted since October.
Infosys, as part of performance improvement programme, allows 'poor performers' to undergo training to get into shape. These employees then undergo a review and those who fail are asked to leave.
Mr Murthy was brought back at the helm in June last year to try and pull Infosys back on the growth track following several quarters of dismal performance.
Within weeks of his return, Infosys increased salaries of its employees in India during 2013-14 by an average eight per cent.
In 2012, Infosys had delayed hikes and salary increases were given only in October when the company came under pressure due to increments offered by peers.
In January, Murthy had said the company is looking at returning to its practice of announcing salary increments effective April.
According to global HR firm Aon Hewitt, employees in the IT sector (Hi-Tech industry) can expect an average salary increase of 10.2 per cent during 2014.
Increments in the software products industry are estimated at 10.8 per cent and knowledge process outsourcing at 11.9 per cent.

Rupee trading weak at 60.27
Our Correspondent : 15 April 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI : The rupee was trading weak at 60.27 against the dollar at 11.52 a.m. local time.
The rupee opened weak by 12 paise at 60.29 per dollar against the previous close of 60.17 per dollar due to disappointing IIP numbers and a flat opening in the domestic equity market.
According to dealers, the dollar's gains against other currencies overseas and increased demand for the American unit from importers also weighed on the rupee.
The rupee had lost 10 paise to close at 60.17 against the US currency on Friday.
Industrial production data, which was released after market hours on Friday, had once again slipped into the negative territory and contracted 1.9 per cent in February due to poor performance of manufacturing sector, especially capital goods.
Forex and money markets remained closed yesterday for "Ambedkdar Jayanti".

Micromax eyes stake in S.Korean phone maker Pantech - sources
Our Correspondent : 14 April 2014, Bhopal

India's No.2 smartphone marker Micromax Informatics Ltd has expressed interest in buying a stake in South Korean peer Pantech Co Ltd as part of its drive to expand overseas and go upmarket, two sources said on Monday.
Pantech, South Korea's No.3 smartphone maker, has been under a debt-restructuring programme after suffering six consecutive quarters of losses due to fierce competition.
"Micromax told Pantech that it was interested in a stake in the company," one of the sources said, declining to elaborate on the size of a potential deal and other details.
Nine creditor banks own a combined 37 percent of Pantech, while Qualcomm Inc has a 12 percent stake and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd holds 10 percent.
"Micromax is among those who are interested in Pantech," another source said.
The two sources declined to be identified because of the confidentiality of the sales process.
High-end smartphone maker Pantech has struggled against competition from giant rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics Inc in South Korea, where nearly 70 percent of mobile users have smartphones.
Pantech also sells phones in such markets as the United States and Japan.
Micromax has brought smartphones to the masses in India's price-sensitive market where basic handsets still dominate, with heavy advertising and phones based on Google Inc's Android software starting at $50 - almost half the price of a comparable Samsung model.
Now the unlisted company backed by private equity firms TA Associates and Sequoia Capital is trying to push into pricier segments dominated by global brands and break into overseas markets.

Monorail to run from 6am to 8pm from April 15
Our Correspondent : 14 April 2014, Bhopal

MUMBAI: In its bid to cater to the peak-hour traffic in the morning as well as evening, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to extend the Monorail timings to 14 hours a day from 6am to 8pm from April 15.
"As per the extended schedule, Mumbai Monorail, covering a distance of 8.83kms between Wadala and Chembur, will run from 6am to 8pm at a frequency of 15 minutes. The first train will depart at 6am from Wadala and Chembur respectively", said Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director (PR), MMRDA.
Ever since the Monorail was opened for public use on February 2, the services are run between 7am and 3pm at a frequency of 15 minutes.
Kawathkar said "By extending the Monorail timings to 14 hours a day, we plan to handle peak hour commuters in the morning and evening".
On an average, presently 64 services are run, which will now increase to an average of 112 services daily.

'Return of IIP to negative zone extremely disappointing'
Our Correspondent : 12 April 2014, Bhopal

The manufacturing sector continued to underperform in February, crippled by weak consumption, shows data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the month was 1.9 per cent lower compared to February 2013. Manufacturing was down 3.7 per cent. Thirteen of the 22 industry groups clubbed under the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth. Communication equipment, electrical machinery and apparel industries led the decline.
Advanced estimates by the Central Statistics Office had earlier pegged India's overall GDP growth in 2013/2014 at 4.9 per cent, slightly above the 4.5 per cent it clocked in 2012/2013. Manufacturing output was seen slipping 0.2 per cent in 2013/2014 compared with the 1.1 per cent inch-up the previous year - that would pull down the overall economy. The year 2013/2014 is likely to be the worst for the manufacturing sector in more than a decade.
"The return of industrial production to the negative territory is extremely disappointing and is much below the expected industrial potential," Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, noted in a statement. "It is also disconcerting to note the negative growth of the manufacturing sector for the fifth consecutive month, indicating a downturn in the business cycle as weak consumption and investment demand are continuing to stymie growth impulses. What is of additional concern is that the negative IIP growth has happened despite the favourable base of last year. The only positive is the robust output of the electricity sector," he added.

US stocks: Wall Street ends down, with Nasdaq below 4,000
Our Correspondent : 12 April 2014, Bhopal

NEW YORK: US stocks fell in a volatile session on Friday, with the Nasdaq slipping below the 4,000 mark for the first time since early February.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 143.47 points or 0.89%, to end unofficially at 16,026.75. The S&P 500 lost 17.39 points or 0.95%, to finish unofficially at 1,815.69.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 54.372 points or 1.34%, to close unofficially at 3,999.734.

Vodafone takes full control of Indian unit
Our Correspondent : 11 April 2014, Bhopal

LONDON: Britain's Vodafone said on Friday it had taken full ownership of Vodafone India by buying the 11 per cent it did not already own from Piramal Enterprises Limited.
In March 2014, Vodafone increased its stake in the unit to 89 per cent by buying out Analjit Singh and Neelu Analjit Singh. It said the combined cost for both the deals in March and on Friday was 101.418 billion rupees, or 1 billion pounds.

Rupee trims early losses against dollar
Our Correspondent : 11 April 2014, Bhopal

The Indian rupee trimmed initial losses, but was still down by 15 paise against the dollar in late morning deals Friday amid persistent demand for the US currency from banks and importers.
The rupee resumed lower at 60.34 per dollar as against the last closing level of 60.07 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market. It gained on some dollar selling by banks and quoted 60.22 per dollar at 1015 hours.
It hovered in a range of 60.22-60.35 per dollar during the late morning deals.
In New York market, the dollar fell against the Japanese Yen late Thursday as improving US labour market data were outweighed by the Federal Reserve's March minutes that suggested the market has taken a too optimistic view of future interest-rate hikes. Meanwhile, the benchmark 30-share index Sensex was trading lower at 22,581.64 at 1020 hours, showing a fall of 133.69 points, or 0.59 per cent, from its last close.

Rupee drops further by 14 paise to 60.28 vs dollar in morning trade
Our Correspondent : 10 April 2014, Bhopal

The rupee continued to fall against the American currency for the third day in the morning trade on Thursday by slipping by another 14 paise to 60.28 on good dollar demand from banks and importers.
However, persistent foreign capital inflows into equity market restricted the rupee's fall against the dollar, a forex dealer said. The rupee resumed higher at 60.05 per dollar as against the last closing level of 60.14 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on initial selling of dollars by some banks.
However, it declined immediately to 60.30 per dollar on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers before quoting at 60.28 at 1000 hours.
It hovered in a range of 60.05-60.30 per dollar during the morning deals.
However, in New York market, the dollar fell further against the euro on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's March meeting detailed risks that could keep interest rates depressed even after the first rate hike.
Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex rose to an all-time high of 22,792.49 before quoting at 22,721.78 at 1000 hours, showing a rise of 19.44 points, or 0.09 per cent, from its last close.

BSE Sensex at fresh record high of 22,792; NSE Nifty holds 6,816 level
Our Correspondent : 10 April 2014, Bhopal

In a range-bound opening on Thursday, markets touched new lifetime highs after minutes from the US Fed eased concern about the timing of interest-rate increases.
The BSE benchmark, the Sensex touched lifetime high of 22,792.49 points, while the Nifty touched lifetime high of 6,816.45 points. The minutes from US Fed's latest policy meeting showed that policymakers want to be absolutely certain the U.S. economy had recovered before starting to raise interest rates.
The 30-share Sensex was trading 0.11% or 24.32 points higher at 22,726.66 points, while the Nifty was trading 0.04% or 2.70 points higher at 6,798.90 points at 11.15 am IST.
Experts remain bullish on the markets. "As expected, the markets rallied after 3 days of profit booking. We continue to maintain a positive view, as long as the Nifty holds key support at 6650. Nifty may touch 6900 in the near term. The near term support is at 6750," Standard Chartered Securities said in its morning note.
Among sectoral indices, the BSE Power (1.57%), BSE Realty (1.11%) and BSE Capital Goods (0.92%) were the major gainers. Among individual stocks, Tata Motors (2.55%), State Bank of India (2.17%) and Bhel (2.12%) were the major gainers on the 30-share Sensex.
Asian markets showed a mixed trend. The Hang Seng (0.40%), Kospi (0.18%), Shanghai Composite (0.27%), Taiwan Taiex (0.20%) were trading higher. Straits Times (-0.35%) and Jakarta Composite (-3.18%) were trading lower.
(PTI) The BSE Sensex climbed to a new record high of 22,769.20 in early trade today on sustained buying by funds and retail investors amid a firming trend in Asian markets.
The 30-share index, which had gained 358.89 points in the previous session, rose further by 66.86 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 22,769.20 points.
The wide-based NSE Nifty moved up by 14.40 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 6,810.60.
Brokers said continued buying by funds as well as retail investors, tracking a firming trend on the other Asian bourses, mainly buoyed the trading sentiment.
They said the rally was led by stocks of realty, auto, power, oil and gas, capital goods and health care sectors. Among Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 0.47 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei moved up by 0.69 per cent in early trade today.

BSE Sensex gains, led by blue-chips
Our Correspondent : 09 April 2014, Bhopal

Reuters Market Eye - The BSE Sensex is up 0.3 percent looking to snap a three-day losing streak, while the broader Nifty is 0.25 percent higher.
Gains are led by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (SUN.NS) after brokerages upgrade the stock after it agreed to acquire Ranbaxy Laboratories for $3.2 billion.
Sun Pharma surges 7.1 percent, adding to Monday's 2.9 percent rise. Ranbaxy is up 3.9 percent.
Investors also regain appetite for blue-chips, especially interest rate-sensitive banks, after indexes had retreated from the record highs last hit on April 3.
Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) gains 2.1 percent while ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) rises 0.8 percent.
Overseas investors bought shares worth 7.03 billion rupees on Monday, provisional exchange data shows, totalling nearly $4.5 billion so far in 2014.

Trouble brewing again in Air India over pilots' pay cut
Our Correspondent : 09 April 2014, Bhopal

Trouble is again brewing in Air India ahead of the upcoming busy holiday season, with a section of pilots resenting a proposed 15 per cent cut in their allowances, saying such a reduction would place their pay packets below what was prevailing in the market. The pilots feel such a cut would be substantial as about 60 per cent of their total pay package comprised various allowances, while airline officials say a 15 per cent slash in allowances was being effected for all sections of employees of the cash-strapped national carrier, including the pilots.
Airline officials downplayed the threat of a strike or an agitation by pilots over the issue, saying the final salary structure would be decided only after negotiations with the cockpit crew were over.
A few rounds of talks have already taken place between the two sides in the recent past.
The officials said there was no proposal to cut salaries which were being brought in tune with the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) guidelines for all employees, barring pilots, engineers and cabin crew. It was only the allowances where the reduction was being proposed, they said.
Most of the discontented pilots operate narrow-body aircraft like Airbus-320s on domestic and nearby foreign routes and belong to the erstwhile Indian Airlines. The total pay packet for a commander in this category ranges between Rs 4-5 lakh a month, while a co-pilot gets between Rs 2-3 lakh.
The largest reduction would be for executive commanders of wide-body aircraft, whose monthly pay packet could fall by close to Rs one lakh to around Rs 7.5 lakh. Senior wide-body pilots, who fly on international routes, get around Rs 6-7 lakh, while the co-pilots have a package of Rs 5-6 lakh.
While the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) has not accepted the new structure and said it would hold further discussions amongst its cadre, the airline management has asked the pilots to respond in 21 days.
Air India's total staff bill comes to around Rs 3,200 crore, of which one-third or around Rs 1,100 crore goes to pay the pilots alone, who number around 1,600 compared with the total staff strength of about 25,000.
The officials said the proposal to slash the allowances by 15 per cent across the board would help the airline to earn Rs 250 crore annually.
They said the airline, which was earlier the market leader in terms of pay and perks which matched global levels, was now in the process of adjusting them to the market levels prevalent in India due to the financial crunch.
Maintaining that some foreign carriers from the Gulf and Southeast Asia were currently on a head-hunting spree for pilots in India, they said the problem was that the work environment there did not suit many pilots of Air India who wished to switch over. However, sources among pilots said the best would leave as large pay packets were being offered by some of these foreign airlines to wean them away.
They also pointed out that new openings were in the offing with the opening up of new Indian carriers like AirAsia India and the Tata-Singapore Airlines venture.
The trouble for Air India comes just two years after it suffered a 58-day strike by wide-body pilots demanding better career progression.
The strike was called off after the court's intervention as the airline sacked 101 pilots and derecognised the Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) spearheading the agitation.
The trouble is staring at Air India at a time when the carrier is bracing for holiday season and is preparing to join the Star Alliance soon. The global airlines grouping a few days ago saw a three-day strike by pilots of a major partner, Lufthansa, that led to the cancellation of over 8,000 flights across the globe.

Samsung lower Q1 estimate highlights smartphone challenges
Our Correspondent : 08 April 2014, Bhopal

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday said it is on track to post its second straight quarter of profit decline, as margins in the key smartphone business come under growing pressure from cheaper Chinese rivals.
Samsung is counting on the fifth version of its flagship Galaxy S smartphone, which goes on sale globally from Friday, to right the ship and prove the firm's staying power as a high-end innovator.
But the Galaxy S5 has already got off to a weak start at home, with its South Korean debut marred by a temporary ban on mobile carriers selling handsets and criticism that it lacks eye-catching new features.
Underscoring the challenges, Samsung priced the S5 about 10 per cent cheaper than the S4 even though main rival Apple Inc is not widely expected to update its line-up until September. It also dialled back on marketing glitz to keep margins stable. Samsung estimated on Tuesday its January-March operating profit fell by 4.3 per cent to 8.4 trillion won ($7.96 billion), slightly below an average forecast of 8.5 trillion won by 40 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The figure was better than 8.35 trillion won forecast by StarMine's SmartEstimate, which gives greater weighting to more accurate analysts.
Samsung estimated its first-quarter sales at 53 trillion won, compared with a market forecast of 54.58 trillion won. Full quarterly results are likely to be announced by April 25.
The firm gave no breakdown of mobile earnings but the unit typically generates about 70 per cent of total profit.

Rs.10 bank notes with RBI Governor’s signature
Our Correspondent : 08 April 2014, Bhopal

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said that it would shortly issue Rs.10 denomination banknotes bearing the signature of Raghuram G. Rajan, Governor, RBI, and the year of printing ‘2014’ printed on the reverse of the banknote. “The design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the Rs.10 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 issued earlier,” RBI said in a release.

Sensex trades 110 points lower as investors book profits
Our Correspondent : 07 April 2014, Bhopal

Mumbai: The 30-share BSE Sensex on Monday was trading 110 points lower as investors opted to book profits after a sharp rally. At 11.41am, the Sensex was trading down 0.5%, or 112.24 points, to 22,247.26, while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) broader 50-share Nifty was trading down 0.48%, or 31.95 points, to 6,662.4 points.
The gainers included Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd that jumped 1.85% to Rs.582.50 after the company said it will acquire Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd in a $3.2 billion all-share deal. Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M) rose 1.05% to Rs.1,007.85. However, in intraday Ranbaxy Laboratories fell as much as 5.03%. Since 27 March, Ranbaxy shares have gained 32.53%. Among the losers, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) fell 2.94% to Rs.178.55 while Cipla Ltd fell 2.39% to Rs.394.45.
All BSE sectoral indices were trading in red. The consumer durables index was the top loser on BSE, down 1.87% followed by BSE realty and metal indices—down 1.8% and 0.92%, respectively.
Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) was trading at Rs.73.4 on BSE, up 5.69% from its previous close. Since 26 March till date HDIL has gained 46.38%. According to NSE on 27 March, Kotak Securities Ltd acquired 2.13 lakh shares for Rs.10.97 crore and on 4 April, Nomura Singapore Ltd acquired 44.11 lakh shares or 1.05% stake in the company for Rs.29.75 crore via block deals. Godrej Properties Ltd was trading at Rs.227.9 on BSE, up 0.68% from its previous close, after the company said that it will develop a residential township in Bangalore.
Since the beginning of this year, BSE Sensex has gained 5.03%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $4.42 billion from local equity markets.
India’s 15th Lok Sabha election started on Monday with the first day of voting in six parliamentary constituencies in the northeastern states of Assam and Tripura. The general election will be held in nine phases on April 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 24, 30, May 7 and 12. The results will be announced on 16 May.
Asian markets were trading lower. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was down 1.64%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.65% while China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.74%.
The US payroll rose 192,000 last month compared to a median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists of a 200,000 gain. The slightly lower-than-estimated payroll report is providing comfort to market participants. Many believe that a slow jobs market recovery will lead to “modest” US Federal Reserve policy action on the economic stimulus. Over the weekend, US markets closed lower. The S&P 500 fell 1.25%, Nasdaq Composite was down 2.6%, while Dow Jones Industrial ended 0.96% lower.

Online Session on Manufacturing Intelligence
Our Correspondent : 07 April 2014, Bhopal

CII has been organizing various online session series in the past. CII Southern Region took the initiative in organizing the Online Session Series on Automation this year. We are organizing 3 series in Manufacturing Intelligence (Session 1.1 on Accelerating Manufacturing Productivity and Performance through Manufacturing Intelligence has already been concluded) and the themes for other two sessions are Power of Real Time Information for Manufacturing & Achieving Operational Excellence through Manufacturing Intelligence System

Objective
To educate customers on how to bring greater visibility to your company, driving better manufacturing decisions. Educate customers on How to leverage the power of Manufacturing Intelligence with a suite of reporting and analysis tools, interfaces and dashboards designed to deliver contextual, localized, role-based information for better decision making.

Key Takeaways
Learn how Manufacturing Intelligence can provide you with the tools to support decision making based on information from all around your Enterprise and connected operations.
Turn real-time manufacturing information into valuable business knowledge. Use this knowledge to make informed decisions that can help you unite your automation and business information systems.
Improve financial performance of production operations.
Improve the visibility and control of your production environment.
Increase work team productivity and quality of improvement projects.
Increase work team productivity and quality of improvement projects.

Speaker Profile
Mr Imtiaz Javeed is currently a Product Manager for Visualization & Information Software at Rockwell Automation India (P) Ltd. He has 15 years of experience in the areas of Product Marketing & Sales, Business Development, and Functional Consultant for Visualization, Information Software and MES. He has worked at GE, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen and Toubro, Infotech Ltd.
He is Responsible for Rockwell's Visualization and Information software for India. He has worked with customers in the manufacturing space, who are embarking on a Manufacturing Excellence journey, consulting them on technology, and helping envision a roadmap and then helping implement. He is also responsible for the expansion of Partner Network in the software space and their competency development.

Delegate Fees & Registration
Member : Rs. 1685 per log-in
Non-Member : Rs. 2247 per log-in
Click here to do online registration
We recommend that for one location please avail one log-in and can be viewed together.

Payment Terms
The payment can be done through the above link or a cheque/DD can be drawn in favour of “Confederation of Indian Industry” payable at Chennai and to be sent to the coordinator. Please note that remittance of delegate fee prior to the session is essential for receiving the login details.
The advantage of online session is that the participating organizations may nominate a large number of participants to the online session from their place of operation and benefit out of the deliberation.

Note
CII will not be responsible for any disturbance in the broadcast due to IT/Network disruptions at the participants end Cancellation of participation should be intimated to CII at least 48 hrs prior to the scheduled session The fee is non-refundable if the participation is cancelled within 48 hrs of the class The expertise is susceptible to change based on the availability of the faculty. The delegates who have paid the fee and could view the session on the day, can view the video a day after the session which will be uploaded in MyCII. Kindly note only paid delegates can view the video. CII shall share the Session link and confirm your participation through email

System Requirements & Terms & Conditions
The Technical Specifications required at the participants end are as follows
Internet Connectivity with speed up to 2 MBPS
PC / Laptop with 1 GB HDD, 512 MB RAM Windows XP or above
Mac®-based attendees: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer
Mobile attendees: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet
Speakers or Headset

Contact
Vedha Murali
Deputy Director
Confederation of Indian Industry
Southern Region Headquarters
Prof CK Prahalad Centre
98/1 Velachery Main Road, Guindy, Chennai 600032
Tel: 044-42444555 Fax : 044-42444510
Email: vedha.murali@cii.in
Mob: 9884377349

Indian companies significant in creating job opportunities in UK: Report
Our Correspondent : 05 April 2014, Bhopal

In a joint report, Grant Thornton and the Confederation of Indian Industry identified that about 700 Indian-owned companies in UK collectively employ more than one lakh persons.
The report basically monitors UK registered businesses with ultimate Indian parent companies and identifies the fastest growing corporates by turnover and employment size.
Off the 700 companies, 41 organisations were reportedly identified as registering year-on-year growth rates of more than 10 percent, with more than 26 corporates demonstrating particularly strong growth in excess of 20 percent.
According to sources, the report suggests that these 'Top 41' generated combined revenues of around 19 billion pounds.

PVT OPERATORS SAY DGCA MAKING THEM SCAPEGOAT; DECRY INTERVENTION
Our Correspondent : 05 April 2014, Bhopal

At a time when political campaigning for Lok Sabha polls is in its peak, private charter operators have strongly decried DGCA’s frequent surprise checks and penalization and called it unwarranted and a malafide attempt by the latter to coverup its inefficiencies which led to the FAA downgrade in January earlier this year.
Business Aircraft Operator’s Association (BAOA), an umbrella body of non-scheduled operators (NSOPs), has written to the DGCA as well as the Civil Aviation ministry to stop making the private charter operators or non-scheduled operators (NSOPs) a scapegoat and have sought a policy framework for private charter fliers.
BAOA has objected to DGCA’s surprise checks saying its public observations “misrepresent the proven safety consciousness prevailing among NSOPs and private aircraft operators”. Private air operators have also urged the Government to evolve a policy framework for non-scheduled air operations, saying lack of it was impeding the growth of general aviation.
BAOA has also objected to DGCA’s surprise checks saying its public observations “misrepresent the proven safety consciousness prevailing among NSOPs and private aircraft operators”.
In a letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry, BAOA Secretary Group Capt R K Bali also pointed out that DGCA’s downgrade by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was “due to shortage of qualified staff” to carry out operational and airworthiness inspections of aircraft. “It is not fair to make Indian NSOP operators a scapegoat to showcase DGCA’s authority by subjective reporting of the observations during these (recent) inspections,” Bali said.
The letter came days after the DGCA grounded a business jet of the Ambani Group and found faults with those owned by several others corporate houses and private charter firms. The private operators fly 552 aircraft, many of which are now being used by political leaders for poll campaign.
In another letter to the DGCA, Bali said, “It is disheartening to find that undue and misplaced publicity is being given to these surprise checks by subjective reporting of these (DGCA) observations.”
Bali said the general aviation industry was “suffering due to complete lack of infrastructure, high taxes and specific policy framework” and added that International Civil Aviation Organisation had asked India in 2012 to prepare a roadmap for general aviation till 2036.
“It is not understood why no follow-up action has been taken on this even after two years, while general aviation continues to suffer due to complete neglect of its infrastructural requirements,” he said.
BAOA President Rohit Kapoor has said that the NSOPs have been cooperating with DGCA which had reviewed their safety management system last year.
But these aviation companies were “aggrieved when, without any prior notice, all foreign flights of Indian NSOPs were banned by DGCA in August last year to suddenly implement a new process of certification,” Kapoor said.
Reacting to the development, DGCA sources said the private charter and business aircraft operators would be called for a meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the issues raised by them.

Cairn Energy plans to contest tax Dept’s move to slap more notices
Our Correspondent : 04 April 2014, Bhopal

New Delhi : Facing a potential tax demand on alleged capital gains of Rs 24,500 crore it made 7 years back, Cairn Energy plc has been slapped with two more notices which the Scottish explorer plans to counter vehemently.
Cairn faces a potential tax demand on an alleged Rs 24,500 crore of capital gains it made when in 2006-07 it transfered all its India assets to a new company, Cairn India. It said none of the transactions undertaken by it during that fiscal were chargeable to tax in India.
Its wholly owned subsidiary, Cairn UK Holdings Ltd (CUHL) “filed a nil return for the year in question on the grounds that none of the transactions undertaken by it during that fiscal year is chargeable to tax in India,” the company said.
In addition, Cairn has received two further notices from the Indian Income Tax Department.
“The first, dated March 29, 2014, is a request made to Cairn Energy plc to file a tax return for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2007. Cairn intends to file a nil return for this notice. “The second, dated March 31, 2014, claims that CUHL should have withheld tax on dividends paid to its parent company, Cairn Energy plc,” it said.
Stating that no tax demand has been raised, Cairn said it “intends to respond to the notice refuting this claim”.
“Throughout its history of operating in India Cairn has been compliant with the tax legislation in force in each year. Cairn has stated that it intends to take whatever steps are necessary to protect the company’s interests,” the statement said.
The I-T Department has restrained Cairn from selling its residual 10.3 per cent stake, worth over USD 1 billion, in Cairn India till the tax dispute is resolved.
Cairn Energy had in 2011 sold majority stake in its Indian unit, Cairn India to mining group Vedanta for USD 8.67 billion. It still holds 10.3 per cent stake in Cairn India. The I-T Department had in a January 22 order held that the Edinburgh-based firm made capital gains of Rs 24,503.50 crore when it transferred its entire India business from subsidiaries incorporated in places like Jersey, a tax haven, to the newly incorporated Cairn India in 2006.
It, according to the department, received Rs 26,681.87 crore for the asset transfer against its entire investment of Rs 2,178.36 crore in the India business.

Sensex down 90 points; Power, oil & gas stocks trip
Our Correspondent : 04 April 2014, Bhopal

Mumbai: Extending yesterday's fall, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading down by over 0.4 per cent led by the poor performance of power, oil & gas, auto and capital goods sector stocks amid a weak trend in the Asian market.
Increased profit-booking by funds and retail investors at prevailing record levels and a weak trend in the Asian markets, following overnight losses in the US market as investors awaited a key jobs report dampened the trading sentiment.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 89.98 points or 0.4 per cent at 22,419.09 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 24.45 points or 0.36 per cent at 6,711.65
Among BSE sectoral indices, power index was down 0.75 per cent, oil & gas 0.74 per cent, auto 0.69 per cent and capital goods 0.62 per cent. On the other hand, realty and consumer durables remained investors' favourite and were up 1.77 per cent and 0.75 per cent, respectively.
Cipla, Wipro, Tata Steel, Axis Bank and SBI were the top five Sensex gainers, while the top five losers were BHEL, GAIL, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto and ONGC.
Asian stocks swung between gains and losses amid low trading volume, leaving the regional gauge on course for a second week of gains, as investors await US non-farm payrolls data today.
Nikkei 225 was down 8 points or 0.05 per cent at 15,064, Hang Seng fell 70.09 points or 0.31 per cent to 22,494.99, ASX 200 was up 12.94 points or 0.24 per cent at 5,422.83 and Shanghai was up 14.59 points or 0.71 per cent at 2,058.30.
The US non-farm payrolls data is expected to show the US economy added 195,000 jobs in March, up from 175,000 in February, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.6 per cent from 6.7 per cent.
US data was mixed, with the services sector showing growth, but employment components showed weakness. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.
The Wall Street had ended lower on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 0.45 of a point to close at 16,572.55, after hitting an intra-day record of 16,604.15.
The S&P 500 fell 2.13 points or 0.11 per cent to finish at 1,888.77. It also hit an intra-day record high of 1,893.80. The Nasdaq Composite declined 38.71 points or 0.91 per cent to end at 4,237.74.

RIL $ 50 million to help Canada
Our Correspondent : 03 April 2014, Bhopal

Reason RIL and trade relations between Canadian companies are getting stronger since 2004 At the time of the initial financial benefactor for RIL emerged as the EDC Canada To consolidate this relationship and to RIL EDC has provided financial help
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the company said Wednesday export credit agency Export Development Canada (EDC) from $ 50 million has been granted financial assistance. EDC helped by the company said in a statement that the Asian market is one of the biggest financial help.
Joint CFO Srikanth Venkatachari about RIL said in a statement that we do business in Canada for hydrocarbons materials, equipment and service suppliers have to deal with. These are all contracts during the last 4-5 years. We are also about to turn our telecom business are with them.
Venkatachari says that this will help the company in the coming years will help boost cooperation with Canadian companies. The business relationship between RIL and Canadian companies are strong since 2004. RIL is the first time in Canada that the EDC had emerged as financial donors. Corresponding relationship and to strengthen EDC provided financial support to RIL is the latest. Rajesh Sharma, Senior VP and Global Group Head of EDC RIL has expertise in many areas, which match the expertise of Canadian industries. There is both a natural alliance. RIL since 2010 with companies doing business in Canada is about 50. Nearly 33 percent of these companies are small and medium sized. Canadian and Indian companies in 2013 through financial help of EDC has a turnover of 180 million Canadian dollars.

Complete set of black money assessment study
Our Correspondent : 03 April 2014, Bhopal

Waiting for the full report
The study, which was assigned to the Union Finance Ministry, one of the three institutions, the institution gave her report RTI Ministry of Finance said in a question, she said that the report of the two entities that have succeeded Copy of the report to the Ministry denied that, saying it would be a breach of privilege of Parliament
How much black money deposited in banks in India and abroad, the Ministry of Finance for its much-assessment study has been completed. In this study were started about three years ago, the Finance Ministry had hired three entities, one of which also gave his report.
The finance ministry said in a question of RTI, but by delivering a copy of the report, saying he denied that it "would be a breach of privilege of Parliament.
"The Ministry of Finance within 18 months to complete this study with the goal of Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance (NIPFP), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Faridabad, Haryana National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), the This was put to work. Ministry of Finance, has secured an Institute report and is waiting for the report of two other institutions.
"The Finance Ministry said that at this time and can not be described as the Information RTI Act 2005 Section 8 (1) (c) and Section 8 (1) (e) has been exempted from giving the information. The ministry said, "This report is yet to be examined by the Government and subsequently be introduced in Parliament."
The sections which such information can not be disclosed to breach of privilege of Parliament or of a position of trust to be about the person, unless the competent authority to disclose such information that may be Sntushtn In the wider public interest. The study was ordered in March 2011 when there was a fierce debate in the country about the fact that how much is the size of black money. Different - different estimates, the size of the black economy $ 500 billion, 1400 ranged from is said to be-billion-dollar 's.

Statement of Mr Chandrajit Banerjee on First Bimonthly Monetary Policy
Our Correspondent : 02 April 2014, Bhopal

Commenting on the first bimonthly monetary policy statement released today, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII notes that the RBI, in a quest towards maintaining a fine balance between growth and inflation, has announced a status quo in policy rates which is as per market expectations.
However, at a time when growth impulses remain weak and WPI inflation has been on the declining trajectory for the last nine months, the RBI should have taken this opportunity to announce a cut in policy rates which would stimulate demand and kick start the investment cycle. This is especially the case as deposit growth has outpaced growth in credit indicating that high cost of credit is dissuading industry from building additional capacity. What is more, going forward, the pressure on imported inflation would also diminish due to slowing of Chinese economy and softening of global commodity prices. All this should have encouraged the RBI to effect a cut in policy rates. In such a scenario, an impetus to growth should have been a priority.

Sensex hits fresh intra-day high of 22,592.10 in morning trade
Our Correspondent : 02 April 2014, Bhopal

The benchmark BSE Sensex touched a fresh intra-day high of 22,592.10 in morning trade on Wednesday on persistent buying in auto, consumer durable and IT stocks amid sustained foreign capital inflows and firm global cues.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying spree and bought shares worth a net Rs 385.66 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The Sensex opened higher at 22,550.58 and firmed up further to an all—time high of 22,592.10 before quoting at 22,530.15 at 0950 hrs, showing a gain of 83.71 points, or 0.37 per cent, from its last close.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also gained 22.55 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 6,743.60 at 0950 hrs, after registering an all-time high of 6,757.60.
Major gainers were Bharti Airtel (1.71 per cent), ICICI Bank (1.65 per cent), Tata Motors (1.29 per cent), Hero Motocorp (1.09 per cent), Dr Reddy’s Lab (0.94 per cent), Infosys (0.89 per cent) and Tata Power (0.77 per cent).
Asian stocks rose in their early trade today after an increase in US manufacturing boosted optimism about growth in the world’s biggest economy.
Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan were up between 0.02-1.48 per cent.
US stocks rose on Tuesday as consumer and technology shares pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to an all-time high, after an increase in a manufacturing index boosted optimism the economy withstood severe winter weather.

RBI will cut rate if environment provides window: Rajan
Our Correspondent : 02 April 2014, Bhopal

BI governor Raghuram Rajan said that the central bank will cut interest rate if economic environment provides the window to do so. In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh, Rajan said that the central bank has set the rate appropriately in yesterday's monetary policy. In its first bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI kept the repo rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged at 8 percent and 4 percent respectively.
Rajan, who has been watching inflation closely since he took over in September last year, aims to bring CPI inflation to 8 percent levels by January 2015 and believes that the set interest rates will aid in achieving this target. Meanwhile, he is not concerned about the overvaluation of the rupee yet, but added that it important to worry about the volatility seen in the Indian currency.
Inflow of foreign funds has helped the rupee to strengthen significantly in the last few trading sessions. It hit a fresh eight-month high against the US dollar on Wednesday. However, strong rupee is not a reason for exports coming off, he added. Rajan expects sluggishness in exports to continue in the near-term. He believes that Indian economy will get a boost if government presents a good Budget post poll.

Won an election, will be silver channels
Our Correspondent : 1 April 2014, Bhopal

Chance Lok Sabha election campaign, the two major political parties, the media will benefit from the race

GEC importance
In the 2009 general election campaign mainly news channels had shown
GEC political parties, movie channels and sports channels seem attractive medium
This is going to be the GEC and sports channels resort to

Most of the revenue from the two major parties, the BJP and the Congress will
Starting from the first week of April general elections in India, where the political parties for the first phase of the campaign has intensified, the other side of it, considerable advantages in TV channels, are evident now. Channels that political parties in the general election additional revenue of over Rs 150 crore ad will receive.
The marketing department of a leading channel executives believe that most of Rs 150 crore revenue from the two major parties, the BJP and the Congress will come. However, smaller parties focus on regional channels, but there must be something to this revenue. The ponderous eye on revenues of TV broadcasters have been frozen because the additional revenue would come suddenly. Is just the kind of publicity, and it is expected to rise, which would increase in advertising revenue to television broadcasters. However, these channels do not have any idea how much money it might be, yet the booking is made for these parties advertising on the basis of more than Rs 150 crore, the figure is expected to be.
This time it is seen that in the 2009 general elections, political parties' election campaign was primarily run on news channels, the ad in the polls at regional level to the channels and general entertainment Hindi (GEC) and channels also cricketing The resort is being taken.
The parties want to reach more people. Political parties try to reach a maximum in his message. The GEC them, through the movie channels and sports tournaments seem attractive. GEC most GRP (gross rating points) are met. Then comes the number of movie channels.
GEC had already advertising on political parties, but in the general election than they are insisting on the GEC. Do not reach the bottom of news channels provide as GEC and cricket. The two main political parties in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup this time is spent considerable.
It seems that the news channels lose the greater part of the time. It is believed that the Congress and the BJP on this year's elections isolated from 400 crore to Rs 500 crore advertising can afford. Congress has given to Dentsu Media Campaign Command Madison BJP is doing this work.

RBI MONETARY POLICY: EMI has not
Our Correspondent : 1 April 2014, Bhopal

Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its key policy rates unchanged on Tuesday has announced. RBI issued once in two months, under the rates unchanged. Before the central bank's repo rate and reverse repo rate at eight per cent to seven per cent is retained.
RBI in 2014-15 to 5.5 per cent economic growth rate is projected. Interestingly, citing inflation, RBI monetary policy review on January 28, 2014 in the key policy rates had been 25 basis point increase.

Sensex, Nifty pare gains after scaling record highs
Our Correspondent : 31 Mardh 2014, Bhopal

Mumbai: After hitting record highs for the sixth straight session on Monday, the Sensex and Nifty were trading marginally higher at mid-day, ahead of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy announcement on Tuesday.
At 12.17pm, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading higher by 0.03%, or 6.83 points, at 22,346.8. It touched a record high of 22,467.21 in early morning trade.
The Nifty was trading up 0.06%, or 4.15 points, at 6,700.05 points. Earlier, in the morning trade, it hit a lifetime high of 6,730.05.
Investors say RBI is likely to keep interest rate unchanged in its annual monetary policy on 1 April as the retail inflation is yet to show definite signs of moderation.
Monday’s gainers included Hindalco Industries Ltd that jumped 2.49% to Rs.133.60 and Tata Steel Ltd that rose 2.35% to Rs.389.85. Among the losers, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd shares lost 1.99% to Rs.2,565, while Tata Power Co. Ltd fell 1.79% to Rs.84.85. The BSE consumer durables index was the top sectoral gainer, up 3.17%. Metal, auto and realty indices were up 2.59%, 1.5% and 1.44%, respectively. The IT and Teck indices were top losers on BSE, down 0.85% and 0.4%, respectively.
Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) was trading at Rs.500.05 on BSE, up 2.98%, from its previous close after the company said it would consider preferential allotments of shares on 3 April. MCX promoter Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) was trading at Rs.380.50 on BSE, up 1.47%.
Suzlon Energy Ltd was trading at Rs.11.06 on BSE, up 11.83%, after a newspaper reported that the company is planning to raise Rs.10,000 crore via share sale in Senvion unit.
GMR Infrastructure Ltd was trading at Rs.21.9 on BSE, up 1.15% from its previous close, after it reported that it had filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for initial public offering (IPO) of its unit GMR Energy Ltd.
Gammon India Ltd was trading at Rs.15.5 on BSE, up 15.59% from its previous close after the company reported that it will consider issue convertible securities on preferential basis to its promoter and various options of restructuring on 3 April.
From the beginning of this year, the Sensex has gained 5.6%, with foreign institutional investors buying $3.61 billion from local equity markets.
US markets ended higher on Friday after a report showed consumer spending rose 0.3% from a month earlier in February. All eyes are on the US employment report for March due this week which is expected to show an improvement. The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1% and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%.
In the Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.9%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng marginally down 0.07% and China’s Shanghai Composite down 0.84%.

In battling Maruti Suzuki, fund managers find voice
Our Correspondent : 31 Mardh 2014, Bhopal

In forcing automaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MRTI.NS) to backtrack on a controversial production deal with its Japanese parent, a group of Indian fund managers scored a rare win that heralds increased activism for an Indian fund industry long seen as timid.
Across emerging markets, shareholder activism tends to be rare, with unhappy investors typically expressing discontent by dumping their shares. In the case of Maruti, that would have meant ditching a company that sells half the passenger cars in India and is a staple of institutional portfolios.
"This particular episode has brought many of the fund managers and institutions together," said Chandresh Nigam, chief executive of Axis Asset Management, one of the seven fund firms that succeeded this month in their challenge to the deal between Maruti and Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T).
Previous attempts by investors to take on controlling shareholders in India, known as promoters, have run out of steam. Last year, Swiss cement maker Holcim Ltd's (HOLN.VX) plan to consolidate holdings in two Indian cement makers stirred up investors, but proceeded after a divided opposition was unable to muster enough votes.
The revolt against Maruti was different because seven fund managers running a combined $80 billion, or more than half the assets under management in India, joined forces in an unprecedented show of cooperation.
"Normally, just a single institution acting will not work anyway. The next stage should be if we can formalize or semi-formalize a platform," Nigam said.
In India, regulators have long tried to force fund managers to be more vocal. Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman U.K. Sinha has criticised money managers for not complying with a 2010 requirement that funds vote at annual meetings.
Last year, India replaced a five-decade old companies law in a bid to curb the power of promoters. New rules restrict the number of board seats held by promoters and give oversight of audit and remuneration to independent directors.
"Shareholder activism has been gaining popularity in India and Maruti just cements that," said Simone Reis, co-head of M&A at law firm Nishith Desai Associates. "Just because a promoter is a bigwig doesn't mean the investors won't voice their concerns," she said.
A bigger test, however, would be taking on one of the family-run firms that predominate in corporate India including big names like Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS) and Adani Enterprises Ltd (ADEL.NS), fund managers say.
Family-run firms in India often have few senior professional managers, making it harder for public shareholders, which are seen as outsiders, to effect changes.
The failure of local fund managers to stand up more for their investors has had a damaging impact on the investment culture in India, where retail investors have been heavy sellers of stocks since markets crashed in 2008.
Even India's rally to record highs this month has failed to sway individual investors, with gains driven primarily by foreign institutions.
Some industry insiders, who declined to be identified, said fund managers are reluctant to challenge corporate decisions in part because companies are themselves huge fund investors, accounting for nearly half of assets under management.
Maruti Suzuki, for example, has over 70 billion rupees invested in funds, according to its annual statement, equivalent to more than 1 percent of the combined assets in money market and debt funds in India.
Fund houses dismissed the notion of a conflict.
"These are two independent things. Some investor investing in liquid or treasury products is independent of our duty which is to take care of the retail investor," said Sundeep Shikka, president and CEO of Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd, which was among the group to take on Maruti.

SHRIRAM IS NEW CII PRESIDENT
SUMIT MAZUMDER IS CII PRESIDENT DESIGNATE
NAUSHAD FORBES IS ELECTED CII VICE PRESIDENT

Our Correspondent : 29 Mardh 2014, Bhopal

Mr. Ajay S. Shriram, Chairman and Sr. Managing Director of DCM Shriram Limited and Chairman of its subsidiary company, Shriram Bioseed Ventures Ltd. has been elected as the President of CII for the year 2014-15. He succeeds Mr S Gopalakrishnan as the new President.
DCM Shriram and the group has a turnover of approx. Rs.5700 Crores. The business portfolio of the Group comprises of Agri Businesses, Chloro Vinyl Businesses and Value added Businesses.
Mr. Shriram obtained a Bachelors degree in Commerce from Sydenham College, Bombay. He attended various training & management development programs in India & overseas and participated in the “Programme for Management Development” (PMD) at the Harvard Business School, Boston, USA.
Mr. Shriram is actively involved in various industry associations and educational bodies. He is the Chairman of the Governing Body of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and a Trustee of SOS Children Villages of India.

Mr Sumit Mazumder, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of TIL Ltd., is President Designate of CII for the year 2014-15.
TIL is the manufacturer of India’s largest range of material handling equipment in technical collaboration with world leaders – Manitowoc Crane Group, USA; Hyster (a part of NACCO Materials Handling Group, USA); Astec Industries, USA; Paceco Corp, USA (a part of Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding, Japan) and Mitsui Miike Machinery Co, Japan (a part of Mitsui Group).
Mr Mazumder is also the Executive Chairman of TIPL (Tractors India Pvt. Ltd.). The Company is a distributor for Caterpillar, USA, in India, Nepal and Bhutan for earthmoving, construction, mining equipment and power systems.
A graduate of St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, Mr Mazumder obtained a Master’s in Business Administration from Sam Houston State University, Texas, USA. He also undertook the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA.
He has been a Member of the various Committees and Councils of the CII National Council.
Mr. Mazumder has served as a Trustee of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) and is a Director on the Board of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC).

Dr Naushad Forbes, Director, Forbes Marshall, has been elected as the Vice President of CII for the year 2014-15.
Dr Forbes is the Director of Forbes Marshall, India's leading Steam Engineering and Control Instrumentation firm. He chairs the Steam Engineering Companies within the group.
He has been a Lecturer and Consulting Professor at Stanford University in the Program in Science, Technology and Society from 1987 to 2004. He developed courses in Technology and Policy as well the Management of Technology in Firms in Newly Industrialized Countries. He has written widely on innovation in developing countries and higher education in India, including a book, ‘From Followers to Leaders’, co-authored with David Wield. He has received his Bachelors, Masters and PhD Degrees from Stanford University.
Dr Forbes is on the Advisory Council of IIT Bombay; Board of Directors of Godrej Industries, Kirloskar Oil Engines and Jump Associates, California; Governing Council of National Institute of Design and India Design Council; Trustee of Ruby Hall Clinic.
He has held several positions in the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He has been the Chairman of CII National Committee on Higher Education, Past Chairman of the National Innovation Council 2012-13 & 2011-12. He is the Past Chairman of the CII Western Region (2009-10); Past Chairman of the CII Maharashtra State Council and CII Pune Zonal Council.

Infosys overhauls executive council team

Our Correspondent : 29 Mardh 2014, Bhopal

Infosys announced the formation of its new Executive Council (EC) team replacing the one that existed so far. The new EC will take charge at the start of new financial year.
Infosys founder, NR Narayana Murthy, made this announcement in Bengaluru on March 28. The new team is slated to take charge on April 1 - the start of financial year 2014-15. The company notified the US SEC about the change saying, "As reported previously by the company, the executive council will be dissolved effective April 1, 2014. Pursuant to this, effective April 1, 2014, the company will have nine executive officers."
The members of the newly formed council will have the Infy founder NR Narayana Murthy (Executive Chairman of the board), co-founder S Gopalakrishnan as Executive Vice-Chairman, and co-founder SD Shibulal as CEO and Managing Director.
Rest of the council will comprise Srinath Batni, Pravin Rao, BG Srinivas, Rajiv Bansal as Chief Financial Officer, Parvatheesam K as Chief Risk Officer and Company Secretary, and Srikantan Moorthy the Senior Vice-President, Group Head -HRD.
In an earlier rejig, Infosys went for some restricting in October 2013 when the company added more members to the executive council. After the changes, there were 30 members in the council. This new changes has reduced the council strength to less than a third.
Among the members of new council, Shibulal and Gopalakrishnan will reach the age of 60 in a year and may have to retire. Srinath Batni is likely to retire soon in this November, making a room for some more new members.
The company has plans to get a new CEO by the end of next financial year. For now, Infy EC has two members designated as President - BG Srinivas and Pravin Rao. This could very well be a race for the top slot.
To avoid any conflict of interest, Srinivas heads BFSI and European and other global markets. Pravin Rao heads global delivery and innovation in service for segments such as consumer goods, logistics and life sciences, and retail.
It must be noted that return of Murthy to Infosys executive chairman triggered many resignations ever since. The most recent resignation was that of Chandrashekar Kakal who was the Senior Vice-President and an EC member.
Murthy is man on mission to bring Infy back to its golden days with improvements in cost efficiency, sales boost, and better

CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Awards 2014

Our Correspondent : 28 Mardh 2014, Bhopal


The CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Awards were presented at the CII Annual Session
26 March 2014

Three Women Exemplars, working at the grass root level, who have contributed significantly in the fields of Education, Health and Micro-Enterprise were presented with the Award by Mr Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
In the category of Micro-Enterprise, the CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Award 2014 was conferred to Ms Devti Baiga for her transformational leadership in enabling better livelihoods, independence and financial security for women, particularly among the Baiga tribal community in the core area of Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh.
Devti's work encompasses supporting tribal communities’ access alternative livelihoods in the peripheral villages of the Bandhavgarh National Park. She operates through Self Help Groups (SHG) where the entrepreneurial activities are encouraged. Her project motivates beneficiaries to adopt System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method in a variety of cultivation including cash crop and more broadly the organic way of cultivation. The project has helped the community in sourcing financial assistance for agri inputs as well as gaining access to the existing public welfare schemes. For a woman who was struggling to make ends meet for her family, her efforts have transformed lives of 700 households in six villages.
This Award has been institutionalized to promote women’s empowerment at the community level by discovering and recognizing those who have, against all odds, excelled and contributed significantly to positively impact the community. So far 30 Women have been felicitated with this Award. This year the Award was brought under the aegis of the CII Foundation and is called “CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Awards”. Bajaj Group is the presenting Partner and HSBC is the contributing partner of the Award. The CII Foundation was set up by CII in 2011 to undertake a wide range of developmental and charitable activities and initiatives pan India by enabling Industry for infusing inclusive development.
CII Foundation works towards inclusive development by providing a meaningful bridge between marginalised communities and donors, specially corporates by providing strategic guidance on CSR and developing and managing high impact programmes.
In the category of Education, the Award was conferred to Ms Kalpana Gagdekar for her outstanding accomplishment in regaining dignity and hope for her community of 'denotified and nomadic tribes' and for inspiring completely neglected sections of the society to strive, succeed and restore their rights. She chose theatre as her weapon to depict cases of injustice thus changing the hearts of her audiences through every performance.
In the category of Health, the CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Award 2014 was conferred to Ms Lata Mane for her catalytic efforts in bringing hope, inspiration, confidence and dignity to Female Sex Workers by fighting social stigma and creating awareness on HIV-AIDS prevention in the slum areas of Ghatkopar, Mumbai city.

Ambit puts Infy in the dock over governance

Our Correspondent : 28 Mardh 2014, Bhopal


A new report has raised serious questions on the corporate governance standards at Infosys, saying board independence at India's second-largest information technology (IT) services firm might be the weakest among Tier-I entities.
The report, published by brokerage firm Ambit Capital Research, also says the promoters hold disproportionately high board representation with respect to their total shareholding in the Bangalore-based company.
"While N R Narayana Murthy, S D Shibulal and S Gopalakrishnan together hold around 10 per cent in the company, they represent 23 per cent of the voting rights on the board. With the highest promoter representation and the lowest proportion of independent directors, Infosys' board independence appears to be the weakest among Tier-I firms," Ankur Rudra and Nitin Jain said in the report.
The report, titled 'The underbelly of Indian IT - the ugly, the bad and not so good' hasn't spared a few other IT companies, either. While it categorised the accounting and corporate governance standards at Geodesic, Educomp Solutions and Financial Technologies (FT) as 'ugly', these at Rolta India and MCX have been categorised as 'bad'. Tech Mahindra/Satyam, Infosys and KPIT Technologies have been classified as 'not so good'.
"While some of these companies (such as FT, Educomp and Geodesic) are already understood by the market for what they are, others (such as Rolta, MCX, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and KPIT) are yet to be discounted appropriately by investors," it said.
When contacted, Infosys said it did not want to comment on the report. While FT also declined comment, Tech Mahindra said the company had not seen the report and so was unable to respond. A senior Educomp official said: "We completely reject the opinion put out in this report, that too on an accounting practice the company discontinued a little more than two years ago. We will go through this report and take necessary action against what seems to be an ill-researched and motivated piece to mislead investors."
A spokesperson for Rolta India said Ambit's was not the correct assessment. "We have revalued all assets and, in fact, adopted a more conservative policy," he said. Emails sent to other companies had not elicited any response till the time of going to press.
While talking about Infosys, the report says the company has been regarded as a paradigm of corporate governance in India ever since its initial public offering in 1993. "While this image has earned Infosys goodwill from investors, clients and employees, there are signs these high corporate governance standards are fraying. Murthy's entry into Infosys in an executive capacity (even after the firm's well-articulated policy of executives retiring at the age of 60), bringing with him his son as an executive assistant, higher promoter representation at the board and peculiar guidance pattern resulting in high volatility in share price - none of this gels with Infosys' image of a leader in corporate governance," it adds.

Court orders Sahara to pay 100 billion rupees to release chairman Roy on bail

Our Correspondent : 27 Mardh 2014, Bhopal


The Supreme Court has agreed to release the head of the Sahara conglomerate from custody, but only after the group deposits 100 billion rupees in cash and bank guarantees.
Sahara Chairman Subrata Roy was arrested on February 28 and has been held in a Delhi jail since March 4 after failing to appear at a contempt hearing in a long-running legal battle between the group and the securities regulator over the refund of billions of dollars to investors in outlawed bonds.
In its ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered unlisted Sahara to deposit 50 billion rupees in cash with the securities regulator as well as provide bank guarantees for another 50 billion rupees.
Sahara officials did not immediately comment on the court's ruling.
Sahara's lawyers asked the court to give the group access to some of its bank accounts that have been seized by authorities and expect a decision at a hearing on Thursday, Keshav Mohan, one of the lawyers representing Sahara, told Reuters. He declined to comment further.
The core business of Sahara, which owns New York's Plaza Hotel and London's Grosvenor House and is the former main sponsor of India's national cricket team, includes selling financial products, largely to small investors in towns and rural areas.
Two such products were ruled to be illegal and the Supreme Court ordered Sahara in 2012 to repay billions of dollars it had raised in the schemes.
While Sahara says it has repaid most investors and its total liability was less than the 51.2 billion rupees it has deposited with the securities regulator, the regulator and the court disputed that.
The court had asked Sahara to come up with a concrete and acceptable proposal to repay the money, while ordering its chief to be held in jail. Roy has not been charged with any crime.
It had previously rejected Sahara's proposal to give bank guarantees of 225 billion rupees within three to six months, as well as a subsequent proposal to pay a total of 174 billion rupees in six installments through July 2015.

Chidambaram 'amused' at suggestion of next government driving market


Our Correspondent : Wednesday, 25 March 2014
Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu:
Finance Minister P Chidambaram today rejected media analysis that the "hope" of a stable government after elections is bringing in investments as well as driving up the capital market and the value of rupee.
"I am amused to read in some sections of the media that it is the 'hope' of a stable government that is bringing in investments and driving up the capital market and the value of the rupee. It is not 'hope', but the 'fact' of a stable government provided by the UPA and the numerous measures taken in the last 18 months that have provided stability and strength to the Indian economy," he said.
Mr Chidambaram, who is on a campaign here in support of his son Karti for the Lok Sabha elections, said, "If there is any hope that is driving the market, I believe it is the hope that the new government will follow the ten-point agenda that I had spelt out in my Interim Budget speech on 17.2.2014".
A number of brokerage firms and analysts have attributed the spike in the capital market and the appreciation the rupee against the dollar to "hope" of a stable government post elections.
"I can assure the people and the investors that a Congress-led government will faithfully implement the ten-point agenda," Mr Chidambaram said.

CII Madhya Pradesh State Annual Day
Conference: Leading Change: Getting Ready for the Future

Our Correspondent : Wednesday, 13 March 2014


Mr Ranjan Mimani, gave the opening remarks and mentioned various achievements over the year like laying of the foundation stone of TCS.
Mr Chetan Tamboli, Deputy Chairman CII Western region addresses the athering and shared his views on the them topic “Leading change-Getting ready for the future”. Mr R Mukundan chairman CII Western Region also addressed on the theme. He said that everyone should strive for perfection and not excellence as excellence can be achieved when we aim at perfection. Give the example of Mahabharata and said that leader should have qualities of all 5 Pandavas i.e. morality, strength, focus, skill and eloquence.
Dr Ajit Ranade, Chief economist, Adtya Birla Group was one of the chief guests. He spoke about 4 areas where leadership is necessary to get ready for the future. The areas are energy, capital, skills and water. Shri P K Dash, Additional Chief Secretary, Commerce, Industry and Employment, Govt of Madhya Pradesh was the guest of honour. He shared his views on several achievements that Madhya Pradesh can claim like better water availability, power surplus, warehousing strengths etc. He implored everyone to think beyond their own industry and to work towards inclusive growth.
His addressed was followed by a panel discussion including panellist like Mr Govindraj Ethiraj, Founder India Spend; Professor Rishikesh T Krishnan, Director IIM Indore and Mr K P Fabian, former Indian Ambassador to Italy. Dr Ajit Ranade and Mr R Mukundan were also part of the panel discussion. The panel discussed various challenges faced by the new age leadership and explored solutions.
The public session was followed by business session where Mr Ranjan Mimani presented a review of activities done by CII throughout the year. Mr Mukundan and Mr Tamboli appreciated CII’s work in the state. Mr Mukundan announced the names of new office bearers for the year 2014-15. Mr C E Fernandes, CMD, GEI Industries is the new Chairman and Mr Girish Mangla, MD, Magla Enterprises is the Vice Chairman of Madhya Pradesh State Council for the coming year.

Brief Profile:

Mr. C E Fernandes with an idea to develop on his own - Indian substitutes for imported parts and to provide Innovative Engineering Systems and Solutions, established a partnership firm in the year 1970 by the name and style of ‘General Engineering Industries’. This Firm developed products based on heat transfer technology, to provide Indian substitutes for imported parts like finned tubes etc. Thereafter in 1975, it established an engineering set up for developing cooling systems for motors, generators, transformers and turbines one after another and became a leading supplier of equipment to Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
In the decade of nineties, GEI entered the field of Air Cooled Heat Exchangers, which are used in Natural Gas Processing and Crude Oil Refineries. In its continuing path of progress, GEI developed Air Cooled Vacuum Steam Condensors in 2002, which help Thermal Power Stations to reduce their Water Consumption. Also in 2002, GEI developed LNG Vaporisation System --- A First in the world.
Mr. Girish Mangla is a first generation entrepreneur having done his Bachelors in Industrial Engineering from SGSITS, Indore. Possessing 25 years of experience in running the small scale industry for manufacturing of pumps at Dewas, he also holds the post of Chairman, CII Malwa Zonal Council and also Chairman, Institute Management Committee of ITI Dewas. His company has received the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneurship Award’ by the hands of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh in 2004.

CII Launches Indian Women Network On Occasion of International Women’s Day

Our Correspondent : 10 Mardh 2014, Bhopal


CII launched a special initiative for women in the corporate and business arena across the states. Coined as Indian Women Network (IWN), the initiative aspires to bring together women throughout their careers to empower them; engage with them and further to enable them to rise to the best of their capabilities through training, mentoring and the creation of an associative model that all professional women can benefit from!
The theme for the Network 'I Am The Change' is entwined on three pillars of Engage - to support women throughout their careers by providing opportunities to hone leadership skills through coaching, mentoring and training activities etc. Empower - to support women by providing guidance regarding health, financial, second career opportunities, security aspects etc. Enable - to provide opportunities for women professionals/ students to grow personally and professionally through entrepreneurship opportunities, active involvement in community services, etc.
During the launch, CII IWN signed MoUs with few partners to cater to different areas of engagements with Healthspring as Wellness partner, Enactus India as Empowerment Partner and DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund Winvestor as Financial Advisory Partner. A lot of involvements/ activities will be initiated for the members of IWN (in association with partners).
Speaking at the Launch in Mumbai, Mr R Mukundan, Chairman, CII Western Region and Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Ltd highlighted the importance of sensitization, stating that it is important to sensitize men at the work place to create a welcome environment for women to join the work force.
Delivering the Special Address at the IWN Launch Ms Zia Mody, Managing Partner, AZB & Partners emphasized on the need for women to be passionate enough with need to achieve their dreams, by being sure about their role in the society.
The idea of CII IWN is to work in direction on how we can leverage on organizations and thought leaders to benefit women in our country, said Ms Mini Menon, Chairperson, CII Western Region,Indian Women Network.

CII Hosts Roundtable on `Role, Opportunities and Challenges of Women in Indian Pharmaceutical and Food Industries’ with U.S. FDA Commissioner Hamburg

Our Correspondent : 19 Feb 2014, Hotel Surendra Vilas, MP Nagar, Bhopal


A special roundtable session `Role, Opportunities and Challenges of Women in Indian Pharmaceutical and Food Industries’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) took place in Mumbai. Visiting U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D.,
participated in the event. During the discussion, participants expressed the need to make the Indian pharmaceutical industry attractive for women. They also noted that
encouraging women entrepreneurs was very necessary to increase the participation of women in the sector. As of now, women constitute only 8-15% of the workforce employed in the Indian pharmaceutical industry.
The forum called for enhanced co-operation in areas of regulatory capacity building, training & education, guidance on meaningful collaboration among regulatory organisations and similarly among academic institutions.
CII is committed to driving the capacity building initiative for India’s food and pharmaceutical industry through two of its institutions. The CII Institute of Quality, which is based in Bangalore trains companies on quality assurance. The CII Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence works on capacity building in various aspects of food and agriculture sector. CII is closely working with the Government in driving globally harmonious food regulations. It is also represented on the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for doing this work.
Regards,
Mohan CII

Curtain Raiser: INDIA @ 75 unveils the National Volunteering Week: 12th to 18th Jan 2014
Our Correspondent : 07 January 2014, Hotel Surendra Vilas, MP Nagar, Bhopal

Bhopal : Young Indians (Yi) is an integral part of the Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII), India’s premier business association, formed in the year 2002, with an objective of creating a platform for young Indians to realize the dream of a developed nation. Yi has over 1600 direct members in 28 city chapters. The Yi membership includes young progressive Indians between the age group of 25 & 40 years. The members include entrepreneurs, professionals and progressive achievers from different walks of life. ‘To become the voice of young Indians globally’ being the vision of Yi, it provides a platform for young Indians to participate in and contribute by becoming an integral part of the Indian growth story. On the lines of its dream of a developed nation Yi is working on a social movement-India@75.

The movement of the people, for the people and by the people – India@75 announces for the first time in India “The National Volunteering Week” starting 12th January to 18th January 2014. The pan India initiative calls on every Indian to contribute in terms of their time and skill – towards making a difference in the lives of the millions of fellow citizens and unleash a contribution revolution driven by ethos of selfless service.

A base of 200 million college graduates, a workforce of 500 million certified and skilled technicians, home to at least 30 of the Fortune 100 firms, India accounts for 10 per cent of Global Trade and becomes a source of Global innovations, 500 World-class cities, at least 10 Indian Nobel Prize Winners, the most benchmarked country for its capacity to accept and benefit from its diversity where Universality and Inclusiveness is widely practiced… The wider goals of India@75 for the year 2022 are ambitious, but not unattainable! Volunteerism is the strongest way to drive the nation’s youth, a whopping 55% majority of its population, to achieve these goals seamlessly by sharing what they have – talent, skill, and time.

The National Volunteering Week will celebrate the spirit of volunteering through a series of events and activities throughout the week, with each day dedicated to each pillar of progress as defined under the India@75 people’s movement. These activities will reach out to 50 million plus people and engage thousands of volunteers in supporting NGOs, community groups, and undertaking self led activities to help others in need. People from all walks of life - professionals, doctors, street vendors, farmers, entrepreneurs, students, teachers, government officials, and civil society professionals will join hands to collaboratively combat social challenges by contributing their time.
An IT platform has been specifically launched with the help from volunteers from Infosys to create widespread volunteering action. www.countmein.indiaat75.in is an easy and effective way to seek volunteers and to search for volunteering opportunities. A help desk number +919560932223 has also been set up where people can give a missed call and the India@75 volunteering desk will call back to answer queries, doubts or register support and participation.
Torchbearers of the India@75 National Volunteering Week include some of the most influential personalities from every walk of life and from every region.

About India@75

India@75 is a path breaking initiative that envisions how India should be in her 75th year of independence. It seeks to bring together all stakeholders including the industry, government, institutions, community groups and individuals to translate the vision into a reality. It was on 23rd September 2007, while commemorating the 60th year of India Independence at New York, that Prof. C K Prahalad first articulated the idea of holistic, three-dimensional development of India to acquire economic strength, technological vitality and moral leadership by 75 years of independence. Within a year on 8th May 2008 CII adopted his vision and launched India@75.

Be a part of the movement. Volunteer!

You can register as a volunteer and join the movement by simply logging onto India@75’s multiple access points. All of us can truly make a great difference by simply joining and volunteering in our own small way. All you need to do is just reach out and enlist yourselves prior to the volunteering week and be a part of the change you envisage.
For further details on the various volunteering opportunities, schedules and other inputs that you may seek, please visit the India@75 National Volunteering Week official site www.countmein.indiaat75.in. or India@75 Facebook page www.facebook.com/Indiaat75

Conference on Corporate Restructuring
Our Correspondent : January 1, 2014

The tax and regulatory environment in India has been seeing some major changes like the introduction of the new Companies Act, 2013, the sweeping changes in the tax legislation in the recent past or the enhanced rigorous approach of the revenue authorities. Every transaction today has to be planned meticulously considering the tax and regulatory nuances.

Towards this, the Confederation of Indian Industry- Southern Region is organising a Conference on Corporate Restructuring – Discussions on Tax and Regulatory Compliances and Procedures, on 14 February 2014 at Hotel Hilton, Chennai. This conference aims to take a deep dive into the important tax, regulatory and accounting aspects of mergers, acquisitions and business restructurings. The session details is appended for your information.

Session	Session Brief
Session 1: Changing Tax and regulatory paradigms and their impact on business reorganizations	As global markets open up, delivery channels multiply and organisations seek to expand their horizons organically or through mergers, acquisitions and alliances, a wealth of opportunities – and a fair share of threats – are emerging in the tax and regulatory landscape. The Indian tax and regulatory environment is in an unprecedented state of flux characterized both by a spate of new legislations and a continuous re-interpretation of the existing laws. In this backdrop, understanding the rules of the game plays an important role in the execution of a successful M&A. The session aims to address the impact of changing tax and regulatory paradigms that we are witnessing in the Indian scenario and its impact on wide range of business reorganizations.
Session 2: Innovative business reorganizations – A deep dive	The need for a business restructuring could arise because of many factors. Sometimes it is the need to streamline taxes, at times it is consolidation of businesses and many a times it is required to expand businesses, bring in more capital. In an economy which is dynamic, at times traditional methods of business re-organisations may not achieve the objective. As a result, we have been seeing some innovative business reorganisations in the recent past resulting from a blend of traditional methods with new concepts. This session would seek to look at some recent cases of business reorganization and aims at decoding the various commercial, tax and regulatory considerations and evaluates how the same have been achieved in the implemented transaction structure.
Session 3: Succession planning – The next big thing	The growth in the Indian economy has created individuals and families with significant wealth. Planning for succession is assuming enormous importance especially in light of the often talked about inheritance taxes. Traditionally in India, Trusts, Partnerships, Hindu Undivided Families have been used as tools for planning succession. It is imperative that any planning should consider the tax and regulatory impact of the planning to ensure that succession is smooth and without significant tax costs and regulatory hassles. The session aims to address the critical aspects of succession planning including what it entails to have a sound succession planning strategy in place and the structures generally used.
Session 4: M&A – Accounting Consideration under Indian GAAP and IFRS	The accounting treatment for M&A transactions are important to understand given the increased regulatory scrutiny of the treatment that is proposed to be adopted for a M&A transaction. The new Companies Act, 2013 has also introduced new rigors which could curb innovative accounting practices. This session aims to discuss the accounting considerations in the current environment.
Session 5: M&A success stories – An insider’s take	Study after study put the failure rate of mergers and acquisitions somewhere between 70% and 90%. What is the cause for this abysmal statistics? What does it take to achieve a successful M & A? What are the key factors that contribute to the success? In this session, we have lined up powerful panel of promoters and investors who will seek to share their personal stories of what it takes to manage a successful M&A.

Registration Details: Kindly use the below link to register

http://www.cii.in/OnlineRegistration.aspx?Event_ID=E000018225

Fee Details: (Including Taxes) CII Member : Rs 2500/- | Non Member: Rs 3500/-

Note: Delegates registering on or before 14 January 2013 can avail an early bird discount of 10 percent on the total fee.
The payment can be done, using Debit/Credit card, through online by using the registration link or by way of cheque/DD drawn in favor of “Confederation of Indian Industry” payable at Chennai and can be sent to Ms Merin Devassia, Deputy Director, Confederation of Indian Industry, Southern Regional Headquarters, Prof C K Prahalad Centre, 98/1, Velacherry Main Road, Chennai – 600032.

I am writing to cordially invite you to participate and consider nominating senior colleagues from your organization.
Looking forward to your kind participation
With Warm Regards,

S Chandramohan
Chairman, CII SR Subcommittee on Economic Affairs &
President and Group CFO, TAFE Ltd

Statement of Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII
Our Correspondent : 18 December 2013

The decision of the RBI to hold rates at this point of time has been noted by CII. While being fully cognizant of the imperatives of anchoring inflationary expectations, CII is of the view that in the coming months, owing to a good agricultural performance, the prices of food items would moderate. With the rupee having stabilized, the fuel prices would also not see any sudden increase. To some extent that obviates the need for further monetary tightening. Therefore, the RBI has demonstrated restraint and foresight to strike the right balance between inflation and growth.

CII commends the RBI Governor for this decision, which has been counter to market expectations.
CII has maintained that the current spike in inflation is a supply side phenomenon and therefore, a tight monetary policy would hurt growth while proving unequal to the task of tackling inflation. Nevertheless, inflation is a problem which cannot be ignored and therefore, CII once again urges that the government implement measures like taking perishables out of the APMC Act, strengthen agricultural supply chains, take concrete actions aimed at increasing productivity, etc.

HR / IR Summit – 2013:“HR in current economic scenario”
Saturday, 14th December, 2013, Radisson Blu Hotel, Indore

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the growth of industry in India, partnering industry and government alike through advisory and consultative processes. In its continuous endeavor to promote the best practices available in the industry fraternity, CII Madhya Pradesh is organizing “HR/IR Summit 2013: HR in current economic scenario” at Indore on 14th December 2013.

Welcoming the guest of Honour Mr Siddiqui, Chief Operating Officer (COO) HR & Admn., Maruti Suzuki India Limited and other extinguished guests, speakers and delegates; Mr Ranjan Mimani, Chairman, CII MP State Council narrated that there has been longstanding debate on the definition, intellectual boundaries and relative merits of Human Resources Management (HRM) and Industrial Relations (IR). A few decades ago, Human Resources (HR) was considered a subset of the larger IR paradigm. In recent times, however, HR has largely severed its ties with IR, resulting in being treated as separate, often competing and sometimes complementary agendas.

Guest of Honour of the event Mr. Siddiqui, shared his views on how globalization has changed the traditional way of business to the competitive and global level economy. He further said today one has to be updated and focused on market demand to compete and sustain in global market. Mr Siddiqui said: Maruti Suzuki India has always tried to meet the customer/ market expectations and hence always promoted new and unique ideas, e.g., E-recruitment, Maruti Driving Schools especially for women customers. The company always trusted in policy of sharing leadership and promoted youth in the system to meet the global expectations.

Mr. Kartik Taneja, Head Channel Sales and Premier SMB Partnerships, Google India emphasized on the need of digitalization. As he says in the upcoming days world would be more digitalized hence we should also update ourselves with the need. He said, Google India always gives priority to the content it provides than to money it earns. There should always be employer’s engagement visible to gain the faith and trust of employees. It not only strengthens the retention of employees but also helps in getting better output and creating healthy work environment, said Mr. Vijay Nair, VP- HR, Mahindra & Mahindra.
The Summit comprised of panel discussions which brought together eminent practitioners and thought leadership, translating knowledge into practice with unparalleled networking opportunities along with presentations by Eminent CEO's, HR Directors, Researchers, Academicians and Scholars. Senior HR Officials from Industries like V E Commercial Vehicles Ltd, Case New Holland, Idea Cellular, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, Neo Corp International Ltd, IIM Indore, ITC Ltd and Power train India took part in the panel discussion and deliberation in the summit.

GMMCO Ltd. launches its technical training programme at CIISTC, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh
Our Correspondent : 13 December 2013

Recently GMMCO Ltd. launched its training programme for Repair & Maintenance of CAT’s Road Construction Machines. Mr Robinson Devaprasad, Executive VP – HR and Mr K V Deshkar, Senior GM GMMCO Ltd. addressed the trainees.

Mr Devaprasad informed trainees about nuances of the training programme. He oriented trainees about possible job opportunities existing after successful completion of this programme.
CII Skills Training Centre, Chhindwara is a unique effort by CII for skilling youth and making them employable. The centre, in collaboration with Indian and multinational companies is imparting short term vocational training in courses such as masonry, bar-bending, plumbing, micro irrigation, automobile repair & maintenance, backhoe loader operations, LHP genset repair & maintenance, civil construction site supervisor and tractor repair & maintenance. Soon, a course on Indian Cooking and Confectionary & Baking will also start at the centre.

GMMCO Ltd. is one of the dealers of American machine manufacturer Caterpillar. GMMCO Ltd. is one of the companies of C K Birla Group. GMMCO Ltd. employs around 2000 people. It is renowned nationwide for its technical training programme in the field of construction and mining.
GMMCO Ltd. is imparting training to youth from, in and around Chhindwara district. The trainees will be able to develop their career in repair & maintenance of construction machines.

Re-Elected Government in Madhya Pradesh is expected to Provide Impetus to Infrastructure development, Education, Health & Inclusive Economic Growth – CII
Our Correspondent : 8 December 2013

Commenting on the Madhya Pradesh elections, Mr Ranjan Mimani, Chairman - CII Madhya Pradesh, congratulated the re-election of Madhya Pradesh Government led by Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He said that CII has had the opportunity to work closely with the Madhya Pradesh Government in the past and would look forward to a strong partnership between Industry and the State.

CII will enhance its engagement with the re-elected Government to promote sustained inclusive growth & development, transforming the state into an economically vibrant, technologically innovative and socially inclusive state.

In the past, CII has embarked upon the agenda of industrial, agricultural and economic growth including the social development of the State. CII focused on key sectors which include manufacturing excellence, advancement of sunrise sectors such as Solar Energy and Logistics. In its continuing effort to promote social inclusiveness and development CII’s emphasis is on enhancing skills & employability, access to quality health care for all and women’s empowerment.

CII would also work closely with the Government in promoting investments, improved infrastructure for industrial growth and competitiveness. CII would like to work with the Government for the development of physical infrastructure with “Plug and Play” environment, strong transportation and logistics, Social infrastructure including skill and talent, health and financial inclusion. High priority could be on Agricultural Growth and Food Security for inclusive and sustainable growth of the state.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the fast emerging destinations for investments in a number of sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare, renewable energy. The state has a strong presence regionally in engineering and auto sectors. CII will continue to work with the elected government, under the dynamic leadership of Mr Chouhan to make Madhya Pradesh truly a manufacturing hub and a most preferred destination for investors.

The three growth mantras of SEBI are transparency, accountability and minority principle: Mr U K Sinha, Chairman, SEBI
Our Correspondent : 16 November 2013

Need to implement regulations both in letter and spirit: Mr U K Sinha, Chairman, SEBI

Addressing the National Council of CII, the SEBI Chairman, Mr UK Sinha said, “The three growth mantras of SEBI are transparency, accountability and minority principle. If these are not compromised, the market can deliver as expected”. Mr Sinha revealed the state of regulatory architecture from the parameters of state of affairs in other economies, the role and functioning of the other regulators in the country and the implications of the two. He stated, “Globally the investors are in a state of unrest and this is intensifying while the use of technology is adding to the intensification. Any small violation is being made an issue and this actually helps establish ‘shareholder democracy’”. Informing the audience that there are 11000 companies violating the Clause 35 of the Companies Act pertaining to shareholder pattern and 900 companies violating Clause 39 pertaining to corporate governance, he asserted that there is a need to implement regulations both in letter and spirit.

The SEBI Chairman further stated that currently, on the global canvas, certain foreign regulations have impact on banks in India and industry needs to analyse and react to these in the appropriate manner.
Alluding to the process of bringing in new regulations, the SEBI Chairman said that “There has to be continuous evolution of regulators. On any regulation, there should be consultation – content wise as well as rules and regulation wise it should be open to serious review and criticism”.

Mr Sinha spoke on the state of primary market in India. He viewed that in last couple of years there have been significant improvement in the corporate bond market. He informed that one of the changes that have been introduced is that the class of investors has been liberalized; for example, the EPFO was initially not allowed to invest in the corporate bond markets but is now allowed to do so. He also observed that the companies are sitting with cash but not investing in the market. He further urged the industry members to give serious efforts to see to it that retirement savings get diverted to the market. This could help counter balance, foreign investments, he said.
Interacting with Mr U K Sinha, Mr Adi Godrej, Immediate Past President, CII highlighted the need to create an environment that promotes “ease of raising capital” along with “ease of doing business” in India. He also pointed to the stringency of the delisting regulations. Mr Uday Kotak, Chairman, CII Financial Sector Development Council pointed to the tendency of Indian investors to invest in gold and real estate that blocks a significant chunk of funds that could have otherwise flowed into equity. He also highlighted the dominance of foreign institutional investors in the Indian market.

Madhya Pradesh – SHE Conference-2013
Safety, Health & Environment - Indian Scenario- Global perspective
Our Correspondent : 25 October 2013

The safety and protection of people, equipment and the environment is a serious concern in the industries. Many industries are progressively adopting safety management system to prevent hazardous events, avoid production and manpower losses and other fallouts. Indian industries generally do not accord high priority to safety like the developed countries, barring few industries. Many industries view safety as an inconvenience, a cost rather than a benefit.
Confederation of Indian Industry has organised MP Conference on Safety, Health & Environment on 25th October, 2013 in Indore. CII has taken the initiative of addressing the SHE issues and strategies faced by the Indian Industries in MP. The theme of the conference was “Safety, Health & Environment- Indian Scenario – Global Perspective”. It’s an exclusive platform that brought forth the successful experiences of the industry champions from different sectors of economy and explores the road ahead to become World class organizations.

Mr. Ranjan Mimani, Chairman, CII Madhya Pradesh State Council welcomed all the speakers, delegates and special guests to the conference. Mr. Mimani further said “The safety and protection of people, equipment and the environment is a serious concern in all the industries. Many industries have recognized the advantages of Safe Work Environment and are progressively adopting Safety Management System to prevent hazardous events, avoid production & manpower losses and other fallouts associated with industrial accidents.”
Organisations like VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd have shared the best practices they are already using in the field of Health, Safety and environment.

Mr. Arun Babbar, Factory Manager, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Mr. S N Shashtri, Technical and Environment Cell Head, Aditya Birla Group, Mr. Ashish Choudhary Manufacturing and Supply Chain Director, Cummins Turbo Technologies Pvt Ltd, Mr. Rajendra Joshi, Vice President, John Deere India Pvt Ltd, Dr. S A Pillai Managing Director, Institute of Industrial Management-SHE have shared their views on the subject in a panel discussion organized in the conference, specially to give more light over the need of awareness and importance of safe and healthier industrial environment.
The Conclave has witnessed participation from CEOs, Corporate representative, Practicing Managers, Environmental Engineers, Occupational Health & Safety Professionals, Scientists and Executives from Industries like Transport, Defense, Explosives, Electricity Boards, Railways, Civil Aviation, Energy, Cement, Steel, Sugar, Distilleries, Hotel, Milk Dairies, Refineries, Pharmaceuticals, Paper, Automobiles, Fertilizers, Chemical, Petrochemicals, Petroleum and Natural Gas etc.
Mr. Girish Mangla, Chairman, Malwa Zonal Council gave the vote of thanks to the guests, speakers, panelist and the audience.

Central Bank’s CMD in Bhopal
Our Correspondent : 3 October 2013
The new CMD of Central Bank of India, Rajeev Rishi, was on two-day official tour to Bhopal.
This was his first visit in the city after taking over as CMD.
During his visit he chaired the 152nd Bankers Committee meeting along with MP government officials.

Bajaj Auto exploring possibilities of investment in Madhya Pradesh
Our Correspondent : 26 September 2013

INDORE: At a time when the country's automobile industry is passing through recessionary phase, Bajaj group's flagship company and automobile major, Bajaj Auto is looking for investment in Madhya Pradesh.
Having an annual turnover at Rs 12,000 crore, Bajaj Auto, has expansion plans and is exploring possibilities of investment in the state.
While interacting with members of Indore Management Association (IMA) here on Wednesday, managing director of Bajaj Auto, Rajiv Bajaj, expressed his willing to investment in MP. Bajaj was in Indore on Wednesday to attend an interaction programme, which was held by IMA. The world's fourth largest two and three-wheeler manufacturer had explored the possibility of investing in Gujarat in past.

Bajaj sought details about facilities being provided by the state government for investors here and how they were different from those being provided in other states.
Bajaj said that if he was convinced that the facilities in the state were better, he can think of making the investment in the state.
President of IMA, Shamit Dave said, "Bajaj told us during a closed-door interaction that he was interested in having a manufacturing facility for two-wheelers and auto rickshaws in Madhya Pradesh. He has asked us to talk to the Indore's development commissioner (DC), Sanjay Dube, in this regard. We will be meeting the DC shortly and ask him to contact Bajaj for the same."

Pithampur industrial area, located 35 km from Indore, has presence of automobile firms like VECV, M&M and Force. Bajaj Auto has its manufacturing facilities at places like Chakan near Pune & Waluj on the outskirts of Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Pant Nagar in Uttarakhand.
While addressing members of IMA, Bajaj said that the central government has yet not given nod to his company to launch its quadricycle in India. The low-speed four-wheeler passenger carrier awaits approval of a government draft notification that includes technical specification and regulatory standards for the quadricycle. The draft, which was open for scrutiny by various automakers and stakeholders, closes on Thursday. In a word of advice, Bajaj asked the industrialists to focus on innovation.

Seminar on Transfer Pricing & APA
Theme: Indian Tax Controversy and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
0930-1300 Hrs, 26 September 2013 : Hotel ITC Park Sheraton, Chennai

Confederation of Indian Industry- Southern Region ( CII-SR) in association with PwC as the knowledge partner is organising a Seminar on Transfer Pricing & APA. The theme of the seminar is Indian Tax Controversy and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
With frequent changes to legislation many of which are made retrospective and divergent views on taxation many of which are contrary to international models, India has seen a surge in tax controversy like never before.
More than 600 transfer pricing cases have been adjudicated by the Tax Tribunal in the last six years and the last eight audit cycles have seen more than 26 billion USD of TP adjustments. India has established its reputation as being the most aggressive TP administrations in the world.

In this scenario, the terrific response to the APA programme and the appointment of the Tax Administration Reform Commission are welcome steps and have been received well.
At our event, eminent speakers, including Kamlesh Varshney (Commission, APA), Vijay Mathur (former DGIT), distinguished industry representatives and eminent professionals from PwC India will discuss the Indian tax controversy scenario, the Indian APA experience and present their views towards achieving effective dispute resolution.
Kindly take advantage of this seminar, by nominating suitable executives from your organization at the earliest. Please confirm your nomination/ participation by registering with us using the following registration link..

Registration link:

To participate in the Seminar, kindly register using the link below:

http://www.cii.in/OnlineRegistration.aspx?Event_ID=E000017195

Fee details: CII Member: Rs 1685/-

Non Member: Rs 2809/-

We look forward to your kind participation.

Ministry to issue clarification on applicability of the new Companies Act, 1956: Sachin Pilot
Industry recommends adoption of unambiguous communication strategy
Our Correspondent : 16 September 2013

Putting rest to industry’s concerns on the applicability of overlapping provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and the Companies Act, 2013 – of which 98 sections were notified on 12 September, Mr Sachin Pilot, Minister for Corporate Affairs announced that his Ministry would issue a clarification soon to the effect that corresponding provisions of the earlier Act have been superseded by the new Act. He was responding to the request made by Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII at the National Conference on the Companies Act, 2013 organised by CII at Mumbai today.

Mr Sachin Pilot also clarified that the corporate are free to adopt CSR initiatives that have been approved by its Board and have broader social acceptance. Only disclosures about the amount spent towards discharging CSR are required in the format prescribed. However, he urged industry to take up practical and tangible projects to create a positive impact on the community.

The Minister further clarified that while the law is replete with compliances, the intention is to reduce regulation. Responding to another observation, the Minister denied eyeing the auditor community with suspicion but concurred that the Act has raised the stakeholders’ expectations of those discharging fiduciary responsibilities.

The session was steered by Mr Uday Kotak, Chairman, CII National Council on Financial Sector Development Council and Executive Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, Underscoring the need for ensuring balance between ownership and entrepreneurship, Mr Uday Kotak commented that the new company law has decidedly made a significant shift favouring the minority. Agreeing with the theme of the new Act which is on governance as the prime anchor for the future of corporate India, Mr Kotak recommended that to ensure sharper focus, the thresholds prescribed for applicability of various provisions should be just right, and not too low, as is presently the case. It was also highlighted that liabilities and responsibilities of auditors must be balanced vis-à-vis Board’s freedom to function.

Commending the receptivity of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs during the process of evolution of the Companies Act as well as the draft Rules, Mr Rajiv Memani, Country Managing Partner, Ernst & Young pointed out that some of auditors’ responsibilities specified under the Act are beyond the competency and remit of auditors have made the process of audit intrusive.

Earlier delivering the welcome remarks, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, re-iterated industry’s request for a transparent and fair mechanism for finalization of the subordinate legislation so as not to be too disruptive of existing business processes. He submitted that law should not be framed keeping only the outliers in mind since a majority of industry is compliant and likes to follow the straight and narrow path.

India's entertainment and media industry to clock over INR 224,
500 crore by 2017: CII-PwC study forecast CAGR of 18%1 over 2012-17
Mumbai, 10 September 2013
India’s Entertainment & Media sector is expected to grow steadily over the next five years as per CII-PwC’s latest report titled ‘India Entertainment & Media Outlook 2013’. The industry is expected to exceed INR 224,500 crore growing at a CAGR of 18% from 2012 to 2017. The CII-PwC report, ‘India Entertainment & Media Outlook 2013 will be released on September 13 at the second edition of the CII Big Picture Summit, New Delhi.
The Summit will bring together the finest business and creative minds of the M&E industry with `Embracing Innovation In Media’ as theme towards achieving $100 billion Indian M&E sector’ by the end of this decade. Over 70 M&E leaders will be speaking at the two-day summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Today, the size of the Indian M&E sector increased from about 805 billion INR in 2011 to almost 965 billion INR in 2012 representing an year-on-year growth of 20%. This growth was achieved in spite of a relative slowdown in the broader economy, underlining the resilience of the E&M sector. It is expected to grow at about 18% CAGR over 2012-2017 and reach revenues of about 2,245 billion INR in 2017.
``This growth is driven by the introduction of cable TV digitization, continued growth of regional media, continued strength of the filmed entertainment sector, fast increasing new media businesses and transparency,’’ said Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry. ``We believe that innovation - faster, better, more efficient, thinking out of the box (and within the box) - would be one of the game changers in this space,’’ he added.

An entire chapter on ``The Innovation Imperative in the rapidly evolving E&M sector’’ has documented strategies for E&M companies in the CII-PwC report. Indian E&M businesses, like their peers abroad, will need to raise their game in operational agility and customer insight.
``To achieve this successfully, every industry participant will need to invest in constant innovation that encompasses products and services, business and operating models and most importantly, customer experience and engagement. Innovation should be seen as an important enabler to get closer to consumers and profitably deliver relevant content and services,’’ said the report.
India’s television market grew at 13% with revenues increasing from 340 billion INR in 2011 to 383 billion INR in 2012. Filmed entertainment also demonstrated stellar growth in 2012 with sector revenues increasing by about 17% from 96 billion INR in 2011 to 112 billion INR in 2012. The print sector revenues are expected to increase at over 9% CAGR to reach 331 billion INR in 2017 from 212 billion INR in 2012.

Year-on-year sectors such as internet access (30%), internet advertising (29%), gaming (19%), and music (15%) are expected to continue on their high growth trajectory. The radio sector is also expected to receive a fillip with the successful conclusion of Phase III licence auctions and it is expected to grow at a robust CAGR of about 16%.
The rapid rise of Internet usage, high penetration of smart phones, digital advertising, wireless broadband, digital content consumption, regulatory interventions have had a significant impact on the E&M sector.
The television and print sectors dominate the industry with about 40% and 22% contribution to industry revenues respectively in 2012. Internet access now commands about 18% share and films 12% of industry revenues.

However, in 2017, television will continue to lead the industry in terms of revenue contribution with 39% share, followed by internet access with 28% share. The share of print and films are likely to decrease 15% and 9% in 2017.
Today, if we take the E&M growth without taking internet access and internet advertising into account the size of the Indian M&E sector increased from about 690 billion INR in 2011 to almost 795 billion INR in 2012. It is expected to grow at about 15% CAGR over 2012-2017 and reach revenues of about 1,615 billion INR in 2017.
Overall, the Indian E&M industry is on the cusp of a strong phase of growth, backed by rising consumer payments and advertising revenues across all sectors.

CII CONNECT 2013
A Conference cum Exhibition "Towards Scaling New Frontiers in ICT"
1000 – 1630 hrs : 24th & 25th September 2013 : Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai

Background

I am pleased to inform you that Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been organizing CONNECT Event in Chennai for the past 11 years.The Connect series has been the forum for Indian ICT Industry to confer on latest trends & developments. This premier annual Conference cum Exposition on Information and Communication Technology has been focusing on Tamil Nadu’s growth in ICT Sector. The idea behind this initiative was to make Tamil Nadu State, one of the potential States in India for investment in the ICT Sector, as India emerges as a global hub for generating IT manpower to cater the requirement of various advanced countries in the world. This event is jointly organised by Government of Tamil Nadu and CII.
The first edition of Connect was launched in the year of 2001 and the same was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State, Selvi J. Jayalalithaa and since then Connect has had 11 editions, showcasing the potential of Tamil Nadu State in the ICT Sector and has projected Tamil Nadu as a favored destination for investments in the sector. The Connect series has given impetus to wider Industry – Government collaborations and led to projects like ICT Academy, IT Parks in the tier 2 & tier 3 cities, IT Corridors and developments of SEZs.

The Mega Event

I am happy to inform you that the Twelfth Edition of CONNECT is scheduled for 24th & 25th September 2013 at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai. We have invited Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Selvi J Jayalalithaa to inaugurate the Event. We are awaiting for the confirmation from Chief Minister’s office in this regard.

Conference

The Theme for this year CONNECT 2013 will be “Towards Scaling New Frontiers in ICT”. The Conference will include the following Sessions

Day I :

· Inaugural Session
· New Frontiers in Technology : SMAC ( Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud Technology )
· New Frontiers in creating an eco system of VCs and startups to foster innovation and entrepreneurship
· New Frontiers in Tech Reach : E Governance & Citizen Empowerment

Day II :

· New Frontiers in Sustainability : Energy Efficiency, Smart Transportation, Green Manufacturing, Micro Grids etc.
· Award Ceremony
· Policies & Frameworks
· Valedictory Session

Conference Speakers :

· Mr Rajan Anandan, MD, Google India
· Mr Amit Gupta, Senior Technical Advisror, InMobile
· CTO from Amazon
· Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Indian Institute of Technology Madras
· Mr Lakshmanan Narayan (LUX) , CEO & Co Founder, Unmetric Inc
· Mr Tanmoy Chakraborty, Head Global Government Business, TCS
· CEO of Airtel
· Mr Krishna Giri, Managing Director – Health & Public Service, Asia Pacific, Accenture India
· Country Head of Alibaba.com
· Mr Ronnie Lee, Director, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)
· Mr M F Farooqui, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Govt of India
· Mr Philip HEAH, Senior Director, Government of Singapore
· CTO of INTEL,CTS
· Ms Chitra Ravi, Founder & CEO, EZ Vidya
· Dr Prasad Modak, Chief Sustainability Officer and Dean , IL&FS Academy for Applied Development (IAAD) and many more.
Partner Country : UK has been invited to be the partner country for this edition of Connect.
Knowledge Partner : KPMG Advisory Services P Ltd has agreed to partner with CII as Knowledge Partner for this event.

Exhibition:

The exhibition will be consisting of exhibitors from IT & ITES Companies , International Partner Country Pavilion, Educational Institutions, Telecommunication Companies, Network Providers etc.
The Event will have participation of approximately 500 delegates per day including Technology providers, Senior Government officials, CEOs & CXOs of IT Companies, Business decision makers, IT & ITES Companies, Industry specialists, VPs, Directors, Managers, Staff, Small - Medium Business Owners & Executives, Network Managers, Security Professionals, Telecommunications professionals, Human Resources professionals & Media.
I am writing to invite you to participate and nominate friends and colleagues for making this 12th edition of Flagship event CII CONNECT a grand success . I am sure this will be an excellent opportunity for you to get connected with your target audience and promote your products and services. Event flyer is attached with this email for your information.
In case you need more details regarding the event please feel free to contact john.pravin@cii.in / sandhya.ramesh@cii.in /cii.connect@cii.in /
Ph.044-42444 555 [Extn:541] Website: http://www.ciiconnect.com/

CII organizes Session on opportunities in China
Our Correspondent : 24 August 2013

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organizing an exclusive meeting on India - China Business Relations, Opportunities that lie ahead in China. This exclusive meeting "Engaging with China for Indian companies" will be organized on August 29 in Mumbai.

The objective of this meeting is to understand China's 12th national five-year plan, which provides policy guidance to the economic and industrial development in the future years. To invest in China, it is important for Indian companies to understand the new investment environment and trends of foreign investment in China by taking advantage of all the tax incentives and the local financial subsidy arrangements. The session will help companies understand all the above and take advantage of practical experience.

Indian companies have an enormous, literally unprecedented, untapped opportunities waiting to be harnessed in China in across sectors. "Engage with China": CII initiative will help Indian Cos to understand China from a different perspective. This would help India Inc to develop well thought winning strategies, Said Ms Supriya Banerji, Deputy Director General and Head (International), CII.

CII Online Master Class on The Companies Bill & CSR
Our Correspondent : 22 August 2013

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs expects all the rules regarding the Companies bill likely to be in place by the end of this fiscal, after taking into account the suggestions from experts, public and other stakeholders. The Companies Bill 2012 would replace the Companies Act, 1956 and become an Act once it is passed in the Rajya Sabha and the final assent of the President of India is obtained. The Companies Bill 2012 will bring in significant changes in the provisions relating to rules of directors and key managerial personnel, declaration and payment of dividends, financial reporting, auditors, mergers and acquisition, compliance etc and hence would significantly impact all companies.
The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility has also been included in the Bill. Every company having net worth of rupees 500 crore or more, or turnover of rupees 1000 crore or more or a net profit of rupees 5 crore or more during any financial year shall constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board consisting of three or more directors, out of which at least one director shall be an independent director.
Given this background, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organizing a “Online Master Class on The Companies Bill & CSR” on 27th August 2013 to highlight the impact of The Companies Bill & CSR.

Who should attend this workshop?

Directors (Finance/Taxation/CSR) , Auditors, CFOs, Finance Controllers, General Manager (Finance, Accounts or taxation), Tax Heads, other accounting professionals dealing with finance or taxation.

CII welcomes passage of the Companies Bill, 2012 by the Rajya Sabha
Our Correspondent : 8 August 2013

CII welcomes the passage of the Companies Bill, 2012 in the Rajya Sabha today, CII said in a release issued here today. “We commend the Government for prioritizing the Bill. It shows the Government’s commitment to usher in the new era of corporate regulation. The Companies Bill as in its present form is a culmination of efforts for over a decade and we are happy that many of CII’s views have been incorporated in the legislation.” said Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII. “Now that the law is ready, it is time to focus and work on the practical aspects of complying with its provisions. CII will continue to engage with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to work out the modalities for various provisions that prescribe delegated legislation in the form of Rules. One such vital provision is surely the clause dealing with CSR spend,” he said.

The CII release highlighted that the Companies Bill is commensurate with global standards vis-à-vis disclosure requirements, increased democratic rights for shareholders, self-regulation and accountability. At the same time, it also seeks to restrain the management powers of promoters, who nurture the company during its initial stages and provide the seed capital. In a country where 75-80% of the businesses are family-run/ promoter-driven, CII hopes that the new law would be able to achieve the fine balancing between ownership and management, which is crucial for success of any enterprise and also fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship, the CII release said.

FICCI suggests MPERC to revise norms for determination of tariff for procurement of power from Municipal Solid Waste based
power generating plants in view of higher capital cost
Our Correspondent : 06 August, 2013

NEW DELHI, FICCI has submitted a representation to the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission on the ‘Approach Paper for Fixation of Norms for Determination of Tariff for Procurement of Power from Municipal Solid Waste based Power Generating Plants’ published by MPERC. The tariff order will be applicable to all Municipal Solid Waste based power generating plants in Madhya Pradesh commissioned on or after the date of issue of the order for sale of electricity to the distribution licensees within the state.
Waste management is a burgeoning problem in all states of the country. The rising population, limited availability of land, changing urban lifestyle and lack of adequate infrastructure are some of the reasons for this problem. Sustainable and long term Public-Private Partnerships are the only viable solution for this problem. FICCI has been actively taking up issues related to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) with the various ministries and departments to facilitate a conducive regulatory environment for effective public private partnerships for Waste Management. . FICCI believes that to address this burgeoning problem of urban waste management, all options for treatment including waste-to-energy should be given a strong impetus through appropriate incentives to ensure the viability of such initiatives and attract greater participation of the private sector. FICCI appreciates MPERC’s efforts in bringing out this Approach Paper.

The FICCI representation urges the MPERC to take up further consultation with the Waste Management Industry before finalising the norms for tariff determination so as to make electricity generation from MSW a practicable and viable alternative. The representation clearly states that waste-to-energy plants should be treated as a scientific methodology for disposal of MSW, and power generation, resulting in value extraction, is incidental. To assume that such projects can sustain on sale of generated power will be far-fetched. Therefore, instead of looking it as an option to generate power, it should be treated as a the means to tackle the problem of municipal solid waste in an environmentally sound manner and should be facilitated by way of preferential tariff or tipping fee.
The Representation also suggests that Municipal Solid Waste is very different in characteristics than biomass due to the moisture and dirt content in it, therefore, the technologies to treat them differ widely and the norms for power generation for MSW should not be comparable to biomass.

FICCI proposes that the Capital cost of a refuse derived fuel (RDF) to Power plant should be taken as INR 12 – 16 Crore per MW instead of 6 Crore per MW as has been taken by MPERC. The reason for this suggestion is the high capital cost of converting MSW to power. Due to its heterogeneous nature, high moisture and corrosivity, special multi-grate boilers are used, also an elaborate system of pollution control equipment needs to be installed along with ash management for such projects, which adds to the cost tremendously.
The FICCI representation proposes that Operation and Maintenance expense of 7% of the project cost in the first year and thereafter a simple escalation of 5.72% per year should be considered rather than 5% per year as suggested by MPERC. The higher O&M cost has to be considered keeping in view the maintenance and replacement of parts due to highly corrosive and abrasive nature of the fuel, causing wear and tear of the boiler and maintenance cost for extra equipment for processing of the RDF fluff and flue gas treatment.

FICCI suggests that suggested that the Station Heat Rate be taken as 4750 kcal/kWh instead of 4000 kcal/kWh considered by MPERC. This is because RDF is a highly corrosive and abrasive fuel with heterogeneous characteristics and a low pressure boiler is the only technically suitable option for RDF combustion. For the purpose of tariff determination, FICCI suggests that the Gross Calorific Value (GCV) of RDF is taken as 2600 Kcal/Kg instead of 2250 Kcal/Kg as taken by MPERC as concessionaires take 7-8 steps to refine MSW in a more combustible fuel having higher calorific value. FICCI also suggests that Fuel cost of RDF be taken as Rs 2200 per ton instead of Rs 1320 per ton as due to the pre-processing and transportation costs involved, RDF having CV of around 2600 Kcal/Kg is procured at a rate of around RS 2200 per ton. Due to the same reason, FICCI suggests along with RDF pre-processing, the auxiliary consumption to be in the range of 17-24%.
The FICCI Representation has been sent based on inputs from companies in the MSW sector including members of the FICCI MSW Subgroup that are likely to be impacted by the tariff order by the MPERC.

Lessons directly from boardrooms - Management students to learn from CEOs
Our Correspondent : 6 August 2013

CII holds lecture for MBA Students
B -Schools will interact with Business Leaders
Business leaders to train management students:
CII's unique programme, CEOs Connect with Business School

“While there is a lot of energy that the youth get with them to an organization, what really required is to channelize this energy.” Said Mr R Mukundan, Chairman, CII WR and Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Ltd during the the first series of CII unique programme called ‘CII CEO Connect’ with management students.
In first of its kind initiative, organized by CII in Mumbai with the NMIMS students. The objective is to create a link with colleges (MBA, Engineering) by linking Business Leaders and CEOs from Indian Industry. They would visit colleges and interact with students. Captains from the Indian Industry interacted and discussed the much needed issue of "What the CEOs expect from fresh MBAs,Engineering Students ?”.

Mr R Mukundan, Chairman, CII WR further emphasized on the importance of self discipline in health and personal life, a sense of individuality and further said perseverance is of utmost importance.
Mr Arun Nanda, Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd interacted very candidly with students sharing with them the snippets and examples from his own career spanning over 40 years. He said that most of the successful people are good listeners, open to learn and have been team players. He further added that along with becoming successful, one must also be humble.
Mr Ninad Karpe, Chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council and CEO & Managing Director, Aptech, while addressing the session said that the essence of this initiative was to give an opportunity to students to interact with CEOs and prepare them for the ‘’real world’’.

Mr Anuj Puri, Chairman, CII WR Infrastructure, Real Estate & Construction Sub-Committee and Chairman & Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle during the session, highlighted on the emotional aspect. He said, as one rises up the corporate ladder, it is important to have emotions, manage relations and trust as well as build network. He further said that with the changing and challenging times, speed is becoming of essence is today’s dynamic times.
The interactions gave students a much required perspective on what is not taught at a B- school but is expected out of management graduates.

SEMINAR ON EFFECTIVE COMPLIANCE WITH COMPETITION LAW
Our Correspondent : 6 August 2013

Since the economic liberalization in 1991 gave rise to a vibrant entrepreneurial force, unleashed unprecedented growth momentum, created a large and growing domestic market and pushed the development frontiers of the economy. However, the progress across sectors has been somewhat uneven, and so also the trickledown effects to the common man. To aim at promoting competitive market structures and behaviour of entities in an economy, various government measures, policies, statutes, and regulations including a competition law came into force.
The Competition Act, 2002 was enacted to ensure that the process of competition is left free to benefit all the participants in the market and the consumers. The key provisions of the act include, Secs. 3 to 6, which deal with anti competitive agreements, abuse of dominance and regulation of mergers or combinations. Competition Commission of India act as the regulator to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition to promote and sustain competition in markets and to protect the interests of consumers.
Given this background, Confederation of Indian Industry is organizing a “Seminar On Effective Compliance With Competition Law” on 21st August 2013 at Hotel Hilton, Chennai.

Why should you attend this program?

· Non compliance with the Act could cost up to 10 % of average annual turnover.
· Certain violation in commercial arrangements, invites penalties or action.
· Neglect or connivance in breach of the Act would lead to punishments.
· Third parties may sue the firm for damages.
· Some mergers would be subject to approval and stand the risk of rejection or modification.
· The Act applies to activities or arrangements entered outside India if it impacts competition in India.
· Due to international jurisdiction, competition authorities across the world cooperate and this is relevant for firms, which operate globally.
· The Act applies to all persons including statutory corporations, cooperative societies, government companies and local authorities.
Who should attend?
The workshop is designed for any manager in public or corporate sector, who is engaged in strategizing and/or executing an acquisition deal, procurement contracts with suppliers, bidding for contracts, pricing and commercial contracts with customers, dealers and competitors, statutory and regulatory compliance and law, across the departments of business planning and strategy, finance, office administration, marketing, sales and distribution, purchases, new projects, legal and secretarial. This workshop also assumes no previous experience in law or mergers and acquisitions. We encourage companies to send cross-functional teams of executives to leverage the application and value of the program.

Programme Structure:

The Seminar will focus on
(a) Merger regulations -- its salient features; issues to be borne in mind; practical realities, steps and matters for consideration.
(b) Overview of anti-competitive agreements; abuse of dominant position; regulation of combinations -- practical insights; case studies; examples.
(c) Powers, duties and responsibilities of the Commission and the Director General and Competition Appellate Tribunal -- an overview of their role, responsibilities and functioning.
Registration
To register for the event à CLICK HERE
Fee Details: (including tax)
CII Member Compay : Rs 2247/-
Non-Member Company : Rs 3370/-
Looking forward to your participation.
For more details please contact:
S Chandilyan/ V Vishnu Priya at chandilyan.s@cii.in; vishnupriya.v@cii.in +91 44 42444555

Action of RBI Understandable: Kris Gopalakrishnan Need Actions on Multiple Fronts to Revive Economy: CII President
Our Correspondent : 30 July 2013

‘In a Press Release issued here today after the RBI's announcement of the review of te Monetary Policy, CII said it has noted that the RBI has held its key rates owing to the volatility in the Rupee. " we understand the decision of the RBI on the rates. We draw heart from the statement of the RBI saying that had it not been for the volatility, the rates could have been reduced, since inflation has started to moderate. We see this as a softening of stance by the RBI" said Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, President, CII.

However, the moderation of growth outlook by the RBI is a matter of great concern and this enforces our view that actions on multiple fronts are required to help the economy revive. Besides a large number of policies needing implementation, CII hopes that at the forthcoming session of the Parliament, some of the key legislations would get enacted, which would send out the correct messages to investors at home and abroad. These include the Bills on Insurance, Pensions, etc. the release said.
"We have shared with the Government our concerns about the high Current Account Deficit and this calls for financing measures, but more importantly, we need to ensure that we are able to establish a very competitive manufacturing sector. Our exports need to increase exponentially and with a strong manufacturing sector we should be able to obviate the need for many imports, which could be very well manufactured within the country" the CII President said.

The CII release said that in this context, there needs to be focussed attention on getting projects cleared in a mission mode. CII has suggested that the top 100 projects of the country needs a time bound clearance mechanism, which is transparent. In the current context, the proposed industrial corridors and the setting up of the National Investment and Manufacturing Zones assumes special importance. There should be pre clearances looked at at the time of formation of the NIMZs in line with what the DMIC is planning to do.
In order to deal with the problem of episodic inflationary bouts, it is imperative that supply side issues are dealt with adequately, including interventions in the agricultural side like abolishing perishables from APMC, etc. the CII release went on to say.

CII hosts 4th Asian Business Summit Building an Asian Shared Prosperity Sphere
Our Correspondent : 29 July 2013

CEOs and heads of leading industry Chambers representing 13 business organizations from 9 Asian economies including India, Japan, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Chinese Taipei will be in Delhi to participate in the 4th Asian Business Summit (ABS) in New Delhi on 30 - 31 July 2013.

The 4th Asian Business Summit (ABS) being organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will have business leaders discussing the major challenges for Asian economies in view of the emerging global economic realities. The Asian Business Summit was initiated four years ago in 2010 in Japan.

Mr Anand Sharma, Commerce and Industry Minister, Govt of India and Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Govt of India will address the participants at the 4th Asian Business Summit.

The Asian region is an economically vibrant region with combined a GDP of $20 trillion, about 28% of the world’s GDP. With a population of 3.4 billion which is roughly 48% of the total population of the world, the region has a large consumer market. Asia has the capacity for dynamic growth and is playing a major role in global economy. It is vital for the Asian business community to strengthen intra-regional ties so that it can play a leading role in making this growth sustainable and help shape economies and societies where the private sector takes the initiative in leading the road to prosperity.

The Asian Business Summit is an important forum for leading business organizations across Asia to meet and deliberate upon the key issues that confront Asian economies, identify new cross-border partnership opportunities, as well as build a roadmap for accelerating the region’s economic progress. The last Summit held in Bangkok saw deliberations on sustaining robust growth in Asia, deepening Asian regional integration, energy and environmental issues, promoting innovation and human resource development, infrastructure development and building robust supply chains in the Asian region

Participants at the 4th Asian Business Summit will seek to increase collaboration among Asian economies to stimulate Asia's growth, fiscal & monetary cooperation towards enhancing real economy, energy security & environment sustainability, regional infrastructure development, innovation, technology & human capital development and demographic challenges.

The response to the Summit has been received very positively by Asian business leaders such as Mr. Hiromasa Yonekura, Chairman, Keidanren (Japan) and Chairman, Sumitomo Chemicals; Mr S Gopalakrishnan, President, CII; Mr Vikram Kirloskar, Chairman, CII Innovation Council & Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor; Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Mr Wang Jinzhen, Vice Chairman, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), China; Ms Yin Yuanping, Executive Vice Chairperson, China Enterprise Confederation (CEC), Mr Suryo Bambang Sulisto, Chairman, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN); Dr Seungcheol Lee, Vice Chairman & CEO, The Federation of Korean Industries; Mr Egmidio S Jose, Chairman, Philippnes Japan Economic Committee, Philippines; Mr Tony Chew Leong Chee, Chairman, Singapore Business Federation ; Dr Theodore Mao-Hsiung Huang, Chairman, Taiwan Committee on East Asia Businessmen's Conference; Dr Kenneth C. M. Lo, Chairman Chinese National Association of Industry & Commerce (CNAIC)i; Mr Chartsiri Sophonpanich Chairman, The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking of Thailand.

The Summit is also expected to encourage industries across the region to enhance their global competitiveness through intra-regional partnerships that would accelerate Asia’s economic integration, resulting in expanded regional trade and investment flows, strengthening of regional infrastructure, and deep cooperation in vital areas like energy security, environmental protection, economic inclusion of the underserved and regional security.

Exporters hope US will quickly renew Generalised System of Preferences
Our Correspondent : 25 July 2013
SANJAY BUDHIA
CHAIRMAN - CII NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON EXPORTS

‘U.S. GSP trade preference program is due for renewal on July 31, 2013 and timely renewal of GSP is very important for maintaining stable bi-lateral trade between the two countries and to avoid uncertainty in quoting/bidding for any new business which will adversely affect the trade of both countries. “

Presently exports to USA under GSP Form "A" Certificate of Indian Origin are allowed duty-free entry. Pending renewal of the GSP program, exports from India are subject to US Import Custom Duties.
The GSP program helps developing countries to expand their economies by increasing exports to the US; the program also aids American businesses by lowering the cost of imported goods that are used as inputs in value-added U.S. production. It thus helps to keep products ‘made in America’ competitive for both domestic consumption as well as U.S. exports. Thus “US jobs and corporate interests are equally linked to the renewal GSP programme,” Sanjay Budhia, Chairman CII National Committee on Exports pointed out.
Last time, the GSP renewal by the US was delayed about three months.
“Though the time gap had been covered by ‘retrospective effect’ in the administrative action, it had put both US importers and overseas exporters at a disadvantage for some time,” said Mr Budhia. Hence Keeping all the above in mind, it is very important to get GSP Renewal notified at the earliest.

US businesses imported $19.9 billion worth of products under the GSP programme in 2012, including many inputs used in US manufacturing.
In the Trade Policy Agenda released, in March, the US administration called for the GSP to be renewed beyond 2015. It said that helping developing countries grow and expand their economies through trade also helps the US by providing its exporters greater opportunity to sell products to billions of new consumers abroad.
“These sales in turn help to grow and support higher-wage jobs at home”, it added.

Mumbai Tops in National Green Building Movement
Our Correspondent : 20 July 2013
India well poised to lead the global Green Building Movement

Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) of CII with the support of all the stakeholders is spearheading the Green Building movement in the country. The movement was triggered off when CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre building in Hyderabad was awarded with the first and the prestigious Platinum rated green building rating in India.
Since then, Green Building movement in India has gained tremendous impetus over the years. Today, India has over 2,110 registered green building projects amounting to over 1.51 Billion sq.ft of green building footprint, which has put India on the top 5 countries in world green building map.

Mr Gurmit Singh Arora, Vice Chairman – CII - IGBC Mumbai Chapter underlined that, today Mumbai with over 295 registered green building projects, amounting to over 229 Million sq. ft is leading the green building movement in the country. As this numbers steadily grow, the State can reap significant ecological and economic benefits. Most importantly buildings can demonstrate energy savings to the tune of 40-50 % and water savings to the tune of 20-30% , apart from other intangible benefits highlighted, Mr Arora.
Mr Gurmit Singh Arora, while heartily appreciating and thanking the Hon’ble Chief Minister for his commitment to promote green buildings in the State informed that Environment Guidelines for Public Buildings will be soon released as Phase I and later same guidelines will be released for Private buildings as Phase II. This would add great impetus to the wider promotion of green concepts in the State, added, Mr Arora.
In days to come, IGBC- Mumbai Chapter would work more closely with the stakeholders in organizing various programmes including the launch of IGBC Student Chapters, celebrating World Green Building Week Celebrations, facilitate increased participation from Mumbai to Green Building Congress 2013, Asia’s largest Green Building Conference & Exhibition to be held on 24-26 October in Chennai.

Mr V Suresh, Chairman, IGBC Policy & Advocacy Committee And Principal Executive Officer – HIRCO, highlighted how IGBC is working closely with various Central and State Governments in promoting the wider adoption of green buildings across the country.

As a result of concerted efforts, today Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India accords faster clearances for green buildings rated by IGBC. NOIDA Government also provides higher FAR (5%) to green building projects, he informed.
IGBC also contributed in developing an addendum to the National Building Code of India which would ensure that all new buildings would be constructed according to green building norms, he added.
Mr S Raghupathy, Executive Director & Head, CII & Green Business Centre (GBC) underlined that IGBC has successfully demonstrated excellent business case for green buildings. Today constructing green buildings are technically feasible and economically viable, he noted.

The construction costs of a green building would be 3-4 % higher for a Platinum building than a conventional building, the incremental cost gets paid back within 3-4 years with substantial reduction in operational costs, affirmed Mr Raghupathy.
Since 75% of the buildings that would exist in 2030 are yet to be built, there exists huge opportunities in design and construction of green buildings. Going green not only address ecological issues and concerns but also makes good business sense, concluded, Mr Raghupathy.

Madhya Pradesh Warehousing & Logistics Summit
Our Correspondent : 18 July 2013

"Building Madhya Pradesh as a Distribution HUB”

CII along with Madhya Pradesh Warehousing and Logistics Corporation Ltd. is organizing the “Warehousing and Logistics Summit 2013” at Radisson Hotel in Indore on 20 July 2013. Madhya Pradesh being the fastest growing state of the country offers tremendous potential for warehousing and logistics industry. Projecting the geographical advantage, progressive government policies, and infrastructure of Madhya Pradesh, the theme of the summit is “Building Madhya Pradesh as a Distribution Hub”.

The summit aims at creating awareness on the subject, offering vast opportunities to the private industry in the above sector, and inviting investments from national & international players in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The summit would help the investors & industrialists, to understand the present scenario better and would provide opportunity for interaction between investors and the state government on a common platform to facilitate coordination and exchange of ideas to contribute to the development of the sector.

The summit will include sessions on “Emerging Models in Sectoral Logistics”, “Enhancing Warehouse Performance” along with a panel discussion on Logistics Infrastructure and Connectivity. The summit will have the participation of industry leaders, experts, delegates from across the country and key government officials.

Speakers of international repute will be addressing the summit, including Mr. Dinesh Rai, Chairman, Warehousing Development of Regulatory Authority, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Anthony de Sa, Additional Chief Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection and Transport, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Warehousing and Logistics Corporation, Ms. P Alli Rani, Director (Finance), Container Corporation of India Ltd., Mr. K V Mahidhar, Head, CII Institute of Logistics and renowned representatives from industry.

Shree Shubham Logistics Limited along with National Bulk Handling Corporation Ltd, StarAgri, Kirby Building Systems India Ltd, Everest and Waaree Energies Pvt Ltd are sponsors for the summit. CII hopes that the summit will be a stepping stone in Madhya Pradesh’s progress in the warehousing and logistics sector.