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PM may replace law minister Ashwani Kumar soon: Sources

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 09 Mei 2013 | 21.03

Law minister Ashwani Kumar, who has been under pressure to resign after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Supreme Court that he not only saw the coal scam report but also suggested some changes in it, is likely to be replaced. Sources say that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seriously considering the possibility of replacing Ashwani Kumar.

Also Read: Not Ashwani, not Bansal, it is the PM who needs to go

Sources say that the Manmohan Singh may either ask a senior minister to take the additional charge of the law ministry or go for a minor Cabinet reshuffle to replace Ashwani. Even Railways minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's chair is not secure after his nephew was arrested in the Railway Board bribery and cash-for-jobs scam.

Sources say the decision to remove Ashwani was taken after Karnataka Assembly elections in which the Congress registered a big victory. Sources add after the Karnataka win, the view that action should be taken against ministers facing allegations of impropriety and corruption has gained momentum.

Even though the clamour to sack Ashwani had been growing ever since the CBI admission before the Supreme Court that the law minister was privy to the coal scam report and even got a few changes made in it, the government had been of the view that no decision should be taken on him under pressure from the opposition parties.

As Parliament was adjourned sine die on Wednesday after Karnataka Assembly results went in favour of the Congress, a decision on the two ministers was imminent.

Even though both Ashwani and Bansal are considered close to Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had been very firm that the image of the Congress, already on the back foot on corruption, must not be allowed to take any more beating and any individual whose actions were detrimental to the fight against corruption should be asked to go.

Earlier on Thursday, Ashwani and Attorney General GE Vahanvati had gone to meet Manmohan Singh, just a day after the Supreme Court came down heavily on the government and the CBI for sharing the coal scam probe report. While Vahanvati was able to meet Manmohan Singh, Ashwani had no such luck as the Prime Minister had left for Rastrapati Bhawan to meet President Pranab Mukherjee.

Vahanvati, Ashwani Kumar and the two officials of the PMO and the coal ministry have been accused by the CBI in its affidavit of suggesting changes to its report on Coalgate.

Vahanvati, however, has sought to deflect charges against him, saying he never sought a copy of the report and that he acted as per the instructions of the law minister. "My meeting with CBI officials took place only on suggestions of the law minister," he had told the Supreme Court.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Reliance Industries will invest $5 bn in KG block

With gas output from its flagship KG-D6 fields dipping to an all-time low, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has said the company will invest over USD 5 billion in "a series of projects" to reverse the trend.

RIL and its British partner BP plc have submitted to the government plans to bring to production satellite fields in the eastern offshore KG basin block to raise output that has plummeted to less than 16 million standard cubic meters per day from about 64 mmscmd achieved three years ago.

We are planning to invest in a series of projects to develop around 4 trillion cubic feet of discovered natural gas resources from the block," Ambani said in the company's annual report for 2012-13.

While RIL-BP have planned various activities including work-overs, side tracks and compressor addition to maximise recovery from the existing wells, new production would be added in 4-5 years using existing infrastructure, he said.

"The field development plan for the R-Series project (in the KG-D6 block) has been submitted to the Government of India for approval. This along with other projects is expected to add incremental production in the next four to five years," he said.

RIL has discovered 18 gas fields in KG-D6 block. Of these, only two (Dhirubhai-1 and 3) have been put to production. Satellite fields are now being planned to be developed.

"We believe gas from these projects will deliver energy to millions of Indians and would significantly help India in reducing import dependence," Ambani added.

RIL said average production from KG-D6 block during 2012-13 was 26 mmscmd of gas and 9,225 barrels of oil per day. "The fall in production is mainly attributed to geological complexity, natural decline in the fields and higher than envisaged water ingress," the annual report said.

To augment production from the current fields (D1-D3 and MA), various Base Management actions including work overs, side tracks, compressor, enhancement of water handling capacity and a new well in the MA field will be undertaken in FY 2013-14.

"The next wave of projects in KG-D6 block are envisaged to be undertaken over the next three to five years and entail a potential total investment in excess of USD 5 billion to develop around 4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of discovered natural gas resources," RIL said.

At current international LNG prices, it would cost more than USD 50 billion to import this volume of gas into India. The field development plan for R-Cluster, submitted in January 2013, proposed to maximize infrastructure utilisation of existing D1 and D3 hub.

"The company is creating a projects pipeline for the next wave of oil and gas development, which includes satellite discoveries in KG-D6 block.

"Under the block's enhancement plan, the company aims to invest in a series of projects to develop around 4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of discovered natural gas resources over the next 3-5 years," RIL said.

At current international Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) prices, it would cost over USD 50 billion to import this gas volume into India.

"It aims to install minimum essential, safe and suitable incremental facilities for R-Cluster's integration. Similarly, development of all satellite discoveries is being planned as part of an integrated concept," RIL said.

Additionally, potential upside through resource accretion is being targeted by undertaking exploration drilling in the existing production area with the approval of Government, the company said. By the end of 2012, fields in the KG-D6 block had produced 2 tcf of gas and 22 million barrels of oil, saving nearly USD 35 billion in energy imports.

"To complement the existing asset base, RIL continues to look at new opportunities globally that are a strategic fit with capabilities and integrated petroleum value chain," the company said, adding that it aspires to become a global top 10 independent hydrocarbon producer.

In its second year of the partnership, RIL and BP combined their expertise in deepwater exploration and development and operations in India. "Both the teams worked closely to understand the complex geology of the east-coast of India including KG-D6 block. The efforts are on to map out an exploration and development campaign that will efficiently target high quality prospects in deeper zones and optimise existing as well as future development plans," the annual report said.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jet to charge Rs 250per kg for additional baggage over 15kg

Jet Airways group today said it has revised, with effective from May 15, the free baggage allowance to 15 kg in the economy class on all domestic routes, but has retained the cabin baggage limit at the previous level of 7 kg. The airline, in a statement, said it will charge a passenger flat Rs 250 for every additional baggage.

However, the JetPrivilege members will continue to enjoy the additional free baggage allowance as per their JP membership status, while Premiere guests will continue to avail 30 kg of free baggage allowance on Jet Airways and JetKonnect flights, it said.

The move follows the recent move of the government to unbundle on-board and on-ground services like preferred seating and baggage allowances. Globally airlines have already unbundled their services which helps shore up revenue. Last week, Air India had allowed revised downward its free baggage limit to 15 kg.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

IndiGo, Jet announce charges for seats extra baggage

Days after the ministry of civil aviation allowed the unbundling of fares, Jet Airways on Thursday announced that it was bringing down the free check-in baggage from 20 to 15kg and would charge a flat rate of Rs 250 for baggage over and above the free baggage allowance.

However the weight limit on check-in baggage remains unchanged at 7kg. Meanwhile, low-cost carrier Indigo, will charge a premium for seats in the first 2 rows and close to the emergency exits, charging Rs 500 on preferential routes on domestic routes and Rs 800 on international routes.

Pre-booking a seat in the first two rows or near emergency exits in 12 and 13th row in an IndiGo flight will cost passengers more with the airline deciding to charge a premium for these seats. The low cost airline will charge the passenger a premium of Rs 500 for sitting in rows one, two, 12 and 13 on a domestic flight and Rs 800 for an international flight under its Indigo Seat Plus plan.

Though the airline has not indicated from when it would start charging the new rates, but in a circular to travel agents it said for all other window and aisle seats, which are pre-booked, a passenger would be charged Rs 200 for a domestic and Rs 300 for an international flight.

While pre-booking all other middle seats would cost Rs 100 on a domestic and Rs 200 on an international flights. Last week, the DGCA had allowed airlines to charge fees for 'unbundled services' like check-in baggage, preferential seats, meals, snacks or drink (barring drinking water) and sports and musical instruments on their domestic flights .

IndiGo has followed the footsteps of Air India, which last week had announced lowering of the free baggage allowance from 20 to 15 kgs on the domestic sector . The national carrier had decided to charge a flat rate of about Rs 200-250 per kg on excess weight. The excess baggage charges currently vary between Rs 150-400 per kg depending upon the sector. The airline is also contemplating levying charges for preferred seats.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gas-price policy: Why are power, fertiliser cos against it?

Moneycontrol Bureau

Power and fertilisers, the two key natural gas consuming sectors have vehemently opposed Rangarajan committee's formula and recommendations on increase in gas prices.

While fertlisers sector is supportive of gas price hike up to USD 2- USD 3 per mmbtu (million metric British Thermal units), power sector is willing to pay up to USD 5. The Rangarajan committee's formula has suggested putting natural gas prices in India at around USD 8 per mmbtu.

Natural gas prices in India currently range between USD 4.2 to USD 5.6 per mmbtu, while imported natural gas costs around USD 14- USD 15 per mmbtu.

So far fertisers sector have enjoyed the priority status for supply of gas the government is now also considering to give power sector also priority sector status for supply of gas. An empowered group of ministers are likely to soon meet for taking decisions on gas allocation and gas pricing.

Latha Venkatesh of CNBC-TV18 discusses the key issues of gas price increase with Satish Chander, DG of Fertiliser Association of India (FAI), Ashok Kumar Khurana, Director General of Association of Power Producers (APP) and RS Sharma, Former Chairman, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ( ONGC ).

Increase in gas prices will impact subsidy of government who has been struggling to rein in fiscal deficit. "If the gas price increases by (recommendation of) Rangarajan Committee, the prices will almost double. So that will impact the subsidy bill of the government of India," Chander said.

Fertilisers Association had also suggested the government an alternative formula for fixing gas prices, where 50 percent of the gas price can be based upon the cost of production in the country and 50 percent can be through some other index of the imported LNG.

According to power sectors increase in gas prices beyond USD 5 would result in high per unit power cost which may not find any takers in the current lean period. Khurana, Director General of APP said that every dollar increase in the gas prices would increase the variable of energy cost of power by another 50 paisa. He believes that pricing formula designed by Rangarajan Committee has taken a very narrow basket and a slightly wider approach would help to arrive at USD 6 per mmbtu gas price.

But more importantly he said, "Problem is government wants to increase the prices of the input industry. But on that basis of prices you have the output price increase. There it is completely regulated on that side, so equation never matches." 

The Kelkar Committee is studying the suggestions Rangarajan committee's recommendation and is likely to come back with a new formula.

Must read: Rangarajan's formula too complex for gas consumers: Sharma



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

TenFarms raises $2.7m in Angel Funding

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 08 Mei 2013 | 21.03

TenFarms has announced a USD 2.7M angel funding round that will be used to fuel the continued development of its Photopoll app for iOS devices and bring Adtile, a new advertising solution for smartphones and tablets, to market. Unlike existing banner advertisements on mobile devices, Adtile is built on patent-pending technology and will deliver geo-targeted ads through native and web applications, fully embedded for a more user-friendly and engaging design.

"Banner ads might still function well in print and on desktop computers, but it's clear that they just don't work on mobile devices," said Nils Forsblom, Founder & CEO of TenFarms. "Not only are banner ads intrusive to mobile users, but the limited space and inadvertent taps from the 'fat finger' effect doesn't offer advertisers a reliable platform for quality engagement. Adtile will change all of this with a simple and automated method for integrating ads into mobile apps and websites. We believe the best way to revolutionize advertising is to create an entirely new design that embraces the needs of mobile users and publishers, making it part of the user experience."

The Adtile mobile advertising solution consists of a customizable SDK that enables easy integration into mobile applications and websites, complete with a dashboard to deploy and analyze campaigns. Adtile's unique algorithm has the ability to determine a user's location and deliver smart ads based on that data. Additionally, ads are served based on specific keywords, categories and more, ensuring that relevant ads reach consumers, which offers developers and brands options for a fully automated but very targeted and tailored campaign. Adtile will also allow flexibility in the delivery approach based on the type of mobile application, whether it is music, games, lifestyle, shopping, or any other category.

TenFarms most recently introduced Photopoll, the world's first mobile app for iOS devices that allows users to group and share multiple photos into a feed for instant polling. Compared to other apps that only allow feedback on one or two photos, Photopoll empowers users to share their stories through up to five photos, or poll the open community to access public opinion on any given topic. Part of the new funding will go towards further development of the application and experience, and growing its user base.

Also read: Indian PC, mobile mkt not much different from China: Lenovo

For more information about Adtile and to learn more, visit www.adtile.me.

For more information about Photopoll, visit www.photopoll.com.


  • Facebook: www.facebook.com/photopoll
  • Twitter: www.twitter.com/photopoll
  • App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photopoll/id456863839?ls=1&mt=8

About TenFarms

TenFarms is a startup company based in Los Angeles, California. The company's purpose and mission is to design and build mobile products with substance, style and simplicity. With the introduction of Photopoll, TenFarms is the first company ever to introduce a multi-photo sharing solution that integrates polling. Its latest offering includes Adtile, a mobile advertising solution set to launch in 2013. TenFarms also holds six patents pending on mobile solutions and technology that drives its products and services. For more information, please visit www.tenfarms.com.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Innovative solutions from Henkel for the Powertrain

Aimed at meeting the ever-increasing requirements on automotive efficiency, power, performance and service life, Henkel has developed an array of innovative product solutions covering the full range of powertrain manufacturing processes.

Henkel offers a select range of electroceramic coatings suitable e.g. for the coating of IC engine pistons.

With its unique combination of innovative products and process know-how, Henkel not only contributes to the smooth and cost-efficient production of powertrain components but also helps enhance durability, safety and sustainability through compliance with the highest of quality standards. Henkel has solutions supporting every step along the value chain: Cleaning, cooling and lubrication during the manufacture of powertrain components, plus surface treatment, bonding and sealing at the assembly stage. Henkel world market leader for adhesive technologies thus plays a significant role in shaping trends in the automotive industry. Worthy of particular mention in this respect is the growing importance of lightweight construction technologies and the constant need to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.

Multifunctional electroceramic coatings

Under the brands Loctite and Bonderite, Henkel is able to offer a select range of electroceramic coatings (ECC) for various engine and exhaust system applications. Suitable for aluminum, titanium, magnesium and their alloys, these coatings enable such metals to be used in the manufacture of light constructions that would normally require steel, thus greatly reducing vehicle weight.

With beneficial tribological properties leading in particular to reduced wear, Henkel's electroceramic coatings also contribute significantly to increasing engine component efficiency and saving fuel. Tests also show that ECC helps reduce harmful engine emissions by diminishing the quantity of nitrogen oxides produced during fuel combustion. Further, diesel engines are found to be less noisy, thus meeting the ever present need for quieter vehicles. Henkel's electroceramic coatings further combine outstanding corrosion protection with high resistance to extreme thermal loading, satisfying the prime prerequisites for, say, exhaust system and turbocharger component longevity.

ECC also delivers top performance for Porsche Motorsport, with which Henkel has a mutually beneficial collaboration agreement. Henkel is committed to supporting this partner not only as an official Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup sponsor but also through heavy involvement in Porsche's product development activities. Henkel products are therefore regularly tested by Porsche under the extreme conditions that only motor sport can provide.

Innovative liquid gasketing portfolio

Gaskets are incorporated in powertrain components to prevent gas and liquid leakage. Aside from its silicone-based liquid gasketing products, used primarily for engine components, Henkel has also now developed a range of innovative polyacrylate gasketing systems. These Loctite products offer exceptional resistance to aggressive transmission oils and can thus be relied upon to durably seal transmission flanges and similar connections.

Automotive manufacturers appreciate not only Henkel's high-performance products but also its ability to provide allied process expertise and suggest viable techniques for simply and efficiently applying these gasketing products.

Reliable porosity sealants for drive components

Porosity and the possibility of leakage is always a concern when it comes to the casting of cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, transmission cases and similar from light metal alloys. However, such problems can be quickly and reliably avoided by having Henkel seal these components. For this, the components are sent to special service centers where in a fully automatic process they are impregnated under vacuum with a Loctite resin, so sealing the pores and avoiding scrap. This certified process is already in operation at many renowned automobile manufacturers and component suppliers.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130507005940/en/


MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE : http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50626683&lang=en


21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

OfficeYes.com announces franchise opportunity in India

OfficeYes.com, India's largest Office Supplies and Stationery Company has recently announced its franchise opportunity in India. Through this franchise channel, entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can open one-stop stationery and supplies stores all across India under the OfficeYes brand name.

The stationery and supplies market in India is estimated to be worth approximately Rs.50,000 crore but is largely served by disorganized local vendors. This is where, OfficeYes.com steps in with its franchise channel offering a breakthrough opportunity to capture a share of this large market through organized retail with minimum risks and investment.

The OfficeYes franchise opportunity is open to anyone with the passion to sell and the capacity to invest minimum Rs.3-4 Lakhs (including the refundable reseller fee of Rs.1 Lakh). The recommended retail space required is 100-150 sq feet. OfficeYes.com has launched its franchise opportunity based on the reseller model, which gives more autonomy and freedom to its franchise partners or resellers letting them run their business their way without too much intervention together with providing all the support they need.

Commenting on the initiative, Co-Founder and MD - Siddharth Nambiar explains that "Our company's main value proposition is offering great value via a convenient platform and our reseller stores will help us to spread our offering over a wider area and access new channels. Building a chain of stores throughout the country with the capacity to provide a comprehensive stationery and supplies solution to businesses, institutions and individuals is what we aim to achieve". The idea behind the one-stop reseller stores is to help do away with the lack of organization, disaggregation and cost disadvantages generally associated with regular stationery stores by giving customers the luxury to shop from over 6500 products, from a shop right across the street.

OfficeYes.com's Franchise Opportunity in India comes with various benefits such as extensive industry driven expertise, guidance at every step and widespread marketing at a low investment cost. The franchise opportunity offers direct access to target customers and quick return on investment with 100% ROI within the first year and profit margins upward of 20%. Currently, OfficeYes.com has opened its first two reseller stores in New Delhi at Rohini and Vikaspuri with more in the pipeline.

About OfficeYes.com

OfficeYes.com is India's largest and fastest growing Stationery and Office Supplies Company. The company has several thousand customers, offers 6,500+ products across 9 categories, such as office supplies, customised products, office furniture, technology, corporate gifting and more, delivering products at great value to its customers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Talk to our Expert Advisors: +91-81306 65858, +91-81304 27676

Visit our Reseller Page for more information and Request for Call Back:

http://www.officeyes.com/reseller/

Send a Mail with your Query to: Gautam@Officeyes.com

Download the Reseller Brochure: http://static.officeyes.com/images/local/maintenance/BrochureOY-new.pdf


21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cooper Corporation launches 3 cylinder gensets in Mumbai

Cooper Corporation, an Engine Major launches its 3 Cylinder, 62.5 KVA and 82.5 KVA Generators under the brand name "Cooper ECOPACK" at the Power Gen Exhibition in Mumbai. A cost efficient and silent revolution, Mumbai gets India's best power packed genset that is not only eco friendly with Low fuel consumption but is also lighter in weight, smaller in size and meets with US & European Emission norms.

Years of in-house research and the technical collaboration with Ricardo, UK, have culminated in the launch of the Cooper ECOPACK genset. It is available in power ranging from 62.5 KVA and 82.5 KVA. Today's cost of running genset will be double as the government is slowly removing subsidy on diesel. Cooper has come out with revolutionary breakthrough technology in collaboration with Ricardo, an international design engineering company.

The 62.5 KVA and 82.5 KVA Genset range is powered by Cooper three cylinder engines with 4 valves per cylinder, with centrally placed Injector with a Peak firing pressure up to 210 Bar .The Cooper Three Cylinder Engines come equipped with Built in Lube oil cooler, Hydraulic tappets with roller follower and Cylinder head cast in Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI). These stand-apart genre of power generators is entirely produced at Cooper Corporation's assembly plant located at Satara, Maharashtra.

Commenting on the launch of Cooper Corp's ECOPACK generator, Mr. Farrokh N. Cooper, Chairman and Managing Director says, "The Three Cylinder engines series enjoys a unique position among other diesel power generators in India. This will set a global platform for Cooper Corporation. It owes this distinction to several outstanding features and benefits like 25% lower fuel consumption, 25% smaller in size, 40% lighter in weight, 42% saving in maintenance cost and several times quieter." Cooper Corp's Eco Pack could be used for homes, farm houses, bungalows and hotels.

Salient Features of 62.7 / 82.5 KVA Genset:

-- Small in size
-- Lighter in weight
-- Quieter in noise
-- Lower fuel consumption
-- Less in maintenance cost
-- Low voltage fluctuation
-- Good in Block loading
-- CPCB approved

Cooper Corp's ECOPACK series is India's first Euro IV, US EPA Tier IV Interim and CPCB 2 compliant set of generators. This makes Cooper Corp's ECOPACK the automatic choice for environment-conscious power consumers. With a 7-tank pretreatment and durable powder coating the Cooper Corp's ECOPACK series functions with a commando like efficiency - stealthy, powerful and yet the noise measured is well within 75 dbA at 1 meter distance under free field condition.

The Cooper ECOPACK is Efficient & Consumer Friendly. Coupled with the longest maintenance interval of 500 hours and lube oil consumption of 0.1% makes Cooper ECOPACK the most economic brand of generators to operate and maintain.

Cooper Corp's ECOPACK series Gensets comes with the Cooper guarantee of quality hence breakdowns are hardly any. With a nationwide network of service dealers who are well equipped with genuine spare parts stock and ready to provide prompt after sales service

The 62.7KVA- 82.5KVA ECOPACK genset is priced approximately between Rs3.5 -5 lakh depending on its configuration.

About Cooper Corporation

The legacy of Cooper Corporation dates back to 1922 when Sir D B Cooper established Cooper Engineering in Satara. Thanks to his astute vision, the historic town of Satara witnessed a new wave of industrialization without losing its rich heritage that finds its roots in ancient times. Cooper Corporation's ceaseless commitment to quality, service and product innovation has consistently kept pace with the changing market needs worldwide. Cooper today employs over 2000 people comprising engineers, quality control personnel, workmen and administrative staff recruited from the leading educational and technical institutions following a rigorous induction process that strikes a judicious blend of academic expertise and professional exposure. Over the years, the company has consistently invested in the latest state-of-the-art technology across 9 plants in Satara through the engagement of experienced consultants from the world over. The company has set-up its own R & D unit to explore the possibilities of developing new products. Today Cooper supplies to all leading engine manufacturers in India and across the world, from Japan to Europe and USA.


21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

McDonalds India to hike prices amid rising inflation

Fast food chain McDonalds Corp plans to increase prices in India for the second time this year, responding to rising inflation which, along with an economic slowdown, it expects to temper demand growth for at least the next 7 months.

The company said on Tuesday it would raise prices by 5-6 percent. That follows a 5 percent hike after the government increased the service tax rate in February.

"There is pressure and it's a tough environment, no doubt. But inflation is at 8-10 percent so we have to hike our prices," said Amit Jatia, vice-chairman of Hardcastle Restaurants, which owns the McDonalds franchise for west and south India.

Consumer spending in India has taken a hit in the past three quarters as rising food prices, meagre salary increases and the slowest Indian economic growth in a decade hurt buying appetites for clothes, cars and eating out.

With its 1.2 billion people and growing middle class, India is a large market for global chains, though for now most Indians cannot afford to eat regularly in western-style restaurants.

The burger chain said its same-store sales remained under pressure and although they would grow, the increase would not be at the 22 percent achieved in the fiscal year ended March 2012.

McDonalds entered India in 1996 without its signature hamburger, respecting local religious beliefs which mean many people avoid eating beef and pork. It has become India's largest fast food chain operator selling chicken and fish burgers along with vegetarian items like McAloo Tikki, which has a potato patty, and the McSpicy Paneer, filled with cottage cheese.

The burger chain plans capital spending of 5 billion-10 billion rupees in India over the next 3-5 years, mostly for store expansion, Jatia said, adding India's long-term consumption growth story remained intact.

McDonalds has 309 stores in the country.

The company plans to add 80-90 restaurants in western and southern India in the next two years.

Hardcastle is also contemplating an equity fund raising to fuel McDonalds' expansion in the country in the coming years.

"We are in talks with merchant bankers every day and are open to it. But we are considering all our options and that includes debt also. We will be clear with our decision on what instrument we choose in a month," Jatia said.

In December, Hardcastle Restaurants merged its operations with listed parent Westlife Development Ltd



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sustainability is not destination, it is journey: FS

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 07 Mei 2013 | 21.03

Frost & Sullivan concluded its 4th edition of the 'Green Manufacturing Excellence Summit and Awards (GMEA), on May 3, 2013. Its mission through the GMEA is to educate organizations about the need of 'Sustainable Development', to assist in their sustainability journey and motivate those who have inched ahead of others by recognizing their efforts. Frost & Sullivan, through its year round assessments, feedback, benchmarking and sharing of best practices, believes that "Sustainability is not a Destination, it is a Journey!"

The day, which started with the summit, provided a platform for showcasing some of the best practices in sustainable manufacturing from diverse manufacturing industries that Frost & Sullivan assessed for Green Manufacturing Excellence Awards. The Summit was a forum for deliberations and sharing of thought and experiences by industry stalwarts who have been pioneers in the field of sustainability. The focus was on the strategic aspects related to sustainability as well as the mechanism for implementing the Green strategy. Commendable work being done by companies in various facets that take the 'Green' and 'Sustainable' mission forward, like biodiversity, energy management, water management, logistics amongst others were brought to the fore with a clear focus on business benefits. The summit also highlighted a few innovative technologies in the renewable energy.

One of the focus areas for manufacturing industries today is taking sustainability to their supply chains. Nitin Kalothia, Director, Manufacturing & Process Consulting Practice, Frost & Sullivan, took the audience through the process by which an organization could initiate the journey for creating a sustainable supply chain. According to him, "finalizing the boundary in the supply chain and understanding supply chain risks are the starting steps towards this journey. The process has to bring in required business benefits or mitigate a long-term sustainability risk. So far, companies have focused on improving supply chain efficiency and reliability with respect to cost, quality, and delivery. But, they now have to also focus on environmental and the social sustainability in Supply Chain."

Another relevant area for the industries is Sustainability Reporting. Surya Bansal, Program Manager, Manufacturing & Process Consulting Practice, Frost & Sullivan presented 'The Indian Scenario and Strategic way by which an Organization should Approach Sustainability Reporting'. According to her, "India has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to reporting on Sustainability. Many countries like China, Sweden, Spain, and Germany are way ahead of us in this." She insisted that, "companies focused on identifying and implementing meaningful sustainability projects should use reporting as a means to communicate to stakeholders the progress made. Report preparation should not be an objective by itself!"

Frost & Sullivan believes, that for some companies, sustainability report becomes a platform to showcase their philanthropic activities, dubbing them as CSR activities. However, it should be realized that CSR needs to be a strategic advancement, if any benefit is to be gained from it - to the society or organization. In reality, a Sustainability Report should be a mirror that reflects the systems and processes that are embedded into the organizational DNA.

Presentations were made by some of the leading corporates on integrating sustainability into their business and the roadmap to be followed for implementation. For instance, Ericsson India Private Limited, Hindustan Unilever Limited, and Vedanta Aluminium Limited presented on Sustainability Strategy, Framework and Deployment Process.

Some of the other best practices presented by representative from various industries, covered, "Hybrid" Energy Solutions, Innovative Solar Technologies, Green Factory, Managing Biodiversity Risks, Building a Green Supply Chain, "Solar Powered" Fuel Pipelines, Waste Heat Recovery Systems, and Lean Way to Green.

The evening concluded with celebrating the best in the industry through Green Manufacturing Excellence Awards. Mr. Pradeep Banerjee, Executive Director, Supply Chain, Hindustan Unilever Limited graced the occasion as the esteemed Chief Guest.

Supporting the initiative, Mr. Banerjee was of the view that, "We need to look at new models of growth that will decouple our growth from environmental impact. It makes immense business sense. Becoming green does not add costs. In fact, it is the other way around. The pursuit of sustainable growth will enable us to find new models of growth, which will not only be sustainable but will also deliver savings."

The Aspirants, the Challengers, the Leaders and the Best of Green Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2013 are:

Green Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2013

Media Partners who supported this event were - Auto Monitor, Ayyati.com, Chemical Weekly, Communications Today, Construction Business Today, Eco-business.com, Efficient Manufacturing, Manufacturing Today, Minerals and Metals Review, Pharmaquest.biz and Search Magazine.

To know more about Green Manufacturing Excellence Awards and its methodology, please log on to http://www.frost.com/gmea.

To participate in Green Manufacturing Excellence Awards or know more about the summit, please send an e-mail to Ravinder Kaur/Nimisha Iyer Corporate Communications, at ravinder.kaur@frost.com / niyer@frost.com or write to us at gmea2013@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation, and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses, and the investment community from more than 40 offices across six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com .


21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rikvin publishes guide on Singapore Immigration Options

Through its Guide on Singapore Immigration Options, Rikvin lays out the options available to businessmen, entrepreneurs and investors who wish to contribute meaningfully to Singapore's growth.

Although there are many concerns about the viability of relocating to Singapore, immigration options are still available for businessmen, entrepreneurs and investors, says Singapore work visa specialist Rikvin. To that end, Rikvin has published a Guide on Singapore Immigration Options.

The Guide provides an overview of the various Singapore visas for High Net Worth individuals (HNWIs), entrepreneurs and professionals who wish to relocate to Singapore for work or business purposes.

For companies and professionals looking to bring on board key staff from India to run operations in Singapore, the options include the Singapore Employment Pass (EP) and Personalized Employment Pass (PEP). The Singapore EntrePass and Global Investor Program (GIP), on the other hand, are available for entrepreneurs and investors.

Explaining further, Mr. Satish Bakhda, Head of Operations at Rikvin said, "Since the early 1990s, Singapore has been India's gateway to the rest of Southeast Asia and the world. After the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) came into effect in 2005, we have seen many Indian professionals and businesses move to Singapore."

Analysis by Rikvin shows that many businessmen and professionals with families see Singapore as a safe place to live and work. HNWIs view Singapore as a reliable jurisdiction to park their assets as Singapore banks have been rated as among the safest in the world. For many enterprises, Singapore provides the ecosystem to set an innovative business off to a flying start. The city state also serves as a strategically-located springboard to expansion in the rest of Asia and beyond.

Amid current global challenges and due to its small size and scarcity of resources, Singapore is keen to move to the next phase of its development. In line with its new vision to create quality growth that can be savored by all, the Singapore government is welcoming more quality investments in high-valued added industries.

It has also announced that it wants to attract high-potential startups that have innovation at the core of their business, so that they can tap the country's capabilities, infrastructure and network of trade agreements to grow further.

In addition, it has recently raised the bar for businessmen, professionals and talent wishing to relocate to Singapore. Under the refined work visa framework, professionals are not only expected to add value, but to complement the core Singaporean workforce.

"As communicated by PM Lee, Singapore has spent many decades to build a reputation for openness and reliability. However, Singapore cannot continue to use the same algorithm to maintain its growth. It is a unique country with no natural resources. As we restructure our economy, some industries and occupations will undoubtedly move to cheaper locations," added Mr. Bakhda.

"Nevertheless, Singapore's political stability, good standard of living, attractive tax rates and sophisticated infrastructure will continue to attract MNCs and SMEs to establish a presence or headquarters here. To that end, we are positive, that Singapore will maintain its reputation as an open economy, and continue to attract talent to complement the next stage of its development," affirmed Mr. Bakhda.

To view the guide, please visit http://www.rikvin.com/learn/singapore-immigration-options/

ABOUT RIKVIN:

Established in 1998, Rikvin has since partnered with thousands of investors, entrepreneurs and professionals in their pursuit to access business opportunities overseas. Rikvin's areas of expertise include company incorporation, accounting, taxation and other related corporate services. Rikvin is also a licensed employment agency with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and offers a full spectrum of Singapore work visa services for foreign professionals who wish to relocate to Singapore.

The Rikvin app is now available on iTunes and Google Play. Download it today!

20 Cecil Street, #14-01, Equity Plaza, Singapore 049705
(+65) 6320 1888
www.rikvin.com


21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ittiam announces induction of Lip-Bu Tan

Mr. Tan's extensive industry experience and global network to be an asset for the company in the next phase of its growth

Ittiam Systems today announced the induction to the Company Board, Lip-Bu Tan, Chairman of Walden International which is a leading venture capital firm with $2 billion under management.

Founded in 2001 by a team of semiconductor industry experts, Ittiam has grown to be the largest pure-play IP company from India with world class leadership in video technologies and multimedia systems. It has a global customer base of over 300 companies. The volume of customer products such as smartphones, tablets, video communication systems and automotive infotainment systems with Ittiam IP embedded inside crossed 25 million units in 2012.

Welcoming Lip-Bu to the Board of Ittiam, VG Siddhartha, Head of Global Technology Ventures (GTV) which invested in Ittiam in 2001, said "I have had the pleasure of working with Lip-Bu for over 12 years including in our joint successful investment in MindTree Technologies. His extensive industry experience and global network will be very valuable for Ittiam in the next phase of its growth".

Looking forward to his association with Ittiam, Lip-Bu Tan commented "I am excited to join Ittiam initiative and will work with them closely to make Ittiam the best digital media technology and solutions provider for the global market. Ittiam is a fine example of new generation product companies who represent the next phase of Information Technology industry in India".

"Our vision is to deliver compelling solutions to customers who spearhead the growth of media creation, management and consumption", said Srini Rajam, Chairman and CEO of Ittiam Systems. "We are delighted to have Lip-Bu join our board. We will leverage his precious bandwidth to build great partnerships and long-term customer relationships", he added.

About Ittiam Systems Private Limited

Ittiam Systems Private Limited, headquartered in Bangalore, India, is a technology company singularly focused on embedded media centric systems. It operates through its network of offices and representatives around the world. Ittiam's customers include Fortune 100 companies and are distributed across U.S., Europe, Japan and Asia. Since 2004 the company has been consistently rated as the "World's Most Preferred DSP IP Supplier" in the annual surveys conducted by Forward Concepts Incorporated. In 2005 Ittiam had been selected by Red Herring into the top 100 private companies in Asia. In February 2007, Ittiam received the NASSCOM India IT Innovation Award, a prestigious recognition. In July 2011 Ittiam's VC won the Product of the Year 2010 from Communications Solutions. In January 2012 Ittiam won two Product of the Year 2011 awards from Internet Telephony. Embedding Ittiam IP inside, annual volume of customers' products shipped such as Smartphones, Tablets, Broadcast, Video Communication and Wi-Fi Devices is in several tens of millions units For more details, visit www.ittiam.com.


21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Oxigen NPCI launch OxiCash Money Transfer

History jointly created by National Payments Corporation of India and Oxigen.

OxiCash unveils its Instant Money Transfer Service. RBI Chief General Manager , Dept of Payment and Settlement Systems , Mr. Vijay Chugh inaugurated the service. A service that enables the unbanked masses of India, to transfer money without any hassles to any bank account and receive money into the Wallet 24 x7.

This service is a boon to the underprivileged segment of India's population, who have been unable to avail the benefits of money transfers due to non-availability of Bank account. They would all now be able to transfer and receive funds from any bank into the OxiCash Wallet.

These money transfers are instant & made on real time , and is made possible by NPCI, using IMPS (Immediate Payment Service).

The tie up of NPCI with Oxigen's mobile e-wallet, "OxiCash", makes OxiCash India's First Non Banked wallet (approved by RBI), to make Instant money transfers to any bank, receive funds into the OxiCash Wallet from any bank, anytime, anywhere, 24*7!

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Pramod Saxena, Chairman & Managing Director, Oxigen said," It is indeed a proud moment for Oxigen, to be a pioneer, once again! Having launched India's first wallet OxiCash in 2008, and now with NPCI, Oxigen is the "India's First" , in mobile payment space, to launch an Instant 24x7 money transfer service, using IMPS on the OxiCash wallet. We are happy that our pioneering efforts continue to facilitate financial inclusion. The OxiCash money transfer service would be available at more than 100 thousand Oxigen retailers across the country to help the unbanked masses with an instant remittance service ".

Mr. A.P Hota, MD and CEO of National Payments Corporation of India, announced ,while inaugurating the service,"This is an unique experiment of inter-operability between bank accounts and wallet accounts. A new vista of financial transactions open up with this project."

The tie up for Money Transfers between NPCI and Oxicash would be 3 fold:

1.OxiCash to Bank Account using beneficiary's Bank account number and IFSC code:

27 banks are live on date, to execute Money Transfers, from OxiCash to any Bank Account as specified by a customer using the Beneficiary's Bank account number and Bank IFSC code, as listed in http://www.npci.org.in/impsIFSC3.aspx with 14 more banks in pipeline.

2.OxiCash to Bank Account using Beneficiary's Mobile Number and Mobile Money ID (MMID):

55 major Banks are live on date,to execute Money transfers from OxiCash to any Bank account where the customer specifies the Beneficiary's Mobile Number and Mobile Money ID (MMID), which is issued by Banks, as per list given in http://www.npci.org.in/impsmerpayp2p.aspx, with remaining 6 banks in pipeline.

3.Bank Account to OxiCash eWallet using OxiCash registered Mobile Number and MMID (8888888):

55 major banks are live on date, to execute Money transfers from a Bank account to OxiCash wallet where customer specifies the Beneficiary's OxiCash Mobile Number and Mobile Money ID (MMID) as 8888888, as per list given in http://www.npci.org.in/impsmerpayp2p.aspx with remaining 6 banks in pipeline.

Additionally, a customer can also transfer funds from an OxiCash wallet to another OxiCash Wallet.

Customers now need not wait for a long periods of time to get refunds. They also benefit from this service's Instant refunds system.

OxiCash Money Transfer service is available both Online (www.oxicash.in) and on mobile, using a Mobile Application (Android application) and available on simple text SMS also.

This wallet is available pan India and can be created over a simple SMS.

The OxiCash wallet can be funded initially at any of Oxigen's 1,00,000 retail touch points or through IMPS without visiting any retail touch points.

The steps to use OxiCash Money transfer services are easy and as follows:

On the OxiCash Website, www.oxicash.in

Go to http://www.oxicash.in/

1.Click on INSTANT MONEY TRANSFER tab

2.The customer selects the payment type as per choice: Using Account Number/IFSC Code or MMID/Mobile Number Combination

3.The customer selects the option Wallet to Any Bank (Account Number)

-- The customer logs on using his/her wallet number and the OxiCash Password
-- The customer enters the beneficiary account number and the IFSC Code
-- The customer enters the OTP received to authenticate the payment
-- The money transfer is done and updated balance is displayed on the screen

4.The customer selects the option

5.The customer selects the option Wallet to Any Bank (MMID)

-- The customer logs on using his/her wallet number and the OxiCash Password
-- The customer enters the beneficiary mobile number and MMID
-- The customer enters the OTP received to authenticate the payment
-- The money transfer is done and updated balance is displayed on the screen

Using Mobile Banking

To Send money, the customer uses either a combination of Mobile Number and MMID or Account Number and IFSC Code.

1.The customer wants to send money using Account Number and IFSC Code
SEND IMPS*Account Number*IFSC Code*Amount*OxiCash Password*Remark
to 9870888888 / 9971888888

2. The customer wants to send money using Mobile Number and MMID
SEND IMPS*Beneficiary Mobile Number*MMID*Amount*OxiCash Password*Remark
to 9870888888 / 9971888888

The information is also available on IMPS mobile site (accessible through the mobile phone browser) at http://imps.npci.org.in

Company Information:

About Oxigen:

Oxigen Services India Pvt. Ltd. an ISO 9001:2008 certified company, is India's First and Largest Payments Solutions Provider.

Oxigen is in the business of service aggregation, distribution and payment processing/collections for a number of Operators , Services Providers and Banks , pan India . The services include: Prepaid, Postpaid & Subscription based services like Mobile Recharge, Bill Payments , Ticketing and Subscriptions for all leading Telecom operators, Direct-to-home TV Operators, Internet Broadband Service providers, Railways/ Airlines/Bus/Movie Ticketing, Bill Payments (for Utilities, Post-paid Bills, Landline bills), Prepaid Value-added services, Subscription services (Music & Movie downloads ,Internet Packs, Magazines etc) Donations, Calling Cards, Insurance and a large bouquet of Banking services on a single platform.

Oxigen has a retail footprint of 100,000 outlets & has 30 million transactions per month. Oxigen works closely with SBI, Yes Bank Money, ICICI, and many other banks, for a variety of services like Money transfer, Banking Kiosks , Account opening , UID related Aadhar cards, etc.

Oxigen provides merchant payments to many such telecom operators, bank-led m/e-Wallets and online Banking portals like Airtel Money, ICICI Quick Shopping, SBI, HDFC, Corporation Bank and many more.

Oxigen has joint hands with Banks for enablement of various services like SBI Kiosk Banking, ICICI Bank for Saral Money Card & Yes Bank for Money transfer services, at Oxigen Outlets.

Oxigen is also the technology provider for India's first Full Service eWallet from State Bank of India called MobiCash, with cash-in/out, peer to peer, wallet to any Bank, Merchant payments as well, and has also as partnered to ensure market availability of MobiCash at Oxigen retail.

Oxigen is in partnership with Blue Label Telecom (South Africa). Website: http://www.myoxigen.com and http://www.oxicash.in/

About NPCI:

NPCI is a registered company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. It is promoted by 10 banks in India under the aegis of the Indian Banks Association with majority shareholding by Public Sector Banks. It has been identified by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks Association (IBA) as the umbrella organization for all retail payment systems in the country. The 10 promoter banks are State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank and HSBC. www.npci.org.in


21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sify names C R Rao as Chief Operating Officer

Sify Technologies Limited (NASDAQ Global Markets: SIFY), a leader in Managed Enterprise, Network and IT Services in India with growing global delivery capabilities, today announced the elevation of C R Rao as the company's new Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this promotion, C R Rao was the company's Vice President Strategy, Admin & HR.

C R Rao joined Sify in 2009 as Vice President Strategic Planning. In his new role as the Chief Operating Officer, CR Rao will work closely with the Chairman and be responsible for all operational and delivery duties concerning Sify's multiple businesses.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Raju Vegesna, Chairman, Sify Technologies, said "Sify is now in its third phase of growth and is emerging as a strong player in the IT solutions and services industry, with a strong focus on Cloud based services. C R Rao will play a crucial role in ensuring operational excellence during this defining period. Over the years, Rao has established a sterling track record of being persistent in his efforts to put Sify on the growth roadmap and we welcome him as he takes on a larger role on the management team."

Commenting on his new role, Mr. C R Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Sify Technologies, said, "The last four years have given me substantial learnings on the major factors driving growth within Sify. The company is now at a defining point in its multiple service and product lines. I look forward to the challenges of this new role, equipped with rich learnings from my previous engagements."

Prior to joining Sify, C R Rao has over 21 years of industry experience and brings with him rich expertise in strategic planning, operational management and organizational development initiatives. A double graduate in Law and Commerce, his previous assignments were with Delta Tubes Pvt. Ltd. and Bobba Aviation Services GSA Lufthansa Cargo.

About Sify Technologies

Sify is among the largest integrated Managed Network, IT and Software services companies in India, offering end-to-end solutions with a comprehensive range of products delivered over a common telecom data network infrastructure reaching more than 1000 cities and towns in India.

A significant part of the company's revenue is derived from Enterprise Services, which include Network and IT services, Security, Enterprise applications, Hosting and Remote Infrastructure Management Services. A varied product portfolio at multiple price points allows Sify to also cater to the burgeoning demands of the SMB/SOHO community and the retail consumer; much of it on the cloud platform.

Sify is a recognized ISO 9001:2008 certified service provider for network operations, data center operations and customer support, and for provisioning of VPNs, Internet bandwidth, VoIP solutions and integrated security solutions, and ISO / IEC 20000 - 1:2005 and ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certified for Internet Data Center operations. Sify has also built a credible reputation in the emerging Cloud Computing market and is today, regarded as a domain expert. Sify has licenses to operate NLD (National Long Distance) and ILD (International Long Distance) services and offers VoIP backhaul to long distance subscriber telephony services. With the Sify Cable landing station and the partnerships inked with several cable companies globally, Sify in present in almost all the spheres of the ICT eco system.

The company has an expanding base of Managed Services customers, both in India and overseas, and is also India's first enterprise managed services provider to launch a Security Operations Center (SOC) to deliver managed security services.

As a solutions provider, Sify Software develops applications and offers services to improve business efficiencies of its current and prospective client bases. Sify also offers services in the specialized domains of eLearning for-profit, not-for-profit and government institutions both in India and globally. The business also operates two of the most popular portals in India, Sify.com and Samachar.com.

For more information about Sify, visit www.sifycorp.com.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Sify undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements.

For a discussion of the risks associated with Sify's business, please see the discussion under the caption "Risk Factors" in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended March 31, 2012, which has been filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and is available by accessing the database maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, and Sify's other reports filed with the SEC.


21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Report on Wal-Mart lobbying in less than 2 weeks

Written By Unknown on Senin, 06 Mei 2013 | 21.03

The much-awaited report on allegations of lobbying by Wal-Mart , the world's largest retailer, in India will be submitted in less than 2 weeks. This was announced by Justice Mukul Mudgal who heads the probe.

Mudgal told CNBC-TV18's Ronojoy Banerjee that the time had come for the government to have a enact a law on lobbying activies in India -hinting that the government could look at legalising lobbying activies. Top government sources indicate that the final report is likely to reveal regulatory loopholes in the system.

Below is the edited transcript of the interview on CNBC-TV18

Q: After many rounds of meetings and comments from the public, is it now fair to assume that you have arrived at a decision?

A: I have arrived at a decision, but the report is being written.

Q: Is it is also important for Indian lawmakers to formulate adequate legislation to address lobbying?

A: That will be a very good idea.

Q: What evidence did you gather over the last many meetings that led to arriving at a decision?

A: We asked questions about lobbying expenses. Beyond that I can't tell you anything.

Q: Will you meet with Wal-Mart executives again?

A: No, absolutely not. I have met them once and that is enough.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

25 new saw mills permitted in Maha in violation of SC order

Around 25 new saw mills have been sanctioned in Maharashtra in violation of a Supreme Court order prohibiting sanction of new mills in view of depleting forest cover in the state, according to Forest Department sources.

A recent review by the department revealed that 25 new saw mills and 72 vertical saw machines were operating in the state, though the SC order of March 4, 1997, imposes a moratorium on new sanctions, sources said. As against the approved 4,191 mills and 4,852 vertical saw machines, 4,216 mills and 4,924 machines are operating.

This flies in the face of an affidavit filed before the apex court by the Forest Department. Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of Forest Force A K Joshi has sent a letter to all the Chief Conservators of Forest, chiding them for ignoring the Supreme Court order and seeking explanations, sources said.

 As per a committee appointed by the state government, for 4,924 saw machines the annual requirement of timber is 21.86 lakh cubic mt, while the availability -- taking into account the timber brought from outside -- is 18.96 lakh cubic mt.

This may lead to illegal tree-felling, the committee said. In 2006, the then Maharashtra Forest Minister Surupsingh Naik and Principal Secretary Ashok Khot were sentenced to one month's imprisonment by the apex court for granting permission to saw mills in breach of its order.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

McAfee to acquire Stonesoft

Pending Acquisition Expected to Extend the Success of McAfee's Security Connected Strategy

McAfee today announced the execution of a definitive agreement to initiate a conditional tender offer for the acquisition of Stonesoft Oyj, a leading innovator in next-generation network firewall products, for an aggregate equity value of approximately USD 389 million in cash.

Stonesoft delivers software-based, dynamic, customer-driven, cyber security solutions to secure information flow and simplify security management. Stonesoft's product portfolio of next-generation firewalls, evasion prevention systems, and SSL VPN solutions addresses businesses of all sizes. Through the pending acquisition of Stonesoft, McAfee expects to extend its leadership position in network security.

"With the pending addition of Stonesoft's products and services, McAfee is making a significant investment in next-generation firewall technology. These solutions anticipate emerging customer needs in a continually evolving threat landscape," said Michael DeCesare, McAfee President. "Stonesoft is a leading innovator in this important market segment. We plan to integrate Stonesoft's offerings with other McAfee products to realize the power of McAfee's Security Connected strategy. Stonesoft products will benefit from the collective expertise of more than 7,200 McAfee employees. Leveraging McAfee's cloud-based Global Threat Intelligence service will provide our combined customers with unparalleled security."

The rationale for the proposed acquisition is as follows:

- Network security is a vital component of a comprehensive security solution. Next-generation firewalls solve critical customer needs and represent one of the fastest growing market segments in network security.

- Stonesoft is a leading innovator in the next-generation firewall segment. Gartner positioned the company as "visionary" in the 2013 Network Security Firewall Magic Quadrant. Stonesoft achieved "Recommend" status in NSS Labs' latest 2013 firewall tests.

- With Stonesoft, McAfee expects to grow its network security business by delivering the industry's most complete network security solution with three leading platforms: McAfee's IPS Network Security Platform, McAfee's Firewall Enterprise for the high assurance market segment, and Stonesoft's next-generation firewall.

Based in Helsinki, Finland, Stonesoft is trusted by more than 6,500 customers across the globe. Stonesoft's customer base can now benefit from an integrated, comprehensive security solution through McAfee. Similarly, McAfee's extensive, global customer base will benefit from access to a highly-innovative next-generation firewall. Stonesoft's innovative next-generation firewall, when combined with McAfee's market leading IPS and high assurance firewall, provides customers with one of the most complete network security portfolios in the industry.

"The combination of the two companies allows Stonesoft to benefit from McAfee's global presence and sales organization of over 2,200 employees, best-in-class threat research and technology synergies" said Ilkka Hiidenheimo, Chief Executive Officer of Stonesoft. "Combined, we believe we can offer our customers a world-class product portfolio with world-class support all backed by Intel."

Also read: Indian PC, mobile mkt not much different from China: Lenovo

About McAfee

McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), empowers businesses, the public sector, and home users to safely experience the benefits of the Internet. The company delivers proactive and proven security solutions and services for systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world. With its Security Connected strategy, innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique Global Threat Intelligence network, McAfee is relentlessly focused on keeping its customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com.

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

About Stonesoft Corporation

Stonesoft Corporation delivers software based, dynamic, customer-driven cyber security solutions that secure information flow and simplify security management. Stonesoft serves private and public sector organizations that require high availability, ease-of-management, compliance, dynamic security, protection of critical digital assets, and business continuity against today's rapidly evolving cyber threats. The company leads research into advanced cyber threats and the advanced evasion techniques (AETs) used in stealth, targeted cyber attacks. For more information visit. www.stonesoft.com.

Note: McAfee is a trademark or registered trademark of McAfee, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Expedia rolls out its latest ad campaign in India

With travel season kicking off, Expedia, the world's largest online travel company, has announced the launch of its latest advertising campaign in India. Conceptualized by Lowe Lintas, the campaign is aimed at igniting the hunger for travel amongst its audience. It centres on the insight that the world we live in is rapidly changing and with it are the reasons for travel. Today, travel is no longer a luxury but deemed more of a necessity and moreover it adds to ones social status, especially among one's peers. In today's stressed world, travel often is the respite that helps people rejuvenate and relax, adding to wonderful and pleasant memories. The campaign hinges on this central theme and has been rolled out nationally across print, digital, radio and television mediums.

Mr. Manmeet Ahluwalia, Head Marketing, Expedia India said, "The campaign is designed keeping in mind the need for travel and the travel proposition offered by Expedia to consumers in India and globally. The purpose of this campaign is to convey the need to travel for people who often neglect it due to lack of time or not being able to book in advance and end up being the non-traveling population. With 18,000 amazing offers every day, unparalleled in the industry, Expedia ensures that you are never 'the neighbor who never travels'. "Our campaign is based on the insight that other people's travel is always a trigger for you to travel. There was a time people travelled to see new places; today the choice of destination is heavily influenced by the 'talk value' on social media platforms. The campaign is focused mainly upon neo travelers from tier 1 cities" he said. Expedia offers a comprehensive inventory featuring more than 2,00,000 hotels, and 7,000 holiday activities and attractions from across the world. Also, with its flights+hotels product, travelers can save up to Rs 12,000 on their total travel cost. Airasia's exclusive tie up with the brand further allows it to provide low cost packages for SEA region. 

There has been 200% YOY growth in transactions at Expedia.co.in from Q1 2011 to Q1 2013. And In the past few months, it has witnessed double digit growth in transactions and triple digit growth in standalone hotel bookings. This year, with marketing outlay of 50 crore, Expedia is focused on further strengthening its position in the industry. 

Also read: Airlines can charge preferred seats, check-in bags: Govt

 About AirAsiaExpedia 

AirAsiaExpedia is the joint venture company between the world's leading online travel company, Expedia Inc. and the world's best low cost airline, AirAsia. Headquartered in Singapore, AirAsiaExpedia operates Expedia's businesses in India, Japan, Southeast Asia and East Asian markets and the AirAsiaGo.com business across Asia. In India, AirAsiaExpedia operates Expedia.co.in, a full service business helping Indian travellers plan and book their travel by offering them a comprehensive inventory of hotel accommodation, flights and tourist attractions from across the world. In addition, Expedia also has hotel-only sites operating in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong and Korea, along with its established businesses in Singapore and Japan. Its comprehensive inventory features more than 2,00,000 hotels, and 7, 000 holiday activities and attractions from across the world.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

No immediate cut in lending rates: SBI

State Bank of India (SBI) today ruled out any immediate cut in lending rates even as the  Reserve Bank had reduced policy rate by 0.25 per cent earlier this week.

"With repo rate (short-term lending rate of RBI) cut, we don't get savings because our total repo borrowing is 20,000 crore," SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said here. "So if you (RBI) reduce rate by 25 basis points, the saving is 50 crore. Total advances is 5 lakh crore which comes to 1 bps," he said.

Also read: Banks unlikely to cut rates soon, no relief for EMIs

Had there been a cut in CRR, it would have would have provides room for cut, he said. The bank will continue with the same lending and deposit rate as of now, he added.

Earlier this week, RBI lowered the short-term lending (repo) rate to 7.25 per cent from 7.50 per cent, lowest since May 2011 while retaining the CRR for banks unchanged at 4 per cent. Country's largest lender SBI last reduced its lending rate in January by cutting it by 0.05 per cent.

Following the marginal reduction, SBI's base rate, or the minimum rate of lending, came down to 9.70 per cent from 9.75 per cent. The old benchmark prime lending rate also came down by a similar 0.05 per cent.

Meanwhile, state-owned HUDCO reduced housing loan rates for individual borrowers under its Niwas Portfolio. Its lending rate for individual borrowers has been lowered to 9.95 per cent for loans upto Rs 25 lakh. Housing finance company DHFL also has reduced its interest rate by 0.25 per cent. The revised rate is applicable for all new loans.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

NMDC keeps ore price unchanged in May

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 05 Mei 2013 | 21.03

Moneycontrol Bureau

State-run miner NMDC 's board has decided to keep iron ore price unchanged for the current month and will continue to sell iron ore lumps in the range between Rs 4500-Rs 4700 per tonne, while fines will be sold at Rs 2,610 per tonne.

The firm revises iron ore price each month after aligning with the landed cost of the imported raw material and also depending on demand. The firm has cut prices nearly six times since October due to an overall slowdown when steel demand hardly grew in the year gone-by as end-users such as auto and construction firms witnessed sluggish environment.

Read This: UBS upgrades NMDC to neutral, shares extend gains

NMDC had lowered the price of lumps by about seven percent last month and by 2.5 percent in February. It did not tweak the prices of fines (having iron content of less than 60 percent) for quite some time now

It is also rumoured that the state-owned miner may bring down the price of the steel-making raw material in sync with the international prices of iron ore, which has softened in recent times to USD 130 per tonne against USD 145 per tonne in recent past.

In terms of quantity, NMDC's sales of iron ore had declined by 17 percent to 5.3 million tonne (MT) in the third quarter of 2012-13, while the production was down 25 percent at 5.4 MT during the period.

The company has a total production capacity of 32 MT per annum at its mines in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

( with PTI inputs)



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police seize property documents of Saradha Group

The police seized documents relating to the property of the Saradha Group on Saturday. "We have seized property documents relating to the investigation into the Saradha Group," Arnab Ghosh, deputy commissioner (DD), Bidhanagar City police told PTI here.

Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen, along with two others Debjani Mukherjee and Arvind Singh Chauhan are currently in 14 days' police custody. Sen has been accused of duping thousands of investors in Bengal . The police on Friday took Debjani Mukherjee to the main office of the group and seized important documents.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cheering social entrepreneurship: How Lok Capital did it

Investing in a social enterprise in India has become quite the in-thing and the definition of who is a social entrepreneur seems to be changing as well. Rajiv Lall, Vishal Mehta and Venky Natarajan, founder of 'Lok Capital' who started their journey in 2004 explains the opportunities and challenges of making investments in the Indian social entrepreneurial space.

It was the proverbial urge to do something more that bought the team at Lok Capital together. Then a Managing Director with Warburg Pincus in New York Rajiv Lal and Donald Peck of the Commonwealth Development Corporation and Actis setup Lok Capital in late 2000 with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The idea was simply to find a way to facilitate entrepreneurs who wanted to address the inclusion challenge in India.

"Because I was in the private equity business, the idea of creating a fund that focused on making investments that didn't seek necessarily to maximise profits but rather to satisfy his profits and when I say satisfy his profits its an economist term which basically means, it is an optimisation of the profit motive. So, it is the profit motive tempered with wider objectives and the wider objectives being objectives that go beyond the simple bottom-line but seek to have an impact and make a difference in other measurable terms to the people that you are serving," Rajiv Lall, Founder, Lok Capital said.

Today Lok Capital manages two funds and has over USD 85 million under management. While Fund one was focused only on the microfinance sector and counts amongst its investments some of the best performing microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India like Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), Ujjivan, IFMR Capital, Satin Creditcare Network (SCNL) and BASIX.

The second fund worth USD 65 million raised in 2011 has taken a broader view of inclusion - investing in education, livelihood and healthcare as well. With four successful exits so far from fund one, with internal rate of return (IRR) between 15-35 percent and only one major write-off the learning's from the hits and misses have been important for the team at Lok Capital.

"Social Enterprises does invoke kind of a Robin Hood image and it is very easy in this space for people to get into a premature celebration mode and that can sometimes take the focus away from the business, these are very tough businesses. Working in rural areas, working in that kind of infrastructure and then policy and regulatory hurdles add all of that, this is a very tough space. So, focus as I said is one challenge that we see. Also, we have seen premature scaling as one of the other challenges where before establishing your proof of concept in one particular geography there is a tendency to go and scale it up prematurely," Vishal Mehta, Co-Founder, Lok Capital said. 

Lok Capital has learned it lesson from the crisis. With their second fund the team has revised some of its investment parameters like the ticket size and the stake taken in a company to guard against conflicting ideas of growth that might creep in.

"Initially in our first fund we used to take 5-10 percent stakes. What we realised is in order to maintain the social fabric of the investment and until the business model is stablised we need to have liked minded, aligned investors being part of the company. So, in the second fund our biggest learning has been take 25-30 percent stakes to begin with and as the company evolves as a business model matures, as they become more and more profitable we also have the capability to bring in some of our limited partners as co-investors who are completely aligned with us," Venky Natarajan, Managing Partner, Lok Capital said.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Indian PC, mobile mkt not much different from China: Lenovo

Lenovo, the personal computer, smartphone and tablet maker is all set to grow its presence in India and aims to become a numero uno vendor for PCs and smartphone. The company which has already achieved a very strong market presence in China is now setting its feet firm in India and is establishing strong distribution network to fulfill its goal.

Milko Van Duijl, the head of Lenovo for Asia region that covers India, Japan, Hong Kong, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Taiwan, Korea,  Australia and New Zealand in chat with Senthil Chengalvarayan of CNBC-TV18 discusses the company's plans for India, trends in PC and smartphone market and some of newly launched products.

Van Duijl said that Indian PC and smartphone market is not much different from China. "Indian market is not much different from the China market in terms of its vastness, in terms of its tier-I, tier-II, tier-III, tier-IV, tier-V cities, that is the same as in India," he said.

PC market has been seeing some declining trend with increasing popularity of smart hones and tablets. But Van Duijl believes that 'PC is anything but a dying breed'

"Although the market may not be growing or even slightly shrinking as we have seen in International Data Corporation's (IDC) numbers the PC market is still huge. Over 350 million PCs will have been shipped in the calendar year. So even when the market is not growing that much or even shrinking by 2 percent it is a huge market," he said.

Below is the verbatim transcript of his interview

Q: You are coming from a fairly good quarter as far as your PC shipments were for Lenovo worldwide. So PCs are not a dying breed as a lot of people seemed to think. What is the future for PCs?

A: You said it very well. PC is anything but a dying breed. Although the market may not be growing or even slightly shrinking as we have seen in International Data Corporation's (IDC) numbers the PC market is still huge. Over 350 million PCs will have been shipped in the calendar year.

So even when the market is not growing that much or even shrinking by 2 percent it is a huge market. When you have 15 percent as we now have, to gain 5 points of market share over the next couple of years which we think we can do that would still add on about 17 million PCs, so that would mean about USD 10 billion of extra revenue. So it is a big market.

Q: It is a big market, yet companies like HP and Dell are struggling to keep their PC business. There are lots of rumors that they could sell off and industry sources tell us that they really keep those businesses on because it gives them a foot into the enterprise business. You could have an enterprise business. What keeps you in the PC business?

A: What keeps us in the PC business is our belief that this industry of providing the individual with a productivity tool which has become almost an extension of one's personality, is very important and for us to turn that into a global business.

Becoming the leader in the PC business has always been our big driver and our protect and attack strategy has worked now for about three years. We continue to grow profitably in China in our think business, the commercial side of the business for large account and then growing very fast in emerging markets and specific markets like India where we want to get to number one and we have achieved to do so.


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21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Personalising ads further, challenge to advertisers: Google

Emphasising on the vital role a marketeer plays in any given business, Nikesh Arora, senior vice president and chief business officer, Google says given the change in consumers' perspectives, a marketeer's fundamental task is to relate to the consumer and know where the consumers are.   

With evolving technology, compact devices getting smaller and better and an excessive importance on consuming media, marketeers are constantly looking for ways to evolve marketing tricks. Arora believes the challenge to marketers today is to figure out ways to make advertising more individualised, more personalised.

Also read: Indian PC, mobile mkt not much different from China: Lenovo

Anant Rangaswami, senior editor, Firstpost and Durga Raghunath, vice president products and executive news producer, Firstpost.com interviewed Arora on Story Board on CNBC-TV18.

Below is the edited transcript of the interview. 

Rangaswami: To begin with I am trying to look at things from the marketer's point of view and just when they think they know they think they know everything that the internet has to teach them and ready for the next step you come out, you as in the internet or Google with something new and you got to start all over again and you suddenly feel like an idiot.

Arora: One thing which is constant even though stories change. Before we think at marketing you have to look at consumers and what consumers are doing. In that regard we could learn a lot of from what is happening in different parts of the world. I was in Korea last week and the US. There are things happening with consumers which are very interesting. If you look at consumers today they pretty much live their life on the mobile devices as opposed to sitting and watching TV. I grow up here and you look forward to that two hours in the evening where you could watch TV and it was compact programming, not 500 channels and you know there were two channels that you had to watch and today I cannot keep track of the number of applications my 16 year old uses. She said something interesting to me the other day, she said, dad e-mail is for formal communication. The perspectives of consumers have changed and fundamental task of any marketeer is to relate to consumer so they have to be where the consumers are.

Raghunath: Interesting point about mobile. When you were talking to ATD perhaps this year you made a statement where you said we limit ourselves by calling mobile, mobile. I would love to hear more about what you mean when you say that?

Arora: One of the fascinating thing that has happened as technologies evolved is we have been dealing with devices in isolation and that made sense a few years ago when your television was your television and it never talked to your computer. Your computer was your computer and your phone was your phone and none of these things talked to each other. But today if we think about it you are slowly beginning to see devices talk to each other. I can go like my music on my PC off the internet and I can use my phone to play it. Suddenly your phone is starting to talk to your PC.

There are many applications which I am sure you use on your PC and on your phone and if you see there are instances where people have put their televisions online as well as I can take a YouTube video and play it on my television. So, one is beginning to see devices talk. When devices talk, what happens in the future is that one has a multitude of screens around you. Your watch could be your screen. Your TV could be your screen. Your tablet, your computer, your phone all these are screens and over time services are going to become thing that you want to use across all these screens. So, the mobile becomes a context. It becomes your geospatial context. If I am sitting waiting for somebody in the meeting, I am more likely to read Firstpost, newspaper or something else. If I am sitting at home waiting for something or sitting at home I might watch a video and if I am at work I might search. So, certainly what happens is wherever you are becomes your context and that becomes your screen of choice. So, it is no longer mobile. When I am mobile I will always use my mobile screen. What if I use my tablet? What if my computer with me is WiFi? Suddenly, when I am mobile I can actually have access to multiple screens. As long as my screen knows where I am it can be more useful to me.

Raghunath: The consumer is constantly faced with making choices. Perhaps desktop is becoming almost passé. You have a tablet. You are moving to your mobile phone and a lot of us have completely deserted even a laptop for various reasons. This is hard for the advertiser. We have readers who are moving from a website classic format to the tablet format to the mobile format and each in a way is in terms of the old rules of impact probably diminishing in terms of strength. So, for advertising to remain hugely powerful on digital across these devices, how would you approach dealing with multiple devices, multiple attention consumption patterns?

Arora: There are just lots of interesting places we could take this to. Content and making money is important. Historically, as you have seen changes in media, there has typically been two or three ways money has been made by advertisers as content has been funded. If there were newspapers, it is a combination of advertising and subscription. Some people pay some money and some advertising comes in, that is how newspaper makes money, that is how television makes money.

There was a combination of some function of cable fees versus advertising on television and there are some channels which do not take advertising, for which you have to pay more. So, somewhere in that spectrum or continuum you pay for content or content gets monetized by advertisers and that is still true in any media that you can come up with.

Content will get paid for because consumers interact with content and it is going to get paid for either directly by the consumer or if the consumers are not willing pay, but they are willing to take advertising instead.

The question is what form does that advertising take on when you start interacting with a smaller screen or different sizes and different context. There what becomes very important is the big transitional shift. In the past we had very little idea on who the user is or was. Take a newspaper. You have no idea who is reading the newspaper. You can make up demographics of who the newspaper reader is. Take television. We kind of know there are households involved. There is some agency or some third party measurement services who could figure based on household samples to know who is watching it, but one really did not know.

However, if one looks at today's technology, one has a reasonably good idea of who that person is. You have a lot more data about them because of the applications they interact with or what they do. You have a lot more data about their physical context, you have a lot more data about their social context and that makes advertising three to five times more powerful. So, the big challenge for advertisers or marketeers is how do you leverage the information that you have about individuals and how do you go from a mass market broadcast type advertising concept to a more personalised, more individualised concept of advertising because if it is very useful for me I am willing to accept it if it is interesting and probably you end up making more money. 



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

NMDC keeps ore price unchanged in May

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 Mei 2013 | 21.03

Moneycontrol Bureau

State-run miner NMDC 's board has decided to keep iron ore price unchanged for the current month and will continue to sell iron ore lumps in the range between Rs 4500-Rs 4700 per tonne, while fines will be sold at Rs 2,610 per tonne.

The firm revises iron ore price each month after aligning with the landed cost of the imported raw material and also depending on demand. The firm has cut prices nearly six times since October due to an overall slowdown when steel demand hardly grew in the year gone-by as end-users such as auto and construction firms witnessed sluggish environment.

Read This: UBS upgrades NMDC to neutral, shares extend gains

NMDC had lowered the price of lumps by about seven percent last month and by 2.5 percent in February. It did not tweak the prices of fines (having iron content of less than 60 percent) for quite some time now

It is also rumoured that the state-owned miner may bring down the price of the steel-making raw material in sync with the international prices of iron ore, which has softened in recent times to USD 130 per tonne against USD 145 per tonne in recent past.

In terms of quantity, NMDC's sales of iron ore had declined by 17 percent to 5.3 million tonne (MT) in the third quarter of 2012-13, while the production was down 25 percent at 5.4 MT during the period.

The company has a total production capacity of 32 MT per annum at its mines in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

( with PTI inputs)



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police seize property documents of Saradha Group

The police seized documents relating to the property of the Saradha Group on Saturday. "We have seized property documents relating to the investigation into the Saradha Group," Arnab Ghosh, deputy commissioner (DD), Bidhanagar City police told PTI here.

Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen, along with two others Debjani Mukherjee and Arvind Singh Chauhan are currently in 14 days' police custody. Sen has been accused of duping thousands of investors in Bengal . The police on Friday took Debjani Mukherjee to the main office of the group and seized important documents.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cheering social entrepreneurship: How Lok Capital did it

Investing in a social enterprise in India has become quite the in-thing and the definition of who is a social entrepreneur seems to be changing as well. Rajiv Lall, Vishal Mehta and Venky Natarajan, founder of 'Lok Capital' who started their journey in 2004 explains the opportunities and challenges of making investments in the Indian social entrepreneurial space.

It was the proverbial urge to do something more that bought the team at Lok Capital together. Then a Managing Director with Warburg Pincus in New York Rajiv Lal and Donald Peck of the Commonwealth Development Corporation and Actis setup Lok Capital in late 2000 with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The idea was simply to find a way to facilitate entrepreneurs who wanted to address the inclusion challenge in India.

"Because I was in the private equity business, the idea of creating a fund that focused on making investments that didn't seek necessarily to maximise profits but rather to satisfy his profits and when I say satisfy his profits its an economist term which basically means, it is an optimisation of the profit motive. So, it is the profit motive tempered with wider objectives and the wider objectives being objectives that go beyond the simple bottom-line but seek to have an impact and make a difference in other measurable terms to the people that you are serving," Rajiv Lall, Founder, Lok Capital said.

Today Lok Capital manages two funds and has over USD 85 million under management. While Fund one was focused only on the microfinance sector and counts amongst its investments some of the best performing microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India like Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), Ujjivan, IFMR Capital, Satin Creditcare Network (SCNL) and BASIX.

The second fund worth USD 65 million raised in 2011 has taken a broader view of inclusion - investing in education, livelihood and healthcare as well. With four successful exits so far from fund one, with internal rate of return (IRR) between 15-35 percent and only one major write-off the learning's from the hits and misses have been important for the team at Lok Capital.

"Social Enterprises does invoke kind of a Robin Hood image and it is very easy in this space for people to get into a premature celebration mode and that can sometimes take the focus away from the business, these are very tough businesses. Working in rural areas, working in that kind of infrastructure and then policy and regulatory hurdles add all of that, this is a very tough space. So, focus as I said is one challenge that we see. Also, we have seen premature scaling as one of the other challenges where before establishing your proof of concept in one particular geography there is a tendency to go and scale it up prematurely," Vishal Mehta, Co-Founder, Lok Capital said. 

Lok Capital has learned it lesson from the crisis. With their second fund the team has revised some of its investment parameters like the ticket size and the stake taken in a company to guard against conflicting ideas of growth that might creep in.

"Initially in our first fund we used to take 5-10 percent stakes. What we realised is in order to maintain the social fabric of the investment and until the business model is stablised we need to have liked minded, aligned investors being part of the company. So, in the second fund our biggest learning has been take 25-30 percent stakes to begin with and as the company evolves as a business model matures, as they become more and more profitable we also have the capability to bring in some of our limited partners as co-investors who are completely aligned with us," Venky Natarajan, Managing Partner, Lok Capital said.



21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Indian PC, mobile mkt not much different from China: Lenovo

Lenovo, the personal computer, smartphone and tablet maker is all set to grow its presence in India and aims to become a numero uno vendor for PCs and smartphone. The company which has already achieved a very strong market presence in China is now setting its feet firm in India and is establishing strong distribution network to fulfill its goal.

Milko Van Duijl, the head of Lenovo for Asia region that covers India, Japan, Hong Kong, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Taiwan, Korea,  Australia and New Zealand in chat with Senthil Chengalvarayan of CNBC-TV18 discusses the company's plans for India, trends in PC and smartphone market and some of newly launched products.

Van Duijl said that Indian PC and smartphone market is not much different from China. "Indian market is not much different from the China market in terms of its vastness, in terms of its tier-I, tier-II, tier-III, tier-IV, tier-V cities, that is the same as in India," he said.

PC market has been seeing some declining trend with increasing popularity of smart hones and tablets. But Van Duijl believes that 'PC is anything but a dying breed'

"Although the market may not be growing or even slightly shrinking as we have seen in International Data Corporation's (IDC) numbers the PC market is still huge. Over 350 million PCs will have been shipped in the calendar year. So even when the market is not growing that much or even shrinking by 2 percent it is a huge market," he said.

Below is the verbatim transcript of his interview

Q: You are coming from a fairly good quarter as far as your PC shipments were for Lenovo worldwide. So PCs are not a dying breed as a lot of people seemed to think. What is the future for PCs?

A: You said it very well. PC is anything but a dying breed. Although the market may not be growing or even slightly shrinking as we have seen in International Data Corporation's (IDC) numbers the PC market is still huge. Over 350 million PCs will have been shipped in the calendar year.

So even when the market is not growing that much or even shrinking by 2 percent it is a huge market. When you have 15 percent as we now have, to gain 5 points of market share over the next couple of years which we think we can do that would still add on about 17 million PCs, so that would mean about USD 10 billion of extra revenue. So it is a big market.

Q: It is a big market, yet companies like HP and Dell are struggling to keep their PC business. There are lots of rumors that they could sell off and industry sources tell us that they really keep those businesses on because it gives them a foot into the enterprise business. You could have an enterprise business. What keeps you in the PC business?

A: What keeps us in the PC business is our belief that this industry of providing the individual with a productivity tool which has become almost an extension of one's personality, is very important and for us to turn that into a global business.

Becoming the leader in the PC business has always been our big driver and our protect and attack strategy has worked now for about three years. We continue to grow profitably in China in our think business, the commercial side of the business for large account and then growing very fast in emerging markets and specific markets like India where we want to get to number one and we have achieved to do so.


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21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More
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