Govt. Hand in Reliance KG Basin Feud. GAMMON India and METRO RAILWAY RELIANCE Connection! Shreedharan Saga.Hillary Clinton meets Indian biz leaders, discusses economic crisis.
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E. Sreedharan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dr. Elattuvalapil Sreedharan (b. 12 July 1932 in Palakkad district, Kerala) is an Indian technocrat, known for completing both the Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro projects within budget and ahead of schedule. He has served as the managing director of Delhi Metro since its inception.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Early life
Ellatuvalapil Sreedharan is from Karukaputhoor in Palakkad district of Kerala.He later studied at the Victoria College in Palghat and then graduated as an engineer from the Government Engineering College, Kakinada (now JNTU). After a short tenure as a lecturer in Civil engineering at the Government Polytechnic, Kozhikode and a year at the Bombay Port Trust as an apprentice, he joined the Indian Railways in its Service of Engineers. This was through a nation-wide selection procedure and his first assignment was in the Southern Railway as a Probationary Assistant Engineer in December 1954.1
[edit] Government career
In 1963, a huge tidal wave washed away parts of Pamban Bridge that connected Rameshwaram to mainland Tamil Nadu. The Railways set a target of six months for the bridge to be repaired while Sreedharan's boss, under whose jurisdiction the bridge came, reduced it to three months. Sreedharan was put in-charge of the execution and he restored the bridge in just 46 days. [1] The Railway minister's Award was given to him in recognition of this achievement. In 1970, as the deputy chief engineer, he was put in charge for implementation, planning and design of Calcutta metro, the first ever metro in India. Cochin Shipyard launched Rani Padmini, the first ship it built, when he was its Chairman and Managing Director (CMD). He retired from Indian Railways as Member Engineering in 1990. Sreedharan also has an advisory board slot at a new Foundation for the Restoration of National Values. Business tycoon Ratan Tata and a former chief justice of India are serving, too. The foundation aims to "bring in good values in all areas of national life, to cleanse corruption in high places," says Sreedharan.
[edit] On contract
Though he retired, the Government needed his services and he was appointed the CMD of Konkan Railway on contract in 1990. Under his stewardship, the company executed its mandate in seven years. The project was unique in many respects. It was the first major project in India to be undertaken on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) basis; the organisation structure was different from that of a typical Indian Railway set-up; the project had 93 tunnels along a length of 82 km and involved tunneling through soft soil. The total project covered 760 km and had over 150 bridges. That a public sector project could be completed without significant cost and time overruns was considered an achievement by many.
He was made the managing director of Delhi Metro and by mid-2005, all the scheduled sections were completed by their target date or before and within their respective budgets. Sreedharan was given the sobriquet of Metro Man by the media. In 2005, he was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France. He had announced that he would retire by the end of 2005, but his tenure has been extended by another three years to oversee the completion of the second phase of Delhi Metro. Recently he was called in Pakistan for development of the Lahore Metro plan. He was also called by the UAE govt in 2005 to Head the Dubai Metro Project, he however rejected their offer, because of his preoccupation with DMRC.
In July 2009, Sreedharan resigned as the managing director DMRC, taking moral responsibility for the collapse of an under-construction bridge (at Zamrudpur near Amar Colony) that killed five people.[1] However, Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit rejected Sreedharan's resignation, and he withdrew it a day later.[2] Sreedharan stated after his withdrawal that he will ultimately be quitting from his position but only after the completition of the Phase II of the Delhi Metro Project. He stated that he withdrew his resignation as he was convinced by the Government that Phase II won't be completed in time without him.[3]
[edit] Management style
Sreedharan achieves timely completion of projects by dividing the project between 6 managers and giving them each a deadline. He reviews daily progress reports. He also meets with top staff and consultants weekly. [2]
[edit] Personal Life
Mr Sreedharan wakes before dawn, meditates, reads the Bhagavad Gita and does yoga every morning. [3] He also walks 45 mins in the evenings. [4]
[edit] Awards and accolades
- Railway Minister's Award (1963)
- Padma Shri by the Government of India (2001)
- Man of the Year by The Times of India (2002)
- Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award for professional excellence in engineering (2002)
- CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Juror's Award for leadership in infrastructure development (2002-03)
- One of Asia's Heroes by TIME (2003)
- AIMA (All India Management Association) award for Public Service Excellence (2003)
- Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) from IIT Delhi.
- Bharat Shiromani award from the Shiromani Institute, Chandigarh (2005)
- Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France (2005)
- CNN-IBN Indian Of the Year 2007: Public Service (2008)[4]
- Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India (2008) 51525
[edit] References
- ^ "Sreedharan resigns after Delhi Metro accident". IBNLive. 12 July 2009. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sreedharan-resigns-after-delhi-metro-accident/96947-3.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-12.
- ^ "Sreedharan withdraws resignation; CM says country needs him". The Times of India. 13 July 2009. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS-City-Delhi-Sreedharan-withdraws-resignation-CM-says-country-needs-him/articleshow/4772804.cms. Retrieved on 2009-07-13.
- ^ http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/i_will_resign_after_completion_of_phase_ii_sreedharan.php
- ^ "Sreedharan is Indian Of the Year: Public Service". CNN-IBN. 2008-01-25. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/sreedharan-is-indian-of-the-year-public-service/57335-3.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
[edit] External links
Six killed in Delhi Metro site accident, CM rejects Sreedharan ...
13 Jul 2009 ... Express News Service Tags : Delhi Metro, accident, Sreedharan Posted: Monday ... on the fate of Metro projects should their boss leave, ...
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E. Sreedharan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
12 July 2009. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sreedharan-resigns-after-delhi-metro-accident/96947-3.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-12. ...
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Metro boss Sreedharan bats for national values
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Metro boss Sreedharan bats for national values. November 12th, 2008 - 7:35 pm ICT by IANS Tell a Friend -. Somnath Chatterjee New Delhi ...www.thaindian.com/.../metro-boss-sreedharan-bats-for-national-values_100118227.html - Cached - Similar -
Delhi Metro chief Sreedharan withdraws resignation
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E. Sreedharan : Indian Legends @ muraleedharan.com
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E. Sreedharan resigns as Delhi Metro chief after accident | Inditop
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e sreedharan News|e sreedharan Latest News|e sreedharan Photos
Metro boss Sreedharan bats for national values · sulekha news submitted 8 mnths ago from Indo Asian News Service New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) Known for his ...
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Delhi Metro bridge collapse, E Sreedharan resigns
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New Delhi, July 12, 2009: Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan resigned today ... of six months for the bridge to be repaired while Sreedharan's boss, under whose ...
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Metro man has always set a scorching pace
Times of India - Jul 12, 2009
Sreedharan has been highly appreciated for completing both Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro projects within budget and ahead of schedule. ...
Superfast resignation overshadows mishap Calcutta Telegraph
Delhi Metro bridge collapse, E Sreedharan resigns Khabrein.info
I won't quit before the Games, come what may: Sreedharan
Times of India - Jul 15, 2009
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Has Sreedharan set an example by resigning?
Reuters India - - Jul 13, 2009
It is of utmost importance that Delhi should witness a successful completion of the project. At present there is no better person than Shreedharan who can ...
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Fresh global bids for metro rail
Times of India - Jul 13, 2009
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Gas from KG basin in three years
PM News Bureau
PM News Bureau
The Reliance Industries Ltd will commence supply of gas from its KG Basin Block KG-DWN-98/3 in 2008-09. Though the company has estimated peak production rate at 60 mmscmd, according to government's own estimation it may not go beyond 40 mmscmd.
It may be recalled that gas supply from the KG basin was to commence from July 2007. However, NTPC had requested the company to advance the date of supply to March 2007. Apart from NTPC, several IPPs in Andhra Pradesh had scheduled the commissioning of their power plants accordingly. Now their plans may go haywire.
The government has asked RIL to advance production of gas from the field to January 2008. RIL has already received necessary clearances such as environment clearance for offshore and onshore pipeline, Right of Usage permission for laying pipelines and the Management Committee Approval for commencing production.
In the meantime the government has demanded 25 per cent production from the field as its share of profit gas. RIL had proposed to give profit gas to the government in cash, but the government is demanding the same in the form of gas.
It may be recalled that gas supply from the KG basin was to commence from July 2007. However, NTPC had requested the company to advance the date of supply to March 2007. Apart from NTPC, several IPPs in Andhra Pradesh had scheduled the commissioning of their power plants accordingly. Now their plans may go haywire.
The government has asked RIL to advance production of gas from the field to January 2008. RIL has already received necessary clearances such as environment clearance for offshore and onshore pipeline, Right of Usage permission for laying pipelines and the Management Committee Approval for commencing production.
In the meantime the government has demanded 25 per cent production from the field as its share of profit gas. RIL had proposed to give profit gas to the government in cash, but the government is demanding the same in the form of gas.
[29 August 2005]
Reliance News, Latest Updates on Reliance Industries
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KG basin gas belongs to govt: Deora
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Hope floats on KG basin gas
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Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) price target is Rs720
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Oil India IPO by September; no disinvestment in ONGC, IOC » Nse Guide
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MMRDA - Projects - MUMBAI METRO RAIL PROJECT
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Govt formally joins Ambani brothers' KG Basin gas feud
The government's position, as spelt out in the affidavit, comes as no great surprise. Its stand before the Bombay HC was essentially the same. In that case, it did not succeed, with the HC ruling that RNRL has a valid contract with RIL for supply of gas from the KG basin. The government petition has claimed that its sovereign rights "cannot be subjected to private negotiations by mutual understanding".
The government further goes on to say that "a private dispute between two parties and their alleged agreement (family MoU) cannot threaten the interests of other stake holders i.e. the government in the contract. The MoU by its very nature is in contravention of the PSC which both the signatory parties were aware of before entering into this agreement (2005 agreement of RIL and RNRL)".
The matter is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan. The government said RIL's agreement to sell the gas to RNRL at $2.34 per mBtu is not based on an arms-length price. A sale made in 2004 would not be relevant for determining the sale price at which the gas is to be sold in 2006 or 2007, it said. The prevailing gas prices for domestic gas under the PSC are significantly higher, said the affidavit prepared by the additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran, who is government's counsel in the case.
While RNRL's views could not be immediately obtained, it had argued before the Bombay High Court that RIL has the freedom to price its gas and this price could be different from the one set by the government. This view was upheld by the high court.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Energy/Oil-Gas/Govt-formally-joins-Ambani-brothers-KG-Basin-gas-feud/articleshow/4791538.cms
Yesterday you announced the Invensys deal. What new business opportunities does it bring for Cognizant?
We expect this will accelerate our growth not only in the manufacturing sector, but also in life sciences and consumer package goods industry . It is a great revenue market opportunity for us as the deal is targeting a market space. Invensys has 40,000 customers and its products run in 2,00,000 plants across the world. So, it is a great opportunity for us to market the next generation of manufacturing automation in those plants. We are not opposed to doing more contracts such as the Tsystems deal and the Invensys ones that are designed to absorb employees of our partners if it benefits the transaction.
What trends do you see in terms of outsourcing business and pricing pressures?
The first quarter has been very stable for us, and we see stability in the demand market. Although budgets are flat, we see deal sizes being finalised. The third and fourth quarters of last year were very volatile and we were in the eye of a storm.
For the full year of 2009, we expect pricing to be down marginally, in single digits. This is being driven by greater off-shoring by clients. Pricing environment is not aggressive at this moment. As we get larger contracts, it's normal to offer discounts for larger volumes more and aggressive on shore off-site ratios.
Are you seeking to grow in India through potential acquisitions?
We will continue to invest in the Indian market and focus on the Indian and Asian market. We have seen traction across Asia and we're also looking at Japan, China and Australia. We will enter verticals such as BFS, retail, manufacturing, health care, media and entertainment. We're looking for M&As both in India , China and across the world. India as a country is an underrepresented market for us. Asia contributes to only 2% of our revenue.
Will you be bidding for India's Unique ID project?
We are open to projects in India and we are not excluding any sector of business like we do in other markets and countries. We do not rule out the fact that we will bid for the Unique ID project.
18 Jul 2009, 0704 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: The government has formally shown its hand in the ongoing battle between the two Ambani brothers over the Krishna Godavari basin gas by
filing an affidavit on Friday in the Supreme Court. It has sought a stay on the Bombay High Court order that directed Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) to supply gas to his estranged brother Anil Ambani's firm Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) at $2.34 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu).
The government's contention is that the agreement between RIL and RNRL violates its production sharing contract (PSC) with RIL for developing the gas field, deters fresh, particularly foreign investment, in exploration and development of hydrocarbons in India and thwarts the government's gas utilisation policy, which privileges fertiliser as the priority customer for gas from the KG Basin field.
The government has filed the affidavit as an intervenor which means that it gets to assist the court in coming to a conclusion. The govermnent wants to be impleaded in the case as a respondent, or as a party to the case, on the ground that the sovereign owns the gas. RIL supports the government's stance. The government's status is one of the early issues the Supreme Court will have to decide on.
The government's contention is that the agreement between RIL and RNRL violates its production sharing contract (PSC) with RIL for developing the gas field, deters fresh, particularly foreign investment, in exploration and development of hydrocarbons in India and thwarts the government's gas utilisation policy, which privileges fertiliser as the priority customer for gas from the KG Basin field.
The government has filed the affidavit as an intervenor which means that it gets to assist the court in coming to a conclusion. The govermnent wants to be impleaded in the case as a respondent, or as a party to the case, on the ground that the sovereign owns the gas. RIL supports the government's stance. The government's status is one of the early issues the Supreme Court will have to decide on.
| Also Read |
| → Ambani brothers' gas dispute ups India investment risks |
| → All output-sharing pacts under scrutiny after Ambani fight |
| → RIL can't sell gas to RNRL; asks SC not to stop 3rd party sale |
The government's position, as spelt out in the affidavit, comes as no great surprise. Its stand before the Bombay HC was essentially the same. In that case, it did not succeed, with the HC ruling that RNRL has a valid contract with RIL for supply of gas from the KG basin. The government petition has claimed that its sovereign rights "cannot be subjected to private negotiations by mutual understanding".
The government further goes on to say that "a private dispute between two parties and their alleged agreement (family MoU) cannot threaten the interests of other stake holders i.e. the government in the contract. The MoU by its very nature is in contravention of the PSC which both the signatory parties were aware of before entering into this agreement (2005 agreement of RIL and RNRL)".
The matter is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan. The government said RIL's agreement to sell the gas to RNRL at $2.34 per mBtu is not based on an arms-length price. A sale made in 2004 would not be relevant for determining the sale price at which the gas is to be sold in 2006 or 2007, it said. The prevailing gas prices for domestic gas under the PSC are significantly higher, said the affidavit prepared by the additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran, who is government's counsel in the case.
While RNRL's views could not be immediately obtained, it had argued before the Bombay High Court that RIL has the freedom to price its gas and this price could be different from the one set by the government. This view was upheld by the high court.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Energy/Oil-Gas/Govt-formally-joins-Ambani-brothers-KG-Basin-gas-feud/articleshow/4791538.cms
Yesterday you announced the Invensys deal. What new business opportunities does it bring for Cognizant?
We expect this will accelerate our growth not only in the manufacturing sector, but also in life sciences and consumer package goods industry . It is a great revenue market opportunity for us as the deal is targeting a market space. Invensys has 40,000 customers and its products run in 2,00,000 plants across the world. So, it is a great opportunity for us to market the next generation of manufacturing automation in those plants. We are not opposed to doing more contracts such as the Tsystems deal and the Invensys ones that are designed to absorb employees of our partners if it benefits the transaction.
What trends do you see in terms of outsourcing business and pricing pressures?
The first quarter has been very stable for us, and we see stability in the demand market. Although budgets are flat, we see deal sizes being finalised. The third and fourth quarters of last year were very volatile and we were in the eye of a storm.
| Also Read |
| → Nilekani finds oil firms' data handy in creating ID cards |
| → Nilekani to give numbers, ministries to issue cards |
| → Nilekani has mentored, financed eGovernments Foundation |
For the full year of 2009, we expect pricing to be down marginally, in single digits. This is being driven by greater off-shoring by clients. Pricing environment is not aggressive at this moment. As we get larger contracts, it's normal to offer discounts for larger volumes more and aggressive on shore off-site ratios.
Are you seeking to grow in India through potential acquisitions?
We will continue to invest in the Indian market and focus on the Indian and Asian market. We have seen traction across Asia and we're also looking at Japan, China and Australia. We will enter verticals such as BFS, retail, manufacturing, health care, media and entertainment. We're looking for M&As both in India , China and across the world. India as a country is an underrepresented market for us. Asia contributes to only 2% of our revenue.
Will you be bidding for India's Unique ID project?
We are open to projects in India and we are not excluding any sector of business like we do in other markets and countries. We do not rule out the fact that we will bid for the Unique ID project.
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NEW DELHI: The government is looking at four mining units under the administrative control of the steel ministry for stake sale. But a roadmap is
yet to be drawn. The move is being considered to meet funds requirement, a top government official said on Friday.
The names of National Mineral Development Corporation, Kudremukh Iron Ore Corporation, Manganese Ore (India) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam figured for stake sale during a meeting called by the finance secretary. But no decision has been taken yet on whether the government will shed part of its equity in these firms.
Separately in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Friday, minister of state for steel A Sai Prathap said the ministry has received proposals to divest its equity in RINL and MOIL. NMDC, the largest iron ore producer, is a 'navratna' company.
If the government considers divesting up to 10% equity in the company, it will be able to raise over Rs 10,000 crore. To another question in the Rajya Sabha, Sai Prathap said steel giant SAIL will see its workforce shrink by 20,000 by 2011-12.
The names of National Mineral Development Corporation, Kudremukh Iron Ore Corporation, Manganese Ore (India) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam figured for stake sale during a meeting called by the finance secretary. But no decision has been taken yet on whether the government will shed part of its equity in these firms.
Separately in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Friday, minister of state for steel A Sai Prathap said the ministry has received proposals to divest its equity in RINL and MOIL. NMDC, the largest iron ore producer, is a 'navratna' company.
If the government considers divesting up to 10% equity in the company, it will be able to raise over Rs 10,000 crore. To another question in the Rajya Sabha, Sai Prathap said steel giant SAIL will see its workforce shrink by 20,000 by 2011-12.
My friend Pramod Kumar asked a PUZZLE why Hillary Clinton lands in Mumbai instead of New Delhi. Did she failed a DIRECT Flight to INDIAN Capital in
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today had a breakfast meeting with top honchos of India Inc at the iconic, sea-facing Taj Hotel 
here.
Amongst those from India Inc who were present at the meeting included Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Group and Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani.
Others present were the chiefs of India's two largest banks, O P Bhatt of State Bank and Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank, Swati Piramal and Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys Founder N R Narayana Murthy and a leading proponent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the country.
Industrialist Jamshyd Godrej and Tata Group official R K Krishna Kumar also interacted with Clinton along with renowned corporates including Ashok Ganguly and Amrita Patel.
India Inc is widely expected to discuss the subject of protectionism and outsourcing, issues which are bound to impact them, especially in this period of global economic meltdown, at the meeting with Clinton.
The meeting is also widely expected to focus on CSR, a subject close to Clinton's heart.
Clinton arrived here last night on an official visit to India during which high-level discussions are likely to promote bilateral co-operation in USD 30-billion Indian civil nuclear power programme and USD 43-billion bilateral trade.
Amongst those from India Inc who were present at the meeting included Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Group and Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani.
Others present were the chiefs of India's two largest banks, O P Bhatt of State Bank and Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank, Swati Piramal and Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys Founder N R Narayana Murthy and a leading proponent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the country.
Industrialist Jamshyd Godrej and Tata Group official R K Krishna Kumar also interacted with Clinton along with renowned corporates including Ashok Ganguly and Amrita Patel.
India Inc is widely expected to discuss the subject of protectionism and outsourcing, issues which are bound to impact them, especially in this period of global economic meltdown, at the meeting with Clinton.
The meeting is also widely expected to focus on CSR, a subject close to Clinton's heart.
Clinton arrived here last night on an official visit to India during which high-level discussions are likely to promote bilateral co-operation in USD 30-billion Indian civil nuclear power programme and USD 43-billion bilateral trade.
India Inc may be heading for a profitable year with early corporate results for the first quarter of the new fiscal showing significant
improvement in margins despite slower revenue growth. The first set of 59 non-banking companies to come out with their numbers for the quarter ended June 30 have reported a 21% year-on-year growth in net profit, the highest in four quarters, while their aggregate net sales grew 11%, an ET study shows.
Banks were excluded from the study as their income is dependent on the interest rate regime and does not necessarily reflect demand growth in the economy.
Slower sales growth indicates that the corporate sector is yet to see a significant pick-up in demand but there has been a major improvement in profit generation as cost pressures have eased. The companies saw expenses like wage bill, raw material costs, interest costs and fuel and power expenses rise much more moderately than before.
The wage bill, for example, grew just 9% in the first quarter compared with 34% in the year-ago period.
However, it may be too early to take a call on overall corporate results for the quarter as the sample size is small and includes mostly small and medium-sized companies.
Banks were excluded from the study as their income is dependent on the interest rate regime and does not necessarily reflect demand growth in the economy.
Slower sales growth indicates that the corporate sector is yet to see a significant pick-up in demand but there has been a major improvement in profit generation as cost pressures have eased. The companies saw expenses like wage bill, raw material costs, interest costs and fuel and power expenses rise much more moderately than before.
The wage bill, for example, grew just 9% in the first quarter compared with 34% in the year-ago period.
However, it may be too early to take a call on overall corporate results for the quarter as the sample size is small and includes mostly small and medium-sized companies.
Divestment plans, earnings take Nifty close to 4400! Surya R Kannoth, ET Bureau writes correctly:
The market euphoria is likely to be maintained in the forthcoming week as global and domestic corporates unveil their earnings for the
April-June quarter. So far, the earnings season has helped improve sentiment across the globe on hopes of a faster economic revival.
"The market has given a fresh breakout on the upside. In the coming week, the Nifty could run up to 4600. Beyond this 200-250 point rally, the market could get into a consolidation mode. Sectorwise, banks, power and infrastructure stocks are good bets," said DD Sharma, senior vice president at Anand Rathi Securities.
Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex settled at 14,744.92, higher by 9.19 per cent or 1,240.70 points from the previous week. National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 2.26 per cent or 371 points to 4374.95.
Last week, the market posted its biggest weekly fall in eight months, after the government's budget offered little in terms of bold economic and financial reforms.
Concerns still linger about stretched valuations and uncertainty surrounding the domestic economy and corporate earnings growth, but the momentum in overseas markets is spurring the equity benchmarks higher, traders said.
"Given the current market momentum, equity benchmarks are expected to open on a higher note next week. However, looking at Friday's move, midcaps and smallcaps have not moved in tandem with the Nifty. Volumes are also on the lower side which suggests that there was not much participation. This casts a shadow on the sustainability of the momentum," said Ambareesh Baliga, head of research at Karvy Stock Broking.
Baliga added, "We have advised clients to hold their positions in technology stocks, although no fresh buying has not been recommended. The auto space also looks attractive."
Equities worldwide have rallied this week on the back of strong earnings declaration by US corporates, and encouraging economic data from China and Singapore signalled the turmoil in the global economy was easing.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Stocks/Market-News/Market-mood-to-remain-positive-earnings-watched/articleshow/4791742.cms
"The market has given a fresh breakout on the upside. In the coming week, the Nifty could run up to 4600. Beyond this 200-250 point rally, the market could get into a consolidation mode. Sectorwise, banks, power and infrastructure stocks are good bets," said DD Sharma, senior vice president at Anand Rathi Securities.
Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex settled at 14,744.92, higher by 9.19 per cent or 1,240.70 points from the previous week. National Stock
Last week, the market posted its biggest weekly fall in eight months, after the government's budget offered little in terms of bold economic and financial reforms.
Concerns still linger about stretched valuations and uncertainty surrounding the domestic economy and corporate earnings growth, but the momentum in overseas markets is spurring the equity benchmarks higher, traders said.
"Given the current market momentum, equity benchmarks are expected to open on a higher note next week. However, looking at Friday's move, midcaps and smallcaps have not moved in tandem with the Nifty. Volumes are also on the lower side which suggests that there was not much participation. This casts a shadow on the sustainability of the momentum," said Ambareesh Baliga, head of research at Karvy Stock Broking.
Baliga added, "We have advised clients to hold their positions in technology stocks, although no fresh buying has not been recommended. The auto space also looks attractive."
Equities worldwide have rallied this week on the back of strong earnings declaration by US corporates, and encouraging economic data from China and Singapore signalled the turmoil in the global economy was easing.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Stocks/Market-News/Market-mood-to-remain-positive-earnings-watched/articleshow/4791742.cms
Mukesh Ambani-led RIL on Friday said it would not be possible to supply gas to Anil Ambani group firm RNRL without the government's nod
and requested the Supreme Court not to restrain it from selling gas to others.
Accusing RNRL of taking contradictory stands in an attempt to mislead Supreme Court, RIL said in its affidavit that the interim relief sought by the other party on gas sale be rejected as it did not have any plants capable of receiving the fuel.
RIL also submitted that any damages suffered by RNRL, if established, can be recompensated later by money and added that gas supplied at this stage to RNRL could be used only for the purpose of trading with third parties.
"The profits that RNRL may make is not a concern of RIL. In fact, RNRL was created just so that it could earn such a profit," RNRL had said in its affidavit filed in Supreme Court on Tuesday in reply to a separate petition by RIL.
Stating that it can't sell gas to anybody without official nod, the affidavit filed by RIL's law firm Parekh & Company said today the government as such had rejected the price of USD 2.34 per mmBtu for gas. The current applicable price as per government formula is USD 4.20 per mmBtu.
Both RIL and RNRL have filed cross-appeals challenging the Bombay High Court decision on gas supply, in which the Mukesh Ambani-run firm has named the government as intervener. The government's affidavit is expected anytime now.
Accusing RNRL of taking contradictory stands in an attempt to mislead Supreme Court, RIL said in its affidavit that the interim relief sought by the other party on gas sale be rejected as it did not have any plants capable of receiving the fuel.
RIL also submitted that any damages suffered by RNRL, if established, can be recompensated later by money and added that gas supplied at this stage to RNRL could be used only for the purpose of trading with third parties.
"The profits that RNRL may make is not a concern of RIL. In fact, RNRL was created just so that it could earn such a profit," RNRL had said in its affidavit filed in Supreme Court on Tuesday in reply to a separate petition by RIL.
Stating that it can't sell gas to anybody without official nod, the affidavit filed by RIL's law firm Parekh & Company said today the government as such had rejected the price of USD 2.34 per mmBtu for gas. The current applicable price as per government formula is USD 4.20 per mmBtu.
| Also Read |
| → KG gas belongs to govt, not Ambanis: Deora |
| → Reliance gas for Tata only if it installs new turbine |
| → RNRL ready to follow gas-use policy till Dadri plant is ready |
Both RIL and RNRL have filed cross-appeals challenging the Bombay High Court decision on gas supply, in which the Mukesh Ambani-run firm has named the government as intervener. The government's affidavit is expected anytime now.
Anand Sharma new BoT Chairman, replacing Kumar Mangalam Birla!
Ahead of the new Foreign Trade Policy, likely to be announced next month, the Government has named Commerce and Industry Minister Anand
Sharma as Chairman of the Board of Trade, a post last held by industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla.
The Board is the Government's highest advisory body on export- and import-related issues.
"The Commerce & Industry Minister will be the Chairman of the Board of Trade (BOT)," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.
The BoT advises the Government on policy measures for preparing and implementing both short- and long-term plans for increasing exports in the light of emerging national and international economic situations.
India's exports are on the downslide since October 2008 as the country became a victim of demand slump in the major economies including in the US and the European Union.
Among others, the Secretary in the Departments of Commerce and Revenue and Ministries of External Affairs and Textiles are members of the Board, which meets at least once every quarter.
The President or Secretary-General of national chambers of commerce such as the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Assocham are ex-offico members of the BoT.
The Board is the Government's highest advisory body on export- and import-related issues.
"The Commerce & Industry Minister will be the Chairman of the Board of Trade (BOT)," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.
The BoT advises the Government on policy measures for preparing and implementing both short- and long-term plans for increasing exports in the light of emerging national and international economic situations.
India's exports are on the downslide since October 2008 as the country became a victim of demand slump in the major economies including in the US and the European Union.
Among others, the Secretary in the Departments of Commerce and Revenue and Ministries of External Affairs and Textiles are members of the Board, which meets at least once every quarter.
The President or Secretary-General of national chambers of commerce such as the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Assocham are ex-offico members of the BoT.
In a new twist to the battle between Anil and Mukesh Ambani group firms, the government today asked the Supreme Court to make it a respondent in the ongoing gas supply dispute to safeguard its interests.
In its affidevit filed in the apex court in response to a petition filed by Mukesh Ambani-led RIL seeking to make government an intervener, the Petroleum Ministry said that it should be impleaded as a party in the dispute.
Younger Ambani sibling Anil's group firm RNRL had also filed a petition in the apex court seeking modification in the Bombay High Court ruling to make it incumbent on RIL to supply gas from KG Basin fields at a price of USD 2.34 per mmBtu, which is 44 per cent lower than that fixed by the government.
The Petroleum Ministry affidavit said: "Union of India's interests are vitally involved and affected by the High Court judgement and considering this fact, it would be more appropriate to make Union of India as a party."
It further said that the government's involvement in the proceedings was aimed at effectively resolving the controversy that has arisen in the matter.
Earlier in the day, RIL had said in its affidavit filed in connection with the cross-appeals filed by the two groups that it was only a contractor and did not have "any unfettered rights" in the quantity and price of gas and hence cannot give the same to RNRL without the consent of the government.
RNRL, on the other hand, has contended that RIL was trying to make the dispute as one between it and the government, which it argued had no role in the issue.
In its affidevit filed in the apex court in response to a petition filed by Mukesh Ambani-led RIL seeking to make government an intervener, the Petroleum Ministry said that it should be impleaded as a party in the dispute.
Younger Ambani sibling Anil's group firm RNRL had also filed a petition in the apex court seeking modification in the Bombay High Court ruling to make it incumbent on RIL to supply gas from KG Basin fields at a price of USD 2.34 per mmBtu, which is 44 per cent lower than that fixed by the government.
The Petroleum Ministry affidavit said: "Union of India's interests are vitally involved and affected by the High Court judgement and considering this fact, it would be more appropriate to make Union of India as a party."
It further said that the government's involvement in the proceedings was aimed at effectively resolving the controversy that has arisen in the matter.
Earlier in the day, RIL had said in its affidavit filed in connection with the cross-appeals filed by the two groups that it was only a contractor and did not have "any unfettered rights" in the quantity and price of gas and hence cannot give the same to RNRL without the consent of the government.
RNRL, on the other hand, has contended that RIL was trying to make the dispute as one between it and the government, which it argued had no role in the issue.
Key indices bounced back Friday to end on a high note as traders bought frontline stocks heavily taking cues from better than expected earnings in the US and back home. Government's clarity on disinvestment and reforms triggered the rally.
According to the finance secretary Ashok Chawla, India will push key financial sector reforms, including raising foreign investment limit in insurance companies. He also asserted that government's decision on divestment of listed and unlisted public sector undertakings.
There are reports that the government may sell stake in unlisted PSUs like Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, Manganese Ore Ltd, Kudremukh Iron Ore Company and listed companies like NMDC, NTPC, REC and Engineers India.
"US markets have given a strong breakout and Indian government's plans on divestment and reforms pushed the indices. Traders who shorted market around July 6 when head and shoulder pattern was formed were seen covering shorts," said Arun Mewawalla, senior derivatives analyst, Quantum Securities.
National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 4374.95, up 143.55 points or 3.39 per cent. The broader index hit a high of 4390.40 and low of 4230.15.
Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex closed at 14744.92, up 494.67 points or 3.47 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 14800.70 and low of 14325.58.
"Next immediate target for Nifty is near 4480 and it may also retest 4700. Option writers who were bearish on the market covered short calls while writing put option on the Nifty," Mewawalla added.
The BSE Midcap Index moved up 2.31 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 2.44 per cent. Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Auto Index was up 5.16 per cent, BSE Bankex gained 4.76 per cent and BSE IT Index moved 4.11 per cent higher.
HCL Technologies (10.91%), Reliance Infrastructure (8.69%), M&M (7.98%), ICICI Bank (7.06%) and Reliance Capital (7.03%) were amongst the Nifty gainers.
GAIL (-0.66%), Sterlite Industries (-0.31%), Reliance Power (-0.30%) and NTPC (-0.05%) were the only Nifty losers.
Market breadth on the Nifty was positive with 46 advances outnumbering 4 declines.
Results update:
Crompton Greaves posted consolidated net profit of Rs. 160.35 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 against Rs. 122.61 crore for the corresponding quarter of 2008. Net sales stood at Rs. 2197.52 crore against Rs. 2034.75 crore in the year earlier quarter. The scrip closed 6.94 per cent higher.
Colgate Palmolive India posted a net profit of Rs 1027.80 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared to Rs 719.20 million for the corresponding quarter of 2008. Total revenue increased to Rs 4939.80 million from Rs 4359.90 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The share ended with 2 per cent gains.
India Infoline posted standalone net profit of Rs. 44.50 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 against Rs. 41.18 crore for the same quarter of 2008. Net sales was Rs. 179.51 crore against Rs. 161.33 crore for the year earlier quarter. The stock closed 2.04 per cent lower.
According to the finance secretary Ashok Chawla, India will push key financial sector reforms, including raising foreign investment limit in insurance companies. He also asserted that government's decision on divestment of listed and unlisted public sector undertakings.
There are reports that the government may sell stake in unlisted PSUs like Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, Manganese Ore Ltd, Kudremukh Iron Ore Company and listed companies like NMDC, NTPC, REC and Engineers India.
"US markets have given a strong breakout and Indian government's plans on divestment and reforms pushed the indices. Traders who shorted market around July 6 when head and shoulder pattern was formed were seen covering shorts," said Arun Mewawalla, senior derivatives analyst, Quantum Securities.
National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 4374.95, up 143.55 points or 3.39 per cent. The broader index hit a high of 4390.40 and low of 4230.15.
Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex closed at 14744.92, up 494.67 points or 3.47 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 14800.70 and low of 14325.58.
"Next immediate target for Nifty is near 4480 and it may also retest 4700. Option writers who were bearish on the market covered short calls while writing put option on the Nifty," Mewawalla added.
The BSE Midcap Index moved up 2.31 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 2.44 per cent. Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Auto Index was up 5.16 per cent, BSE Bankex gained 4.76 per cent and BSE IT Index moved 4.11 per cent higher.
HCL Technologies (10.91%), Reliance Infrastructure (8.69%), M&M (7.98%), ICICI Bank (7.06%) and Reliance Capital (7.03%) were amongst the Nifty gainers.
GAIL (-0.66%), Sterlite Industries (-0.31%), Reliance Power (-0.30%) and NTPC (-0.05%) were the only Nifty losers.
Market breadth on the Nifty was positive with 46 advances outnumbering 4 declines.
Results update:
Crompton Greaves posted consolidated net profit of Rs. 160.35 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 against Rs. 122.61 crore for the corresponding quarter of 2008. Net sales stood at Rs. 2197.52 crore against Rs. 2034.75 crore in the year earlier quarter. The scrip closed 6.94 per cent higher.
Colgate Palmolive India posted a net profit of Rs 1027.80 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared to Rs 719.20 million for the corresponding quarter of 2008. Total revenue increased to Rs 4939.80 million from Rs 4359.90 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The share ended with 2 per cent gains.
India Infoline posted standalone net profit of Rs. 44.50 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 against Rs. 41.18 crore for the same quarter of 2008. Net sales was Rs. 179.51 crore against Rs. 161.33 crore for the year earlier quarter. The stock closed 2.04 per cent lower.
Sunil Mittal to step down from Standard Chartered board
While making amply clear that "Pakistan must root out anti-India terror groups", US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday
Indian telecom czar Sunil Mittal will be stepping down from the board of British banking major Standard Chartered as a non-executive
director with effect from July 31.
Mittal is the Chairman and group Chief Executive of diversified Indian group Bharti Enterprises.
Standard Chartered in a statement today said Mittal has decided to step down from the board and resign from the company effective July 31, 2009.
He has been a Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered since August 1, 2007.
Bharti Enterprises is the unlisted parent of Bharti Airtel.
Standard Chartered is advising Bharti in a deal that could lead to a merger with South Africa's MTN Group, creating the world's No. 3 wireless group with more than 200 million subscribers and combined revenue of $20 billion.
According to sources, Bharti Airtel, Mittal's telecom firm, may seek some funds from Standard Chartered for its proposed $23 billion-deal with South African entity MTN.
But company sources said this was not the reason for Mittal's decision to step down.
In the statement, Mittal said, "... given my involvement with Bharti Enterprises, it is becoming increasingly difficult to balance my time with the demands placed on a Non-Executive Director on the board of a bank".
"It is therefore with regret that I have tendered my resignation and I wish the Bank every success in the future as it continues to pursue its highly effective strategy," Mittal noted.
Standard Chartered's Chairman John Peace said Mittal has been an excellent non-executive director.
"He has been a pleasure to work with over the past two years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his valuable contribution to the company," Peace added.
Mittal is the Chairman and group Chief Executive of diversified Indian group Bharti Enterprises.
Standard Chartered in a statement today said Mittal has decided to step down from the board and resign from the company effective July 31, 2009.
He has been a Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered since August 1, 2007.
Bharti Enterprises is the unlisted parent of Bharti Airtel.
Standard Chartered is advising Bharti in a deal that could lead to a merger with South Africa's MTN Group, creating the world's No. 3 wireless group with more than 200 million subscribers and combined revenue of $20 billion.
According to sources, Bharti Airtel, Mittal's telecom firm, may seek some funds from Standard Chartered for its proposed $23 billion-deal with South African entity MTN.
But company sources said this was not the reason for Mittal's decision to step down.
In the statement, Mittal said, "... given my involvement with Bharti Enterprises, it is becoming increasingly difficult to balance my time with the demands placed on a Non-Executive Director on the board of a bank".
"It is therefore with regret that I have tendered my resignation and I wish the Bank every success in the future as it continues to pursue its highly effective strategy," Mittal noted.
Standard Chartered's Chairman John Peace said Mittal has been an excellent non-executive director.
"He has been a pleasure to work with over the past two years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his valuable contribution to the company," Peace added.
Meanwhile, Economic Times reports:
While making amply clear that "Pakistan must root out anti-India terror groups", US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday
reiterated the US commitment to be with India in tackling terror.
First day of Ms Clinton's maiden official India tour began with the US secretary of state attending a commemorative event in the memory of 26/11 victims at the Taj Palace, Mumbai's one of the iconic building that was attacked by terrorists from Pakistan in November last year.
Later she held a breakfast meeting with India's top 10 business leaders including Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Swati Piramal, Jamshyd Godrej, OP Bhatt and Chanda Kochhar at the Taj Palace. After over 90 minutes meeting Ms Clinton made a brief statement before the media.
She made categorically clear that Pakistan shall have to root-out terror groups from its soil indulged in anti-India activities. She told a crowded news confer-ence that "There is a concerted effort (from Pakistan) we can look forward to. It is too early to tell the outcome of this commitment from Pakistan. In the next few days, I believe, there will be greater awareness whether or not to bring the Mumbai terrorists to justice." She also said US had seen "a much greater effort and commitment ... to take on the terrorists" in Pakistan.
Asked if she believed that Islamabad needed to act against terrorist group ac-tive against India, she said: "We believe they have to be rooted out, they must be defeated, they must be dismantled. We say that clearly, we will continue to do so."
Ms Clinton once again brushed aside suggestions that India and Pakistan had agreed to resume their talks under American pressure, pointing out that both were "sovereign nations". According to her the US was "supportive" of the talks but was not "directly involved". India and Pakistan had taken the "decision between them", she claimed referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani's meeting at Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh Thursday on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit where the two leaders agreed to resume talks at the foreign secretary level.
Ms Clinton also asserted that US was "very committed" in the fight against terrorism. "We are seeking to talk with our Indian counterparts in the coming days on how to tackle the threat of terrorism," she said.
She condemned the bombing of two hotels in Indonesia Friday that left at least eight people dead, terming it a "stark reminder" of the threat that terrorism posed globally.
In reply to a question on India's commitment to the global warming the US secretary of state said: India is innovative and entrepreneurial enough to deal with climate change without sacrificing growth.
First day of Ms Clinton's maiden official India tour began with the US secretary of state attending a commemorative event in the memory of 26/11 victims at the Taj Palace, Mumbai's one of the iconic building that was attacked by terrorists from Pakistan in November last year.
Later she held a breakfast meeting with India's top 10 business leaders including Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Swati Piramal, Jamshyd Godrej, OP Bhatt and Chanda Kochhar at the Taj Palace. After over 90 minutes meeting Ms Clinton made a brief statement before the media.
She made categorically clear that Pakistan shall have to root-out terror groups from its soil indulged in anti-India activities. She told a crowded news confer-ence that "There is a concerted effort (from Pakistan) we can look forward to. It is too early to tell the outcome of this commitment from Pakistan. In the next few days, I believe, there will be greater awareness whether or not to bring the Mumbai terrorists to justice." She also said US had seen "a much greater effort and commitment ... to take on the terrorists" in Pakistan.
Asked if she believed that Islamabad needed to act against terrorist group ac-tive against India, she said: "We believe they have to be rooted out, they must be defeated, they must be dismantled. We say that clearly, we will continue to do so."
Ms Clinton once again brushed aside suggestions that India and Pakistan had agreed to resume their talks under American pressure, pointing out that both were "sovereign nations". According to her the US was "supportive" of the talks but was not "directly involved". India and Pakistan had taken the "decision between them", she claimed referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani's meeting at Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh Thursday on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit where the two leaders agreed to resume talks at the foreign secretary level.
Ms Clinton also asserted that US was "very committed" in the fight against terrorism. "We are seeking to talk with our Indian counterparts in the coming days on how to tackle the threat of terrorism," she said.
She condemned the bombing of two hotels in Indonesia Friday that left at least eight people dead, terming it a "stark reminder" of the threat that terrorism posed globally.
In reply to a question on India's commitment to the global warming the US secretary of state said: India is innovative and entrepreneurial enough to deal with climate change without sacrificing growth.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4792227.cms
A group of Maoists blew up the police outpost in Katingia Friday night, Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Pravin Kumar told IANS on phone. The district headquarters is about 200 km from the state capital.
Though local media reports said some constables were missing after the incident, Kumar denied the reports.
"No policemen are missing. We have already established contact with our personnel there and a combing operation is on to nab the rebels," he said.
There is no inherent contradiction between poverty eradication and moving to-ward a low-carbon economy, she said.
MUMBAI: Shares of Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Infosys Technologies may see some action on reports that Israeli tech firms are looking at
emerging markets such as India and China for contracts, especially in e-governance projects. Pegasus Technologies, which provides digital pens and solutions, will be tying up with retail chains in India. Pegasus is eyeing e-governance projects, such as those available in the central railways information system (CRIS), postal department and NIC Delhi, through its local partner Hi-Tech Solutions.
The realty space may see some renewed interest on reports that 20 players have shown interest in National Textile Corporation's Finlay Mill land in central Mumbai, which has been put on the block for the third time. These players include Reliance Vorando, Tata Realty, Lodha Developers, DB Realty, Nahar Group and Kalpataru Developers. NTC has set its reserve price at Rs 708 crore for the mill land which sits on an area of 10.3 acres. The reserve price for the property is down from Rs 1,065 crore to Rs 708 crore, though NTC is yet to make that public. The bidding will take place on July 16.
Having put its plans of setting up MDF plants in Punjab and Uttarakhand on hold till the economy revives, Century Plyboards' plan to raise Rs 250 crore through the qualified institutional placement route has undergone a change. The company is in talks with global and domestic private equity players to raise Rs 100-150 crore to part-finance its cement expansion plans.
Siemens Information Systems, a unit of engineering group Siemens, has said it has laid-off 128 employees as part of cost-cutting measures. Shares of the engineering major ended 2.64 per cent lower at Rs 412.95 on the BSE.
The government is open to allowing private sector oil firms such as Reliance Industries, Essar Oil and Shell India to access government subsidy on domestic fuel sales on condition they pass on the benefits to consumers. Shares of the oil companies could see an upside on this development.
Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone is set to win the rights to develop and operate a Rs 252 crore, 4.6 million tonnes per year coal terminal at the government-owned Mormugao port. Shares of the company ended 4 per cent higher at Rs 514.95 on Friday.
Shares of Gammon India will take a beating after the collapse of a part of an under construction Delhi Metro line which is the second accident involving the construction company. Five people were killed and 15 injured when a part of the elevated under construction metro track came crashing down near Kailash Colony in south Delhi on the Central Secretariat-Badarpur section slated to open by September 2010 when the Commonwealth Games are to be hosted in the city.
On Sep 9, 2007, two people were killed and several injured when eight pre-cast blocks caved in at the flyover in Hyderabad due to heavy rains. The flyover was being constructed by Gammon India.
Slideshow
Oil cos Q1 show may be poor: Analysts
which will use the Indian firm's submarine cable network to route their India traffic.
These carriers will link to Bharti's undersea cable network hubs in London and Singapore and carry their voice and data traffic through the latter's infrastructure, said David Nishball, the company's president for enterprise services.
This means many of these carriers will not take an international long distance (ILD) licence in India and roll out their own networks here. Bharti is also expanding its points of presence of its ILD network to 17 global destinations from five at present. Besides, the company will soon announce the formation of terrestrial cable consortiums that will link the neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and China.
The enterprise segment accounts for 22% of Bharti Airtel's total revenues. "Last year, we launched 'India with Airtel', where we offered to share our networks with any international carrier that wants to enter India. We are offering many of our partners 15-year contracts and part ownership of the capacity on our submarine cables," Mr Nishball said.
He, however, refused to reveal the names of the partners. He said the telco would make a series of announcements about these partnerships soon.
Mr Nishball said all the agreements were reciprocal and would allow Bharti to use the undersea cables of all these carriers across the globe. "This enhances our global reach by multiple times," he added.
Explaining the logic behind the partnerships, Mr Nishball said Bharti did not view the international long distance cable business as a market that needs to be protected. It is this philosophy that has led to Bharti Airtel joining several major upcoming undersea cable consortiums across the globe.
The telco has invested about Rs 2,500 crore ($500 million) in the undersea cable business over the last 24 months. Bharti has stakes in five new undersea cable global consortiums that will become operational from 2010-end onwards, Mr Nishball added.
NEW DELHI: Pradeep Jha, a daily wager with a construction company in New Delhi, recently hung up on his mobile operator of two years to switch to a
connection offered by the new mobile operator, Aircel. For Jha, who hails from Darbhanga in Bihar, the reason was purely financial. Cheap inter-state call charges — just half of what the 26-year-old paid earlier — were almost a no-brainer.
And he is not alone. For migrants like Jha, for whom every rupee saved is a rupee earned and vital to support big families back home — nine in Jha's case — the low-tariff plan between Delhi and Bihar would have meant a few hundred rupees saved each month to send home. Jha and others like him are reaping the benefits of 'micro-segmentation', as telecom operators scout for niche user groups to target their services in saturated markets.
Aircel, which launched services in Delhi in March this year, is doing this using what it calls corridor-calling which seeks to offer cheap tariffs between states where it operates. Besides migrants like Jha, its other targets are youth, including first-time jobbers and executives, women, dependants, and small businesses. The company even has an international corridor-calling between Kerala and the Gulf states, and is planning to introduce the facility between Bangladesh and India. India's dream telecom run — with more than 400-million mobile subscribers at last count and adding around 9-million net new users every month — is fast getting entangled in the mesh of fast-saturating urban markets, decreasing revenues per user and shriller competition from players such as Aircel, which were once regional but are expanding nationally.
For the dominant GSM mobile industry, the competition is not just among themselves. Operators such as Reliance Communications and Tata Indicom, which use the rival CDMA technology, have also been turning on the heat with cut-price offers.
For mobile operators under intense pressure to keep up the numbers, micro-segmenting has come in handy, as this new tool helps them comb the market for finer, sharper and more nuanced consumer segments to attract new users, retain and better serve old ones, and more importantly, earn more. "The smallest of our segments is now in six figures," says Shirish Joshi, marketing director of Airtel, India's largest mobile operator in terms of users. He declined to elaborate on these segments, as he did not want to reveal sensitive competitive information.
The fact that Airtel, India's largest and most profitable telecom company with a user base of more than 100-million users, thinks worth its while to serve and protect the identity of one segment, is a testimony to the cut-throat nature of the mobile market. "As the nth player in the market, we had to adopt a different horses-for-courses approach," says Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel. The company claims to have 21-million subscribers in the 18 circles in which it operates.
Recovery only by 2nd half of 2010: Norman Sorensen| Maoists blow up police outpost in Orissa | |||
Maoist rebels have blown up a police outpost in Orissa's Kandhamal district, police said Saturday.
A group of Maoists blew up the police outpost in Katingia Friday night, Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Pravin Kumar told IANS on phone. The district headquarters is about 200 km from the state capital.
Though local media reports said some constables were missing after the incident, Kumar denied the reports.
"No policemen are missing. We have already established contact with our personnel there and a combing operation is on to nab the rebels," he said.
There is no inherent contradiction between poverty eradication and moving to-ward a low-carbon economy, she said.
GAIL to lay down 600-km long gas pipeline in MP
: Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) will lay down a 600-km long gas pipeline from Jhabua to Kailaras in Madhya Pradesh at an estimated cost
of Rs 3,000 crore, a top company official said today.
"The proposed gas pipeline from Jhabua to Kailaras covering a distance of nearly 600 km will be laid at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore," GAIL Chairman U D Choubey told reporters at the company's Vijaypur plant.
"It will have a visible impact in the area in the next two-three years," he said.
The cost of the pipleline between the two points (Jhabua and Kailaras) will be Rs 2,500 crore while another Rs 500 crore will be spent on installing two compressors, the Chairman said.
GAIL has already laid down 6000 km long gas pipeline in India and has plans to lay down a pipeline of equivalent length across the country, he said.
The company also plans to supply piped gas in a radius of 50 km in the cities situated along the route of the pipeline and nearly 230 cities and towns including Guna, Indore, Gwalior and Malanpur have been shortlisted for the purpose, Chobey said.
: Gas
"The proposed gas pipeline from Jhabua to Kailaras covering a distance of nearly 600 km will be laid at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore," GAIL Chairman U D Choubey told reporters at the company's Vijaypur plant.
"It will have a visible impact in the area in the next two-three years," he said.
The cost of the pipleline between the two points (Jhabua and Kailaras) will be Rs 2,500 crore while another Rs 500 crore will be spent on installing two compressors, the Chairman said.
GAIL has already laid down 6000 km long gas pipeline in India and has plans to lay down a pipeline of equivalent length across the country, he said.
The company also plans to supply piped gas in a radius of 50 km in the cities situated along the route of the pipeline and nearly 230 cities and towns including Guna, Indore, Gwalior and Malanpur have been shortlisted for the purpose, Chobey said.
BJP slams govt for 'surrender' to Pak, walks out of LS
The BJP staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha on Friday led by Leader of Opposition L K Advani, who registered a strong protest against PM
The BJP staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha on Friday led by Leader of Opposition L K Advani, who registered a strong protest against PM
Manmohan Singh "conceding" ground to Pakistan on the issue of cross-border terror.
Advani asked the PM what had led the government to delink terror talks from the composite dialogue and why the government had chosen to reverse the stand it had taken after the Mumbai attacks. The party accused the government of "surrending before Pakistan" .
On Balochistan finding mention in the joint statement, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told reporters , "Allowing Pakistan to refer to Balochistan in the joint statement is allowing a perennial source of harrassment for India and it gives Pakistan an opportunity to level the bizzarre charge that Indian agencies also use terror."
The BJP slammed the government over the outcome of the meeting between the PM and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani. It said the joint statement between the two countries had "reversed India's long-standing policy on terror" .
As the party forced the PM to clarify whether he had agreed to delink terror from the composite dialogue, the PM's statement in the LS seemed to have left Opposition benches "dissapointed " as it confirmed their fears, and prompted them to register a protest immediately.
Advani asked the PM what had led the government to delink terror talks from the composite dialogue and why the government had chosen to reverse the stand it had taken after the Mumbai attacks. The party accused the government of "surrending before Pakistan" .
On Balochistan finding mention in the joint statement, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told reporters , "Allowing Pakistan to refer to Balochistan in the joint statement is allowing a perennial source of harrassment for India and it gives Pakistan an opportunity to level the bizzarre charge that Indian agencies also use terror."
The BJP slammed the government over the outcome of the meeting between the PM and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani. It said the joint statement between the two countries had "reversed India's long-standing policy on terror" .
As the party forced the PM to clarify whether he had agreed to delink terror from the composite dialogue, the PM's statement in the LS seemed to have left Opposition benches "dissapointed " as it confirmed their fears, and prompted them to register a protest immediately.
India Inc passed the hard times in hibernation
18 Jul 2009, 0319 hrs IST, Ashish Agrawal, ET Bureau
India Inc put the brakes on investments to create fixed assets such as manufacturing plants and machinery during the year ended March 2009, an ET
Intelligence Group study shows, indicating that companies preferred to conserve cash to see them through the challenging climate.
The study, based on a sample of audited results of 650 public listed companies, shows that the aggregate increase in cash invested for purchase of fixed assets (CFA) slowed to barely 5%, compared to a robust 32.6% growth in the previous year.
The growth in cash flow from operations, an important source of funds for expansion, grew by 14% last year as against a 19% increase the previous fiscal. Moreover, in 2007-08, when the economy expanded by a healthy 9%, growth in investments was far higher than the increase in cash flows of the same set of companies.
But now is the right time for the companies to start capital investments afresh, says Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at commodities exchange NCDEX. "The need for investment today is high as we are on the threshold of a recovery and interest rates are at a low. Borrowings from the euro markets would also be a good option given the soft interest rates. A recovery in the world economy later this year will have an impact on global inflation and the trend would be to go back to increasing interest rates," he observes.
Even in 2008-09, companies such as CESC, Hindustan Unilever, SRF, Century Textiles, ACC, Ambuja Cements and MRF saw CFA grow at a higher rate than cash flows because of previous capital investment commitments. Amtek India, MRF, ACC, HUL, CESC and Ambuja Cements, who spent at least Rs 200 crore in FY08, increased their investment expenditure by 50% during FY09.
The investment pattern of an individual company is primarily based on its existing production capacity and demand and expenditure on fixed assets may see a sharp increase or decrease during a year depending on the stage of the commissioning of its project. But at an aggregate level, the total investment depends upon overall demand and other enabling or inhibiting factors in the economy.
Besides manufacturing companies that create assets to expand their core operations, the sample of companies also includes financial services firms, where fixed assets play a supporting role in businesses such as IT hardware. Even if we exclude this sector, comprising around 180 firms, the big picture remains unchanged. The growth rate of fixed assets investments comes down to 4.7% from 30.9% in FY08. Besides fresh investments for asset creation, capital work-in-progress also dipped 26%, the second consecutive year of decline, indicating that projects under execution have come down and are likely to lead to lower asset creation in the coming years.
The study, based on a sample of audited results of 650 public listed companies, shows that the aggregate increase in cash invested for purchase of fixed assets (CFA) slowed to barely 5%, compared to a robust 32.6% growth in the previous year.
The growth in cash flow from operations, an important source of funds for expansion, grew by 14% last year as against a 19% increase the previous fiscal. Moreover, in 2007-08, when the economy expanded by a healthy 9%, growth in investments was far higher than the increase in cash flows of the same set of companies.
But now is the right time for the companies to start capital investments afresh, says Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at commodities exchange NCDEX. "The need for investment today is high as we are on the threshold of a recovery and interest rates are at a low. Borrowings from the euro markets would also be a good option given the soft interest rates. A recovery in the world economy later this year will have an impact on global inflation and the trend would be to go back to increasing interest rates," he observes.
Even in 2008-09, companies such as CESC, Hindustan Unilever, SRF, Century Textiles, ACC, Ambuja Cements and MRF saw CFA grow at a higher rate than cash flows because of previous capital investment commitments. Amtek India, MRF, ACC, HUL, CESC and Ambuja Cements, who spent at least Rs 200 crore in FY08, increased their investment expenditure by 50% during FY09.
The investment pattern of an individual company is primarily based on its existing production capacity and demand and expenditure on fixed assets may see a sharp increase or decrease during a year depending on the stage of the commissioning of its project. But at an aggregate level, the total investment depends upon overall demand and other enabling or inhibiting factors in the economy.
Besides manufacturing companies that create assets to expand their core operations, the sample of companies also includes financial services firms, where fixed assets play a supporting role in businesses such as IT hardware. Even if we exclude this sector, comprising around 180 firms, the big picture remains unchanged. The growth rate of fixed assets investments comes down to 4.7% from 30.9% in FY08. Besides fresh investments for asset creation, capital work-in-progress also dipped 26%, the second consecutive year of decline, indicating that projects under execution have come down and are likely to lead to lower asset creation in the coming years.
First head rolls: Project director returns to Railways
16 Jul 2009, 1056 hrs IST, Megha Suri, TNN
NEW DELHI: Three days after the concrete segment of a Metro viaduct and a girder launcher collapsed at Zamrudpur in south Delhi, killing six
people, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's Badarpur line in-charge Vijay Anand, director (projects), was repatriated to Indian Railways. Anand, who had been with DMRC since 2001, was also in-charge of the Anand Vihar line on which the Laxmi Nagar incident had happened.
'' In the light of the incidents, Anand put in a request that he be sent back to the Railways, which was acceded to by managing director E Sreedharan on Wednesday. The orders have been issued ,'' said a DMRC spokesperson.
This is the first time a tough stand has been taken against such a senior official in DMRC. Although no reason was given, it is understood that the shifting out was a fallout of the latest mishap that was followed by the cranecollapse the following day during the clean-up operation at the site, which too was being supervised by Anand. The official was also in-charge of the Anand Vihar line where a launcher collapse at Laxmi Nagar had claimed two lives in October last year.
Anand had joined the corporation in 2001 as chief engineer and went on to become the chief project manager of the operational Line 1 (Indraprastha to Dwarka). He commissioned three lines in all — Dilshad Garden to Shahdara, Jehangirpuri to Vishwavidyalaya and Yamuna Bank to IP. In October 2007, he was promoted to the post of Director (Projects).
Meanwhile, the salvage operation continued at Zamrudpur through the day even as work slowed down because of rain. By evening, the launching girder had been cut into several pieces which are being removed from the site. Three cranes of 350-ton and 100-ton capacity are being used to remove the pieces. To prevent any further mishap, the concrete span has been supported with trestle arrangements, wedge packing, sandbags and safety nets.
The other carriageway, however, has not been opened as the space is required for crane movement . A DMRC spokesperson said compensation has been paid to the next-of-kin of those who died in the accident and the injured persons. '' Out of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 50,000 has been paid as interim relief in cash to the next-of-kin of each of the six persons who died in the accident. The rest of the amount of Rs. 4.5 lakh will be converted into fixed deposits for three years,'' said the spokesperson.
The seven people who suffered major injuries have reportedly been given full compensation of Rs 50,000 while eight persons with minor injuries have been paid Rs 10,000 each.
The members of all the inquiry panels have inspected the construction sites. '' The amount of fine or other impositions on the contractor will be decided by DMRC only after receiving the inquiry report and after a complete assessment of the damage that has been caused. The amount has not been decided yet,'' the spokesperson added
'' In the light of the incidents, Anand put in a request that he be sent back to the Railways, which was acceded to by managing director E Sreedharan on Wednesday. The orders have been issued ,'' said a DMRC spokesperson.
This is the first time a tough stand has been taken against such a senior official in DMRC. Although no reason was given, it is understood that the shifting out was a fallout of the latest mishap that was followed by the cranecollapse the following day during the clean-up operation at the site, which too was being supervised by Anand. The official was also in-charge of the Anand Vihar line where a launcher collapse at Laxmi Nagar had claimed two lives in October last year.
Anand had joined the corporation in 2001 as chief engineer and went on to become the chief project manager of the operational Line 1 (Indraprastha to Dwarka). He commissioned three lines in all — Dilshad Garden to Shahdara, Jehangirpuri to Vishwavidyalaya and Yamuna Bank to IP. In October 2007, he was promoted to the post of Director (Projects).
Meanwhile, the salvage operation continued at Zamrudpur through the day even as work slowed down because of rain. By evening, the launching girder had been cut into several pieces which are being removed from the site. Three cranes of 350-ton and 100-ton capacity are being used to remove the pieces. To prevent any further mishap, the concrete span has been supported with trestle arrangements, wedge packing, sandbags and safety nets.
The other carriageway, however, has not been opened as the space is required for crane movement . A DMRC spokesperson said compensation has been paid to the next-of-kin of those who died in the accident and the injured persons. '' Out of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 50,000 has been paid as interim relief in cash to the next-of-kin of each of the six persons who died in the accident. The rest of the amount of Rs. 4.5 lakh will be converted into fixed deposits for three years,'' said the spokesperson.
The seven people who suffered major injuries have reportedly been given full compensation of Rs 50,000 while eight persons with minor injuries have been paid Rs 10,000 each.
The members of all the inquiry panels have inspected the construction sites. '' The amount of fine or other impositions on the contractor will be decided by DMRC only after receiving the inquiry report and after a complete assessment of the damage that has been caused. The amount has not been decided yet,'' the spokesperson added
We will be supportive of Indo-Pak talks: Hillary
However, she predictably denied that the US had put pressure on India to resume the dialogue with Pakistan. "I am very impressed with PM (Manmohan) Singh meeting both president Zardari and now with prime minister Gilani of Pakistan,'' she said. The visit of Ms Clinton comes a day after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and the release of the Indo-Pak joint statement.
The US secretary of state also expressed support for Pakistan for giving a commitment to fighting terror. "I think in the last few days there has been a real commitment that was discussed between prime minister Gilani and prime minister Singh about the commitment of the Pakistani government to pursuing the Mumbai terrorists and their associated organisations who provide the training and the deployment of terrorists,'' she said. Ms Clinton is expected to discuss a wide variety of issues with the Indian leadership including issues related to Pakistan through the Af-Pak policy. Apart from Pakistan, non proliferation and civilian nuclear issues are also set to dominate the dialogue.
This visit is expected to set the agenda for the Indo-US strategic relationship and includes many components ranging from education to agriculture to other areas of bilateral cooperation. A number of pacts are also expected to be signed. Ahead of her arrival in India, foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon met with the new US ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer. Mr Roemer's one-hour meeting with Mr Menon was called a courtesy call. But the two sides discussed the visit of Ms Clinton and the pacts that are set to be signed after bilateral talks.
Ms Clinton was also clear that the US was very concerned about nuclear proliferation but also committed to the civilian nuclear agreement. She said there could be "some announcements about the continuing implementation of that (civil nuclear) agreement" during her visit.
She said that she would hold discussions with the Indian side on "how we can work together for a common purpose of preventing the proliferation of nuclear material and weapons to state and non-state actors to pose a threat to India to the United States and to the many countries around the world".
18 Jul 2009, 0553 hrs IST, ET Bureau
However, she predictably denied that the US had put pressure on India to resume the dialogue with Pakistan. "I am very impressed with PM (Manmohan) Singh meeting both president Zardari and now with prime minister Gilani of Pakistan,'' she said. The visit of Ms Clinton comes a day after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and the release of the Indo-Pak joint statement.
The US secretary of state also expressed support for Pakistan for giving a commitment to fighting terror. "I think in the last few days there has been a real commitment that was discussed between prime minister Gilani and prime minister Singh about the commitment of the Pakistani government to pursuing the Mumbai terrorists and their associated organisations who provide the training and the deployment of terrorists,'' she said. Ms Clinton is expected to discuss a wide variety of issues with the Indian leadership including issues related to Pakistan through the Af-Pak policy. Apart from Pakistan, non proliferation and civilian nuclear issues are also set to dominate the dialogue.
This visit is expected to set the agenda for the Indo-US strategic relationship and includes many components ranging from education to agriculture to other areas of bilateral cooperation. A number of pacts are also expected to be signed. Ahead of her arrival in India, foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon met with the new US ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer. Mr Roemer's one-hour meeting with Mr Menon was called a courtesy call. But the two sides discussed the visit of Ms Clinton and the pacts that are set to be signed after bilateral talks.
Ms Clinton was also clear that the US was very concerned about nuclear proliferation but also committed to the civilian nuclear agreement. She said there could be "some announcements about the continuing implementation of that (civil nuclear) agreement" during her visit.
She said that she would hold discussions with the Indian side on "how we can work together for a common purpose of preventing the proliferation of nuclear material and weapons to state and non-state actors to pose a threat to India to the United States and to the many countries around the world".
SEBI to fund class action suit against Satyam
17 Jul 2009, 1445 hrs IST, Reena Zachariah, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will fund a domestic investors' association that has filed a class action
suit against Satyam Computers, its former promoters, auditors and directors.
The lawsuit is seeking compensation from Satyam and the parties involved for the losses these investors incurred in its stock price crash, after an accounting fraud came into light in January 2009.
The class action, which is a collective lawsuit presented by a representative-member before a court on behalf of a large number of investors, has been filed by New Delhi-based Midas Touch Investor Association in the Supreme Court.
This is among the many several class action suits that the company is facing, mostly in the US. Midas, which represents three lakh investors, collectively holds nine crore shares of Satyam, now renamed Mahindra Satyam.
"We have sought compensation on behalf of retail investors who were defrauded due to fudged accounts, which helped the ex-promoters manipulate prices," said Virendra Jain of Midas Touch Investor Association. The former auditor, Price Waterhouse and the company's directors have been blamed for being party to this fraud.
This is the first instance in the country where Sebi is financially assisting investors to legally challenge wrongdoings by companies or promoters. The market regulator will use the investor protection and education fund of Rs 15 crore, which has so far been used to sponsor investor education programmes, to fund Midas. The association will be reimbursed 75% of the total expenditure on legal proceedings that it will incur.
At present, there are 23 such Sebi-registered investors' associations, who can avail of this aid, provided they prove 1,000 or more investors have been impacted. Although the funding will be approved on a case-to-case basis, lawyers say this will be a new tool for Sebi to protect investors' interest.
Lawsuits here are handled differently from countries like the US, where the lawyer gets his fee only if the verdict is in the clients' favour. They also get a share of the compensation amount. Meanwhile, in India, irrespective of outcome of the case, lawyers charge a flat fee.
The lawsuit is seeking compensation from Satyam and the parties involved for the losses these investors incurred in its stock price crash, after an accounting fraud came into light in January 2009.
The class action, which is a collective lawsuit presented by a representative-member before a court on behalf of a large number of investors, has been filed by New Delhi-based Midas Touch Investor Association in the Supreme Court.
This is among the many several class action suits that the company is facing, mostly in the US. Midas, which represents three lakh investors, collectively holds nine crore shares of Satyam, now renamed Mahindra Satyam.
"We have sought compensation on behalf of retail investors who were defrauded due to fudged accounts, which helped the ex-promoters manipulate prices," said Virendra Jain of Midas Touch Investor Association. The former auditor, Price Waterhouse and the company's directors have been blamed for being party to this fraud.
| Also Read |
| → Fraud-hit Satyam to restate accounts for seven years |
| → Satyam dilemma: SEBI allowed trade, US didn't |
| → Anand Mahindra was interested in Satyam even before scam |
This is the first instance in the country where Sebi is financially assisting investors to legally challenge wrongdoings by companies or promoters. The market regulator will use the investor protection and education fund of Rs 15 crore, which has so far been used to sponsor investor education programmes, to fund Midas. The association will be reimbursed 75% of the total expenditure on legal proceedings that it will incur.
At present, there are 23 such Sebi-registered investors' associations, who can avail of this aid, provided they prove 1,000 or more investors have been impacted. Although the funding will be approved on a case-to-case basis, lawyers say this will be a new tool for Sebi to protect investors' interest.
Lawsuits here are handled differently from countries like the US, where the lawyer gets his fee only if the verdict is in the clients' favour. They also get a share of the compensation amount. Meanwhile, in India, irrespective of outcome of the case, lawyers charge a flat fee.
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Turning Vision into RealityGammon India Limited, the only Indian Construction Company to have been accredited with ISO 9001 certification for all fields of Civil Engineering Works including design, stands out as the gateway for Technological and Engineering excellence in Civil Engineering fields. Gammon's dedicated and experienced team of planners, designers and construction engineers are ever ready to contribute their expertise together and turn vision into reality. This has led us to the position of one of the leading engineering and construction companies in India, who have been rewarded with award and acclaims...Read more
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Urban Viaduct between J J Hospital and Paltan Road Section , Mumbai
With Gammon India as its contractor, KMRC reviews safety measures
Sabyasachi Bandopadhyay Tags : kolkata, metro, KMRC Posted: Wednesday, Jul 15, 2009 at 0446 hrs Kolkata:
Rattled by the Sunday's accident at the Delhi Metro project site that left six people dead and 13 others injured, the Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation (KMRC) is reviewing its safety measures.
The managing director of KMRC, Sumantra Choudhury, was summoned to Delhi on Tuesday by the Corporation's chairman M Ramachandran.
After holding a meeting with Ramachandran, who is also the secretary of the Union Urban Development Ministry and chairman of Delhi Metro Railway Corporation, Choudhury said, "Since Gammon India is involved in both the Metro projects of Delhi and Kolkata, we discussed the necessary safety measures."
Gammon India was given the contract of the Metro stretch where the accident took place on Sunday in Delhi.
The KMRC is currently working on the East-West Metro Corridor that will connect Salt Lake with Howrah. The 13.77 km stretch with 12 stations will cost Rs 4,676 crore and is expected to be completed by 2014.
Delhi Metro mishap: After grief, it's anger for Bankura motherSubhas calls Mamata's proposal absurdMetro security officers may be trained by police and intel bodySunday morning Metro services bring no cheer to authoritiesMetro will get NSG tips to fight terror, tackle disasters
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/With-Gammon-India-as-its-contractor--KMRC-reviews-safety-measures/489487
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/With-Gammon-India-as-its-contractor--KMRC-reviews-safety-measures/489487
Stocks to Watch: TCS, Wipro, Infosys, NTC, RIL, Gammon India
MUMBAI: Shares of Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Infosys Technologies may see some action on reports that Israeli tech firms are looking at
The realty space may see some renewed interest on reports that 20 players have shown interest in National Textile Corporation's Finlay Mill land in central Mumbai, which has been put on the block for the third time. These players include Reliance Vorando, Tata Realty, Lodha Developers, DB Realty, Nahar Group and Kalpataru Developers. NTC has set its reserve price at Rs 708 crore for the mill land which sits on an area of 10.3 acres. The reserve price for the property is down from Rs 1,065 crore to Rs 708 crore, though NTC is yet to make that public. The bidding will take place on July 16.
Having put its plans of setting up MDF plants in Punjab and Uttarakhand on hold till the economy revives, Century Plyboards' plan to raise Rs 250 crore through the qualified institutional placement route has undergone a change. The company is in talks with global and domestic private equity players to raise Rs 100-150 crore to part-finance its cement expansion plans.
Siemens Information Systems, a unit of engineering group Siemens, has said it has laid-off 128 employees as part of cost-cutting measures. Shares of the engineering major ended 2.64 per cent lower at Rs 412.95 on the BSE.
The government is open to allowing private sector oil firms such as Reliance Industries, Essar Oil and Shell India to access government subsidy on domestic fuel sales on condition they pass on the benefits to consumers. Shares of the oil companies could see an upside on this development.
Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone is set to win the rights to develop and operate a Rs 252 crore, 4.6 million tonnes per year coal terminal at the government-owned Mormugao port. Shares of the company ended 4 per cent higher at Rs 514.95 on Friday.
Shares of Gammon India will take a beating after the collapse of a part of an under construction Delhi Metro line which is the second accident involving the construction company. Five people were killed and 15 injured when a part of the elevated under construction metro track came crashing down near Kailash Colony in south Delhi on the Central Secretariat-Badarpur section slated to open by September 2010 when the Commonwealth Games are to be hosted in the city.
On Sep 9, 2007, two people were killed and several injured when eight pre-cast blocks caved in at the flyover in Hyderabad due to heavy rains. The flyover was being constructed by Gammon India.
UPDATE 2-Gammon India shares plunge as bridge tumbles
(Updates share price to close, DMRC chief staying on)
MUMBAI, July 13 (Reuters) - Gammon India Ltd (GAMM.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) shares tumbled by nearly a fifth on Monday after a part of the bridge it was constructing for the Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC) fell, unnerving investors.
The accident killed six people on Sunday morning and prompted the metro chief Elattuvalapil Sreedharan to offer his resignation.
A spokesman for DMRC said government officials had asked Sreedharan to withdraw his resignation, which he did.
"It's not that great a stock to buy, every now and then something goes wrong," Shailesh Kanani, analyst at Angel Broking. "There are many better plays for infrastructure."
An under-construction flyover by Gammon India partially collapsed in Hyderabad in September 2007.
The over-86 year-old company, whose business spans transportation, engineering, hydro power and irrigation, said it would reserve comment until a government committee returned with the results of its investigation into the accident.
"The committee is investigating into the cause. Let the committee come out with a report and then we will comment," Gammon India's vice president, R.L. Telang told Reuters over the telephone.
Newspapers quoted Sreedharan as saying the causes of the accident could have been a fault of the design, the contractor or inferior material. Continued...
BUILDING INDIA
SlideshowSlideshow: Bandra-Worli Sea Link
Oil cos Q1 show may be poor: Analysts
18 Jul 2009, 0517 hrs IST, ET Bureau
| Malay Ghosh elevated as president of Reliance Life 16 Jul 2009, 1404 hrs IST, ECONOMICTIMES.COM | |||
NEW DELHI: Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, on Thursday announced the elevation of Malay Ghosh as president, as part of the company's overall growth plans.
The announcement was made by Sam Ghosh, chief executive officer, Reliance Capital Ltd, in Mumbai.
Malay Ghosh has taken over as the president, Reliance Life Insurance, from his previous role of deputy chief executive officer to further lead and strengthen the organisation and continue to provide direction and focus.
"In his new role, Malay Ghosh will provide overall leadership to the organization and will be responsible for all external stakeholders like the regulatory authority and industry interfaces,'' said Sam Ghosh.
Malay Ghosh joined RLIC over a year back and has provided leadership to the sales and distribution and other functions with remarkable success, during which Reliance Life showed a positive growth of 28 per cent against an industry de-growth of -6 per cent.
"I am happy to take over the new role and responsibilities. Along with my team, I would work towards setting new benchmarks in business leadership, product and services and creating value for customers,'' said Malay Ghosh.
Banks face fines for ATM errors
Bharti Airtel's cables to host 23 global companies18 Jul 2009, 1035 hrs IST, ET Bureau
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| MUMBAI: Banks will now have to pay accountholders a compensation of Rs 100 per day for every day of delay in reversing a failed ATM transaction. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed stringent penalties on banks who fail to reverse a transaction where cash is not dispensed by the ATM but the customer's account gets debited within 12 days. In a circular issued on Friday, RBI has said banks must re-credit such customers' accounts within 12 working days from the date of receipt of the complaint. The circular is in response to complaints from customers who had to put up with delays in getting back money erroneously debited during failed ATM transactions. Besides imposing the stiff penalty, the central bank also made it clear that this amount needs to be credited to the customer's account automatically on the day of the re-credit without the customer having to make a claim. In case the delay is because of a third-party bank ATM through which the customer has transacted, the card-issuing bank must still pay the penalty to the customer. However, it will recover this amount from the bank that owns the ATM. Similarly, if a non-bank network operator is the reason behind the delay, the bank will make the payment and recover the penalty from the operator. Furthermore, the RBI has instructed banks to extend the scope of concurrent audit to cover cases of such delays. Banks are now also required to place a quarterly review of ATM transactions to its board of directors, indicating the quantum of penalties paid, reasons for the same, and the remedial action taken to prevent the recurrence of such cases. A copy will have to be forwarded to the central bank. This apart, the Reserve Bank made a critical note of different banks setting different cutoff limits for permitting cash withdrawals from/for other bank customers. |
11 Jul 2009, 1456 hrs IST, Joji Thomas Philip, ET Now
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel has signed deals with 23 global carriers of voice and data including Australia's Telstra and UK-based Cable & Wireless,  |
These carriers will link to Bharti's undersea cable network hubs in London and Singapore and carry their voice and data traffic through the latter's infrastructure, said David Nishball, the company's president for enterprise services.
This means many of these carriers will not take an international long distance (ILD) licence in India and roll out their own networks here. Bharti is also expanding its points of presence of its ILD network to 17 global destinations from five at present. Besides, the company will soon announce the formation of terrestrial cable consortiums that will link the neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and China.
The enterprise segment accounts for 22% of Bharti Airtel's total revenues. "Last year, we launched 'India with Airtel', where we offered to share our networks with any international carrier that wants to enter India. We are offering many of our partners 15-year contracts and part ownership of the capacity on our submarine cables," Mr Nishball said.
He, however, refused to reveal the names of the partners. He said the telco would make a series of announcements about these partnerships soon.
Mr Nishball said all the agreements were reciprocal and would allow Bharti to use the undersea cables of all these carriers across the globe. "This enhances our global reach by multiple times," he added.
Explaining the logic behind the partnerships, Mr Nishball said Bharti did not view the international long distance cable business as a market that needs to be protected. It is this philosophy that has led to Bharti Airtel joining several major upcoming undersea cable consortiums across the globe.
The telco has invested about Rs 2,500 crore ($500 million) in the undersea cable business over the last 24 months. Bharti has stakes in five new undersea cable global consortiums that will become operational from 2010-end onwards, Mr Nishball added.
| 'Divide and conquer' new caller tune for telcos 18 Jul 2009, 0529 hrs IST, Amit Sharma, ET Bureau | |||
And he is not alone. For migrants like Jha, for whom every rupee saved is a rupee earned and vital to support big families back home — nine in Jha's case — the low-tariff plan between Delhi and Bihar would have meant a few hundred rupees saved each month to send home. Jha and others like him are reaping the benefits of 'micro-segmentation', as telecom operators scout for niche user groups to target their services in saturated markets.
Aircel, which launched services in Delhi in March this year, is doing this using what it calls corridor-calling which seeks to offer cheap tariffs between states where it operates. Besides migrants like Jha, its other targets are youth, including first-time jobbers and executives, women, dependants, and small businesses. The company even has an international corridor-calling between Kerala and the Gulf states, and is planning to introduce the facility between Bangladesh and India. India's dream telecom run — with more than 400-million mobile subscribers at last count and adding around 9-million net new users every month — is fast getting entangled in the mesh of fast-saturating urban markets, decreasing revenues per user and shriller competition from players such as Aircel, which were once regional but are expanding nationally.
| Also Read |
| → Low-frequency band may be made available free |
| → TRAI wants telcos to bear number portability cost |
| → MTNL invites bids from global telcos to run its 3G operations |
For the dominant GSM mobile industry, the competition is not just among themselves. Operators such as Reliance Communications and Tata Indicom, which use the rival CDMA technology, have also been turning on the heat with cut-price offers.
For mobile operators under intense pressure to keep up the numbers, micro-segmenting has come in handy, as this new tool helps them comb the market for finer, sharper and more nuanced consumer segments to attract new users, retain and better serve old ones, and more importantly, earn more. "The smallest of our segments is now in six figures," says Shirish Joshi, marketing director of Airtel, India's largest mobile operator in terms of users. He declined to elaborate on these segments, as he did not want to reveal sensitive competitive information.
The fact that Airtel, India's largest and most profitable telecom company with a user base of more than 100-million users, thinks worth its while to serve and protect the identity of one segment, is a testimony to the cut-throat nature of the mobile market. "As the nth player in the market, we had to adopt a different horses-for-courses approach," says Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel. The company claims to have 21-million subscribers in the 18 circles in which it operates.
18 Jul 2009, 0655 hrs IST, Nishanth Vasudevan, ET Bureau
| MUMBAI: Global markets are unlikely to see a sustained recovery till the second half of 2010, says Norman Sorensen, president and CIO of US
The recent rally in equities was on the premises that the worst is over. Do you agree with that view? We will not see a sustained recovery in global markets until the second half of 2010. Green shoots are obviously emerging...we are seeing some stability in credit markets. Some people are very optimistic. I think, US equities are ahead of themselves, and we are beginning to see some plateauing. Hopefully, the earnings season in the US will be viewed positively, but I do not see a sustained recovery till the later part of next year. The reason for that is unemployment. We have seen 45 million job losses in the US over the past eight months. This has a huge impact on the consumer economy, as it's almost 70% of the US economy. So, that is the drag, but there will be a recovery later and will be fairly sustained. In 2011, the US could grow 3.5-4% because of the inventory reduction. At the moment, there is too much money sloshing around in markets across the world. Isn't there a risk of sudden spurts in inflation? Inflation would be inevitable. The next recovery will have two main features. One, it will be a jobless recovery. Secondly, the liquidity that will be pumped into the market will drive inflation concurrent to that recovery. So, it will be an inflation-driven recovery. So, you will see commodity prices go up across the world. Unfortunately, this will be a hard thing to contain and central banks, across the world, will have to raise rates. I think, the first rate increase in the US could be as early as next April Will a global inflationary wave affect India's growth? What are your concerns about India? The only problem that India will face when the inflationary wave comes is petroleum. Energy is going to be a problem over the next 18 months. But for this one problem, Indian economy will be better than many others. I am not concerned about the credit crunch at the consumer level. At the corporate level, there will be bubbles like the one we saw 6-7 months ago, and we could see volatility. There have been talks about your asset management partner PNB looking to exit the business? We have not been approached by our partner in anyway. So, we don't know where the rumours are coming from. Some statements have been made, but those have been misquoted. | |
| Mobile cos line up Google's Android phone launches 18 Jul 2009, 1058 hrs IST, Writankar Mukherjee , ET Bureau
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| KOLKATA: Google's smartphone operating system (OS) Android is soon going to get a leg up in India with leading cellphone vendors such as HTC, The vendors plan to target Android phones for urban youth users and position them in the mid to high-end segment. While HTC has just started shipping the first Android phone to India, Samsung will roll out its first device, christened Galaxy, next month. Android phones from LG and Motorola's stable are also likely to hit the market by December, industry sources said. Google too expects faster adoption of the Android platform in India with such launches at varying price-points. Talking to ET, Google India director (products) Vinay Goel said 47 companies are working on the Android platform. "Globally, around 15-20 Android handsets will be launched by December. We expect some of these models will be shipped to India as well," he said. HTC has already received favourable response in India from its first Android handset. "Android is an evolving platform and will be one of the mainstay for HTC. It drives internet mobility and the touch factor adds novelty. Since, we roll out 2-3 devices in India every quarter, some of them will be on this platform," HTC India country head Ajay Sharma said. Samsung Mobile country head Sunil Dutt said the company will launch a portfolio of touchscreen Android handsets by year-end. "We will work with Google to ensure faster adoption of the devices in India. Android has the potential to emerge as the next big mobile phone OS," he said. Vendors like Samsung, HTC and LG are bullish that Android will be able to compete against the two most popular smartphone OSSymbian and Windows Mobile. "Our research has shown that consumers really don't care about their handset OS. All they want are exciting applications and experience which are the main driving factors behind Android," said Mr Goel. LG India's head (GSM mobile ) Anil Arora feels the rest test for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa | |||||||
| Research-led institutes are not cheap 18 Jul 2009, 0507 hrs IST, Pankaj Jalote,
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| There are two main goals of an academic enterprise — knowledge creation and knowledge dissemination. However, both these are not necessarily the Institutes like IITs, IISc and IIITs aim to be in the first category, while many of our universities are in the latter category. This separation is there in the US also: the top universities are all research-led places with great emphasis on research, while other universities are typically teaching-led, with only peripheral focus on research. It can easily be argued that for science and technology, the best places for even undergraduate (UG) education are the research-led places. The reasons are easy to see: knowledge in these areas is created at such a rapid pace that institutes that are not actively engaged in research find it hard to keep pace in their knowledge dissemination (teaching) part. Furthermore, the best faculty generally prefers research-led institutes. Empirically also it can be easily established that the best places for UG education in science and engineering are the top research universities — MIT, CalTech, Berkely, Illinois, Princeton, etc, in the US, and IITs, IISc, etc, in India. As there has been an ongoing debate on the role of private capital in higher education, it is useful to understand the costs involved in a research-led Institute. In such an institute, UG students are the primary consumers of education and the primary source of fee revenue. The PG students generally provide some services to the institute (in terms of teaching assistance and help in R&D), and are therefore paid. This pattern holds globally as well as in India for sciences and engineering — PG students are paid some stipend and add to the cost. The manpower or running cost for an institute can be approximated through the faculty strength. For each faculty member, in a research-led institute, we should have at least two masters students and at least one PhD student, and approximately one staff (AICTE suggests more than one, and in IITs it is probably closer to two or three). With this, the overall manpower cost to an institute for each faculty member, in terms of CTC, will be (after Sixth Pay Commission): Rs 10 lakh (faculty) + 6 lakh (staff) + 4 lakh (PhD) + 4 lakh (two masters) = Rs 24 lakh. If each faculty member gets Rs 10 lakh as research grant per year, the faculty cost will reduce by about Rs 2 lakh (the overhead the institute will get). Such an institute can have 15:1 UG student to faculty ratio (which will translate to over 20:1 overall, which is really the limit for such places — IITs have about 12:1). For each 15 UG students the total manpower cost to the institute will be about Rs 22 lakh. If funds for doing research and establishing labs are obtained through funding agencies (the best case scenario), unless there are other sources of revenue, this will have to be recovered through fees, that is, the fee needs to be Rs 1.5 lakh per year per student just for the manpower. Add to this the maintenance and other consumable expenses (water, electricity, etc.), and the cost per student will be over Rs 2 lakh. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Research-led-institutes-are-not-cheap/articleshow/4791467.cms | ||||||||
Budget proposals a mixed bag for oil & gas sector
17 Jul 2009, 1612 hrs IST, Mugdha Lakdawala,
Budget 2009 has generated mixed reactions from different sectors of India Inc. Clarifications on some aspects and silence on others has been a
common feature of this year's proposals across various sectors. From an Oil & Gas sector perspective as well, this has been the experience.
The seven year tax holiday claim for natural gas production had been a subject matter of litigation. Budget 2009 proposals have partially attempted to put an end to this issue.
Budget 2009 has proposed that the tax holiday will be granted to natural gas production from blocks licensed under the VIIIth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). While, this is a positive development, the Finance Ministry continues to maintain silence on availability of the tax holiday from the pre-NELP and NELP-I to NELP-VII blocks as well as gas produced from coal bed methane blocks.
Currently, the tax holiday is granted to an eligible 'undertaking'. The term 'undertaking' is not defined under the current provision and hence, it has been a bone of contention with the tax authorities. Budget 2009 has proposed to define the term 'undertaking', with retrospective effect from 1 April 1999, to mean all blocks awarded under a single contract.
Last year's Budget had restricted the claim for the seven year tax holiday to private sector undertakings engaged in refining of mineral oil provided they began refining before 1 April 2009. This time frame was certainly not enough for a few proposed refineries to avail any tax benefit. Budget 2009 has sought to rectify the situation by extending the period by 3 years. Now, it is proposed that all refineries, whether public or private, will be eligible for the tax holiday provided they commence refining before 1 April 2012.
Although, the industry was optimistic of an exemption from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) for the profits covered by the tax holiday, no amendment has been proposed in that direction. In fact, the MAT rate has been increased from 10 to 15 percent, which in turn has reduced the effective tax holiday benefit available to the players.
In the recent past, the Government had been extensively focusing on providing a policy framework for natural gas distribution networks. The industry had sought a clarification on whether city-gas distribution networks would enjoy the ten year tax holiday granted to cross-country networks. Instead of clarifying that, Budget 2009 seems to provide a set back to players engaged in the business of cross-country natural gas distribution networks by proposing a withdrawal of the tax holiday granted to them earlier. Nonetheless, a 100 percent deduction of capital expenditure (except expenditure incurred on cost of land, goodwill, financial instruments) has been proposed to be allowed to them. Also, any loss incurred in this business is proposed to be carried forward indefinitely to be set-off against other specified businesses. However, the proposal for indefinite loss carry forward would not be of much benefit to the players given the restricted scope for set-off.
Currently, Exploration and Production (E&P)companies are paying input service tax. However, they have no output service tax or excise duty liability against which they can claim credit of such input tax. This has not been in sync with the Government's efforts to reduce the cascading effect of indirect taxes. In this Budget, the industry was expecting a reduction of such undue tax cost.
However, no action has been proposed on the matter. In fact, currently, for the purposes of Service tax, 'India' has been defined to cover only specified designated areas in the Continental Shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (CSEEZ). Budget 2009 proposes to extend this definition to all installations, structures and vessels in the CSEEZ i.e. up to 200 nautical miles from the Indian coastline. This proposal will further aggravate the ever-increasing service tax burden of the E&P players.
Being one of the largest contributors to the Public Exchequer, the Oil & Gas sector was hopeful of more positive support from the Government. In his Budget speech, the Finance Minister has also recognised the importance of this sector. However, considering the direct and indirect tax proposals applicable to the energy sector, it appears that, overall, Budget 2009 has fallen short of industry expectations.
(The author is a senior tax professional with Ernst & Young, India)
The seven year tax holiday claim for natural gas production had been a subject matter of litigation. Budget 2009 proposals have partially attempted to put an end to this issue.
Budget 2009 has proposed that the tax holiday will be granted to natural gas production from blocks licensed under the VIIIth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). While, this is a positive development, the Finance Ministry continues to maintain silence on availability of the tax holiday from the pre-NELP and NELP-I to NELP-VII blocks as well as gas produced from coal bed methane blocks.
Currently, the tax holiday is granted to an eligible 'undertaking'. The term 'undertaking' is not defined under the current provision and hence, it has been a bone of contention with the tax authorities. Budget 2009 has proposed to define the term 'undertaking', with retrospective effect from 1 April 1999, to mean all blocks awarded under a single contract.
Last year's Budget had restricted the claim for the seven year tax holiday to private sector undertakings engaged in refining of mineral oil provided they began refining before 1 April 2009. This time frame was certainly not enough for a few proposed refineries to avail any tax benefit. Budget 2009 has sought to rectify the situation by extending the period by 3 years. Now, it is proposed that all refineries, whether public or private, will be eligible for the tax holiday provided they commence refining before 1 April 2012.
Although, the industry was optimistic of an exemption from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) for the profits covered by the tax holiday, no amendment has been proposed in that direction. In fact, the MAT rate has been increased from 10 to 15 percent, which in turn has reduced the effective tax holiday benefit available to the players.
In the recent past, the Government had been extensively focusing on providing a policy framework for natural gas distribution networks. The industry had sought a clarification on whether city-gas distribution networks would enjoy the ten year tax holiday granted to cross-country networks. Instead of clarifying that, Budget 2009 seems to provide a set back to players engaged in the business of cross-country natural gas distribution networks by proposing a withdrawal of the tax holiday granted to them earlier. Nonetheless, a 100 percent deduction of capital expenditure (except expenditure incurred on cost of land, goodwill, financial instruments) has been proposed to be allowed to them. Also, any loss incurred in this business is proposed to be carried forward indefinitely to be set-off against other specified businesses. However, the proposal for indefinite loss carry forward would not be of much benefit to the players given the restricted scope for set-off.
Currently, Exploration and Production (E&P)companies are paying input service tax. However, they have no output service tax or excise duty liability against which they can claim credit of such input tax. This has not been in sync with the Government's efforts to reduce the cascading effect of indirect taxes. In this Budget, the industry was expecting a reduction of such undue tax cost.
However, no action has been proposed on the matter. In fact, currently, for the purposes of Service tax, 'India' has been defined to cover only specified designated areas in the Continental Shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (CSEEZ). Budget 2009 proposes to extend this definition to all installations, structures and vessels in the CSEEZ i.e. up to 200 nautical miles from the Indian coastline. This proposal will further aggravate the ever-increasing service tax burden of the E&P players.
Being one of the largest contributors to the Public Exchequer, the Oil & Gas sector was hopeful of more positive support from the Government. In his Budget speech, the Finance Minister has also recognised the importance of this sector. However, considering the direct and indirect tax proposals applicable to the energy sector, it appears that, overall, Budget 2009 has fallen short of industry expectations.
(The author is a senior tax professional with Ernst & Young, India)
Committee appointed to look into collapse of Metro rail lineHindu - Jul 14, 2009 The Mumbai Metro One consortium consisting of Reliance Infrastructure and Veolia which is building the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro line, has appointed ... Scaffolding collapses at Chakala Metro site Indian Express After Delhi, Metro blues strike Mumbai Indian Express Process to select private partners beginsExpress Buzz - Jul 16, 2009 The Metro Rail project, is conceived as a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis, way back in 2003 and since then it has undergone numerous ... Maytas out of Metro Rail projectTimes of India - Jul 7, 2009 Five consortia participated in the metro rail financial bids of which the Maytas-led group including Nava Bharat Ventures bagged the contract in August 2008 ... Maytas misses metro Calcutta Telegraph AP Govt scraps Hyderabad Metro project Financial Express MCA may opt for strategic sale of Maytas InfraEconomic Times - 6 hours ago The company lost the prestigious Rs 12000-crore Hyderabad Metro Rail project and has failed to complete a host of infrastructure projects due to want of ... 6 killed in Metro site accident, CM rejects Sreedharan offer to quitIndian Express - Jul 12, 2009 Need of the hour is not resignationBy: S Ravi | Monday , 13 Jul '09 10:08:33 AM Reply | Forward Let us not inherit the legacy of our old railway minister by ... Metro mishap: Six more injured today Mangalorean.com Long wait ahead for Hyderabad METROPR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung) - Jul 16, 2009 Reliance Energy, the front runner in the bidding process, is also developing Mumbai's metro rail along with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority ... Traders' mood doesn't reflect Sensex sharp gainsHindu Business Line - Jul 14, 2009 Reliance Infrastructure gained over 9 per cent, as investors bought on expectations of the company bagging the Hyderabad Metro Rail project. Anil plan to bail out Hyderabad metroCalcutta Telegraph - - Jul 1, 2009 Hyderabad, July 1: Anil Ambani has emerged as a likely saviour of the Hyderabad metro rail project, which got derailed by the Satyam scam. Ambani's Reliance ... Maytas Infra gets bank lifeline Times of India Maytas seeks more funds Express Buzz |
Tax pain for Ambani pipeline
Calcutta Telegraph - - Jul 9, 2009
But while handing out a big tax break to Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd (RGTIL) and the state-owned GAIL (India) Ltd ...
YSR wants PM to settle KG gas allocation Economic Times
Tata Power won't service R-Infra
Economic Times - Jun 25, 2009
Tata Power on Thursday said it will not supply power to the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Infrastructure post-March 2010, bringing to an end two-month-long ...
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