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NEW DELHI, DEC 17 :
OVERALL impact of current economic downturn on media and entertainment industry (E&M) will speed up the move to digital rather than slow it down by creating a case in favour of digital migration across the industry, says a Background Paper prepared for ASSOCHAM by PwC.

The Paper which is released here today at ASSOCHAM organised focus summit on entertainment and media by State Minister for Information & Broadcasting Mr. C Mohan Jatua, President ASSOCHAM Dr. Swati Piramal and Mrs. Juhi Chawla also highlights that the global economic downturn does not change the underlying drivers for digital but will influence their pace and power and therefore the timing of industry change.

Among others who were also present during the Study release function include Mr. Jagdish Kumar, president, Star India, Mr. Arindam Chaudhary, Dean IIPM and Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM.

In the past, E&M was characterised by a handful of generic models. In the future, revenue models will be diverse, more targeted and developed on a bespoke basis for the specific purpose and circumstances. The models that will emerge during next few years will ensure E&M industry is well positioned to exploit the economic upturn from 2011, albeit from a slight lower base than in 2008.

“By 2011, the it is expected that segments will have consolidated, higher quality product be valued by both consumers and advertisers and digital distribution would have become mainstream, commanding fees more in line with its value. Besides, a growing economy is continue to stimulate spending”, says the Paper.

It recommends that E&M companies need to invest now for the future environment despite limited forward visibility around economic conditions, consumer behavior and revenue models.

Consumers increasingly base their choices of content experiences and consumption patterns on a cost benefit judgement including whether the same experience is available more cheaper elsewhere.

According to the paper, the E&M industry is well positioned to exploit the coming economic upturn. By 2013, the industry’s accelerating digitization coupled with the growing divergence between the revenue performance of different segments and markets – will create an E&M landscape characterised by a myriad of business models and a far more tailored approach.

The study also says that the overall impact of the current economic downturn will be to speed up the move to digital rather than slow it down – partly by creating an unarguable case in favor of digital migration across the industry.

The global economic downturn does not change the underlying drivers for digital but may influence their pace and power- and therefore the timing of industry change In the past, E&M was characterized by a handful of generic models. In the future, revenue models will be diverse, more targeted and developed on a bespoke basis for the specific purpose and circumstances. (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, DEC 17 :
THE semiconductor industry will post a revenue decline for just the sixth time in the last 25 years, with worldwide revenue totaling $226 billion in 2009, an 11.4 percent decline from 2008, according to preliminary estimates by Gartner, Inc.

"Revenue dropped precipitously in the first quarter of 2009, continuing a deterioration which started in the last quarter of 2008," said Stephan Ohr, semiconductor research director at Gartner. "A small uptick, noted toward the end of the first quarter, led to significant quarter-over-quarter growth in the periods that followed."

However, 2009 still goes on record as one of the worst years for the semiconductor industry since the burst of the dot-com bubble in 2001 — and the first year the semiconductor industry posted declines two years in a row. Worldwide semiconductor revenues declined 4.4 percent in 2008, a consequence of the worldwide economic recession, which began in the fourth quarter.

"With the market emerging from recession, semiconductor vendors need to track the end users' spending patterns through 2010 in order to detect any disruptions in demand ? or additional demands that outstrip capacity," Mr. Ohr said. "Neither the recession nor its recovery was felt equally by all semiconductor vendors. The PC segment was the first to spring back, followed later in the year by other segments reflecting consumer sentiment, like cell phones and automobiles. Enterprise spending was most deeply impacted by the recession and remains slow to recover."

Some semiconductor vendors experienced the recession worse than others. Japanese semiconductor vendors, for example, were very hard hit, first by the world recession, which curtailed orders, and second by the strong Japanese yen, which made Japanese products more expensive than American and European devices.

Only three of the top 10 semiconductor vendors saw revenue growth in 2009; two of them were memory manufacturers, Samsung and Hynix, whose revenue grew primarily because of the long-awaited firming of memory prices. Qualcomm grew slightly by capturing market share among cellular baseband processors. Outside of the top 10, but within the top 25, Taiwan's MediaTek grew 21.4 percent, due its strong position among off-brand Chinese cell phone makers. It was the only company within the top 25 to show double-digit growth.

Four of the seven companies in the top 10 showing revenue declines experienced double-digit declines. Infineon's precipitous 46.5 percent drop was a consequence of the failure of its memory business unit, Qimonda, and the sale of its wireline communications business. If one subtracts wireline component revenue from Infineon's 2008 revenue to facilitate a "like for like" comparison in 2009, Infineon's revenue drop is only 27.2 percent.

The memory segment deserves attention, since much of what happened in 2009 appears contrary to what happened in other segments. After seeing revenue declines in 2007 and 2008, the memory market was due to see a recovery. Memory vendors had slashed capital spending in the previous years, and supply constraints effectively elevated pricing.

NAND flash moved into an undersupply condition at the start of 2009; DRAM followed late in the second quarter of 2009, sending prices soaring. However, the bankruptcy of Qimonda and near collapse of some of the weaker Taiwanese players meant that most of the major DRAM vendors were able to pick up market share at the expense of these companies and even report revenue growth. Overall, memory revenue declined in 2009, but by significantly less than the entire semiconductor industry. (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, DEC 17 :
AMENDMENT to Competition Commission Bill has been passed today in the Parliament to not only facilitate Department of Company Affairs to frame new Competition Policy as also enable the government to scrap age old Monopolies And Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP).

Disclosing this at ASSOCHAM organized Discussion on Corporate Governance for Inclusive Growth here today, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Mr Salman Khurshid also promised that the government may allow persons to acquire positions of directors in more than 6 companies.

The Deptt. of Corporate Affairs had proposed to apply a ceiling on taking up directors position on corporates from 15 companies to 6 companies.

Responding to a query raised by ASSOCHAM president Dr. Swati Piramal on issue of reduction of directorship from 15 to 6 in public companies, Mr. Khrushid said that the proposal was worth examining and the government would make it position clear in next few weeks.

Amendment to Competition Commission Bill has been passed and is referred for the President assent, said Mr. Khurshid adding that after it is obtained, a new Competition Policy would be put in place. After the Competition Policy is unveiled, the age old draconian MRTP Act of 1969 would stand scrapped which would be a great relief to corporate world, added the Minister.

Referring to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Minister said that Indian Inc. should voluntarily accept it, widen its base and promote it to 2nd tier township and especially in the medium and small scale enterprises.

In her address, ASSOCHAM president, Dr. Piramal pointed out that SME sector provides almost 45 percent of manufacturing output. As per the latest quick check, there are nearly 26 million SME units, employing more than 60 million people.

This is a huge sector and realizing its importance in our growth, the government attention could be drawn to the issues like adeuate credit availability at affordable cost, institutional Capital access through SME Exchange platform and infrastructure facilitation by providing cluster approach through Industrial Areas.

Among others who spoke on the occasion comprise Mr. R N Dhoot, Vice President ASSOCHAM, Ms. Preeti Malhotra, Chairperson, ASSOCHAM National Committee on Corporate Governance, Mr. Anil Agarwal, Past President ASSOCHAM, Mr. Prithvi Haldea, CMD, PrimeDatabase and Mr. D.S. Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM. (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, DEC 16 :
INDIA will be the leading global economic superpower in 20 years, according to more than half of the respondents in an unprecedented new survey of Indian entrepreneurs and senior managers. India is already moving up economic league tables with the 12th largest economy in the world, according to the World Bank.

It also ranked 45th in the internationally respected 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index (www.prosperity.com) – which embraces social and political data to provide a wider measure of national success . The total Indian GDP has risen 193 percent per cent in the past decade, from US$ 416 billion in 1998 to US$ 1.22 trillion in 2008.

According to respondents in the new survey of Indian entrepreneurs and business managers, India is now on course to outstrip the USA , Japan , Germany and the fast-emerging economic giant of China over the next two decades.

In the first survey of its kind, the London-based independent think-tank Legatum Institute (www.li.com) commissioned pollsters YouGov to question nearly 2,400 Indian entrepreneurs, senior managers and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The survey revealed startling levels of confidence among the country’s wealth-creators with nearly nine in ten saying that they expected India to be in a stronger economic position in five years. Only one in five said that the world economic crisis had badly affected business in India .

More than half the respondents (53 per cent) were extremely bullish about the future, saying they expected India to be the world’s most important economic power by 2030.

The survey also found that the entrepreneurial spirit is deeply embedded in the Indian business community. Eight in ten of the respondents said that they believed that people could get ahead through hard work.

About two-thirds of respondents said that Indians were a more entrepreneurial than people from other countries and 84 per cent said that their country was going in the right direction. Business start-ups in India in 2007 numbered 20,000 and the evidence for India ’s economic optimism is vast:

· India’s automobile industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, boasting exports greater in number than China .

· India is one of the world’s leading outsourcing destinations for many of the world’s top businesses, with annual revenues of nearly US$ 60 billion.

· India is also a world leader in innovation from ultra-inexpensive cars to pioneering computer software.

Strong family connections are a key to India ’s business dynamism. Just over a third (36 per cent) of respondents said that the country’s entrepreneurial spirit was rooted in the family, with 30 per cent citing the example set by other business people and 11 per cent citing social networks or friends. Only 2 per cent selected government encouragement and incentives.

This finding squares with the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, which rated India 5th out of 104 nations in social capital (www.prosperity.com). In addition, nearly half the respondents (48 per cent) relied on family money to found their firms.

Beyond making money, Indian entrepreneurs are also highly motivated by the broader social impact of their work. Over half (54 percent) of respondents say the social effects of their business, such as improving the quality of life in their communities or developing people, are a main motivation for what they do.

Also, more respondents said that both internal motivation and the ability to take risks amidst uncertainty are more important than access to finance for helping entrepreneurs to succeed.

The survey also contains substantial grounds for caution about India ’s economic future. Over half of the respondents say that corruption is a serious problem that hurts business in India , and 40 percent say they have been pressured to pay a bribe.

In addition, together with access to finance, government bureaucracy is regarded as the biggest barrier to successfully starting companies in India .

The Government bureaucracy is also regarded as one of the main three reasons that businesses fail in India . Likely because of corruption and bureaucracy, more than half of respondents running smaller companies said it was very important to improvise and work around the system to make their companies grow.(editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, DEC 16 :
STRONGER than expected sales in Western Europe and an acceleration in the grey market in the third quarter of this year will drive worldwide mobile device sales to end users to 1.214 billion units, a 0.67 per cent decline from 2008, according to the latest outlook by Gartner, Inc. In September, Gartner had forecast sales to decline 3.7 per cent in 2009. Gartner now predicts sales in 2010 will show a 9 per cent increase from 2009.

"Although the grey market or 'white label' is not a new phenomenon and has been generated by Chinese device manufacturers who do not have a licence to sell and manufacture devices without a valid international mobile equipment identity (IMEI), today grey-market sales are no longer limited to China," said Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner. "All manufacturers will have to compete with grey-market players as they expand into emerging markets in Asia/Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America and bring a lower weighted average selling price (ASP).

The grey market will affect Nokia's market share the most." In 2009, overall market economic conditions impacted disposable income and extended replacement cycles in mature markets from 12 to 18 months. Gartner expects replacement cycles globally to return to normal within two years, with the introduction of more aggressively priced smartphones and shorter contracts.

Gartner also expects second-hand sales in emerging markets and SIM-only sales globally to stabilise in 2010 and to start decreasing from 2011 as consumers feel less macro-economic pressure.

Smartphone volumes will represent 14 per cent of total mobile devices sales in 2009, growing by 23.6 per cent from 2008 and to 38 per cent by 2013. However, this positive outlook could be negatively impacted by mobile operators' decision to associate all smartphones with high flat-rate data plans, which could increase the total cost of ownership beyond mass-market consumer acceptance.

Despite this, Gartner expects global ASPs for enhanced phones and smartphones to decline by 3 per cent in 2010.

The strong performance of markets such as Western Europe and Asia Pacific was balanced by weaker than expected sales in Latin America and the Middle East and Africa ..

"Despite a projected return to growth in 2010, the times of 20 per cent growth are certainly over as mature markets are saturated and most growth will come from emerging markets," concluded Ms Milanesi. "Pressure will remain for manufacturers to sustain and grow margins as ASP continues to decline. Software, services and content will be much bigger drivers than hardware, pushing traditional mobile phone vendors to reinvent themselves to remain at the top of their game." (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 18 :
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has reiterated its demand for hiking foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling in defence from 26 per cent to 49 per cent so that defence indigenisation grows with faster adoption of latest technology transfer.

In a statement, ASSOCHAM President Dr Swati Piramal pointed out that India's spending on arms imports since 1999 Kargil conflict have risen close to $ 30 billion and would further go up to over $ 35 billion by 2012.

It is therefore necessary to move towards acquiring self reliance in defence production, which could be possible if foreign equity in FDI's is raised to 49 per cent which would help India acquire defence technology for its increased arms production and thus shed its imports dependence.

The ASSOCHAM President further said that the Indian defence sector is established to be worth US$ 5-8 billion annually. If the Indian economy continues to grow at current momentum, its defence spending is projected to increase from 2.8 per cent to 3 per cent of the GDP in the future and this increase would be used to finance additional capital outlays for modern equipment.

India is the world's largest importer of defence articles as its services buy over US$ 6 bn worth of military hardware. As compared to India, Saudi Arabia and China; the next two large armament buyers in the developing world, notched up defence deals valued between just USD 3-5 billion each in 2008.

The fact that in 2001, the Indian government opened up the defence production industry by allowing 100 per cent investment by private sector firms and at the same time, also allowed FDI of 26 percent in select areas in the defence production. This needs to be further accelerated to 49 per cent, says Dr. Piramal as it would help procurement of latest technologies as per provisions of Defence Offset policy.

Defence offsets policy is expected to bring in US$10 billion during the 11th five-year plan period as every foreign company is required to spend 30 percent of the value on offsets goods or services purchased from Indian defence companies,

It has been stated that as India has a large industrial base, offsets will further develop its technical and manufacturing potential and they will also help to increase investments in domestic research and development. The policy is also expected to hugely benefit the Small and Medium Enterprises and is conducive for the private companies to have a larger presence in the defence set up.

Dr. Piramal said that host of Indian companies can get the benefit of offset policy and such a scenario will further boost country's economy in the near future. The offset policy is expected to generate market-entry opportunities for private companies, to invest in research and development and manufacturing of defence goods.

Currently about 70 percent of the procurement in value terms, is from foreign sources because the Indian public sector cannot deliver in terms of quality or speed on either research or production. And only about 30 per cent of the orders placed in India - or 9% of the total - goes to the private sector.

The government has set a 70 percent target for procuring its defence requirements from indigenous sources by 2010. For achieving this target the government is mainly relying on private players.

The public sector is facilitating greater private sector participation in the area of defence goods production which will also contribute to the growth of domestic industries. There are more than 5,000 companies supplying around 20 percent to 25 percent of components and sub-assemblies to state- owned companies. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 17 :
EVEN though the merger provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 are yet to be enforced many sectors are clamouring for an exemption. This is bad and should not be entertained at all, says a press release from CUTS International, a premier economic policy research and advocacy group.

“One of the specious arguments being raised by sector regulators, such as the Reserve Bank of India and the Telecom Authority of India to exempt mergers in the banking and telecom sectors from the purview of the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) scrutiny is that it is their exclusive domain”, says Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General of CUTS International and a competition policy expert.

Indeed sector regulators are overseeing the relevant sector, but the CCI has an economy wide remit to enforce competition rules in all sectors. On the other hand, the Reserve Bank of India is a prudential regulator and does not have competition expertise. Similarly, the TRAI can oversee the telecom sector’s health, tariffs and service standards but may not be able to judge the outcomes of a merger as it does not have the expertise. If this trend continues, then there could be other service sector regulators, such as electricity or insurance or petroleum and gas which will come forth with similar arguments.

“That would be bad for the economy as well as the competition reforms which the country is pushing forward. The best way forward is to ensure that both the sector regulator and the CCI consult each other on a mandatory basis and take up cases which lie primarily on one’s domain rather than oust the jurisdiction of the CCI” asserted Mehta. “This it the approach followed by the European countries and has been working very well. It has also been thus recommended by the Planning Commission in its policy document: ‘Inclusive Growth’ adopted by the National Development Council in December, 2007”.

The end purpose is that regulation should be optimal and whenever needed, rather than be through a pre-determined tough approach. In sectors, such as telecom, where there is sufficient competition, sector regulation should be abandoned and competition distortions should be left to the CCI to deal with. For e.g, the Canadian telecom regulatory law has such a sunset provision.

“Another ludicrous demand is from the shipping sector to exempt its’ price fixing activity from being tested under the Competition Act, when world over such exemptions are being reversed” says Mehta. “It is a fact that in the past shipping liner conferences were exempt from the competition laws of many jurisdictions, but now the European Union has withdrawn the amnesty”.

In 2006, the EC introduced regulations which repealed the block exemption of liner conference agreements and allowed a transitional period of two years for the members to put their house in order. From October 2008, the liner conference price fixing cartels are now illegal.

Freight rates plunged following the repeal and calls by ship liners for a reprieve in the face of the current global crisis were not heeded. The US and Australia are also following the EC experience closely and they are likely to follow suit in the near future. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 17 :
FRANCHISE India 2009, the 7th edition of Asia’s franchise and retail opportunity show, is to be held from November 26 to 27 2009 at Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi.

Supported by Indian Franchise Association and organized by Asia’s integrated franchise and retail solution company, the two-day event displays Indian and global brands and is an 'Opportunity Show' for liasoning with brands to offer a pool of out-of-box business ideas and practices delivering India's biggest business exchange.

The show comprise a comprehensive exhibition covering all the industries extensively with massive domestic and international participation, informative and enlightening Conference & Workshops with prominent international and national speakers to impart knowledge and the highly prestigious Franchise Awards 2009 and Star Retailer Awards, to recognize the excellence in franchise and retail industries.

The show will provide aspiring entrepreneurs with a comprehensive overview of the industry, and how to become a successful business owner through buying into an established franchise concept in this exciting growing market. The event is ideal for entrepreneurs who are scouting for effective and innovative business opportunities and are looking to start and run their own franchised businesses.

The flood of visitors is expected to increase this year due to the growing number of exhibitors and the variety of concepts and opportunities to explore during the two-day event. The show attracts over 25000 visitors and is highly successful for all its participants.

Visitors to the show will meet with a wide range of well-established national and international franchised companies .The show will also see participation from major brands like Kenny Roger Roasters, Retail Food Group, bb’s café, Brumby’s GO, Donut King, Michel’s Patisserie, Brumby’s, Better Homes, Admiral, Voltz, Kwality Walls, Aptech, Better Homes, Slice of Italy, Yo! China, Fast Track Kids, Radisson Chaatz, Archies, Numero Uno, Subway and ICICI. This will recognize this platform as a trusted launch pad for them to showcase their brand or opportunity to discover the serious business investors or potential partners.

ICICI Securities is the sponsor for the event which is a equity house providing end-to-end solutions through the largest non-banking distribution channel.The event is also supported by Chhabra 555, Cartridge World, Gitanjali, EWDPL and Koutons.

Mr. Gaurav Marya, president Franchise India Holdings said “In today’s economic environment, franchising as a business model has emerged as being more vital and significant to business growth than ever before. With the Indian franchise industry growing at 30 percent per annum, and with India being branded as the most preferred investment destination, the country presents a fertile market for international franchise companies to expand into.

Each year, Franchise India aims to bring together both emblematic business brands and emerging and innovative business concepts, and provide potential franchisees with a complete picture of what franchising offers in India and overseas. With multiple new concepts, ready to export franchising business opportunities and experts from the industry, this annual event has established itself as an international exhibition for starting up a new business, and is the ideal springboard for breaking into new markets. The event has over the past 7 years successfully produced fantastic results for exhibitors, potential franchisees, visitors, speakers and the entire franchising industry – and that’s what makes this event so worthwhile”

The exhibition puts forth a spectrum of opportunities in franchising, retailing, licensing, real estate and retail supply from all possible industry verticals.The show not only features dedicated industry pavilons d industry pavilions for focused business positioning but also boasts of an exclusive international pavilion showcasing enormous opportunities from 5 countries – UK, US, Philippines, Dubai and Australia.

Alongside the presence of leading franchise companies, the event will also feature seminars and conferences that will run on both days of the show. These sessions will not only offer expert advice on the key aspects of franchising from some of the industry’s most inspiring personalities, but will also provide valuable guidelines on facing some of the key challenges in the business.

The show brings together over 100 speakers with about 40 international speakers like Rod Young (DC Strategy Australia), Yuri Bolotin (Design Portfolio, Australia) , Marie Louise Jacobsen(RMS, Singapore), Mr. Nicholas Bloom (Beanstalk,UK), Kelvyn (LIMA) and many others. The seminar also features multiple CEO Forums along with an exclusive session with the franchise tycoon Don Boroian, Chairman Francorp Inc. to address and elucidate his views on the challenges faced in the global franchise industry.

The show also proffers a unique podium of Franchise Panchayat, presented by Indian Franchise Association to stage various opportunities amongst potential business investors. Aware of the impact of networked business on the environment and keen to promote eco-responsibility, Franchise India will dwell on the ‘Go Green’ Franchise Community initiative to build awareness on environmental conservation within the business community. The initiative aims at influencing and spreading the notion of being environmental conscious and to provoke the thought process of the franchise and retail industry in India to strategize cautiously owing to the cause. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 17 :
THE 10-day-long Festival of India at Buenos Aires, Argentina, aimed at promoting export of handicrafts products and to develop Brand Image of Indian Handicrafts in the global markets, generated business and serious enquiries worth over Rs 105 crore.

The 2nd edition of the Festival of India, was organized by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) under the aegis of Ministry of Textiles, in coordination of Indian Embassy in Buenos Aires with the support of Mr. Hernan Lambardi, Minister of Culture of the Buenos Aires Government and Mr. R. Viswanathan, Ambassador of India in Argentina.

''EPCH organizes a number of such fairs out of India for the benefit of those foreign buyers who are not able to visit Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fairs held twice a year in February and October.These fairs help the local businessmen to know about Indian products which are competitive both in price and quality," said Mr. Raj Kumar Malhotra, Chairman, EPCH on the concuding day of the festival on Sunday, November 15, 2009.

Mr Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director of the Council, expressed satisfaction at the turnout of visitors at the festival and said that ''handicrafts was the worst affected sector during the global recession and with the present trend witnessed at Argentina, it is expected that there will be a complete turn around by April 2010."

The main attraction at the Festival of India was the exhibition of Indian handcrafted products displaying a range of textiles, furnishings, fabrics, costume jewelry and accessories, Kashmiri products and handicrafts, Christmas decorations, incense sticks, home decoration and giftware, furniture and fixtures.

About 35 Indian companies are displayed best of their eco-friendly products which were colorful, ethnic, modern in designs, exquisite craftsmanship at most competitive price and quality at the exhibition. Most of the products were even put up for sale and also for order booking for future supplies.

The other main components at the Festival of India were the performing arts everyday organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and a special promotion drive by India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to attract Argentinians. This festival will lead to a growth in Indo-Argentinean Trade and Cultural relations. Argentina accounts for about an average 12 per cent growth per annum.

More than six million craftspersons are directly employed in this sector all over the country and many million are employed indirectly in handicrafts industry in India in various aspects of manufacturing, processing, designing, packaging, research and analysis, marketing, shipping and exports.

The main markets for export of handicrafts from India are the USA followed by EU, Middle East, Far East, LAC and Caribbean countries. India's handicraftsare being sold in developed economies of the world through departmental chains stores like Sogo of Japan, Macy, Bloomingdales, J.C. Penny of USA, Karstad of Germany, Marks and Spencers of UK and many other leading importers and distributors like Walmart, Pier1, Carrefour, May departmental stores, Gallerie Lafaiette of France etc.

The exports of handicrafts increased manifold from $1,858 million in 2000-01 to $3,481 in 2007-08 registering an average exports growth between 17-18 per cent per annum. The exports declined by 14 per cent in 2008-09 due to recession in the international markets. The exports to Argentina were $4.08 million during 2005-06 which increased to $4.96 million during 2007-08 and declined to $3.13 million during 2008-09 due to global recessionary trend. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 17 :
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has recommended to government to subject foreign inflows of economies of scale into Indian capital market to 2 per cent tax rate until these start withdrawing their stimulus packages and hike interest rates to levels above Zero percent.

Excessive foreign inflows in Indian equities are gradually becoming cause of concern for policy makers including Reserve Bank of India as it is felt that without moderate deterrent in such inflows, Indian capital markets could overstretch, besides inflate rupee appreciation and create asset bubble. This will not only weaken domestic export competitiveness but further fuel inflation.

Therefore, imposing 2 per ccent tax on foreign institutional investors (FIIs) investments is recommended as has been done by Brazil in recent past so that possible imbalances in capital market are corrected and India doesn’t repeat a history of 2007.

The Chamber reminded that in Brazil when foreign inflows were subjected to moderate taxation, it worked successfully without inviting any criticism from any quarter and the FIIs responded to the measure in a required spirit. There is no harm if India follows it at this hour of need, feels the Chamber.

In a statement, ASSOCHAM argued that foreign investments in Indian equities are likely to exceed record levels of close to $18 billion in current fiscal as until recently, their investments are measured at about $ 15 billion in Indian equities. This has been happening because FIIs in economies of scale are lifting money at zero interest rate and suitably parking such capital to Indian equities because of their potential factor and nature of free market economy.

If this goes unchecked neither the rupee appreciation be stopped nor inflation put to check and India’s exports competitiveness would gradually fizzle out.

Therefore, until governments in economies of scale start withdrawing their stimulus package and build pressures on their federal bank to increase interest rates, a recommended prudent step for government would be to subject inflows of foreign capital to a moderate tax regime of 2 per cent.

According to ASSOCHAM, the suggested step would not have a cascading impact to arrest inflows of foreign capital towards India but send right signals among FIIs that India is not among the developed country where one can park once surpluses at any given opportune time.

The suggested proposal if positively considered by the government will help RBI manage rupee at reasonable levels to safeguard and support Indian exporters who have been badly hit in recent times by input cost and appreciating rupee.

Finally, the recommended measures will bring some sort of discipline in capital inflows without creating adverse impact, added ASSOCHAM further pointing out that there is a scope for further liberalization of foreign direct investment norms (FDIs) which would be more beneficial and long lasting step for capital inflows rather than increasing India’s dependence on hot money. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 16 :
THE mantra for survival of jute industry is product diversification and the Jute Geo Textiles (JGT) provide an opportunity to the Jute Industry to diversify and capture new market, said Thiru. Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister of Textiles while launching the International Project for the Development and Application of Potentially Important Jute Geotextiles, here on Monday.

Ambassador Ali Mchumo, Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities, Tmt. Rita Menon, Secretary, Textiles, Thiru. Sutanu Behuria, Chairman, International Jute Study Group (IJSG) and Thiru. Sudripta Roy, Secretary General, International Jute Study Group, and Thiru. Bhupendra Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles were also present.

The Minister said that Jute Geotech is a very cost effective and versatile material for ground modification and stabilization, however, in India the use of these materials remain inadequate and far below the potential despite the country having the second largest road network in the world and indigenous fibre base. It becomes our bounden duty to sensitize the stakeholders about myriad applications of Jute Geotextiles and its business potential, emphasised Thiru. Maran.

Jute Geotextiles (JGI) can have a business potential of Rs. 1,260 crore in the 21,000 kilometre National highway being upgraded by the Government, said Thiru. Maran. The Bharat Nirman, a time bound action plan for development of rural infrastructure, envisages laying of 24,000 kilometres of roads to provide connectivity to rural areas and Jute Geotextiles in this Programme can generate a market potential of Rs. 868 crore, said Thiru. Maran. The Government will spend US $ 78.5 billion for development of road infrastructure during the 11th 5- Year Plan period and the jute textiles industry shall shape up to exploit the potential, said the Minister.

He said that there is an immediate need for standardization, if the Jute Geotextiles have to meet acceptability both in national and international markets. The Minister said that the five years US$ 3.96 million dollar project has also a social angle. The increased off take of jute will help in poverty alleviation in jute-growing areas and in improving the living conditions of farmers and workers. I compliment the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) and the International Jute Study Group (IJSG) for their initiative, said the Minister.

The Minister hoped that the Jute Manufactures Development Council (JMDC) as the Project Execution Authority (PEA) will be able to fulfil its commitments with the support and co-operation of the partners of the project and lead jute sector to a better position in the interests of the farmers, the workers, the industries and all the stakeholders in the sub-continent. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 15 :
THREE trade triangles centered around Asia are expected to contribute almost 40 percent of global trade by 2028[1]. These findings were shared by DHL, the world's leading logistics company, as Hermann Ude, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, participated in the APEC CEO Summit 2009 in Singapore.

In a research report shared by DHL, trade within three high-growth trade triangles is expected to shape the global economy. "Asia's economies, particularly China and to a lesser extent India will remain the center of gravity for trade.

Within the three identified triangles of trade - intra-Asia, Middle East-Africa-Asia and Latin America-Asia - China's imports of raw materials and exports of various manufactured goods such as industrial machinery, textiles and telecommunications and office equipment dominates trade volumes," said Herman Ude, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding, Freight.

"There's no doubt Asia and the emerging markets will shape the direction and future for economic and commercial expansion. If we look at the global logistics market in 1999, Asia's share of it stood at 34 percent, or US$15.57 billion. By 2008 this figure had grown to US$339 billion, making up 46 percent - or nearly half of the worldwide market," he added.

DHL identified core trade lanes driving growth in each of the three high growth triangles of trade. Within Intra-Asia trade, DHL expects China to be responsible for some 40 percent of trade, led by the import of raw materials into China and the exports of textiles, industrial machinery, telecommunications and office equipment and foodstuff. Of these, China's trade with Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand will continue to dominate trade volumes. Rapidly growing is as well Chinese exports to India, Indonesia and Malaysia.

While at present, a significant part of the trade within Middle East-Africa-Asia growth triangle is contributed by oil and gas exports from Middle East to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, growth on these lanes is stagnant.

Trade growth within the triangle will come from China's trade with South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE through China's imports of raw materials- crude oil, iron,- and exports of textiles, apparel, machinery and metal products. India's contribution to growth is also sizable: similarly raw materials are key imports (crude oil from the Middle East and coal from South Africa) while exports are various foodstuff (grain, vegetables) and textiles destined for the Middle East.

Between 2008 - 2018, Latin America-Asia trade is also expected to grow 4.2 per cent, more than double world trade growth at 2 per cent, registering the fastest growth within the three growth triangles. Key lane growth between China and Latin America is expected at 5 percent during the same period aided by imports of metals, ores, animal feed, oil seeds mainly to China but also increasingly to India, Indonesia and Thailand, and China's exports of manufactured goods - electronics, textiles, machinery.

The rise of the emerging economies, particularly Asia, and its role in shaping the global economy is the result of several converging trends.

An increasing share of the global economy is attributed to the emerging economies, particularly Asia - the share of global GDP of Asian countries excluding Japan has increased from 9% in 1990 to 15% in 2008 and the trend is expected to continue. It is projected that the share of Asian economies (excl. Japan) in the global GDP will reach 20 percent by 2015.

While labor costs in Asia will increase, labor arbitrage opportunities are expected to persist due to gains in productivity. As such, offshoring and global sourcing is expected to remain large in the next 10 years.

As the population in developed economies is getting older, a growing proportion of the labor force and new consumers will come from the emerging economies in Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

Fiftyeight percent of the global population of people of working age is in Asia, a figure expected to remain stable until 2028. Fifteen percent of that comes from the Middle East and Africa and 14 per cent in the Americas. The Middle East is expected to account for 19 per cent by 2028, while the Americas will remain stable,. By contrast, just 9 percent of the population of working age is in Europe today, and by 2028, this figure will only be 6 percent.

Concurrently, a larger number of people from emerging economies will drive consumption. By 2015 more than 550 mn people in emerging economies will have an annual income higher than US$4,000 per year (GDP per capita at PPP). Translated to a household level, this implies a household income if US$12,000 to US$16,000, enough to fuel demand for things such as cars, consumer durables, tourism and higher education. China will contribute significantly to this rising middle class - 240 mn people, or 45 per cent of the total, will live in China. Other Asian emerging economies will contribute further 15 per cent, bringing Asia's share of the emerging consumer market to 60 per cent.

A rising percentage of the population in Asia will have university degrees. In 2008, for example, 65 per cent of university graduates came from Asia. Not surprisingly, 21 per cent of the total graduated in China and 14 per cent in India. Additionally, Asian countries spend an increasing amount on R&D. Corporations will increasingly see the opportunities in terms of talent management and knowledge 'infrastructure' that is being developed and this will encourage a shift in innovative and knowledge based work to Asia.

Asia's economic expansion and China's rapid growth in particular are drivers for the region's hunger for resources. China's approach towards trade - investments in exchange for mining rights will drive trade growth, especially between Asia and Africa.

"The search for resources and export markets is a key driver of Asia's economic growth and expansion. Rich in natural resources, with a large population of youthful, increasingly well-educated workforce and a growing middle class - this is the era of Asia and the emerging markets of Latin America and the Middle East," added Hermann Ude. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 14 :
WHILE Centre is contemplating a relaxed goods and service tax regime for macro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs), it has also decided to tax services in Jammu & Kashmir also after the new GST regime is rolled out for execution.

Presiding over an ASSOCHAM organized Interactive Session with CBEC here on Saturday, Commissioner Central Excise, CBEC, Mr. Sushil Solanki clarified that currently all services are completely exempted from levy of service tax in Jammu & Kashmir.

Instead, the State levies, sales tax/VAT on a few services such as insurance services etc., pointed out Mr. Solanki.

He, however, added that given the constraints that MSMEs are currently confronting with, the Centre is taking a sympathetic view towards them for fixing considerate slabs for goods and service taxes to enable them compete and go global. The new GST system would have such provisions, details of which are being worked out by Finance Ministry, emphasized Mr. Solanki.

He further said after the legislation for goods and services is enacted by the centre, the State of Jammu & Kashmir will also be brought under the GST net, said Mr. Solanki.

According to him, the State government will thereafter stop imposing general sales tax /VAT on those few services in financial and other sectors in which service tax is currently not leviable.

Mr. Solanki also clarified that after GST is executed, the government will not subject services and activities of same value twice which currently is the practice.

He said that the Finance Ministry is working on a legislation so that GST adoption becomes easier in which procedural hassles and rules and regulations would be minimized as far as possible.

Responding to a query of one of ASSOCHAM member on export refund, Mr. Solanki said that after the beginning of next year, all export refunds would be made time bound and exporters would have no problems as far as their export refunds are concerned.

Among others who participated in the ASSOCHAM organized Interactive Session comprise Mr. Himanshu Gupta, Commissioner Service Tax CBEC, Mr. Deeankar Aron, joint Commissioner Service Tax CBEC, Mr. S K Goel, Member (Customs, RI&I) CBEC, Mr. J K Mittal, Chairman ASSOCHAM Committee on Indirect Taxes and Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 13 :
LONG- TERM infrastructure projects call for urgent steps on part of the government to develop corporate bond and debt market to enable high net worth investors to participate and provide funds, needed for infrastructure projects, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

The Chamber has also urged the Finance Ministry to allow private equity players to access Provident and Pension funds to part finance projects in infrastructure sector as domestic PE’s are finding it extremely difficult to raise its resources from their internal accruals to fully fund such projects with long gestation period.

In a communication, addressed to the Finance Ministry, the ASSOCHAM president, Dr. Swati Piramal stressed that the corporate bond and debt market need to be developed to help lowering of debt fund costs and make more debt raising options available for project developers for infrastructure sector for longer tenor.

The Chamber has emphasized the need for redefining role of NBFCs by RBI in the emerging scenario, in which infrastructure holding companies can successfully fund projects for building highways, bridges, ports etc.

According to estimates made by ASSOCHAM, infrastructure funding is estimated to an extent of US$ 320-350 billion by 2012 in which share of private investment could be within the range of around 30 per cent. If the government takes earlier initiatives to allow development of corporate bond and debt market with proper regulation, a large number of established corporates can float corporate bonds and raise debts to participate in infrastructure funding.

Dr. Piramal, however, added that risk associated with raising of such bonds can be adequately taken care of with proper regulatory mechanism in place. This will ensure larger subscription to such debt raising facilities for corporates as well ensure sufficient safeguards to those that become subscriber to such bonds and debt instruments.

The Chamber has also stressed that the government should consider facilitating setting up of Infrastructure specific PE funds by domestic provident fund and insurance companies. Huge amount of money stays with public provident fund and if a part of it can be accessed by PE funds, it would facilitate infrastructure funding.

In the meanwhile, the Chamber chief also emphasized that infrastructure companies be granted exemption from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) so that their number mushroom to facilitate earlier execution of infrastructure projects on highways, roads, ports etc.

The Chamber has also pointed out stating that since infrastructure projects are of long gestation period and it is possible that the invested equity funds may look for exit ahead of listing of the project company as often these equity funds have lesser tenure.

At the same time, some of these funds could be interested to take the initial project development risk and exit by selling stake to another investor at a later period of time but before listing of the shares. Such investors should be encouraged to participate by extending long term capital gains tax exemption to pre-listing sale of shares at par with listed shares traded on stock exchange. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 13 :
MARSH India , on Friday unveiled a Risk Management Study conducted in the European market, while drawing parallels to the trends being witnessed in the Indian IT/ITeS space. The study reveals that risk management has gained significant prominence in the last one year, especially in the Communication, Media and Technology (CMT) companies.

Speaking at the Marsh conference on ‘The Changing Face of Risk’, Mr. Sanjay Kedia Country Head and CEO, Marsh India said, "We think it is important to unveil the study in India and especially to the IT & ITeS companies as nearly 80 per cent of their business comes from American and European markets. It is critical that the Indian technology companies understand the risks they face in these markets as well as the changing attitude towards managing these risks"

He further said, "We have surveyed over 100 risk management decision makers in CMT companies and the result is one of the most comprehensive risk management studies to have been undertaken in this sector. The broad consensus emerging from talking to Indian technology companies is that these issues are equally pertinent in the Indian context as well."

The study reveals that over the next 18 months, Credit Risk is one of the largest causes of concern followed by Business Continuity Risk and Contractual Performance Risk, with 66 percent of the respondents stating credit risk as the largest cause of concern. The report also highlights hidden risks such as Errors and Omissions (E&O) and Directors' and Officers' liability (D&O) that are critical to the technology sector. 85 percent of the respondents agreed that risk had moved from being a mere CFO entry to a boardroom discussion. On the risk management budget for the next year, nearly 36 percent of the respondents expect the risk management budget to increase, while 55 percent expect it to stay roughly the same and 6 percent expect it to reduce.

The study has also brought to light some hidden risks that were never at the centre stage for any IT & ITES company such as Errors and Omissions (E&O) and Directors' and Officers' liability (D&O). Mr. Kedia said, "These hidden risks are of paramount importance within the IT and ITES sector especially since the downturn has made legal action by unhappy customers or shareholders much more likely."

Apart from discussing the CMT report, the Marsh conference addressed many risk issues that technology companies face, with a special focus on Claims and Contracting disputes, Directors and Officers' insurance, Errors and Omissions insurance and Transactional risks. The session on Directors and Officers' insurance brought into focus the subject of corporate governance with a case study on the Satyam scandal.

Internationally Marsh services 80% of the top CMT business, and has a thriving practice dedicated especially to the technology sector; in India the company counts 17 of the largest IT/ITES companies as its clients. With this deep understanding of various risks that the sector faces, the Marsh conference hosted multiple sessions and panel discussions led by major international underwriters, lawyers, and experts who focus on this domain. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

MUMBAI, NOV 12 :
SEVERAL importers of high end stainless steel importers have strongly protested unnecessary harassment and delay by Customs officials on various stainless steel raw materials including Hot and Cold Rolled stainless steel Coils presently not manufactured in India. Indian government had levied anti dumping duty on import of stainless steel on behest of Indian company Jindal Stainless steel.

" The anti dumping duty was levied to provide protectionism to single domestic stainless steel producer even on high end stainless steel products not manufactured in the country. High grade stainless steel is importe din the country for manufacturing critical components of machinery and products for petroleum, gas, food processing and automobile industry. Customs officials in eague with the domestic manufacturer are delaying shipments from various ports in the country in the name of inspection" said Mr P.H.Bhat, Business Head, Ratanamani Metals and Tubes .

"We manufacture seamless stainless steel tubes for various industries including aviation, hospitals, hotels, petroleum and gas industry and various power plants. The unnecessary delay by customs is affecting our business adversary as our clients are missing the deadlines in their projects. The worst part is that customs officials at various ports have handed over their operations of inspection to some employees of Jindal Stainless," he said.

"The delay is also affecting the cost as the shipping companies are charging demurrages on delay. " said Mr Kailash Unhale , Production head of Alfa Laval, a company manufacturing and exporting process plant machinery for food, diary and chemical units.

"Finding ways and means to increase per capita steel consumption is the best solution for the steel industry in the country instead of anti dumping duty . Indian government has been protesting anti dumping duty and protectionism by developed nations at various forums, while in India , the government is indulging in protectionism itself to help single domestic player." said Mr Y.P.S.Suri, India head Outokumpu, a Finland- based high end stainless steel manufacturing company. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 12 :
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has described unveiling of White Paper on Goods and Service Tax (GST) here today by Finance Minister, a pro-active step in the right direction, in which merger of all indirect taxes on goods and service, levied by centre and states into one is proposed.

In a statement, the ASSOCHAM President, Dr. Swati Piramal said that GST should be executed as soon as possible but industry should be given adequate time to understand procedures of new taxation system for its accounting standards.

Dr. Piramal said that GST would eliminate the cascading impact of taxes on production and distribution cost of goods and services. This will significantly improve the competitiveness of indigenous goods and services, leading to accelerated GDP growth.

As a next logical step towards GST, the Service Tax and Excise Duty rates should be aligned in Budget proposals for 2010-11. Thereafter, Central Excise and Service Tax should be merged and replaced by Central GST (CENVAT). This would mark the consolidation of central taxes on goods and services. This exercise would be relatively easier and is within the legislative powers of Central government. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 12 :
PARENTS are entirely responsible for growing spendthrift habits among school going children, aged between 12-18 and its' 'totally' inappropriate to accuse public schools for encouraging to inculcate and develop such habits in their pupils, is the sum total of findings of a survey conducted, under ages of ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation (ASDF).

'Fathers' are more responsible to push children of this age group to extravaganza as compared to 'mothers' that often behave lenient and are also found to be excessively biased towards their wards, further reveal findings of ASSOCHAM survey.

Fathers tended to have the biggest influence on their children's spending habits, the survey showed, with 56 per cent of respondents admitting to making purchases in a similar way to their mothers. 24 per cent said that they have spending habits which are similar to their mothers. However, only 2 percent said that they spend money in the same way as their grandparents. A separate 18 percent said they have their own spending pattern.

Fathers' excessive biases towards their children are discreetly endured by majority of mothers because of their financial dominance to make them sufficiently hapless to tame children to develop frugal habits. As a result, school going children spending pattern are more influenced by fathers in which role of mothers is gradually getting limited, unveil ASSOCHAM findings.

The survey on Spending Patterns of Children-Who Influences Them The Most?, clearly sums up that parents, especially fathers' are much more accountable and responsible for abetting children to grow extravagant and have little respect for money since 90 per cent of faculties in such schools feels so.

Releasing findings of the ASSOCHAM survey, its' Secretary General, Mr. D S Rawat said that overwhelming majority of cross section of society also in general feel that public school shouldn't be blamed for increasing spendthrift in school going children as homes don't apply required whip to regulate their children.

In the survey over 2,000 children from different public schools in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Dehradun, Pune Bangalore etc. were asked by ASDF team in which 70 per cent children confessed that their spending patterns are more influenced by fathers and mothers have a very limited role in it.

The spending patterns of children are "very similar" to their parents, whether they are buying everyday goods or splashing out on indulgent luxuries.

Children develop their habits through modeling parental behaviours and perceiving their net effect. From an early age, children learn standards which lead to beliefs about many areas including financial issues. Fathers are more generous than mothers when it comes to giving money to their children.

Fortynine per cent of children age of 8-10 said they spend their money on sweets, chocolates and crisps. Today technology is much higher up children's agenda, with 76% of children having a mobile phone, 87% having a games console and 68 per cent owning an iPod.

"Spending patterns are developed by a wide variety of external and internal events - age, peer group pressure, marketing effects and personality factors including impulsiveness", said Mr. Rawat.

The findings show that differences in parenting according to family structure and income have narrowed over the last ten years. However, the task of parenting is changing and getting increasingly stressful, particularly for some groups. Seventy percent youngsters prefer being given a weekly allowance as they are able to manage their money better. Those who receive pocket money on a monthly basis feel they spend it all too quickly.

NEW DELHI, NOV 07 :
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has sought a long-term farm policy so that current crop patterns are diversified and use of chemicals and pesticides in them are gradually discouraged and replaced with environment friendly materials.

The suggested policy should prescribe a time period of 3 year's to yield desired results and gradually move Indian agriculture on to achieve radical changes in it and especially so, in India's rural economy.

The proposed policy should also promote farmer industry interaction by putting in place efficient supply chains to connect farmers to urban consumers and processing industries.

In addition, it should aim at for creating a stake for retail stores in farmer prosperity and introduce drip irrigation facilities and intensify focus in crop diversification patterns and motivate farmers to gradually
discard excessive use of chemicals to ensure higher yield with environment friendly materials.

In a statement, ASSOCHAM president, Dr. Swati Piramal demanded that in proposed long-term farm policy, enough incentives be provided to farmers to integrate them with animal husbandry & poultry and introduce short term commercial crops comprising floriculture, horticulture, cultivation of herbs and spices for raising rural farm incomes.

Agricultural management should become central to moving farming from tradition to a steadily income generating activity in the new long-term policy which should also promote of corporate farming, using land as a share and business like farming practices.

According to ASSOCHAM, the new policy should have stipulations so that problem of heavy farm indebtedness is seen in perspective to tackle this problem. Between Fiscal 2000 and 2007 investment in agriculture as percentage of GDP has come down from 2.4 to 2.1 per cent. The share of private sector in gross investment in agriculture continues to be above 70 per cent though it has come down from 82.3 to 72.7 per cent.

The share of the public sector has been rising sharply, yet at 27.3 per cent it is still inadequate. Also any scheme of loan waiver or similar help should not impact on the private sector credit to farmers even while preventing their exploitation by moneylenders as bulk of farmers still depend on private credit sources.

The government should tackle this fundamental imbalance of credit in any scheme, intended to prevent widespread farmer distress within a year of its take over, that is before the next Kharif crop planning starts in May 2010.

The ASSOCHAM has also proposed that the government incentive to the private sector in agriculture by treating 150 per cent of investment by private firms in the agricultural infrastructure chain as deductible
expenditure

In addition, Dr. Piramal also said that food processing industry should be recognized as hi-tech industry and the government should facilitate establishment of Model Agro Processing Centre. Establishment of Model Agro-Processing Centre should be encouraged and developed. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

GENEVA, NOV 03 :
GLOBAL growth in real wages slowed dramatically in 2008 as a result of the economic crisis and is expected to drop even further this year despite signs of a possible economic recovery, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said .

"The continued deterioration of real wages worldwide raises serious questions about the true extent of an economic recovery, especially if government rescue packages are phased out too early. Wage deflation deprives national economies of much needed demand and seriously affects confidence", said Manuela Tomei, Director, ILO Conditions of Work and Employment Programme and lead author of the study.

The 'Global Wage Report: 2009 Update' will be discussed at the ILO governing body in Geneva on 5-20 November as well as the implementation of the Global Jobs Pact adopted at the International Labour Conference in June. The Pact calls for measures to maintain employment and avoid the damaging consequences of deflationary wage spirals and worsening working conditions.

The update of the Global Wage Report says 'the picture on wages is likely to get worse in 2009' regardless of other economic indicators suggesting an economic rebound. The report notes that in half of the 35 countries for which figures are available, real monthly wages fell in the first quarter of 2009 compared to their average of 2008, often due to cuts in hours worked.

This follows another difficult year for wages in 2008. In a sample of 53 countries for which data are available, growth in real average wages in the median country had declined from 4.3 percent in 2007 to 1.4 percent in 2008. Among the ten G-20 countries for which the data is available, growth in real average wages in the median country had declined from 1.0 percent in 2007 to -0.2 percent in 2008.

The report also says both developed and developing countries have strengthened their minimum wages in recent years, reflecting the growing concerns about increasing inequality and low pay. While during past downturns concerns about the impact on labour costs were widespread, in the current crisis, a number of countries have adjusted their minimum wages upwards.

In 2008, half of the 86 countries for which data is available - including major economies such as the U.S., Russia, Japan and Brazil - have increased minimum wages by more than inflation figures. The report describes minimum wages as 'an important policy tool for social protection', calls for the involvement of social partners in setting the level and proposes that minimum wages be combined with other income support measures and/or tax reductions.

"Minimum wages, social dialogue and collective bargaining are all ways of avoiding deflationary wage spirals and their impact on society", said Ms. Tomei.

The current deterioration in wages follows a decade of wage moderation before the global economic crisis. The report considers that years of stagnating wages relative to productivity gains - together with growing inequalities - have contributed to the crisis by limiting the ability of many households to increase consumption other than through debt.

"In the future, restoring the link between productivity growth and wage increases is essential for economic and social sustainability. Companies should be able to achieve competitiveness through rising productivity rather than by cutting labour costs, and workers should have sufficient bargaining position to defend their wages. This will go a long way towards addressing income inequalities", Ms. Tomei said.

According to the new report, one particular concern about the impact of the crisis on wages is the extent to which wage-arrears have increased. It says that in countries such as Ukraine and Russia where this was already a problem, it is likely that the situation may have gotten worse as a result of the crisis.

The report also says that excessive bonuses, unrelated to actual performance, contributed to the crisis by distorting incentives in the financial sector and promoting short-term risk taking. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 02 :
ASSOCHAM and Venture Capital Association of India (VCAI) have sought removal of Infrastructure holding companies from category of Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to enable them raise capital to fund infrastructural projects.

ASSOCHAM and VCAI have pointed out that such holding companies are currently classified as NBFCs and thus prevented by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise capital to enhance their activities.

Since infrastructure funding is currently facing constraints, infrastructure holding companies need to be brought out of NBFCs ambit in order to impart them more flexibility in capital raising and it’s utilization.

At a meeting held with Finance Ministry, representatives of ASSOCHAM and VCAI have emphasized the need for redefining role of NBFCs by RBI in the emerging scenario, in which infrastructure holding companies can successfully fund projects for building highways, bridges, ports etc.

Both the institutions have also sought that infrastructure companies should also be granted exemption from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) since worth US$ 90 billion is ready for infrastructure funding by private equity companies and subjecting infrastructure companies to MAT would prove to be an hindrance to it.

In a statement, ASSOCHAM President, Dr. Swati Piramal said that Finance Ministry in consultation with RBI should evolve new guidelines to meet present day’s requirements, especially for funding of infrastructure projects and allow infrastructure holding companies to come out of NBFC category.

Infrastructure holding companies as long as classified in the category of NBFCs, these will continue to be highly regulated by RBI which will prevent them to raise capital and their investing capacities.

According to estimates made by ASSOCHAM, opportunities galore in infrastructure in which estimated investment of US$ 320-350 billion is expected by 2012 in which share of private investment could be within the range of between 17 per cent to 30 per cent.

Despite India’s commendable economic growth, it lags behind vis-à-vis other developing countries in terms of private investments. Therefore, the issues that India needs to address to enhance investor interests and private investment in infrastructure to remove bottlenecks and procedural hassles such as continuation of infrastructure holding companies in the category of NBFCs. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 31 :
THE Survey undertaken by ASSOCHAM on Employment Scenario in India reveals that in April-October 2009, job opportunities respectively grew by 29.58 per cent in Tier II and 5.71 per cent in Tier I as compared to same period in the last fiscal.

However, it has also observed that in Tier III cities, job creation dipped by 12.1 per cent in first 7 months of current fiscal as against same period in last fiscal, indicates that benefits of stimulus packages have yet to percolate down to such cites and also the message is clear and loud that India of Tomorrow can t be built on restricted growth of Tier I and Tier II cities.

The ASSOCHAM Placement Pattern Survey further highlights that in Tier I cities, due to excise and other benefits extended by government to Indian industry, job opportunities grew by 5.71 per cent as against 29.58 per cent in Tier II cities between April to October 2009.

Employment generation declined by 12.01 per cent in Tier III Cities in 7 months of current fiscal which goes to prove that benefits stimulus packages hardly benefited local industries in Tier III cities, implications of which would be that migration rate of unemployed youths towards bigger towns would continue, says Dr. Swati Piramal, President, ASSOCHAM while releasing it s findings on employment scenario between April-October 2009 here .

Approximately a total of 3,21,294 private jobs at different cadre were created between April to October 2009 which ASSOCHAM sourced from various employment portals in the first half of current fiscal. During the same period last year, close to 3 lakh private jobs in different cadre were created in the private sector.

Out of the total 56 cities that were tracked by the ASSOCHAM Placement Pattern (APP), tier I and tier II cities have cornered 73.47 per cent (total 6 cities I cities) and 18.83 per cent (total 17 tier II cities) share of the job space respectively in the first 7 months of financial year 2009-10. Whereas 33 tier III cities recorded just 7.7 per cent share in total job creation during April to October 2009-10. As per the analysis, the metropolitans continue to remain the maximum job creators cities for the job seekers.

Among the tier I cities Delhi NCR and Mumbai recorded highest share in job creation with 34.06 per cent and 13.48 per cent share in total job creation respectively, during April to October 2009-10. But as compared to the April to October 2008-09, Delhi NCR registered 23.42 per cent decline in job creation whereas Mumbai registered 3.28 per cent growth in job creation.

As per the analysis, 17 major tier II cities recorded 18.82 per cent share in total employment generation during April to October 2009-10. Among the tier II cities, Pune and Ahmedabad recorded 5.46 per cent and 5.01 per cent share in total job creation respectively, and registered 6.29 per cent and 21.50 per cent growth in job creation as compared to same period of last year.

Among the tier III cities, Vadodra, Pondicherry and Ankleshwar recorded highest share with 1.02 per cent, 0.58 per cent and 0.56 per cent during the period respectively. As compared to the same period of last year, Ankleshwar and Vadodra registered 14.55 per cent and 1.31 per cent growth, whereas Pondicherry registered 27.18 per cent decline in job creation.

During the year of crises, steps taken by the Indian Government played a major role in boosting the economic sentiment in the country. However, sectors that mainly depend upon the export and manufacturing activities remained in red. On the other hand, banking and financial services sector registered growth in job creation. The stimulus packages actually helped India Inc. to get back on track. There is a need for continuation of these policy measures till full recovery is achieved. The ASSOCHAM has highlighted this aspect on different occasions said Dr. Piramal .

IT sector, which commands 30.02 per cent share in total employment generation during the first 7 months of FY 10 registered 7.84 per cent decline as compared to FY 09. The second major share holder of employment i.e., Academics (8.94 percent share) recorded 31.54 percent growth in the FY 10 as compared to same period of last year. Banking, Financial service and Insurance sectors that respectively account for 5.38 per cent, 4.83 per cent and 3.65 per cent share in total employment generation, have witnessed growth rates of 20.51 per cent, 2.92 per cent and 37.41 per cent during the first half of FY 10 over the first half of FY 09.

Advertisement/Event Management and Telecom sectors with respective shares of 3.69 per cent and 3.15 per cent in total employment market, registered 115.03 per cent and 27.61 per cent growth during the first 7 months of FY 10, as compared to same period of last year. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 31 :
LARGE number of Indian exporters fear that their gems and jewellery, textiles, carpets and handmade items export to US could be severely affected if the government does not review extension of US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) beyond December 2009 under pretext of child labour.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in a statement said, US GSP allows duty free imports of such products from developing nations including India and is in vogue for the last 35 years to facilitate exports of low cost products of high and sustained demand in the US market.

The GSP is due to expire on 31st of December 2009 and is in for review and it is apprehended that American Senators are reluctant to extend it any further on allegations that developing nations including India largely engage and abuse child labour in making of products and therefore such a malpractice needs to be discouraged.

The findings are concluded at a random Survey carried out under aegis of ASSOCHAM on Implications of US GSP Unlikely Extension in which 300 exporters belonging to macro, small and medium category entrepreneurs took part.

About 180 such exporters said that in case India fails to convince US Senators that it hardly engages participation of child labour in making export items for US in areas of gems & jewellery, textiles, carpets and other handmade products, the US GSP would not be extended. Its net result would be that the US Congress would put a ban on such imports from developing nations including India and Indian exporters would suffer a massive loss as it is India which is the largest exporters of gems & jewellery, textiles, carpets and other handmade products to United States market, said President ASSOCHAM, Dr. Swati Piramal while releasing the Chamber s findings here.

She said that US GSP which was instituted in January 1, 1976 by its Trade Act of 1974 is a programme designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing Preferential Duty for about 4800 products from 131 designated beneficiary countries and territories including India should be favourably reviewed as exporters hardly engage child labour in making their products at least in India.

In the macro, medium, small category of exporters, sufficient awakening have been generated on this issue and these are mere allegations not supported by substance that developing nations still engage child labour to promote their exports.

Over 200 exporters have said that Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises should urgently take up the issue through relevant departments and convince the US government including its Senators not to unnecessary drag the issue of child labour against developing nations including India as both India and US would not gain out of it.

At a time when bilateral and economic ties between US and India are further growing to new heights, trade barriers should be avoided as far as possible to enable the two largest democracies to come closer to each other for promotion of their trade and economic relations, conclude the ASSOCHAM findings. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 30 :
RIDING the easy access to funds, turnaround in domestic demand and a revival in industrial production, the investment plans of India Inc has soared 52 per cent during the September quarter over the last quarter with a surge in new industrial projects and expansion plans of domestic companies, according to Assocham Investment Meter.

The ASSOCHAM Investment Meter (AIM) Study titled "Emerging Trends in Corporate Investments" revealed that the investment announcements of corporate India during the second quarter of the current fiscal ended September 2009 amounted to Rs 4,40,353.30 crore on top of Rs 2,89,703.78 crore recorded during the first quarter.

As per the Study findings, Andhra Pradesh emerged as the leading State in attracting domestic corporate investments while Gujarat and Maharashtra followed as second and third favourite investment destinations during the first six months of the current fiscal.

The top sectors that witnessed an upsurge in planned investment roll outs included Power, Metals & Mining, Real Estate, Energy and Auto/Auto components.

Analyzing the factors accountable for a rise in domestic corporate investments vis-à-vis foreign investments, the Study found as against a decline of 3.41 per cent during April - August 2009 in the foreign direct investment, host of measures including pent up demand due to the stimulus effect and easy monetary flows attributed to a rise in domestic corporate investments.

"To sustain this rise in investment activity and stem the fall in credit growth, the government must ensure continuity of stimulus measures along with accommodative monetary policy stance till it takes shape of a full fledged economic recovery" said Dr. Swati Piramal, President, ASSOCHAM.

Led by the flurry of IPOs and QIPs in the domestic financial market along with the easy monetary policy stance by the RBI, the liquidity position of India Inc improved significantly during the last six months. Coupled with ample cash position of Indian companies, the rebound in industrial activity also contributed to the upswing in the investment announcements by the corporate sector, the Study added.

Outpacing other industrial heavyweights, energy resource rich Andhra Pradesh emerged as the favourite investment destination of India Inc with Rs 63,708.2 crores worth of new industrial projects and expansion plans during the first half of FY '10, mainly in oil and natural gas sector.

Following Andhra Pradesh, investor friendly image of Gujarat helped the State to attract investment plans totaling Rs 38,771.3 crore during the first six months of the current fiscal whereas Maharashtra, with Rs 32,413.5 crore worth of newly announced projects and expansion plans, was amongst the top three investment attracting destinations.

The investment scenario in Tamil Nadu also improved significantly over the last six months. The State attracted investments to the tune of Rs 23,688.0 crore, majorly in the Auto/Auto components and IT/ITeS sector. Rajasthan with investment plans totaling Rs 18600 crore was amongst the top five States attracting domestic corporate investments.

In terms of sector wise profile, the investment potential of the Indian power sector has been given a major boost with announcement of capex plans to the tune of Rs 2,28,637 crore during the first half of the fiscal. The huge requirement of funds for expansion plans was majorly met through the primary market route.

Investment plans in the metals and mining sector totalled to Rs 1,17,338.3 crore with the steel segment alone contributing nearly 44 per cent to the massive planned capex of Indian companies. Taking advantage from the staggering growth of the mining output, the pace of investment announcements for the mining segment is also picking up fast, the Study added.

With investment plans exceeding Rs 1 lac crore in the real estate sector, the significant build up in demand accompanied by the eased down liquidity of the realty companies has led to a turnaround in the corporate investments in the real estate sector. The impact of the stimulus package is evident in form of heavy investments flowing in.

Growing energy needs of the Indian economy has resultantly paved way for large scale investment plans worth more than Rs 75,000 crore during the first half of the year whereas, being one of the fastest growing auto market globally, investment plans in the Auto/Auto components sector exceeded Rs 31,460 crore during the period. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 28 :
MARKING the conclusion of the two years research project on 'Traffic Calming Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Safety In India' and in continuation to regional dissemination meetings held at four metropolitan cities of India i.e. Jaipur, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata, CUTS International, Jaipur and Lund Univerty, Sweden in partnership with Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi organised a national dissemination cum advocacy meeting at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

While delivering the special address in the meeting, Kerala Transport Minister, Jose Thettayil congratulated the entire team and with deep interest invited the team to Kerala state to implement the proposed measures for traffic claming, for reducing road accidents and for the Kerala state to be compatible with Swedish "Vision Zero".

While making the introductory remarks, George Cheriyan, Director CUTS- International said " Right to life and safety is a fundamental right of every citizen even then nearly half of those dying on the world's roads are vulnerable road users that mean pedestrians, cyclists and riders of two-wheelers and their passengers." Quoting the first ever 'Global Status Report on Road Safety' of WHO, he said "more people die in road accidents in India than anywhere else in the world, including the more populous China. In 2007, 1.14 lakh people in India lost their lives in road mishaps indicating a sharp 6.1% rise between 2006 and 2007'.

Prof. Geetam Tiwari of IIT New Delhi mentioned that death rate due to road accidents have increased manifold due to the infrastructure development like building of broad roads and flyovers constructed without taking into account adequate speed reducing measures that act as accidental traps increasing public inconvenience. Further adding the need to reducing the impact of climate change, he emphasised on making right efforts in improving public transport and making them more comfortable and safe.

Speaking as an expert on the occasion, Parliamentary Secretary of Meghalaya Dr.A.Pariong has shown interest towards immense need of initiating such measures all across India and especially Meghalaya as Meghalaya too is also suffering from road accident fatalities. Highly convinced with the model presented by Swedish Experts - Christer Hyden and Ase Svensson, Dr. Pariong assured to soon arrange a meeting between Traffic Experts of Meghalaya Government and CUTS in order to make the roads safer for all esp the pedestrians.

Further convinced with the presented Traffic Calming Model Dr. P.S. Pasricha, former DG, Maharastra told that most of the time we discuss a lot but never been able to implement the same on ground, the same is happening in term of road safety and this is the most suitable time to start discussions keeping in view the suggestions provided by studies conducted under projects like this.

Further he quoted that till date no "Road Safety" wing has been constituted under MoRTH. He appreciated the Traffic Calming technique because it not only safeguards human lives but also makes the environment better.

Maintaining the continuity of discussion on Traffic Calming Former DG, MoRTH D.P.Gupta submitted that the project findings are good, systematic, cost effective and simple enough to be implemented at larger level across India.

He also suggested to keeping IRC in loop so as to provide wider acceptance to the study and thus its implementation. He informed that Asian Institute of Transportation Development (AITD) has also done similar studies/survey and the findings are almost similar in nature, no matter these studies have been done specifically on the highways.

CRRI's Sr. Scientist Dr.Nishi Mittal strongly accepted the presented model and is of the opinion that the same shall be implemented across India irrespective of national highways, state highways, town, hamlets or cities. She further incorporated that research findings are appropriate in accordance with Indian road scenario. She supported that it is only traffic calming which may help in reducing the roads accidents and thus fatalities.

While presenting the "Traffic Calming Model', the project partners Prof. Christer Hydén and Prof. Åse Svensson from Lund University specially pointed out that there is an urgent need for Traffic Calming measures in Indian cities.

Pedestrians are extremely exposed and vulnerable, and the speeds are too high to allow a safe and proper communication. One main problem is that road users are not offered any comfortable and safe crossing options e.g. existing pedestrian crossings are not suited for pedestrians.

They concluded that there exists a condition of "chaos" on majority of Indian Roads that has to be dealt with the help of Traffic Calming only and in terms of remedy to this chaos they strongly suggested the presented model to be adopted in Indian cities which will help in reducing speeds and promote descent road user behaviours in the same way as they have proven to do in Europe. Prof. Hydén specifically pointed out that the produced measures are simple and of low cost which may help in its usage at large scale.

Looking at the effectiveness and inexpensive nature of suggested measures, CUTS along with its partnering organisations are organising meetings with an aim to disseminating the key findings (flaws in road geometry affecting pedestrians) of two years research studies conducted on accident-prone sites of Jaipur city and for getting responses and opinions from relevant stakeholders, which can be used all over the country.

The responses will be documented in the form of a Manual, which will be first of its kind including recommendations on remedial traffic calming strategies to be utilized by policy makers, primarily from the Department of Police, Transport, Municipal Corporation, Development Authority and Public Works. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 26 :
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to maintain status-quo in its accommodative monetary policy for at least another 6 months to maintain and accelerate growth momentum as it is growth which will create employment, buoyancy in economy and drive demand.

In the wake of its Monetary Policy to be unveiled by the apex bank on 27th of October, the ASSOCHAM in a representation sent to it, suggested that the RBI shouldn’t tinker with its existing monetary provisions and avoid re-adjustments as these could be detrimental to growth prospects.

ASOCHAM President, Dr. Swati Piramal argued that the accommodative monetary policy of RBI needs to be continued for another 6 months. She reasoned that the Inflation pressure though is building up but still manageable and the growth indicators are positive but the full impact is likely to be discernable by third and fourth quarter.

The comfortable liquidity in the system supported by improved Index of Industrial Production (IIP) numbers, up swing in bank credit off-take, indicate the economy is moving.

However, the Global economy is still not out of woods. The GDP estimates for the current fiscal at close to 7% are attainable but the higher rate is linked to faster recovery in the global economy, added Dr. Piramal.

In view of the present financial indicators as also banks still love for parking huge funds with the reverse repo window of RBI-around 1 lakhs crores, as also funds in short term instruments with mutual funds, the challenges emanate from demand for credit and not from supply side. Additionally the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) holdings of banks have gone up to 28 per cent as against mandatory limit of 24 per cent.

The government stimulus packages have been largely instrumental in creating huge demand for goods and services.-which must be taken up by additional private investment and spending. Therefore the ground is ready for roll over of the fiscal and monetary policy instances.

However to ensure that the recovery is more durable and driven by private investment, the final view may be postponed till the end of third quarter by which time a clearer picture of the revival of economy will be available.

The Government has already accomplished 50 per cent of its borrowing programme up to 30th Sept., 2009. The busy festival demand accompanied with expected better Q2 results of corporates, has set the tone for the next level of recovery.

The huge fiscal deficit that the government has planned (Rs 4.5 lakh Crores) needs to be moderated by consolidation involving reduction in expenditure, disinvestment of select PSU, sale of loss making PSUs reduction/rationalization of subsidies etc

Global recovery and return in confidence in international capital markets, though it is still a long way from returning to pre-crisis conditions. As you can see from the behavior of debt markets in recent weeks, credit spreads have generally narrowed and issuance of new debt, particularly from more highly rated companies, has risen. The earnings of many large financial institutions have improved and the rate of write- downs has eased, so all this should be cause for cautious optimism. Things are looking up but there is always a possibility of the unexpected.

Hence there does not appear any substantive basis for further relief. The case for roll back of accommodative policies in fact is gathering for acceptance among Regulators. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 24 :
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has predicted that the WPI inflation could accelerate to 10 per cent by end March 2010 mainly because of low base effect, rising prices of manufacturing inputs, and primary articles--especially food articles. Continuing its upward trend, WPI inflation inched to the 1.21 per cent mark for the week ended October 10, 2009, highest since May 30, 2009.

The build up in WPI inflation during the current financial year so far (March 28 – October 10, 2009) is recorded at 5.95 per cent. The wholesale price index was 228.6 on March 28, 2009 and it has been increased to 242.2 on October 10, 2009.

The continuous increase in WPI is expected to touch 252 mark on March 27, 2010 and then there will be about 10 per cent WPI inflation on 228.6 WPI base recorded on March 28, 2009 . High base established during January–September 2008 had caused negative or low inflation during January-September 2009 and now this low base will cause higher inflation in the coming months.

During this period WPI inflation will be creeping higher even without any supply shock . The strong build up has been observed in the category of primary articles. Although the weekly inflation (Y-o-Y) for primary articles is recorded at 8.61 per cent for the week ending October 10, 2009, however, since March 28, 2009, the primary articles have shown 9.84 per cent growth. In the category of primary articles, food articles have shown 14.13 per cent growth during the same period.

Although there is a hope that with the kharif crop coming to the market food prices will start cooling off but we believe the impact may not be much significant to offset the increasing prices. It is estimated that the significantly deficient (about 20 per cent) monsoon performance could impact kharif production by about 15-20 per cent.

Also with the rise in prices of crude oil and other commodities, such as, copper and aluminum, the prices of manufacturing articles have started moving up swiftly during the recent weeks. The WPI movement of manufacturing articles and food articles since March 2009 can be observed from the charts (attached).

Inflation could skyrocket in the coming months in most of the world economies primarily because of low base and supported by rising commodity prices. The commodity prices have shown tremendous increase during the last three quarters, the prices of aluminum have been increased almost 23 per cent; sugar prices have up nearly 90 per cent while crude prices have surged nearly 10 per cent and the prices of copper have skyrocketed about 111 per cent.

However, amid the expectation of higher WPI inflation during the fourth quarter of FY10, ASSOCHAM strongly believes that RBI should not unwind its easy money policy in a hurry. As the government has to borrow large amount of money from the market to finance the high fiscal deficit of 6.8 per cent of GDP, the knee jerk reaction on inflation could cause sharp rise in interest rate scenario and crowding out of private investments. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 23 :
SMALL and Medium Enterprises' (SMEs') contribution to national GDP is projected to go upto by a minimum of 5 per cent and touch 22 per cent share of India’s GDP by 2012, since over 60 per cent of SMEs are aggressively upgrading themselves technologically to reduce their input costs and increase production and exports, says a Paper brought out by ASSOCHAM.

Currently, SMEs share in national GDP is measured around 17 per cent as in the last couple of years, the small scale part of small and medium enterprises have been facing not only recession but credit crunch and variety of regulations from centre, states and local governments. The scenario has started changing after enactment of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Act (MSME) 2006, the fruits of which will start flowing in near future as the sector now has been relaxed and liberalized to a large extent, adds ASSOCHAM assessment.

The assessment incorporated in a Paper named SMEs – “Tomorrow’s Blue Chips” reveals that SMEs that have been growing @ 35 per cent over the last 2 years will register a 40 per cent growth rate which will be technologically driven and contribute to manufacturing outputs to an extent of 46 per cent, their present manufacturing contribution is around 40-42 per cent.

The ASSOCHAM Secretary General, Mr. D S Rawat said that SMEs share to national exports currently is estimated at around 38 per cent which will surge to over 44 per cent in next 5 years. The main reason of SMEs doing exceedingly well in next 4-5 years would be because over 55 per cent of SMEs would have absorbed technological upgradation to their units.

Currently, this sector accounts for 95 per cent of industrial units and its contributing about 40 per cent on the value addition in the manufacturing sector. More than 32 lakhs are spread over the country producing about 7500 items and providing employment to more than 400 lakhs persons.

The Paper, however, points out that ever since MSME 2006 has been enacted, SMEs have been given two classifications, one is that of manufacturing and those industries that provide and render services have also been brought under the SMEs jurisdiction.

As a result, the SMEs sector has been liberalized and deregulated to a large extent as earlier the small scale units were mostly governed under 60 central state and local laws.

Such units were required to maintain as many as 116 registered forms from various inspectors which include labour, factory maintenance, environment, municipal by laws, taxation, power etc. Now the scenario has changed a great deal and would uplift the entire SMEs not only technologically but otherwise too. This is other reason as to why the contribution of SMEs to overall GDP and production and exports would increase manifold.

The main constraints which the SME still face is the credit problem. This sector is still neglected by banks and financial institutions, mostly in the private sector domain. Since, banks, financial institutions, cooperatives still hesitate to lend money to SMEs as per their mandatory requirement of nearly 18-20 per cent of their total lending. The public sector banks in India are the only hopes for SMEs as it is they who meet their mandatory requirement for lending to SMEs, rest have ignored them.

The credit that they receive is at very high cost and therefore their margins are minimum and input costs increase vis-à-vis their counterparts but the ASSOCHAM has pointed out that since over 65 per cent of SMEs have done technological tie-ups with their counterparts to upgrade their production facilities, their input costs would come down in future and supplies to their vendor be maintained at effective cost factor.

All these good factor would have spiraling impact on overall SMEs production facilities and their contribution naturally in every sphere would go up, concludes the ASSOCHAM Paper. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

MUMBAI, OCTOBER 23 :
THE wait is almost over. IPEX South Asia 2009, the event for print professionals, opens for business from 24-27 October at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. It's the first time this international exhibition will take place in India's print capital.

Some of the region's - and the world's - biggest suppliers will be on hand to demonstrate their newest products and services. Exhibitors include major names like Epson, Xerox, HP, KBA, Kern, Pitney Bowes, Canon, Kodak, EFI and TPH.

"We are delighted that so many big companies are supporting the show, despite the slowdown we have all had to deal with," said Jon Johnston of organisers, IIR Exhibitions. "With better times ahead, IPEX South Asia is the perfect springboard for business in 2010. We have a great event in store for printers right across the region.

"As well as seeing the very latest technology and taking advantage of all the amazing networking opportunities, they can get free expert advice at a series of exclusive seminar sessions on digital print and other new business ideas."

"The seminars will be interactive, enabling us to talk directly with customers," commented Vipin Tuteja of Xerox.

Xerox has already unveiled its theme for the event-Real Business Live! Under this the company will work with print providers to improve productivity and drive business growth, with the right mix of innovation, proven hardware technology, software and services. Xerox will showcase a broadest portfolio of technology solutions and the greatest attraction at the Xerox stall will be the DocuColor Digital Production Press, iGen4TM , which will be displayed in India for the first time. Xerox's iGen4TM can enable digital printers to grow their business significantly with profitable applications.

The other industry leader in the space, Canon will launch imagePRESS 1135 and will also showcase the iPF 9100.

The other major players, who will be showcasing their range of latest products will be HCL Infosystems, Arrow Multimedia Inc, Siddhartha Machinery Co, Venus Infotech, Aesthatic Multimedia, Prism Papyrus, Harbhajan Singh & Co, Watt hours Systems, SS Industrial, Shrinivas, Santosh Multimex, Line O Matic Graphic Industries, EFI India, among others.

Exhibitors at IPEX South Asia 2009 will represent all aspects of the graphic arts process, including pre-press, press manufacture (including digital presses, newspaper presses), post-press, converting and packaging, consumables and used machinery. The event promises to be a must for all affiliates to the industry.

The event will provide an exclusive platform for exchange of information, views, news and technology between the international and Indian printing industry. The pre-registration for the exhibition is up by 30 per cent on last year. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 23 :
THE FMCG sector seems to have finally joined India Inc's growth party by posting surprising double-digit growth in sales resisting the aftermaths of the downturn. The sector is likely to post a growth of 18 – 20 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). In the first quarter of current fiscal, the growth in FMCG sector was around 12 per cent.

The ASSOCHAM Financial Pulse Study titled “Prospects in the FMCG sector“ stated that despite the negative impact of the scanty rainfall, demand from rural India is likely to remain robust complimented by a healthy rise from the urban areas going forward.

The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total market size in excess of US$ 14.7 billion. The FMCG market is set to double from USD 14.7 billion in 2008-09 to USD 30 billion in 2012. FMCG sector will witness more than 50 per cent growth in rural and semi-urban India by 2010.

As per the analysis of the listed companies in FMCG sector by ASSOCHAM, Hindustan Unilever and Dabur India originates half of their sales from rural India. While Colgate Palmolive India and Marico constitutes near by 37 per cent respectively, however Nestle India and GSK Consumer drives 25 per cent of sales from rural India.

The financial analysis of these FMCG majors, the sector achieved the average growth in net sales by 16.71 per cent in Q1 2009-10, and despite the drought situation it is likely to grow by 18 to 20 per cent in Q2 2009-10.

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) reported a drop of 2.7 per cent in its net profit in comparison with the Q1 of 2008-09, besides the drop in net profits, the net sales of the company grew by 8 per cent. According to the analysis done by ASSOCHAM Research Bureau the company would achieve 7 per cent growth in its net profit and the net sales would grow by 9.3 per cent in Q2 of FY’10.

Dabur India increased its net profit by 15.24 per cent, while the net sales of the company grew by 23 per cent in first quarter of 2009-10. In Q2 the company is expected to post 17 per cent growth in net profit while the net sales is likely to grow by 24.2 per cent.

Colgate Palmolive India , which covers nearly four major segments in FMCG sector, posted growth in net profit of 42.91 per cent and net sales increased by 16.40 per cent in first quarter of 2009-10 over the corresponding period last year. In Q2 2009-10, the company is expected to post a growth of 17 per cent and 45 per cent in net sales segment and net profit respectively.

Marico industries which is in two major segments of FMCG i.e. hair care and processed foods recorded growth of 58.30 per cent in net profits and the net sales grew by 16.48 per cent in Q1 FY’10. As per the analysis, in Q2 FY’10, the company would achieve 17.52 per cent growth in net sales and the net profit is expected to grow by 63 per cent as against the corresponding period of last year.

In Q1 FY’10, Nestle India, which is engaged in food business, beverages and processed foods products, recorded 33.80 per cent and 19.70 per cent growth in net sales and net profits respectively while in the second quarter the company is expected to post a growth of 21 per cent in net sales and 35 per cent in net profits.

The study also analyzes the growth of different segments of FMCG sector in the first two quarters of the current fiscal (FY 2009-10) vis-à-vis the corresponding period of last fiscal.

The demand of personal and fabric wash market including soaps and toilet soaps which witnessed a growth rate of 14.20 per cent in Q1 of 2009-10 is likely to grow by 15 per cent in Q2 FY’10. HUL and Colgate Palmolive India are the two major companies in this segment. In these two product categories, HUL is likely to grow by 11.10 per cent while Colgate Palmolive would register a growth of 17.30 per cent in their net sales for the second quarter.

Oral Care segment which includes the tooth past, tooth brush and tooth powder having market size of 33.60 billion has grown by 10.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2009-10. In this segment the major growth has been seen in the tooth brush category. According to the analysis this segment is going to grow 11.50 per cent in the Q2 of 2009-10 and the market size will grow to 34.50 billion.

Skin care and cosmetics valued at 18.50 billion market size including skin/fairness creams, shaving creams and deodorants grew by 11.52 per cent in the first quarter. This segment is expected to post a growth of 12 per cent in Q2 FY’10.

Hair care market which valued at nearly 80 billion has grown by 14.68 per cent in Q1. It includes variety of hair oils, shampoos, creams, conditioners, hair dyes etc.

As the companies are more aggressive in advertisements for this category, the market of hair care segment is likely to grow by 16 per cent in Q2 FY’10.

The cleaner repellents market covering products like floor cleaners, phenyl and toilet cleaners have grown by 15 per cent in Q1 2009-10. The market size for insecticides and repellents is estimated to be around 10 billion and expected to grow 15.5 per cent in Q2.

In the food segment which includes processed food and beverages having 71.98 billion market size grown by 17 per cent in Q1. The main players in this segment are Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever Limited and Dabur. In Q2 FY’10, this segment is expected to grow by 19 per cent. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22 :
ECONOMIST Conferences on Thursday organised the First 'India Forecasting Forum.' The conference themed 'Taking charge in Turbulent Times' presented a unique opportunity to hear experts from the Economist Group assess the actions and policies of the new Government during its first 150 days.

The conference saw the presence of various business leaders discussing the impact of the global downturn and the policies and reforms required to put their respective industries on track for rapid & sustainable growth.

The global downturn has created unprecedented upheaval in most sectors of the Indian economy. Manufacturing production has dropped off amid a slowdown in the construction and property sectors, while IT firms and other exporters are struggling to cope up with shrinking external demand. Businesses in India also continue to face the familiar challenges of uncertain regulatory environment, excessive bureaucracy and persistent infrastructure
bottlenecks.

Many organisations have been able to successfully navigate the downturn by focusing on their core business while outsourcing non-core functions. While sectors such as telecom, finance and insurance have been early adopters of this approach, there is a plethora of opportunities available over the next few years for the outsourcing industry in India.

The report released by EIU today stated, "The Economist Intelligence Unit believes that there is unlikely to be a sudden rush to implement comprehensive liberalising policies. This is not only because the government's foremost concern is maintaining domestic economic stability in a time of general economic uncertainty, but also-perhaps more importantly-because there remains resistance to reform within Congress and among its core supporters, particularly in rural areas.

Indeed, support for maintaining the status quo has risen in some quarters because India has weathered the global recession far better than most countries, bolstering the argument that India's slow and at times unsteady process of liberalisation is in fact a blessing rather than a curse." (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

MUMBAI, OCTOBER 22 :
ACCORDING to a global survey undertaken by Regus plc of over 11,000 corporates across 15 countries, strong economic recovery is not expected to begin until summer 2010.

In India , however, firms expect significant recovery to begin in March 2010. The findings indicate that companies will need to maintain their cost management strategies into the New Year and structure any major investments to catch the wave of mid-year global recovery.

Regus' multi-national global economic indicator survey, the Regus Business Tracker, quizzed more than 11,000 respondents about their companies' financial performance as well as their expectations for personal and nationwide economic recovery. The resulting data offers economists a consistent survey benchmark with which to assess national economies versus global averages.

The Regus Business Tracker survey found that Indian firms expect to see signs of recovery in March 2010, which indicates a level of optimism that far surpasses the global average. Of the countries surveyed, India 's prediction of March 2010 is the most optimistic.

India's corporate outlook on economic recovery coincides with an increase in profits that surpassed the international average: 45 per cent of Indian firms saw profits increase last year, versus 40 per cent of companies globally. Likewise, 49 per cent of Indian companies experienced an increase in revenues last year (versus 46 per cent globally). Even amongst those that experienced a decrease, 56 per cent expect revenues to rise in 2010.

Regus' survey revealed an almost exact consensus between high- and low-performing firms with regard to the timing of economic recovery, indicating that their collective views were not skewed by individual performance. That said, both high- and low-performing Indian businesses agree that they can look to March 2010 for marked economic advancement.

When it comes to corporate size, 57 per cent of Indian companies of all sizes indicated that they expect revenues to increase next year, while small Indian firms (with fewer than 50 employees) are more optimistic about next year's figures than their larger counterparts. 85 per cent of SMEs expect to see their revenues increase in 2010, compared with 72 per cent of large companies.

This suggests that small businesses will lead the economic recovery, and highlights the importance of government support and growth incentives for a section of the business community that is responsible for around half the nation's turnover.

Equally, the survey revealed several significant differences between the concerns of SMEs and larger firms. Big businesses are worried about cost management, infrastructure management, and staff retention, all of which registered as above-average concerns. SMEs, on the other hand, are overwhelmingly concerned with marketing and customer retention, indicating that they are more worried about maintaining and nurturing profitable business than with cutting costs.

Mr. Madhusudan Thakur, Regus' Country Head, comments: 'Although signs of global economic recovery are starting to emerge, businesses across the services industry are remaining cautious. The relatively positive prediction from Indian firms has to be tempered with an element of caution, with astute firms remaining tightly controlled in the beginning of next year.

'Looking forward to India 's recovery period, the bullishness of small businesses may indicate that government needs to look at the levels of support being offered to SMEs. In our economy, SMEs represent about 50 per cent of business turnover, and ignoring this community could have a significant delaying impact on national recovery.

'As we proceed along the road to recovery, there is an urgent need for businesses experiencing growth to not return to their old ways of doing business, but to take the opportunity to learn from the past and make changes to their future strategies and operations. This may mean shifting the way firms organise their workforce, or indeed whether they retain the same proportion of on-site, full time employees as they did before the global recession. New workforce and workplace strategies are two of the main areas where companies can look to substantially re-engineer their cost-base and move towards wider infrastructural change.'

The Regus Business Tracker surveyed 11,007 business respondents from 15 countries from the Regus global contacts database were interviewed during August and September 2009. The Regus global contacts database of over 1 million business-people worldwide is highly representative of senior managers and owners in service businesses across the globe.

In this first research project to be publicly issued, respondents were asked about their recent revenue and profit trends, along with their future views on a number of issues including the timing of substantial economic recovery in their country. The survey was managed and administered by the independent organisation, Marketing UK. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 :
ECONOMIC Outlook for 2009-10 released here today indicates that the UPA Govt. will remain under serious strain for fiscal consolidation as fiscal deficit is expected to exceed 10 per cent of national GDP and it will have to generate resources for its contentment, largely through disinvestment, feels The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM).

In a statement, ASSOCHAM President Dr. Swati Piramal said that due to projected negative growth in agriculture and continued pressures on India’s Foreign engagements on account of global recession, GDP growth will remain around 6.5 per cent.

The inflation management would be challenge for government and RBI as well and supplies of essential grain including primary food article will have to strengthen to keep Aam Adami contented, felt Dr. Piramal. The ASSOCHAM expects industrial production to remain in buoyancy as recovery has started happening to further fuel growth in next fiscal. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

GENEVA, OCTOBER 20 :
A new report issued by the International Labour Office (ILO) says that workers employed by temporary employment agencies have been among the first to lose their jobs as a result of the financial and economic crisis.

At the same time, the report also observes that ratification of ILO Convention No. 181 on private employment agencies can help to promote Decent Work and ensure better functioning labour markets.

The report 'Private employment agencies, temporary agency workers and their contribution to the labour market' points to a direct correlation between economic growth and the state of the employment agency industry, with the strong performance and expansion seen during the boom years mirrored by the weakness and contraction of the industry.

The report will be discussed at a global tripartite meeting on October 20-21 at ILO headquarters titled 'Workshop to promote ratification of the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181)'. Convention No. 181 balances enterprises' needs for labour flexibility with workers* needs for employment stability, a safe work environment, decent conditions of work and social security.

"Private employment agencies play an important role in the functioning of contemporary labour markets. They act as intermediaries in modern labour markets, allowing enterprises greater flexibility to increase or decrease their workforces, while ensuring for the workers sufficient security in terms of job opportunities and employment standards, including pay, working time and training", the report says.

"The private employment agency industry has grown at an incredible pace over the past three decades due to the increasing need to provide workers and services to a growing and flexible labour market. User enterprises hire temporary agency workers to be able to rapidly adjust to the shifting economic realities. Since mid-2008, enterprises have used this pressure-valve function to lay off temporary workers, while often leaving their core workforce intact", said John Myers, industry specialist from the ILO's Sectoral Activities Department and author of the report.

The biggest temporary job losses were recorded in the manufacturing sector of developed countries, most noticeably in the car industry. The report cites the example of Germany, where it is estimated that between 100,000 and 150,000 temporary agency workers lost their placements in the four to six months after October 2008. Similar trends were seen in Japan, United States, Spain and France.

"Many of the largest private employment agencies are saying that it will be 2010 at least before they see any upturn in business. This would generally happen after overtime hours and the length of the working week begin to rise among the core workforce of user enterprises, and companies* slack capacity begins to fall. When firms consider turning to agencies to meet their needs, this will be one of the first signs that the economic crisis is beginning to end", said John Myers.

Meanwhile, the industry itself is introducing measures to cut costs and increase the efficiency of its services. According to the report, these measures will only be effective if the following challenges are addressed:

Continuing to ensure that national regulation on agency work is based on the flexicurity concept ' achieving the right balance between the need for flexibility in the labour market while also ensuring the right protection for agency workers.

Assisting the transition of temporary workers displaced from user enterprises into other jobs as quickly as possible.

Staving off widespread business closures through cost-cutting and efficiency programmes.

Devising new ways of selling agencies' services in an economic climate of cost-cutting by user enterprises and where some client firm ' agency
relationships have been damaged by the economic crisis.

Surmounting restrictions on agencies activities in certain countries and in certain sectors in post-recession recovering economies, as part of its quest for further global expansion.

Developing strategies to reflect various economic recovery scenarios: the possibility of a sustained rebound, a long flat period followed by a jobless upturn, or a brief rebound followed by renewed stagnation.

Rethinking its role in post-recession national labour markets as a means of increasing its penetration rates, particularly in the industry*s emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia.

"Countries that have not yet ratified Convention No. 181 are encouraged to do so, as its implementation can be an engine for job creation, structural growth, improved efficiency of national labour markets, better matching of supply and demand for workers, higher labour participation rates and increased diversity. It also sets a clear framework for regulation, licensing and self-regulation, thereby encouraging reliability; ensuring effective protection of workers against unfair practices; discouraging human trafficking; and promoting cooperation between public and private employment services. Finally, ratification could help to promote and implement the Decent Work Agenda by ensuring protection of the rights and working conditions of agency workers', says the report.

In recent months, several international-level policy statements have highlighted issues surrounding agencies and temporary agency work. For example, the June 2009 Global Jobs Pact refers to 'establishing or strengthening effective public employment services and other labour market institutions' and 'providing adequate [social protection] coverage for temporary and non-regular
workers'.

According to the report, "governments have come under pressure from a range of social actors to make changes to the benefits and social assistance provided to workers placed through agencies, although reform has been slow and piecemeal where it has occurred at all". (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 20 :
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has projected indices of BSE and NSE would respectively touch 20,000 and 6,000 mark by January 2010 due to continuously rising business confidence of investors and FIIs in Indian economy and more than expected financial performance of India Inc in Q2 of current fiscal which is likely to go on in near future too.

In its analysis of stocks by early 2010, the ASSOCHAM states that it does not subscribe to a view that Indian stocks are overstretched and need correction since all most all financial parameters and indicators show continued growth and competitiveness in almost all major sectors of economy and thus optimism should continue to prevail to push up significantly stocks further.

This is because of the reason that India is the 2nd fastest growing economy after China and will go on to receive the global attention resulting in further FIIs inflows as also sustained concentration from retail and other investors, said ASSOCHAM spokesman.

Releasing the ASSOCHAM assessment, the ASSOCHAM spokesman said the Chamber also feels that IIP numbers, inflation, credit growth, interest rates, and tax scenario etc. will continue to drive growth prospects and favourably influence capital market substantially in months to come, especially from November onwards.

Still another reason for optimism for stock markets reaching the projected levels is due to the fact that budget euphoria start building up from January onwards with expectations from all quarters for incentives, reduction and moderation in tax slab including increase on personal income tax slabs. Since government’s one point agenda is to ensure and sustained continued and healthy growth with inflation at managerial limits, there is no reason as to why stock markets, which reflect expectations and aspiration of industry will not move towards further buoyancy.

Thirdly, since efforts and policy directions of UPA government support growth of capital market by building a consensus on issue of disinvestment, the ASSOCHAM expects government will begin to offload its equity gradually in profit making public sector undertaking for higher price to partly contain fiscal deficit and support its infrastructure project.
Other factors that will positively move stock markets will be through participation of rural folk into it because its income has started going up and driving growth in telecom and FMCG sector and more recently two wheeler segments has joined these two sectors.

In addition, BPO call centres and IT inclusiveness is also getting intensified in interiors including tire 3 and 4 cities for establishing linkages of rural folks into stocks. Large number of cooperatives on lines on Amul are getting established in a state like Rajasthan and Andhra to drive growth with micro finance facilities getting pervasive through self help group for economic activities. All these are positive indicators to drive growth reflection of which will come through buoyant stock markets.

Lastly, road projects are spreading and establishing linkages between rural and urban market for better business prospects and these linkages will work positive factors for inclusive growth to enable Indian economy move on higher growth trajectory, added the ASSOCHAM spokesman.

The GDP growth expectations to touch 7 per cent are reaffirmed and there are strong undercurrents building in the economy with India Inc getting ready for good financial performance. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 19 :
INDIA needs to commit itself to a target for reducing green house gas emissions at the ongoing negotiations on climate change if it is to win the battle against climate change, according to the findings of an Assocham Business Barometer survey on the topic.

With 85 per cent of the focus group survey respondents arguing in favour of a clear-cut, sustainable and more aggressive approach by the Indian government to tackle the climate change issue, the industry seeks greater emphasis to be laid on the issue to address their concern on immediate basis.

The findings of the Assocham focus group survey on climate change was based on questionnaire elicited views from 40 respondents who were asked wide ranging questions on India's current stand on climate change negotiations.

Countries from across the globe are currently engaged in negotiating a successor agreement to the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol which comes to an end in 2012. However, negotiations are stuck due to differences between the developed and developing world on contentious issues such as commitments on the part of developing world to cut absolute levels of emissions.

Eightytwo per cent of the survey respondents felt India should attempt to reduce its absolute levels of emissions as opposed to restricting per capita emission levels. India currently maintains the view that it will not allow its per capita emissions level which stand at 1.1 tons of carbon dioxide per annum to go above the world average of 4 tons per annum.
At present US and China account for 20 per cent each of the world's stock of green house gas emissions followed by European Union nations that account for another 15 per cent. Russia and India follow with a share of nearly 5 per cent each.

Participants were asked if they agreed with India's position on climate change with about 68 per cent saying they did not agree with government's position. Most respondents felt India needs to take a more aggressive stand on the crucial issue of climate change.

On the crucial question of what strategy India should adopt on implementing any future decisions taken at climate change talks that go against its interests, participants were evenly divided between fully and partially implementing decisions.

Most respondents were also of the view that domestic industry may not be in a position to undertake the necessary investments that might be needed to meet any future targets that might be agreed upon for green house gas emissions.

With 75 per cent of the respondents feeling that developed world should transfer technology free of cost to developing world to tackle climate change, respondents were largely unanimous in their view that developed countries should fund future development of technologies to tackle climate change.

Based on the survey findings, Assocham has strongly recommended a six point strategy.
(i) International agreements should be based on principle of equity and biased towards one set of countries.
(ii) A comprehensive international agreement needs to be reached which will not impose constraints in a few regions as this will drive investments into other regions creating investment havens.
(iii) Focus not only on cutting carbon dioxide emissions but also other green house gases such as methane and sulphur.
(iv) Expand the green building code by providing incentives for retrofitting of old buildings.
(v) Set long term goals for emission reduction with a set of specific and measurable interim targets.
(vi) Establish a funding mechanism for development of clean technologies. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, DEC 16 :
TATA Motors, has renewed its commitment to provide satisfactory operations of its fleet, as is expected by citizens, the Government of Delhi and the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

Tata Motors' ultra low-floor non-AC and AC buses were introduced in the city in 2007, with the company having received an order through a competitive tendering process. The company received a second order in 2009, once again through a competitive tendering process, conditions of which took into account feedback on the first set of buses. Deliveries on the second order have already commenced.

The Tata Motors' ultra low-floor buses plying in the city have raised the comfort and convenience of passengers with their spacious interiors, ergonomically designed seats, wide corridors, wide pneumatically-controlled twin doors. The engine at the rear reduces noise and vibration.

Full pneumatic suspension and automatic transmission further enhance ride quality. The media has reported in the past that these buses are very popular and that passengers wish to travel by them, in preference to the earlier front-engine conventional buses. Introduction of these low-floor buses with its bundle of unique features was a visionary step by DTC, pioneering a transformation in the public transportation scenario in India. Subsequently, a number of other states have sought to introduce such buses in 2009.

The first lot of 650 buses, on an average, has been driven for about 100,000 km each - some of them have completed even 130,000 km each -- over 2 years, quite trouble-free under fairly rigorous conditions. It is only in the recent past that few buses had shown mechanical issues, which are getting corrected. As abundant caution, the company is examining other buses, and will take appropriate action. Tata Motors has reassured itself and categorically states that there is no inherent manufacturing defect in the buses.

Technologies in the bus, like battery cut-off switch, pneumatic doors, evacuation systems, retarders, engine behaviour indicators, require training of drivers. The company has so far trained 1,500 drivers, and the process is on. Simultaneously, Tata Motors seeks support from DTC that routes are monitored and so determined that the buses are plied on roads which are appropriate for such ultra low-floor vehicles.

The company itself is responsible for the maintenance of the buses, carried out at DTC depots under the supervision of company managers by staff of company authorised service providers.

The maintenance schedule includes both mandatory daily checks and also checks at different periodicities. Every time a bus leaves a depot, the driver takes four rounds inside the depot to satisfy himself on the brakes, acceleration, engine noise, tyre pressure, air filter, belt tension, electric and pneumatic controls in the cockpit, besides working of lights and wipers. Tata Motors' system entails periodic review of the maintenance schedule, in the light of operating experience.

Accordingly, the company will review with the DTC changes required in the schedule and implement them. The company further says that it has always felt honoured that the DTC provided it with an opportunity to deliver international standard public transportation to the city and, as in the past, will diligently work with the DTC on operational and commercial aspects of the existing fleet and timely delivery of the rest of the order. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, DEC 12 :
THE Chief Minister of Maharashtra Mr Ashok Chavan and Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, with responsibility of Group Production, formally rolled out Volkswagen India's first locally manufactured Polo from its plant in Chakan, Pune.

Other guests who graced the occasion with their presence were Mr Rajendra J. Darda, Minister of Industries and Employment for state of Maharashtra, Mr Sachin Ahir, State Minister of Industries and Housing Development as well as His Excellency Mr. Thomas Matussek, German Ambassador to India.

On the occasion, Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann said, "Today's start of production of our Polo is more than just the rollout of a car. It marks a milestone in our journey together into a successful future for the Volkswagen Group in India.

Since India is a strategic market for the Volkswagen Group and holds enormous potential for it, Prof. Heizmann added, "We aim to achieve a market share of eight to ten percent in the next four to six years with the three Volkswagen Group brands, Audi, Skoda, and Volkswagen by ambitious plans for India. We offer outstanding products, which will soon be joined in the market by another one 'the Polo'. These products and Polo in particular will help us to increase our market share of this growing market significantly."

The Polo is eagerly awaited here in India, he added. And quite rightly so, because our Polo stands for first-class German engineering and superior state-of-the-art technology. It is a young, fresh and cosmopolitan car. We have aligned the current model systematically and uncompromisingly with our customers' expectations.

In Europe, the Polo has become the benchmark for the small car segment and has now created its own class the Polo class. Volkswagen has received more than 130,000 orders since the new model was launched in May this year. The Polo has also been voted The Car of the Year .

According to Prof. Heizmann, "Customers need to be convinced of the benefits of owning a Volkswagen Group car and must want to buy it. Ultimately, the customer is a brand's best ambassador. We are dead certain that we will bring forward the European success story of our Polo to India.

Expressing his gratitude to the employees who shared the historical moment of the rollout together with there families, Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann stated, "Our employees worldwide ensure the high quality of our products with their skills and motivation. I am especially impressed with the abilities and the high level of commitment shown by the Indian staff we have recruited for our company. And we will continue to develop these skills of each and every employee by extensive ongoing training. Each individual will be put in the position to be able to build the best possible car.

Volkswagen India commemorated the rollout of the Polo with the first Family Day for the employees. According to Mr. Joerg Mueller, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India and President & Managing Director Volkswagen India , " This is the first time that Volkswagen has celebrated the rollout of a new model together with the families of its employees. The families of our employees are an integral part of Volkswagen's extended family.

The timeframe leading up to the official start of production of the Volkswagen Polo is unusual as it is only two years since the first construction work began at the Volkswagen Pune site. Since then, we have made great efforts to implement optimal processes and achieve a level of quality that is the standard in every Volkswagen plant throughout the world. This was a major challenge, Mr. Mueller said.

"Volkswagen is about more than just a car . It embodies a unique style that gives its products “ our cars “ a unique spirit, he further added.

The factory has an annual capacity of around 110,000 cars. With a total volume of around 580 million, it is the largest investment to date by a German company in India. It is also the only plant operated by a German automaker in India that covers the entire production process from the press shop, through body and paint shops, to assembly.

The processes in the new plant have been flexibly designed. Based on the current plans, this means Volkswagen will produce three different models : the koda Fabia since May 2009, the Polo Hatchback from now on and a saloon that will be launched in the second half of 2010.

The Polo will reflect Volkswagen India's efforts to reach the highest possible degree of localization. Almost 50 percent localization has already been achieved with a target of around 80 percent within the next two to three years. This will enable Volkswagen India to offer cars at competitive prices and with a high level of quality. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

DEHRADUN, NOV 10 :
THE Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Dr. Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank dedicated Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (Uttarakhand) to the people of Uttarakhand, at a Lokarpon ceremony held in Dehradun on Tuesday. Maruti Suzuki will manage and run this institute to promote road safety and impart scientific driving training in the state.

In December last year, Maruti Suzuki had signed an MoU with the Government of Uttarakhand to set up, manage and run the Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (Uttarakhand) in the state capital, Dehradun. This institute is the flagship corporate social responsibility initiative of Maruti Suzuki that works on the principle of public
private partnership. Maruti Suzuki has been successfully running two similar institutes in Delhi on public private partnership model.

On the occasion, Dr. Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand, said, "Maruti Suzuki has been playing a pioneering role in spreading awareness on road safety and safe driving in the country for a decade now. The company has introduced world class driving training courses, scientific training methods and modern infrastructure like driving simulators.

The company has already trained over 6 lakh people in safe driving and road safety. We have chosen Maruti Suzuki as the
automobile major is renowned and has a vast experience in running driving training institutes. I am sure, the driving training institute in Uttarakhand will play pivotal role promoting safe driving and making state roads safe in coming years."

Present at the occasion, Maruti Suzuki's head of marketing and sales, Mr. Mayank Pareek, said, "I am grateful to the state for accepting Maruti Suzuki as the partner for this initiative. The Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (Uttarakhand), Dehradun will form an integral part of Maruti Suzuki's National Road Safety mission.

Under this mission, launched nationwide in December last year, Maruti Suzuki will train 5 lakh people in road safety over the next three years. Modern and scientifically designed infrastructure like the IDTR Dehradun will impart driving skills through technology and systems that are the best in the world."

In addition to imparting motor driving skills and technical training to the public, IDTR, Dehradun will assist, advise and support the State Government in activities that contribute to safety on roads and facilitate in improving the transport system in the State.

The state-of the-art facility offers residential accommodation to the trainees along with classroom training. Located on Jhaajra Chakrata Road, the institute has test tracks for enhancing driving skills. Advanced Driving Simulators will help impart training in a safe environment. Coinciding with the Lokarpon ceremony, the IDTR, Dehradun has launched the first batch of 20 driver trainees.

This is Maruti Suzuki's third such initiative after success of two IDTRs at Delhi. Three more institutes, two in Haryana at Rohtak and Bahadurgarh, and one in Baroda, Gujarat are in the advance stage of completion. Maruti Suzuki is already in talks with other state governments to establish similar institutes in Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Karnataka. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

MUMBAI, NOV 08 :
TATA Motors has begun distribution of its Prima range of World Trucks, which was unveiled in May this year.

The first product, the Prima 4028 S, is a 40-tonne 266-PS (Cummins ISBE engine) tractor with a 9-speed ZF transmission, and a matching trailer with new generation brakes, ABS and specialised axles for heavy duty and high speed application. The 4028 S tractor-trailer is ideal for carrying freight, like steel, cement, and containers, up to 40.2 tonnes of Gross Combination Weight.

The tractor’s spacious air-conditioned cabin includes reclining seats, adjustable steering wheels, arm rests for driver comfort. It has got sleepers to facilitate long-distance travel. These features are designed to induce longer and more trips. Global Positioning System for vehicle tracking is a standard fitment.

The driving comforts enable the vehicle to operate non-stop for long hours and cover over 700 kms each day thereby offering faster turnaround.

The distribution has begun with select customers in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi & West Bengal. Driving crew of these customers have been trained at Tata Motors’ manufacturing facility in Jamshedpur. The company has already equipped its countrywide service network to support the Prima range.

The Prima 4028 S tractor has been priced at Rs.21 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi), and that with the trailer is Rs.31 lakhs.

The 4028 S tractor-trailer will be followed during the course of the financial year with three other products – two 49-tonne tractor-trailers and a 31-tonne tipper in key segments and routes. They are all BS-III and BS-IV compliant.

The Prima range comprises about 10 major variants of multi-axle trucks, tractor-trailers, tippers, mixers and special application vehicles. The range has been jointly developed by Tata Motors and its two subsidiaries, Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company in South Korea and the Tata Motors European Technical Centre plc in the UK.

The company has harnessed the best of inputs and technologies – in styling, engines, transmission, suspension, chassis frames, fabrication and dies -- from partners based in countries like Italy, Germany, Sweden, the US, Japan and South Korea. The distribution of the range will be completed in phases over 2 years. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 07 :
ROYAL Enfield has come out with its latest, powerful marvel – the Classic 500. As this model glided onto the tarmac, it was flanked by the Classic 350. The Classic 500 reclassifies the Royal Enfield motorcycle; from rugged, enticing, cool to simply styled, harmoniously proportioned, dexterous, alluring and super-cool.

The Classic is powered by a single cylinder 500cc unit-construction engine supported by electronic fuel injection. The unit-construction engine has an integrated assembly for the engine, gearbox and clutch; and this reduces the friction between the tightly-knit movable parts, resulting in lower transmission losses. The styling and the character of the engine are cued on the quintessential designs of the post World War-II era. The electronic fuel injection (EFI) helps to precisely control the air-fuel mixture ratios at different speeds and riding conditions. Therefore, cruising at 100 kms/hour on highways can be relaxed and comfortable with a commendable balance between performance and fuel efficiency.

The ‘retro’ look of the Classic 500 is inspired by Royal Enfield’s –‘J2’- a model that shot to prominence around the early 1950’s. The colour ‘classic green’ – inspired by colours in vogue during the acme of the British motorcycling era – gives the Classic 500 a distinct yet timeless aura. The technology is avant-garde with enhanced combustion and tight caps on emissions. So, the ‘classic green’ also epitomises Royal Enfield’s commitment to a greener environment.

Formed in crafted metal, it is enshrined with an insignia-crested fuel tank, an oval toolbox, shapely front and rear mudguards, an angular silencer, seamless exhaust fins, tiger-eyed headlamp casing with headlight cap, a spring-saddled split seat and an unpretentiously-round taillight assembly. The elliptically-shaped air-cooled pushrod engine with blister forms and winged-emblems and a body-frame matted with the same tone, hues and grace as the body-paint, also conform to the native imagery of British motorcycles in the aftermath of World War II.

RL Ravichandran, CEO, Royal Enfield says, “When, five years ago, we set ourselves the task of styling the Royal Enfield Classic, the major challenge lay in suffusing the romance of the 1950s and Royal Enfield’s British character with the latest engine technologies. The Classic 500 that you see today has an open-out design philosophy quite unlike the modern day motorcycles which have large covered areas; and the eloquence of the UCE design can be attributed to the inspirational ‘Clipper 250’ – a popular integrated Royal Enfield engine of yesteryears.”

“Since the time we launched the Classic 500 in European markets in October 2008, we have been besieged by demands from our Indian customers. In order to reach out to all customers and give them what they want, we’ve introduced the Classic 350 in addition to the Classic 500.”

Says Siddhartha Lal, MD & CEO, Eicher Motors, “Royal Enfield has an extremely rich heritage of practical leisure motorcycling for over a hundred years. At its core has been a harmonious integration of design and technology towards delivering excellent rideability at all speeds and riding conditions. With the Classic 500, we have taken this ideology and refined it further to deliver a sublime and timeless retro-chic look with a highly responsive engine and chassis. This goes on to give the rider an exhilarating ride regardless of whether s/he is going to office in the morning or for an adventure to the Himalayas or even around the world.”

“We will use this philosophy and the UCE platform to design and introduce a wide range of motorcycles over the next 3 years to span a variety of motorcycling genres such as classic sports, touring etc. The Classic 500 and 350 are the start of a new era where Royal Enfield is creating an alternative language of motorcycling globally which is unhurried yet responsive, pleasing to all senses, highly practical yet emotional and romantic. Our passion is to build motorcycles that continue in the tradition of creating that special bond between a rider and his mare which can never be replicated in a chariot.” (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JUNE 23 :
BAJAJ Auto on Tuesday unveiled 2009 Pulsar 220 edition. With this launch, Bajaj Auto has raised the bar in performance biking segment quite a few notches higher - the Pulsar 220 has now evolved to become the fastest Indian with the amazing top speed of 144 km/hr.

The new 220 gets the performance boost with a 32 venturi carburetor, the biggest ever used in India. In addition, the intake port in the cylinder head has been modified, along with higher lift and duration cam. A larger resonator and catalytic converter is also used to increase performance. The higher engine performance achieved has been matched to a modified fifth gear ratio, to make the new Pulsar 220 "The Fastest Indian".

Aimed at the performance bikers who are looking for thrilling ride experience, this bike comes with many power packed features - auto-choke, clip-on handle bar, split seats, engine oil cooler, fuel and battery charge indicators etc. It uses temperature based ignition mapping through which ignition timing is optimized to achieve good startability, quick warm up and outstanding torque.

Speaking on the launch Mr. S.Sridhar, CEO 2-Wheelers, Bajaj Auto said, "We have been continuously evolving our Pulsar range to provide our customers state of the art products with unmatched performance and technology. The new 2009 edition Pulsar 220 has further raised the bar in the performance segment by becoming the India's fastest production bike."

He further added, "We have been the market leaders by far in the premium segment of the motorcycle market, and now with the launch of new Pulsar 2009 series, we will further strengthen our foothold."

He added that with a phenomenal 21.04 Ps power, sporty styling, long feature-list and a price of approximately Rs. 70,000 ex-showroom, it is a compelling package for the performance bikers, who will find hard to resist this fastest Pulsar ever. The Bajaj Pulsar 220 will be manufactured at the Chakan works with 4 colour options to choose from.

The company also unveiled the fuel efficient Engine Series. This new breakthrough technology called DTS-Si version 2.0 incorporates 5 major innovations to make it the most fuel efficient engine not only in India but also the world.

Designed and developed completely by 'Ahead', Bajaj Auto's R&D, the technology has set new benchmarks and promises to revolutionalise the industry with World's most fuel-efficient two-wheeler to be launched next month.

Bajaj had first dramatically improved engine technology in 2003 when it launched the DTS-i (Digital Twin Spark-ignition) engine to achieve faster and more efficient combustion. In 2007, the core DTS-i engine was then further engineered and the DTS-Si engine launched to deliver exceptional mileage without compromising on performance.

The new DTS-Si version 2.0 now incorporates the improved DTS-Si engine technology with the following major technology improvements to deliver the most fuel efficient system in the world ever:(editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JUNE 15 :
IN a bid to enhance customer service TATA Motors has entered into an understanding with the Bank of India. The understanding involves financing of Fiat cars which are available through the Tata-Fiat dealer network.

Customers can avail special interest rates for loans up to Rs 10 lakh @ 9.75 per cent to 10.25 per cent for a new Fiat car of their choice from the Linea, Palio and the to-be-launched Grande Punto. Bank of India offers car loans up to 90 per cent of invoice, for loans up to Rs 10 lakh for tenure ranging up to 6 years.

This facility will be available at all metro, urban and semi-urban branches of Bank of India and the 100 sales touch points of the Tata-Fiat distribution network. This tie-up will also provide consumers a single window for availing loans for both cars i.e. manufactured by Tata Motors as well as Fiat cars, giving the customer a satisfying purchasing experience.

Commenting on this funding tie-up, Tata Motor's Subodh Marathe - Country Head (Fiat Product Group) said, "Tata Motors has always been at the fore-front of introducing multiple customer centric initiatives. We felt that the strong product range from Fiat could be leveraged further with easy financing options for interested customers. Bank of India with its great reputation is a perfect partner to kick start this drive."

Bank of India caters to the needs of industry, exports, agriculture as well as retail segment. The bank has international presence with about 3000 branches in India and 74 extension counters spread all over the country. The bank has also won the award of Top Public Sector Bank and Best Public Sector Bank under the Best Bank and Overall Best bank in the Dun & Bradstreet Banking Awards 2008 . (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MAY 29 :
TATA Motors has once again ushered in a new era in the Indian automobile industry, in keeping with its pioneering tradition, by unveiling its new range of world standard trucks. In power, speed, carrying capacity, operating economy and trims, the company will introduce new benchmarks in India and match the best in the world in performance at a lower life-cycle cost.

The range comprises multi-axle trucks, tractor-trailers, tippers, mixers, and special application vehicles. Besides India, they will also gradually be introduced in South Korea, South Africa, the SAARC countries and the Middle East.

Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, has said, "The developing infrastructure in India makes it possible for transporters to reap the benefit of trucks with higher power, speed and carrying capacity. The new range from Tata Motors will meet those needs. It will also help us penetrate international markets more effectively and competitively."

The Managing Director of Tata Motors, Mr. Ravi Kant, has said, "The range is an output of collaboration across the Tata Motors family, supplemented by inputs from partners across the world. This approach has enabled us to harness appropriate expertise and develop relevant products faster than ever before."

The product has been jointly developed by Tata Motors and its two subsidiaries, Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company in South Korea and the Tata Motors European Technical Centre plc in the UK. The company has harnessed the best of inputs and technologies - in styling, engines, transmission, suspension, chassis frames, fabrication and dies -- from partners based in countries like Italy, Germany, Sweden, the US, Japan and South Korea.

The range offers a higher power-to-weight ratio translating into faster turnaround time, better reliability and durability, and resulting in higher revenue generation for the transporter than is the norm now. The versatility of the range meets several needs:

The capacity of the trucks can be from 10 tonnes to 75 tonnes Gross Combination Weight (GCW), to meet a wide mix of usages.

The powertrain option stretches from 150 PS to 560 PS, with suitable engines, transmissions and axles of different makes. Additional features on offer include automated transmissions and air suspension.

Every truck will have Global Positioning System for effective vehicle tracking as standard fitment.

The spacious air-conditioned cabs come in three different lengths (day, rest and sleeper), three different heights (flat, low-dome and high-dome roof) and in two different widths. While there are two trim levels, features include reclining seats, adjustable steering wheel, seat belts and arm rests (for both the driver and co-driver) for driver comfort and safety. These features are designed to induce longer and more trips and safer driving.

The range is designed to meet stringent safety norms of the markets that it will be sold in. In terms of emissions, the range is Euro III and Euro IV complaint, while being Euro V ready. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

MUMBAI, MAY 28 :
TATA Tata Motors has concluded an agreement for amendment of its bridge finance loan, extending the final maturity of US$ 1 billion by 18 months up to December 31 , 2010.

The agreement, along with the earlier repayments and the bond issue last week, completes the refinancing of the bridge finance of 12 months of US$ 3 billion raised in June 2008 for the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover. 21 lenders, including two new banks, participated in this agreement, leading to an oversubscription of 47 per cent of the extended loan.

Of the US$ 3 billion bridge finance, the company repaid US$ 1.16 billion, including through Rights Issue and certain divestment proceeds last year. Further, US$ 840 million has been repaid through proceeds of the Non-convertible Rupee Debentures issued last week.

Mr. C. Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer of Tata Motors, said “This transaction was concluded amidst challenging market conditions in the global credit markets and in the automotive sector. Tata Motors thanks the lending institutions for the trust reposed by them in the performance and outlook of the company.” (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MAY 22 :
THE automation is an important aspect of operating businesses; it gives quick paybacks and innovation is the long term cost-effective flexible solution for enterprises. Both the practices, therefore, should find industry recognition, said Mr. R Dayal, Executive Officer (Production Engineering) Maruti Suzuki India.

He was speaking at international conference cum exposition on ‘Control & Automation Technologies: The Bedrock of Competitiveness’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The topic of the conference assumes importance especially in the backdrop of ongoing financial downturn, which has created a need for leaner manufacturing and process optimization than ever before.

Mr. Dayal further added industry should deploy India specific technical solutions for continuous reduction in manufacturing cost; meeting demand and review processes. Automation supports a modular approach of faster delivery of service and response time, he added.

Mr. V G Ramakrishnan, Senior Director – Automation & Transportation – South Asia & Middle East Frost & Sullivan said the Indian automation industry today is pegged at INR 40 billion. The industry calls for applications on machine-to-machine charter, plant to enterprise level automation and including robotics technology in enterprises’ operations. Automation also offers a scope of maintaining green aspects of manufacturing while observing higher levels of production. He said automation can have a paradigm effect on operations in food & beverage industry, natural gas supply, and automobiles sector amongst others.

Highlighting that India must quickly finish with catching up mode to acquire a leadership role in the global arena, Mr. Harpal Singh, Chairman, CII Northern Region & Mentor & Chairman Emeritus Fortis Healthcare Ltd, stated that future wealth of nations will be determined by the quantum of knowledge that they contrive, which is later transformed into innovative products and services. Innovation, therefore, should become part of business model for every endeavour.

Earlier in the opening remarks, Mr. Jayany Davar, Conference Chairman & Vice Chairman and Managing Director Sandhar Technologies pointed out that automation should trickle down to small, middle and micro level enterprises. Automation is fastly catching up as a highly visible industry for example in manufacturing and medical practices.

While delivering the concluding remarks, Mr. Arvind Kapur, Vice Chairman, MSME Sub Committee, CII NR & Managing Director Rico Auto Industries endorsed that all the enterprises should have an innovation cell. He said that Indian industry should not copy-paste foreign technology, but should have capabilities to develop indigenous home grown technological to suit industry specific requirements.

The exposition organized along with the conference witnessed participation of Taikisha Engineering India , Captronic Systems , B C Technomation , Chemin Controls and Instrumentation , Coatec India, Wintech Engineers , Statcon Power Controls and Palas Software .
( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

GAYDON, England, MAY 02 : JAGUAR Land Rover has confirmed that it is to begin selling its range of premium performance saloon cars and sports utility vehicles in the Indian market later this year and has today reached agreement with Tata Motors Limited to be the exclusive importer.

Jaguar and Land Rover's vehicles, including Jaguar's XF and XKR and Land Rover's Discovery and Range Rover, claim to have unique blend of refined luxury, quality and capability and will now become officially available in expanding market.

David Smith, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, said: "We are delighted to be formally entering the Indian market, an economy which is still growing appreciably, and able to offer our premium products to a whole new group of customers. It is an important strategic move for Jaguar Land Rover and will enable us to realise our competitive potential in this
significant market."

The newly-formed Premier Car Division, within Tata Motors Passenger Car Business unit, will assume responsibility for the distribution of all Jaguars and Land Rovers in India and is also due to open the first showroom at Ceejay House in Worli, Mumbai, in June this year. This
flagship facility will offer a range of both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles and aims to establish a benchmark experience in luxury car
sales in India.

Rohit Suri has been appointed to head the new organisation and is leading plans to develop a dealer network through 2009 and 2010.

Ravi Kant, Managing Director of Tata Motors, commented: "This is a natural move for both businesses and will allow Jaguar and Land Rover to establish a strong and deserved presence in India. We are very pleased to develop our relationship with Jaguar Land Rover in this way and to provide the opportunity for Indian customers to access their premium products for the first time." ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

Mr K.R. Kamath, CMD, PNB announcing Q2 financial results for the FY 2009-10 in New Delhi on Thursday . Also seen are Mr M.V. Tanksale (right from the front) and Mr Nagesh Pydah (left from the front), EDs of the bank.

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 :
THE net profit of Punjab National Bank (PNB) was Rs.927 crore for the quarter ended September , 2009 as against Rs. 707 crore in the corresponding period last year, recording a growth of 31.1 per cent.

Net profit increased to Rs. 1759 crore as at the half year ended September '09, showing a growth of 44.2 per cent over Rs. 1219 crore during the corresponding period last year. The bank's operating profit increased from Rs.1368 crore as on September '08 quarter to Rs.1606 crore as on the quarter ended September '09, registering a y-o-y growth of 17.4 per cent during the period.

Operating profit increased to Rs. 3176 crore as at the half- year ended September,09. (HY'08 Rs.2350 crore , a growth of 35.1 per cent) . The bank's interest income during Q2 ended September .'09 at Rs. 5407 crore show a growth of 16.3 per cent. Interest income stood at Rs. 10615 crore as at the half year ended September '09 showing y-o-y growth of 20.8 per cent.

Non-Interest Income during the second quarter of 2009-10 was Rs 669 crore, registering a y-o-y growth of 0.88 per cent over previous year. Non-Interest Income increased to Rs.1639 crore as at the half-year ended September '09 showing y-o-y growth of 46.5 per cent.

Total business of the bank stood at Rs.394382 crore as on September 30 , 2009 as against Rs.316747 crore in previous year, showing a y-o-y growth of 24.5 per cent.

Deposits of the bank went up to Rs. 230823 crore as on September 30 , 2009 from Rs.186315 crore as on September 30,.2008 and Rs.209760 crore as on March 31 , 2009. Year-on-Year basis, total Deposits grew by 23.9 per cent.

The bank's credit of the bank was Rs. 163559 crore as on September 30,.2009 as against Rs.130432 crore as on September 30 , 2008 and Rs.154703 crore as on March 31 , 2009. Year-on-Year basis, the Credit of the bank increased by 25.4 per cent. The bank's credit deposit ratio stood at 70.86 per cent as at September '09.

The bank's gross NPA to gross advances ratio further declined to 1.58 per cent as on September '09 from 2.18 per cent as at September'08 and 1.60 per cent as on March 2009. Net NPA to net advances ratio declined to 0.14 per cent as at September '09 from 0.42 per cent as at September '08 and 0.17 per cent as on March 2009.

Net Interest Margin (NIM) was 3.64 per cent for the quarter ended September 30 , 2009 as against 3.78 per cent during corresponding previous quarter (HY: 3.51 per cent against 3.53 per cent).

Return on Asset increased from 1.33 pe cent during the quarter ended September '08 to 1.44 per cent in the quarter ended September 30 ,09 (HY: 1.39 per cent against 1.17 per cent). Cost to Income Ratio reduced to 41.88 per cent as at the quarter ended September'09 as against 42.41 per cent last year (HY: 43.25 per cent against 45.03 per cent).

The bank's earning earning per share increased from Rs.89.70 (annualized) for the quarter ended 30 , 2008 to Rs.117.60 in the quarter ended September 30 ,2009 (HY: Rs.111.58 against Rs.77.35) . The bank's Book Value Per Share increased to Rs. 472.51 as on September ''09 from Rs.380.70 as on September 30 , 2008.

The bank's capital adequacy ratio (Base II) increased from 13.64 per cent as on September 30 ,.2008 to 14.74 per cent as on September 30 , 2009 as against the stipulated norm of 9 per cent (Tier-I Capital: 9.41 per cent Tier-II Capital: 5.33 per cent).

The bank's priority sector credit grew from Rs 44918 crore as on September 30 ,2008 to Rs.53756 crore as on September 30 ,2009, registering an absolute growth of Rs 8838 crore and y-o-y growth of 19.7 per cent. The bank's outstanding Agriculture Credit increased from Rs. 20749 crore as at September '08 to Rs. 25009 crore as at September '09, registering an absolute growth of Rs. 4260 crore and y-o-y growth of 20.5 per cent.

The bank's credit to micro and small enterprises grew from Rs 13928 crore as on September 30 , 2008 to Rs. 24351 crore as on September 30 , 2009 registering an absolute growth of Rs. 10423 crore and y-o-y growth of 74.8 per cent.

As at the end of September '09, the bank's credit to SME sector increased by 63.8 per cent to Rs 31030 crore from Rs.18948 crore as at September 30 ,2008 and Rs.23700 crore as at March 31 ,2009. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 28 :
THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its repo, reverse repo and CRR rates unchanged at 4.75 per cent, 3.25 per cent and 5.00 per cent, respectively, in line with expectations. However, the policy tone was decisively hawkish.

The RBI is unequivocally concerned about inflation; it revised up its wholesale price index (WPI) projection to '6.5 per cent with an upside bias' by end-March 2010 from 'around 5.0 per cent' earlier.

Even though inflation is being fuelled by the supply-side, the RBI notes that households' expected inflation over the next three- and 12-month period to rise. Despite worries over weak rural demand, the RBI retained its GDP forecast of '6.0 per cent with an upward bias' for FY10 (year starting April 2009), on expectations of a pick-up in investment activity and the lagged impact of the recovery in industrial output on the services sectors .

Therefore, the monetary policy stance puts keeping a vigil on inflation and stabilising inflation expectations as the primary objective. The RBI revised its non-food credit projection to 18.0 per cent y-o-y in FY10 from 20.0 per cent earlier, reflecting weak credit demand to date and availability of non-bank funding sources.

The RBI also took the first step towards an exit policy by terminating the special liquidity facilities ahead of their original March 31 , 2010 expiration. It also hiked the statutory liquidity ratio back to 25 per cent of net demand and time liabilities from 24 per cent, without changing the hold-to-maturity limit and lowered the export credit refinance limit. Therefore, before moving to the use of conventional tightening tools, many of the unconventional easing tools were reversed immediately.

The RBI also said it was worried about excess liquidity resulting in an 'unsustainable asset price build-up' and so raised the standard provisioning for loans to commercial real estate from 0.4 per cent to 1.0 per cent. It also enforced maintenance of the CRR on transactions in collateralised borrowing and lending obligations liabilities.

We concur with the RBI's growth assessment, but are more worried about inflation, as we expect WPI inflation to near 8.0 per cent y-o-y by March 2010 and average 6.8 per cent in FY11 . While growth this year should be subdued at 6.0 per cent due to drought, the virtuous spiral of rising asset prices, improving business and consumer confidence and easier availability of funding to boost GDP growth to 8.0 per cent in FY11.

RBI to hike the CRR around December, by a cumulative total of 125bp by 4Q10, given rising inflation expectations and rising net capital inflows. Policy rate cycle is likely to turn in 1Q10, with a cumulative total of 125bp of rate hikes in both the repo and reverse repo rates in 2010.

The RBI has already taken the first step towards a policy exit - and a smooth and calibrated policy withdrawal will indeed be much better than a steep rate hiking cycle later on. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

MUMBAI, OCTOBER 27 :
THE consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Kotak Mahindra Bank was up 86 per cent to Rs. 299.8 crore in Q2FY10 from Rs. 160.9 crore in Q2FY09. The bank's board of directors took on record unaudited consolidated and stand-alone results for Q2FY10, at the board meeting held in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Consolidated advances as on September 30, 2009 was Rs. 26,772 crore, registering a growth of 11 per cent over the consolidated advances of Rs. 24,027 crore as on September 30, 2008. Consolidated capital adequacy ratio including current quarter profit for H1FY10 as per Basel II as on September 30, 2009 is 20.7 per cent. Tier 1 ratio was 18.3 per cent.

Excluding current quarter profit the consolidated capital adequacy ratio as per Basel II is 19.2 per cent.Tier 1 ratio was 16.9 per cent. Total assets managed / advised by the Group as on September 30, 2009 were Rs. 53,899 crore.

The domestic mutual fund now ranks fifth among private sector players with the average assets under management for September 2009 being Rs. 36,247 crore as compared to Rs. 18,204 crore for the month of March 31, 2009.

The bank's board approved the appointment of Dr. Sudipto Mundle as an Additional Director on the Board of Directors of the Bank. Dr. Mundle is currently Emertus Professor (Hon.), National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.

He was a Director, Strategy & Policy Department, Asian Development Bank. The Board also took note of the resignation of Mr. Shishir Bajaj as a Director, in view of the fact that a company in which Mr. Bajaj is a substantial shareholder and Director is registering as a NBFC. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)