BusinessSpecial Digest Issue 1 Onam
September 2010
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Vol. 17 Issue 9
Kochi September 2010
Give and take policy - a must - A.M. -
Onam provides an opportunity for introspection. Not only the politicians but the bureaucracy, judiciary and media have to think to find out some ways for peaceful co-existence, development of the state and delivery of justice. The hacking of the hand of a college teacher by the extremist elements was shocking. The ruling coalition and the opposition parties must give thought to the fact that whether their earlier support to the protest against the professor provided encouragement to the attackers. The growth of extremism in Kerala has been disturbing. Although law has to be en-
forced to quell terrorism, the people involved in this activities alone can root out the menace. They have to change. In this context, the fresh cases against Abdul Nazer Madhani have to be considered. Madhani made it clear that he did wrong in the past and now a changed man. But BJP and Congress were trying hard to >> Turn to page 2
‘We are absolutely upbeat about Indian market’: Balendran Business News Service General Motors India is definitely on a roll these days, says P. Balendran, Vice President (Corporate Affairs), GM India. Annoucing the Onam offers of GM in Kochi Balendran added, ‘We are absolutely upbeat about Indian market.’ Launched in 2003, Chevrolet has become one of the most popular and fastest growing automotive brands in the country, having sold 3 lakh cars in the country. The comP. Balendran: Going Strong
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R.N.I. Registration No. 62545/94
Smart card for Snap shots travel across cities Deep brain Some months from now, stimulation may you will be able to travel on a help Alzheimer’s variety of modes of public
Doctors in Toronto, Canada have proved that the use of Deep Brain Stimulation on patients with early signs of Alzheimer’s is safe and it may help in improving their memory. Dr. Andres M. Lozano and his team at Toronto Western the Metro - in select cities, us- Hospital carried out the phase ing just one smart card. The one safety trial of six Ontario common mobility card, called the ‘One India Card’, that the urban development ministry is currently working on, will be introduced first in Delhi on a pilot basis, shortly before the Commonwealth Games start in October. It will then be extended to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chandigarh. With a single card - and patients that took place from without buying any ticket - a 2005 to 2008. All patients left commuter will be access trains the hospital within 2 to 3 days and buses in all these cities of surgery, and continue to paronce transport operators ticipate in regular follow-up transport - buses, local trains,
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Business Digest
September 2010
Owing to a rather ‘ironical’ ad campaign, an Amsterdam hotel, which claimed to be ‘the worst hotel in the world’, has become a huge hit with travellers in the city.The campaign, by advertising agency KesselsKramer, paints the Hans Brinker budget hotel in Amsterdam as dirty, uncomfortable and lacking basic necessities such as beds. Although the advertisers promoted the hotel in dog poo, the 650-bed hotel is attracting customers in large numbers and runs at around 80 per cent occupancy even in the low season.The hotel’s success is fully attributed the advertising campaign, which “takes honesty to the extreme” and are “revered and reviled in equal measure”, said the company’s Dave Bell, Creative Direcwebsite.The ads promote the tor and Partner at hotel as “similar to hell, but KesselsKramer, said that the without proper heating”. hotel has found a unique sell-
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‘World’s worst hotel’ is now a hit with travellers!
ing-point.”Everybody is always trying to be the best, but there are merits in being the worst. May be more people should
strive to be the worst at something, when you’re the worst you have a lot more room to be creative and do your own
thing,” News.com.au quoted Bell as saying.In a YouTube video, the hotel promotes itself as “accidentally eco-friendly”-
having a lack of services such as cleaning and elevators that are out of order means it uses less energy.”The Hans Brinker budget hotel has been helping the planet, unintentionally, since 1970,” said one advertisement.”Here is a hotel where the light bulbs don’t work. A hotel whose showers have less hot water than is standard. Where elevators stay out of order for days. And whose vacuum cleaners’ buttons are rarely switched on,” the hotel said in the YouTube video. “To lessen our impact on the environment staff do as little as possible for guests. An ecoelevator ensures that the only energy spent going to the room is your own,” said a poster.” Leave the towel on the rack. We won’t wash it. Leave the towel on the floor. We still won’t wash it,” said another poster.
‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ is powered by ‘Idea’ The most popular TV Game show ever on Indian Television, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, has got an ‘Idea’ this year! The popular show to be hosted by Superstar Amitabh Bachchan is ‘powered by’ Idea Cellular, as the leading pan-India mobile operator has obtained the ‘Telecom partner’ rights of the show. KBC phone and SMS lines, powered by Idea, have been
announced open for all Indian citizens, residing in India and of 18 years or above, for registering for the show. Additionally, 7 Crore Idea subscribers across the country can access ‘Idea Pass’ to register for the show. An exclusive offer for Idea subscribers, ‘While accessing through Idea Pass, Idea subscribers need to respond to 5 exclusive Questions of KBC on the specially
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land Madhani again in prison for political reasons. Kunhalikutty’s allegation that CPM encouraged extremism to weaken Muslim League during 2006 Assembly election was not baseless. ‘Business Digest’ pointed out the danger behind the CPM strategy at that time itself. LDF accused Muslim League of inaction on the issue of Babri Masjid to attract communal Muslim votes. It was a known fact that, All India Muslim League, the party, only recently deserted CPM has been more communal than Indian Union Muslim League. Although Kunhalikutty blames CPM for Muslim extremism, it was a fact that after the last Assembly elections Muslim League has returned to extremism to regain the lost ground. NDF (Popular Front) was their strong ally in last Lok Sabha elections. Recently Kunhalikutty
was initiating discussion with Jama-at-e Islami as well for a strong communal alignment. But liberal faces in the party like M.K. Muneer proved successful in thwarting that move. Now only after the palm chopping incident, the official leadership of IUML came to a liberal mood. What happened our judges? One judge was utilising a public platform to justify his judgement and challenge his critics. Another judge states that it has been mafia reign in the state. The state of affairs will be very bad if even the judges take such an extreme position. What has been our approach on development? Look back to Kinaloor incident - a big crowd blocked the land survey for the road to Kinfra Park at Kinaloor, Kozhikode district. Instead of supporting a
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modernise their fleet to make them compatible for use with smart cards. “It will be a multipurpose card, valid for all operators - government as well as private - and on all modes of local travel. It can be extended to taxis too at a later stage. In time, it will be possible to buy inter-city travel tickets and util-
ity items as well using the card,” said M. Ramachandran, urban development secretary. The funding will be shared by central government under its flagship Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and by the respective transport operators in the concerned cities.
designed IVR by dialing ‘55456’ (Add ‘01-04’ for the answer Options A-D. For eg. ‘5545601’ for ‘A’). Idea subscribers can also SMS their response to the short code 55456. According to Ms. Anupama Ahluwalia, Vice President – Marketing, IDEA Cellular Ltd., “Idea’s association with Kaun Banega Crorepati is a major milestone in our brand building and customer engagement inimammoth developmental project almost all political parties supported the move against it. Sangh Parivar, Jama-at-e Islami, Muslim League, Popular Front and Naxalites were united to block the survey and attacked police personnels. The alliance of communal elements and left extremists can be seen in all the anti-developmental movements in the state. The same has been happening in national level as well. The hue and cry against the proposed Cyber City project at Kalamassery was another move against development of the state. The argument against the project was that the sale of HMT land to the Bluestar Company was unauthorised. But Supreme
tiatives this year. The tie-up will provide 7 Crore Idea subscribers an additional gateway of opportunity to be a ‘Crorepati’, by simply using the Idea network while responding to the Questions of Kaun Banega Crorepati. We have created special lines to accommodate millions of callers and give them an opportunity to realize their dreams through this unique show”.
Idea has also struck a deal with KBC to ensure unique brand visibility during the show. ‘Idea’ signature tune will be heard everytime the contestant on the Hot-Seat calls a friend through the lifeline – ‘Phone-afriend’. KBC Host and Quiz Master Amitabh Bachchan’s voice will be heard on Idea IVR and will also be available for download as Dialer Tones. IDEA Cellular has also planned to launch a range of special KBC VAS packs and KBC Court has made it clear that Game exclusively for Idea subthere was nothing wrong in the deal. Meanwhile the project got delayed and now nothing can be heard about it. How much money has Nucleus Software Exports been spent and how many columns of newspapers have Limited a leading global probeen utilised to get a mangrove vider of integrated software theme park closed down? One products for banks and finanof our M.P. spent all his energy cial institutions, announced a major order win from for the purpose. The problem in the coun- Dhanlaxmi Bank, one of the try, especially in Kerala was fastest growing mid-size prithat the opposition parties op- vate sector banks in India. pose every project being imple- Nucleus will implement its mented by the government and award winning FinnOne suite while the same parties come of products across the Bank’s into power they will try to imple- 271 branches to power its rement the same project or tail lending business. The new order win will help projects of the same nature. Then the erstwhile ruling alli- Nucleus to further strengthen ance will oppose the same and consolidate its position in project mooted by themselves. the domestic market, while the
Nucleus Software bags order from Dhanlaxmi Bank
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cognitive assessments.Lozano said that during these assessments half the patients continue to perform better than predicted - that is - their memory capacity has improved, or deteriorated less than expected.”While the study was not looking for efficacy, the results suggest that of the six patients, three may have done better than if the Alzheimer’s disease was allowed to run its course,” Lozano said.”We
scribers. The new initiatives will be rolled out in a phased manner throughout the build-up period and after the show goes on-air in October 2010. Idea is known for unique brand associations with prestigious properties in the genres of Music, Cinema, Entertainment & Cricket. Idea’s association with such premium programs enables it to offer rich content to its subscribers, making it the highest VAS revenue grosser in the industry.
showed that not only is this a safe procedure, but that the evidence is there to warrant a bigger trial. Any amount of time that extends quality of life and quality years to someone with Alzheimer’s may be a benefit,” he added. Lozano first discovered the potential for DBS to treat Alzheimer’s disease while treating a patient for obesity using DBS back in 2003. While signaling areas of the brain,
Lozano and his team triggered memories in the patient. In follow-up testing the patient’s memory improved and Dr. Lozano set in motion the first ever DBS trial of patients with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.”We’ve demonstrated this is safe, and that the evidence warrants more study. We’re now planning a phase two, multi-centred trial - we’re just waiting on the funding,” Lozano said.
implementation of Finn One will facilitate Dhanlaxmi Bank to set-up a state-of-the-art platform for its retail lending business. FinnOne will enable Dhanlaxmi Bank to efficiently manage all the stages of loan application process, right from defining products and entering applicant details to verifying, approving and disbursing loan, and from maintaining repayment details to loan closure. The core lending platform will help the Bank to service its retail customers more efficiently and enhance productivity. Muralidharan R, President, Information Technology & Operations, Dhanlaxmi Bank said that retail lending will be the focus this year for the Bank and considering the high volume of loan transactions in retail assets business, the Bank required a robust end to end solution that facilitates quick turnaround time. Niraj Vedwa, COO, Nucleus Software Exports Limited said that the Company will give Dhanlaxmi Bank the technological edge in offering world-class products and services to their customers.
Business Digest
September 2010
Our National Anthem deserves more respect - O.P. Joseph Recently I was reading an old book ‘ “From here to eternity”. I was reading the book for the fourth time. Yes, where shall we go from here? And what do we do here? Life has become most unbearable. You turn to any side of life - left or right. You will see ignorance and utter lies are hiding in the form of loud laughter. Wherever you go, you will see only a life without character, education without knowledge. They say our nation is growing. National conscience and political spirit are high. But we can’t see this spirit even among our social institutions. Scant reverence is given even to our national anthem. It now reminds me an incident which happened in 1978. I was attending a dinner on board a British ship. The cruiser was anchored at Calcutta harbour. Ofcourse it was a super dinner serving continental and chinese delicacies. But the meeting was more delicious in which dignity and decorum were maintained throughout. No sooner the meeting was over than the band played British national anthem, “God save the king”. It was an unforgettable moment. The British people
stood up with heads forward. And all stood up with attention with their thumps in their pants pockets, till the national anthem was over. But what a different picture we see in our country! An year ago, I was attending a club meeting in our ‘district’. When the meeting was over, all the members stood up inattentively. Scant reverence was given to the song, each singing in his own way, to his own time, making the entire atmosphere a Babel tower. Some members were standing bending; some others were standing at ease. Some others were standing with crossed arms. To some members, it was a time to light cigarettes, the others to collect their things like umbrellas, files, folders etc. There was no civic sense at all. It is high time for our society to conduct orientation courses for our national anthem. It is said that beauty of India lies in her great diversity in the ability to borrow and absorbe outside influences. Why not then we copy the disciplined British people and adopt their habit of full support and reverence when our national anthem is sung?
Business Digest Best Awards Foundation to institute Management Guru Award India has several world-class Management experts among Indian academics, Indian Administrative Services and Public and Private sector. The Foundation is inviting nominations from Indians for the award of title, MANAGEMENT GURU and the awardees will be decided based on Business Digest best awards foundation Criteria. The Foundation is an associate of a 17-year old Business magazine in India. Award will be conferred by a wellqualified Jury and comprises of a citation, a write up in the proposed Compendium of Management Gurus of India, a medal and year - long opportunity to write in Business Digest magazine about their work.
Those who want to be considered for this award are encouraged to write to the Chairman of the awards committee at a5newventure@yahoo.com and a copy marked to amadhavan1@rediffmail.com Since this is a private initiative supported by a media house, all decisions taken by the Foundation will be final. For more details: Business Digest Best awards Foundation Journalist Nagar, Maria Park Lane, Pipeline Road, Thrikkakara, Kochi - 682 021. Phone: 098471 78836. Landline: 0484 4025403, 2425211 and E Mail: amadhavan1@rediffmail.com
LIC registers 108% growth in new premium income During the first quarter of the current fiscal, Life Insurance Corporation of India has recorded a 108% jump in new business premium income to Rs.18740 crore as against Rs.9029 crore during the same period last year. According to the data by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) LIC’s market share increased to 73%. The new business premium increase of the insurance companies as a whole was 77%, from Rs.14,456 crore to Rs.25,522 crore. As LIC has grown by 108% the growth of
private insurers were only 21%. According to V.K. Sharma, Zonal Manager, LIC, the company could increase market share with the help of attractive products, aggressive and effective marketing strategy and corporate initiatives. As LIC’s premium income was Rs.18740 crore the total income achieved by all the private insurers stood at Rs.20037 crore.
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M.A. Yousuffali is the Business Man of the Year State Forum of Bankers’ Clubs, Kerala has selected Padmasree M.A. Yousuffali, Managing Director, EMKE Group as the Business Man of the Year 2010. K.U. Balakrishnan, General Secretary of the Forum said that the Award will be presented to Yousuffali at the Excellence Award function being held at Durbar Hall Ground Ernakulam on 7th November 2010. Yusuffali has been unanimously chosen for the Award taking in to account his excellent service to the Non residents Indians as well as his contribution to the economic betterment of our nation. The Emke group has been employing over 23100 personnels drawn from 29 nationalities, out of which more than 16800 are Indians. The Group
is best known in the Gulf through a chain of popular shopping malls “Lulu “ Hyper Market , department stores and super markets which serve the widest segments of multi ethnic residents in the region with an annual turnover of Rs.14000 crore. The Group is in the process of constructing the country’s largest shopping mall of 25 lakh sq. feet at Edappilly in Kochi. The first ever excellent Award ceremony of the Forum >> Turn to page 7
Business Digest
September 2010
Book Review
Serious Men By Manu Joseph ISBN: 9788172238520 Fourth Estate- An imprint of Harper Collins India Coming from a Malayalee, one would expect SERIOUS MEN as made for the Malayalee. Not surprisingly, even though it is the first full length novel by the International Author Manu Joseph, it has the basic elements that any Malayalee would enjoy like the characters themselves, whom they may identify with people whom they know or whom they
are falling on Earth all the time, plummets after a major scandal, and he is rocked by the vicious office politics in the institute, Ayyan sees in the crisis an opportunity to further his own game and make his son a national celebrity. But in the exhilaration of the game lurks danger... Alternately funny and poignant, Serious Men is a savage satire on class, love, rela-
the latest in Indian Journalism. Is that some thing to with his living environment? Father was with UNI. Even his wife is a great writer. But then his growing up in Chennai and moving to Mumbai for work, a typical Malayalee distributed life has surely contributed to his writing of this novel. Novel not only released from India but also from USA, UK and with
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pany which invested over Rs.5000 crore in India has two plants in the country - one in Halal, Gujarath (capacity 85,000 units per annum) and another in Talegaon, Maharashtra (capacity 1,40,000 units). The construction of 1,60,000 unit engine manufacturing facility at Talegaon is in full swing and the same is expected to be com-
PNB to concentrate on low-cost deposits S. Ranganathan, Field General Manager, Punjab National Bank said that the Bank was concentrating on low cost deposits to enable it to control lending rates. He told press persons in Kozhikode that this is in consonance with the RBI policy to curtail inflation. Towards this end, the Bank is trying to open
more CASA accounts. PNB Kozhikode circle opened more than 7000 saving accounts during the first quarter of the current fiscal. The thrust on retail credit continued with the figure touching Rs.434.22 crore. According to S. Babu, Circle Head, the total business in Kozhikode Circle touched Rs.2,019.49 crore as on June
30, 2010. This has been a growth of 19.09%. The deposits stood at Rs.1,262.91 crore and credit at Rs.756.58 crore, a growth of 21.2% and 15.6% respectively. The CD ratio was 59.9%. Kozhikode circle with 80 branches comprises 6 districts - Kozhikode, Kasargode, Kannur, Wayanad, Malappuram and Palakkad.
Forex earnings and tonnage in spices exports scale up During April-June 2010, a total of 148,730 tonnes of spices and spice products valued Rs.1533.84 crores (US$336.43 Million) has been exported from the country as against 127,265 tonnes valued Rs. 1293.14 crores (US$ 275.19 Million) in AprilJune2009 registering an increase of 17 percent in volume and 19 percent in rupee terms of value. In dollar terms the increase is 22 percent.,says a
Spices Board press release. During April-June 2010, the exports of chilli, ginger, celery, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, other spices like tamarind, asafoetida, etc., have shown an increase both in volume and value as compared to AprilJune 2009. The export of value added products like curry powder and spice oils and oleoresin have also shown an increasing trend. However, in the case of cardamom (small) and tur-
meric there is an increase in terms of value only. The export of coriander has increased in terms of quantity only. The spices like cardamom (large), cumin, nutmeg & mace, mint products and other seeds has decreased both in volume and value as compared to last year. In the case of pepper export, there is a marginal decrease in both quantity and value as compared to last year.
Windows 7: a strong case to migrate
Manu Joseph with R.Chandrasekar, the reviewer.
think they know. From the story line, Ayyan Mani the main character, appears to be just another man in Bombay , stranded in the rot of a good marriage, an unremarkable life and a dead-end job as personal assistant to an insufferable astronomer called Arvind Acharya at the Institute of Theory and Research. But Ayyan is not as simple as he appears. To entertain himself and to give his wife the hope that they are heading towards a spectacular future, he embarks upon a secret game, weaving an outrageous fiction around his ten-year-old son. As he builds the small plots to promote the myth, he sets in motion a chain of events that soon threatens to overtake him. When the formidable reputation of Arvind Acharya, who is obsessed with the theory that microscopic extraterrestrials
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tionships, and our veneration of science. Where Manu departs from the others is the plot itself. Clearly it is an Pan Indian plot. One sees a lot of interesting things about life in India, in some parts even where the author has lived and had he first hand experience. The authenticity is evident in every page. Being a senior journalist, though born in Kerala, one can easily see Manu becoming a International best seller-producing author as Kerala has produced many such authors including the old and the modern. Perhaps the prevalence of high literacy has something to do with this. Manu is not only senior but also well experienced in his craft. Having started with Society magazine, moving onto Outlook, Economic Times, Times of India he has found his peace with open,
translated versions in several European languages including Serbian. Being young and lot more years to go, one hopes that Manu will be a prolific author and do the next book with modern day Kerala as the setting as there are many plots worth his notice and characterization. Can he continue to be a best selling International author, time only will tell. But if every self respecting novel reader in this country, cares to buy at least three books every year written by Indians like Manu Joseph, then our own Manu will continue his creative work. Ultimately one may be an international author, but that is purely for recognition but the support has to come from India. Of course at least the highly literate Keralites will do their best for their fellow Malayaee one hopes.
With the release of Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 7, there is a wave of excitement through the IT industry and the end users. We surveyed a subset of its 90,000 annual subscribers in the run-up to the launch to understand their perceptions and intent for migrating to Windows 7. I am personally encouraged by their response to the new operating system, which has significant improvements in the user interface and manageability.The survey cites that 61% consumers think they will upgrade to Windows 7 at some point, of which 48% will migrate by the end of 2010. Understanding the consumers’ intent for migrating on their existing machine, as opposed to buying a new PC, shows that an encouraging 36% consum-
ers expect to upgrade to Windows 7 on their existing hardware. However, nearly a half (47%) think they may require professional assistance with their migration to Windows 7. While this perception may be attributed to their last experience with an operating system upgrade, our product bench has been testing the migration for Windows Vista and Windows XP users. Cutting straight to the verdict, it’s a seamless upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista, however, migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 is a more challenging task. The migration from Windows XP—close to 70% desktops run on it—to Windows 7 requires a clean install of the new operating system, and customers will need to re-
missioned during November this year. This is the first flexi engine plant in the GM world wherein both petrol and diesel small car engines are going to be manufactured. GM India has also set up a Technical centre at Bangalore. The company is rapidly expanding its dealership and service centres to support the market demand for its cars. GM India is currently present in 203 locations
in 178 cities across the country with 207 sales points and 200 auhtorised service outlets. According to Balendran the number of dealership and service centres will be increased to 300 each during the current year. The company is targeting sale of one lakh cars during the current year. Last year it was 70,000. Balendran said that GM has already achieved 88%
growth in sales in Kerala during the calendar year. The August-September 2010 target is 3000 units as against 1250 during the same period last year. If the above target is achieved the growth for the company in Kerala this year will be 100%. According to Balendran now-a-days public sector banks in the country were playing greater role in vehicle fi-
nancing. In the changed scenario 40% of the car financing have been performed by the public sector banks. ‘Unless you tie up with the public sector banks, you can’t enter into the rural markets. 60% of the vehicle sale has been happening in tier-2, tier-3 cities now. So we have recently tied up with SBI, Bank of Baroda and Canara bank for car financing’, adds Balendran.
- Vishal Dhar install their applications and migrate their settings, configuration, playlists, bookmarks etc. Our prediction is that 40% of those who are migrating to Windows 7 will require additional assistance of some kind. If we combine that with estimates by IDC that 40 million users will migrate to Windows 7 by the end of the year, you have the prospect of tens of millions of users needing assistance with this process. To eliminate the wastage of money and frustration that go with such migration, several Websites have come out with ready-reference and step-bystep guide to application migration. We, at iYogi, too, have developed a free migration application for Windows XP users moving to Windows 7. This makes the process of migration quicker and easier, with stepby-step interface with guidelines and recommendations for the migration process. If you are ready for an upgrade on your existing PC, first, take the Windows 7 Readiness test to check for the compatibility of your system configuration, like hardware compatibility, software compatibility and disk space requirements for the operating system. Second, audit the applications that >> Turn to page 5
Business Digest
September 2010
Nupur Mitra inaugurates IOB’s Kottayam branch at the new premises Kottayam Branch of Indian Overseas bank was shifted from K K Road to Post Office Road. The new premises and on site ATM was inaugurated by Smt Nupur Mitra, Executive Director of IOB on 26th July 2010.
The new premises is fully air conditioned and comfortable with all amenities. Kottayam is one of the very old branches of the Bank. IOB has three Regions in Kerala viz. Ernakulam, Kozhikode and
Trivandrum, with a network of 143 branches and 48 ATMs. Ernakulam Region is headed by M S Ramani, Chief Regional Manager and the Region has 60 branches and 18 ATMs.
Smt. Nupur Mitra, Executive Director, IOB inaugurating the Kottayam branch of the Bank at a new premises in Post office Road. Senior Regional Manager, IOB, M.S. Ramani is also seen in the picture.
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are used by you and build a checklist with your settings and configuration that you would like to migrate. You can reference Microsoft’s Windows 7 Compatibility Centre to check if your application is compatible with Windows 7 http:// www.microsoft.com/windows/ compatibility/windows-7/en-us/ default. aspx. And then, download the free migration applications to assist you through the upgrade process by automatically migrating your user and applications settings to the new operating system as well as to move your important data, including documents, images, video, e-mails and more. Consumers also have the option of using Microsoft’s Windows
User State Migration Tool, a software wizard for transferring files and settings and data. Consumers using these options will then need to manually download and re-install applications from a customised webpage, served at the end of the session and finally restore your data and settings for a seamless transition to the new operating system. When moving to an old Windows XP computer to a new Windows 7 computer, users need to move their data, applications and settings via the network, cable or external media. If you are ready for a change, look beyond the headlines about interface tweaks and you’ll find Windows 7 is crammed with lesser known,
but still important, new and enhanced features, which, taken together, deliver improved performance and productivity, better troubleshooting, stronger security and a whole lot more. Our research cites that the current Windows Vista users (35%) were more excited about the Windows launch than the Windows XP users (29%). Although XP remains more capable for devices with limited memory and outdated graphics, Windows 7 performs better than Windows Vista. As PC becomes more central to our lives, how we use it at home, work and play has evolved dramatically after the launch of Windows XP. It’s time for a change. (The writer is presidentmarketing, iYogi)
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Sreenivasan does magic for KSFE Business News Service Actor Sreenivasan, the Brand Ambassador of The Kerala State Financial Enterprises, a state government undertaking has been contributing much to the growth and brand image of the company. Acknowledging the grand per-
‘Sreenivasan has been the customer-friendly face of the changing KSFE’, points out, P.C. Pillai, Managing Director. Dr. Thomas Isaac honoured Sreenivasan by draping a ‘Ponnada’ at the state level inaugural function of the
of the organisation. Since the Reserve Bank was reluctant to allow KSFE’s chitties to operate in the Gulf countries the Government has decided to setup a subsidiary in the Gulf. This subsidiary which will be operational by next year may
Dr. Thomas Isaac
Srinivasan
Mani Vithayathil
formance of the star, KSFE has honoured Sreenivasan at a function held recently in Kochi. ‘Sreenivasan’s image along with keen interest taken by the Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Isaac and the hard work of its employees helped KSFE to achieve big gains’, says, Adv. Mani Vithayathil, Chairman, KSFE. During the last 4 years the turnover has grown from Rs.4000 crore to Rs.10,500 crore. The KSFE, which was started by the state government in 1969 with an investment of Rs.20 crore has given back Rs.500 crore to the state and Union governments by way of taxes and dividends. The investment of KSFE in state government treasuries was Rs.1371 crore, thus contributing the development activities of the state, adds Mani Vithayathil.
P.C. Pillai
4th edition of KSFE’s ‘Ponnona Chitties’, which offers 7 Alto cars and 5 kilogram gold to 5000 customers as gifts. Launching the 4th edition of Ponnona Chitties Dr. Thomas Isaac said that knowing well, the fact that, the chitty business was a profitable one, government gave green signal to the KSFE to operate on a commercial basis, liberating from the grip of government secretariat. It helped a lot for the big growth
overtake the Parent Company in business, says Dr. Isaac. According to the Minister KSFE, during the current year, targets to consolidate its operation. Computerisation is progressing. The organisation has to undergo more improvement, the security formalities has to be further liberalised. Replying to the felicitation, Sreenivasan said that the vision of the finance minister was an important factor in the success of KSFE. Dominic Presentation M.L.A. presided over the function. K. Babu M.L.A., Union leaders C.B.C. Warrier, Adv. K. Raghavan Pillai, N. Sreenath, Secretary, Ernakulam Press Club, Santhakumaran Nair, representative of the customers of KSFE, K.M. Abdulla, A.B. Sabu and Leno Jacob also spoke on the occasion.
1 Large Network ² Over 2000 branches all over India and 142 in Kerala 2 Access your account from anywhere across the globe ² 100% CBS, Free Internet Banking and Mobile Banking 3 Cashless Transactions through Credit Cards/Debit Cards, Payment gateway and POS Machines. 4 Financial Inclusion through Smart Card Banking and Microfinance 5 A Comprehensive product Range to satisfy all your banking and financial needs.
To know more, log on to www.iob.in or visit your nearest branch.
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 6
PERFORMANCES
Apollo Tyres to pay 75% dividend
Union Bank clocks 36% jump in net profit
The Board of Directors of Apollo Tyres Ltd. met in Kochi decided to payout 75% dividend for its shareholders for the financial year 2009-’10. This will be the highest annual dividend payout in the history
Union Bank of India has recorded a 36% increase in net profit during the first quarter. Net profit was Rs.601 crore compared to Rs.442 crore in the corresponding period last year. M.V. Nair, Chairman & Managing Director, Union Bank of India at a press conference in Mumbai said that the big leap in interest income and tight expenditure control helped the Bank to achieve pretty growth in net profit. Net interest income jumped 65% to 1,347 crore against 817 crore during the last year. The growth in total expenditure was only marginal, from Rs.2,916.5 crore to 3,077 crore. Interest earned increased by 15.5%, from Rs.3,191 crore to Rs.3,686
M.V.Nair: Consistent performance
crore. Other income, comprising core fee-based income, treasury income and profit on sale of investment, declined 15% to Rs.435 crore from Rs.513 crore. Total deposits increased by 19%, from Rs.1,43,889 crore to Rs.1,71,484 crore. CASA deposits increased to 32.57% as against 30.40% in the first quarter of the last fiscal. Total advances rose to
30% from Rs.96,026 crore to 1,24,743 crore. According to M.V. Nair, as the economy is expected to grow 8% in fiscal 2010-’11 Union Bank’s deposits and advances will grow by 20% and 25% respectively. Executive Directors, S.C. Kalia and S. Raman were also present at the press conference.
overall efficiency and quality, the company also hopes to complete the expansion of its factory at Edayar soon in order to further enhance profitability and quality. In 12 months ending March 31, 2010, the company’s net profit rose 40% on year to 464.43 lakh rupees from 331.79 lakh rupees. The turnover rose 3.23% to 14,152.04 lakh rupees from 13,708.63 lakh rupees. The EPS went up 40% during the period. The Board had recommended a Dividend of 18% for 2009 -10 including the 9% interim dividend. Sree Sakthi Paper Mills Ltd., a professionally managed
organisation, was incorporated as a public limited company in 1991. It started off by making kraft paper at its unit located at Edayar Industrial Estate. In 1995, it set up another unit in Chalakkudi for the manufacture of duplex board. The third unit for the manufacture of kraft paper meant for the high-end segment was set up again at Edayar in the year 2006-07. The company which went public in 2005-06 had a turnover of Rs.7.28 crore in 1993-94. By 2009-10 it registered a stunning growth by touching a net turnover of Rs.143 crore. It’s targeting to achieve a turnover of Rs.240 crore in the next three years.
of the company. Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairman, Apollo Tyres, addressing the 37th Annual General Body Meeting in Kochi said that the spiralling prices of natural rubber will adversely affect the profitability of the company in the current fiscal. The first quarter result which shows only 11% growth in net profit reflects
the trend. In April 2009, the price of natural rubber was Rs.70 a kg. It doubld to Rs.145 a kg in March 2010. In July, the average price is Rs.180 a kg and is rising. Although international prices are falling since April, domestic prices keeps rising. In this context, Onkar requested the Central government to allow duty-free import of 2 lakh tonnes of natural rubber. Onkar has expressed concern at the non-coperative attitude of the trade union leadership in its Perambra unit, which has been under lockout for the past two and a half months. The company is losing out on production worth around Rs.300 crore due to the lockout. Apollo is the best paymaster and has been making huge investments in Kerala over the years. “We are leaving no stones unturned to ensure a speedy solution, one which is
viable in the long term benefits our employees and shareholders alike”, says, Onkar. Perambra, the first plant of Apollo has increased its daily
Onkar S. Kanwar
capacity from 109 tonnes to 300 tonnes during these years. Total investment was over Rs.400 crores. To stay competitive, the company wanted to make further investments for modernisation of Perambra plant and increase production capacity to 340 tonnes, adds, Kanwar.
NIIT Technologies reports Sree Sakthi Paper Mills Q1 turn strong Q1 results over up by 33.14% NIIT Technologies Limited, Profit for this quarter was Rs. growth in each vertical seg-
The net profit of the Kochibased Sree Sakthi Paper Mills Ltd went up by 42.67% to Rs. 146.58 lakhs in the quarter ended on June 30, 2010 compared with 102.74 lakhs rupees in same period of the previous year, a company release said. The turnover during the quarter rose 33.14% to Rs.4,367.60 lakhs from Rs.3280.38 lakhs a year ago, it said. The company plans 1 lac tonnes and targeting Rs.240 crores turnover on completing all expansion programs. While the company has been undertaking an ongoing process of modernization of plants which has helped it to improve its
NIIT Limited registers 32% growth in profit NIIT Limited, leading Global Talent Corporation and Asia’s largest IT trainer reported its results for the first quarter ending June 30, 2010. In this quarter, the company recorded Profit after Tax of Rs 13 Cror epresenting a 32% growth YoY. The Company’s Net Revenue stood at Rs. 278 Cr, up 7% YoY with System Wide Revenue growing by 9% YoY to Rs. 401 Cr. The EBITDA was at Rs. 28.7 Cr reflecting a margin of 10%. The results were taken on record at the meeting of the Board of Directors of NIIT Limited the other day. Commenting on the
company’s Q1 performance, Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman NIIT Limited, said, “We are making investments in people and marketing to cater to strong hiring in IT & other service sectors.”During the quarter NIIT launched training programs on Microsoft’s Azure platform, with a view to create talent for the fast growing cloud computing space. Under the ‘Global Partnership’ program with IGNOU, a series of ‘finishing school programs’ for enhancing employability were launched. Corporate Learning Solutions (CLS) recorded a net revenue of Rs. 137.7 Cr. Order intake for CLS was at USD 34
Mn for the quarter as a result of significant customer wins in Learning Products and Managed Training Services. The closing order book stood at USD 93 Mn, up 15 % YoY. Vijay K. Thadani, Chief Executive Officer, NIIT Limited, said “The Corporate Training Business recorded fresh order intake of USD 34 Mn, reflecting strong customer confidence” Individual Learning Solution (IT) recorded a net revenue of Rs 90.8 Cr, supported by 8 % increase in global enrolments. Placements grew at 14% YoY on the back of improving hiring. A revenue growth of 32% was recorded in China individual business.
a leading IT solutions organization, continued its sequential growth momentum with its first quarter result for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, showing consolidated revenues of Rs. 291.4 Crore, up 21.8% over the previous quarter. Operating
54.1 Crore while Profit After Tax stood at Rs. 40.8 Crore. “Strong growth came on the back of a significant intake of fresh orders in the last quarter,” ,said* Arvind Thakur, CEO, NIIT Technologies Ltd. There was all round sequential
ment”, he added. Maximum revenues during the quarter accrued in the domestic market with the execution of a major turnkey project for BSF. For the purpose of subsequent revenue analysis >> Turn to page 8
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 7
Bank of India net up 24% Bank of India has registered 24 per cent increase in net profit at Rs.725 crore in the first quarter against Rs.584 crore in the corresponding period last year. Alok K. Misra, CMD, at a press conference said that a healthy increase in net interest income, coupled with a tight lid on interest expenditure supported the bottomline in th reporting quarter. Global deposits, comprising domestic and foreign deposits, inched up 2 per cent (or by Rs.3,906 crore) to Rs.2,33,668 crore. Global advances edged up 3 per cent (or by Rs.5,508 crore) to Rs.1,76,825 crore mainly on
the back of increase in ad- June-end 2009). vances to corporate and small “Arresting NPAs could and medium enterprise seg- prove to be a challenge. ments. However, as the economy improves all stressed assets will perform better. We are proceeding cautiously on credit expansion,” said Alok K. Misra, Chairman and Managing Director. The Bank is planning to recruit 5,000-odd freshers and experienced bankers’ across various levels in the current financial year. Last year, the bank augmented its workforce by 3,992. Alok K. Misra M. Narendra and B.A. As of June-end 2010, Prabhakar, Executive Directors gross NPAs stood at Rs.4,795 were also present at the press crore (Rs.2,788 crore as of conference.
PNB net profit grows by 28% Punjab National Bank registered a 28.4% growth in net profit to Rs.1,068 crore during the first quarter, as against Rs.832 crore in the corresponding period last year. This bottom line growth has come despite a sharp increase in the provision for NPA at 548.36 crore. K.R. Kamath, Chairman & Managing Director, PNB told the media in New Delhi that the strong growth in interest income, lower cost of deposits and the success of the management in controlling the expenses were responsible for the good showing. Net interest income soared to Rs.45.4% to
Rs.2,618.57 crore. Also the riod last year. Total expenses Bank gained from a marginal rose only by 3.4%. The Bank decline in the interest paid on experienced a decline in other income at Rs.871.52 crore as against Rs.970.16 crore during the corresponding period last year. It was largely due to the lower trading profit of Rs.121 crore in the place of Rs.358 during the last quarter. PNB’s net interest margin was 3.94% compared to 3.57% during the last quarter of fiscal 2009-’10. This year the Bank is targeting a net interest margin of 3.5%. K.R. Kamath Nagesh Pydah and M.V. deposits, which was estimated Tanksale, Executive Directors at Rs.3092 crore, compared to were also present at the press Rs.3,123 crore during the pe- conference.
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held in Kochi on 27th September 2009 was a mega event which created a mark in the banking history of the State. Padmasree B.R. Shetty was awarded last time as the Business Man of the Year 2009. This time as well, Excellence Award for best perform-
ing banks, branches and best Bankers’ clubs will be presented. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer is heading the judging committee to select the winners of these awards. C.Harikumar [Former Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India & Banking Ombudsman
[Rtd] and George Joseph [ Former Chairman and Managing Director, Syndicate Bank ] are members of the panel.The panel of juries have already initiated their job. Abraham Tharian, Executive Director, South Indian Bank is the Chief Patron of the event.
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 8
IOB net at Rs.200.44 crore Corporation Bank achieves 28% increase in net
Indian Overseas Bank registered a net profit of Rs.200.44 crore during the first quarter. It was Rs.301.78 crore during the first quarter of the financial year 2009-’10. The Bank earned a total income of Rs.2882 crore as against Rs.2808 crore in the corresponding quarter last year
S.A. Bhat
Dhanalakshmi Bank raises Rs. 380.73 crore through QIP The Dhanalakshmi Bank Limited one of the fastest growing mid-size private sector banks in India, announced that it has successfully raised Rs. 380.73 crore through a Qualified Institutions Placement (“QIP”). The Bank placed 2,10,00,000 Equity Shares of face value Rs.10 (“Equity Shares”) at Rs. 181.30 per Equity Share, including a premium of Rs. 171.30, aggregating to Rs. 380.73 crore. The placement increases the overall capital adequacy ratio of the Bank to over 20% and Tier I capital adequacy ratio to over 16% (based on assets as at March 31, 2010).
The QIP increases the equity share capital to Rs. 85.12 crore, and the total shareholders’ funds to Rs. 820.81 crore, leading to a dilution of 24.7% on the expanded capital base. The market capitalisation of the Bank rose from Rs. 321.54 crore (as per NSE closing on March 31, 2009) to Rs. 1,528.25 crore (calculated as per NSE closing on July 19, 2010 and 85.1 million shares). Speaking on the successful completion of the QIP, Amitabh Chaturvedi, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Dhanalakshmi Bank said: “The favourable response from investors and their belief in our long term growth story is a tes-
timony of our progress to be among the top private sector banks in India. The enhanced capital base suitably positions Dhanalakshmi Bank for phase II of business expansions plans. The fresh inflow will be used to augment our capital adequacy ratio and for further expansion of our business.” IDFC Capital Limited and JM Financial Consultants Private Limited were the Book Running Lead Managers to the QIP. The domestic legal advisors to the QIP were Amarchand & Mangaldas and Suresh A. Shroff & Co. and Dorsey and Whitney LLP were the international legal advisors to the Book Running Lead Managers.
30% and Manufacturing/Distribution to 10%. Government revenues expanded the most representing 9% of revenues on the back of execution for BSF and support to the APDRP program. 40m USD of fresh orders were booked during the quarter and 3 new customers were added taking the order book executable over the next 12 months to USD 149.Operations remained efficient with Operating Profits improving to Rs. 54.1Crore and Operating Margins at 18.6%.
“In spite of bought outs for BSF in the revenue mix ,Operating Margins improved by 51 bps over the same period last year,” /said* Mr. Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Technologies Ltd. *”/Operating Profit remained accretive improving by 2% sequentially”,he added. Net Profits more than doubled improving by 131.6% over the same period last year to Rs.40.8 Crore but declined over previous quarter due to increased provisions for tax on account of higher domestic revenue.
From page 6
bought out elements in the project are excluded. Revenues excluding BSF bought out saw share from India increase to 16%. Business in the US also experienced sequential growth increasing its revenue share to 36%, while EMEA declined to 35% on account of lower realization as a result of weakening currencies in Europe even as volumes grew. All major verticals experienced sequential growth with BFSI contributing to 42% of revenues, Travel &Transport to
Onam Greetings A well wisher
Corporation Bank achieved a 28% growth in net profit during Q1. Net profit was Rs.334 crores compared to Rs.261 crore during the corresponding quarter last year. J.M. Garg, Chairman & Managing Director at a press conference in Mumbai said that considerable growth in interest income and CASA deposits were instrumental in lifting the net profit. Net interest income jumped 49% to 698 crore. Low-
J.M. Garg
cost current and savings accounts (CASA) deposits improved to 24%. The growth was 23% during the same period last year. According to CMD, raising CASA deposits was a big challenge and the Bank intended to step up efforts to garner these deposits. The target set by the Bank was 30% increase in CASA by the end of this financial year.
Andhra Bank posts 25% rise in net Andhra Bank posted a 25% growth in net profit during the first quarter of the current fiscal. The net profit was Rs.320.41 crore as agianst Rs.256.22 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The growth in net profit was driven by purge in the interest income. According to R.S. Reddy, Chairman & Managing Director, Andhra Bank, the net interest income was Rs.736.25
R.S. Reddy
crore, where as it was Rs.441.37 crore in the same period last year. The net interest margin went up to 3.72%. Total business of the Bank has grown by 25% at 1,31,844 crore as agianst Rs.1,05,822 crore during the same period last year. This growth was backed by the Bank’s strategy to diversify into segments with better yields, says, Reddy.
Robust growth in Karnataka Bank’s net interest income The Mangalore-based Karnataka Bank has registered a growth of 16.02% during the first quarter. The net profit was Rs.46.48 crore as against Rs.40.06 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net interest income stood at Rs.119.46 crore compared with Rs.46.55 crore last year, recording a growth of 156.63%. P. Jayarama Bhat, MD, The cost of deposits came Karnataka Bank Ltd. down to 6.97% against 8.17% during the last year. The other income was Rs.68.68 crore.
The total deposits stood at Rs.23,969.58 crore compared to Rs.21,110.16 crore during last year and advances was Rs.14,469.51 crore in the place of Rs.11,632.15 crore. According to P. Jayarama Bhat, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the private bank, robust growth in net interest income and reduction in cost of deposits have helped the Bank to register such a big growth.
GAIL Q 1 net profit increases 35% to Rs. 887 crore GAIL (India) Limited registered an increase of 18% in Turnover (net of Excise) of ‘ 7,096 crore in the 1st quarter of FY 2010-11 against ‘6,039 crore in the corresponding previous year quarter. The Profit Before Tax increased by 34% to ‘1322 crore in the 1st quarter of the current financial year against ‘ 987 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous year. The Net Profit during the 1st quarter of FY 2010-11 increased by 35% to ‘ 887 crore against ‘ 656 crore in the corresponding previous year quarter. GAIL has shared ‘ 445 crore towards LPG and Kerosene subsidy in the first quarter of the current financial year as compared to ‘ 75 crore during the corresponding previous
year quarter. During the quarter, revenue from LPG transmission has increased by 8 percent to ‘ 114 crore as against ‘ 106 crore
B.C. Tripathi, CMD, GAIL
in the corresponding quarter of last year. The net sales from LPG and Liquid Hydrocarbons business during the first quarter of the current financial year have increased by 14 percent
to ‘ 781 crore as against ‘ 686 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. The net sales from Natural Gas Trading during the first quarter of the current financial year have increased by 17 percent to ‘ 5,452 crore as against ‘ 4,642 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last year. The revenue from Natural Gas Transmission during the first quarter of the current financial year has increased by 22% to ‘ 897 crore as against ‘ 733 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The increase in revenue is mainly due to higher volume of Natural Gas Transmission, higher production of LPG & Liquid Hydrocarbons and increase in price of APM gas & Polymers.
Business Digest
September 2010
Reducing global warming Will Indian cites take the cue from London to reduce the air and noise pollution of the ever increasing traffic? As one of the early birds to follow London Mayor Boris Johnson’s HIRE THE BIKE scheme, an young Indian Executive has wholeheartedly supported the cause for this environment friendly measure in London . Under this
program which was launched row the bicycle for a nomion 30th July 2010, persons who nal cost. There are 6000 bikes sponsored by Barclays for this initiative and 400 docking stations throughout the city. The cycle can be taken from any docking station and can be returned back to any station with the use of the electronic key which is given at the time of regisare interested to use bicycle for tration for this scheme. - Dr. Sashikala Chandrasekar commuting will be able to bor-
Yesudas wins Mirchi Lifetime Achievement Award Dr. K.J. Yesudas won the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Radio Mirchi Music Award 2009 for Malayam film music. Yesudas also adjudged as the the best film male vocalist (filmBanaras) by the Jury headed by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. Other winners are Ms. Shreya Ghosal – best female vocalist (Film Banaras), Prithviraj- upcoming male vocalist (Puthiya Mukham), Ms.
Divya B. Nair- upcoming female vocalist (Bharya Onnu Makkal Moonnu), Ms. Aparna Karimbil- upcoming lyricist (Prabhavam), Afzal Yousefupcoming music composer (Calender), Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma-film lyricist (Neelathamara), M. Jayachandran- Music composer (Banaras), Violinist Rex Issacs- outstanding contribution to Malayalam film music, and Sam Davassie- best tech-
nical sound engineer (Banaras). Banaras has been adjudged as the Album of the Year and “madhuram Gayathri” from Banaras the Song of the Year. Mirchi Listener choice was ‘Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja’ as the best album and “Anuraga” from Neelathamara, best song. Critic award for album goes to “Seetha Kalyanam” and for song “Etho January Masam” from the film “Orkkuka Vallappozhum”.
Dr. K.J. Yesudas after receiving the Mirchi Music Award for Life-time contribution to the Malayalam film music. Actor Innocent is also seen.
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Page No. 9
Mundancheril Rubber Nursery for quality planting materials Mathew Sebastian’s Mundancheril Rubber Nursery, established in 1992 is situated at Kurupanthara in Kottayam district. Today, Mundancheril Rubber nursery is one of the leading suppliers of planting materials with more than 50 employees and two units. According to Mathew, Managing Director of Mundancheril nursery, they provides most efficient and professional service to their customers by delivering saplings on time. Mundancheril has an efficient transportation facility to satisfy the needs of their customers by delivering without any delay.
Mathew Sebastian
They have a team of trained staff to handle these affairs. Good inter-personal and intra- personal relationship persists between the management and staff of the Company, leading to dedication and sin-
cerity from the side of the employees. Over the last several years, Mundancheril Rubber nursery has transformed itself into a leading branded and value-added nursery. Today, they are marketing rubber saplings to all over the state and out of Kerala to states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Mundancheril takes pleasure in introducing itself as the suppliers of genuine quality planting materials to the satisfaction of the growers. RRII105, RRII-414, RRII-430 saplings and budded saplings are available with Mundancheril..
Ian Walker is the skipper of Volvo Ocean Race Abu Dhabi team Two-time Olympic medallist, Ian Walker of Great Britain, has taken the helm as skipper for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race title pursuit, as the emirate’s newest sporting outfit readies for the ‘Everest of Sailing’. Appointed by the team’s backer, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), Walker will lead an 11-strong crew hoping to stake its claim in one of the world’s toughest, most extreme sporting challenges. ADTA, which was behind the emirate’s successful bid to become a Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 host city, believes Walker’s ap-
pointment is a major coup for Abu Dhabi’s inaugural title tilt. “Ian is the lynchpin in the dream team we are determined to secure,” explained Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, ADTA. “His high profile sends a signal of the seriousness of our ambitions in a sport which will help us build international awareness of our long maritime pedigree and exceptional coastline and surrounding waters.” As design consultant on ADTA’s planned, specially designed Volvo Open 70, Walker will be out to capitalise on years of experience to guide the outfit through nine-months
of intense, head-to-head sailing over 39,000 nautical miles comprising four of the world’s most treacherous oceans. “The emirate’s participation is a huge step forward for sailing. Abu Dhabi is a great venue and the conditions are perfect for a sailing destination. This will certainly encourage other sailing events and championships to come to this part of the world and is already inspiring the local population to get fully behind sailing. The entire emirate, including nationals, is eager to embrace the race and get behind its team. This is going to be a fantastic journey.”
Business Digest
September 2010
Top 10 things that sound dirty, but in a law firm, are not
THE LIFE
What is friendship? Friendship is a rare jewel that shines,only when You give it a sunny smile. Friendship is a lock that opens, only when You unlock Your true self to it. Friendship is a song, which is sung, only when you know its rhythm. Friendship is a dream, which comes true, only when you
believe in it. Friendship is a throne, on which you can sit,only when you share your kingdom with it. Friendship is an album of reminiscences, which you can leaf through, only when you cherish it. Friendship is a lamp,which lights,only when you know it will assuage your heart.Friendship
is a lantern, which glows, only when you need the warmth of it. Friendship is a language, which you speak, only when you know the meaning of it. Friendship is a potpourri of feelings, which you can smell, only when you have a true friend like you.
You are wonderful The following story captures every heart. It happened several years ago in the Paris opera house. A famous singer had been contracted to sing, and ticket sales were booming. In fact, the night of the concert found the house packed and every ticket sold. The feeling of anticipation and excitement was in the air as the house manager took the stage and said, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your enthusiastic support. I am afraid that due
to illness, the man whom you’ve all come to hear will not be performing tonight. However, we have found a suitable substitute we hope will provide you with comparable entertainment. The crowd groaned in disappointment and failed to hear the announcer mention the stand-in’s name. The environment turned from excitement to frustration. The stand-in performer gave the performance everything he had. When he had finished, there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence. No one
applauded. Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy stood up and shouted, Daddy, I think you are wonderful! The crowd broke into thunderous applause. We all need people in our lives who are willing to stand up once in a while and say, I think you are wonderful. And at times others are expecting this from you.Are you telling them how wonderful you are .......?????. Say it now and make someone’s day more pleasant.
Two frogs A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died. The other
frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us? “The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time. This story teaches two lessons: 1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help
them make it through the day. 2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words... It is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
The story of $800 A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the nextdoor neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that
towel, “ After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that?”
“It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies. “Great,” the husband says, “did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?” Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.
The wife and the window A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning, while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hang the wash outside. That laundry is not very clean, she said, she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap. Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every
Page No. 10
time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments. About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: “Look! She has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this.” The husband said: “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows!” And so it is with life:
“What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look. Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking for something in the person we are about to judge.”
10. Have you looked at the last minute. 3. Can you get him to through her briefs? 6. Is it a penal offence? drop his suit? 9. He is one hard judge. 5. Better leave the hand2. The judge gave her the 8. Counsellor, let’s do it in cuffs on. stiffest one he could. chambers. 4. For $200 an hour, she 1. Think you can get me 7. Her attorney withdrew better be good! off?
Examinations special 1) Special offer....... . Bring a chit on exam day, scratch and show it to your nearest teacher and win free trip to Principal’s office and enjoy 3 years vacation at home.Hurry offer valid until exams only.... 2) It takes 15 trees to pro-
duce the amount of paper that we use to write our exam once (excluding supplementary) . Join us in promoting the noble cause of saving trees. Say No to exams 3) Student’s declaration at the end of answer paper: “I hereby declare that an-
swers written above are true to the best of mine and my friend’s knowledge and I claim no responsibility whatsoever for any mistakes. Whatever I have written is truly fictitious and any resemblance with the subject matter is purely coincidental.”
Customer: No, I can’t. Waiter:Then does it really matter? Customer: Waiter, there’s a dead beetle in my soup. Waiter: Yes sir, they are not very good swimmers. Customer: Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup. Waiter:That’ s all right sir, he won’t drink much. Waiter: I’ve stewed liver, boiled tongue and frog’s leg. Customer: Don’t tell me your problems. Give the menu card. Customer:Waiter, there’s a
fly swimming in my soup. Waiter: So what do you expect me to do, call a lifeguard? Customer: Waiter, what’s the meaning of this fly in my tea up? Waiter: I wouldn’t know sir, I’m a waiter, not a fortune teller. Man: How old is your father? Boy: As old as me. Man : How can that be? Boy: He became a father only when I was born.
Is this my train? Lady: Is this my train?. Station Master : No, it belongs to the Railway. Lady: Don’t try to be funny. I mean to ask if I can take this train to New Delhi. Station Master: No Madam, I’m afraid it’s too heavy. Customer: Waiter, do you serve crabs? Waiter: Please sit down sir, we serve everyone. Customer: Waiter, is this a lamb chop or pork chop? Waiter:Can’t you tell the difference by taste?
What is B.E.? 8 semesters are there, 80 80 KB we remember, 80 Bytes get, The Degree finally we get GB syllabus, 80 MB we study, we answer, BINARY marks we is BE. That is Brain Empty (B.E)
What is knowledge? During work, Raman and Narayan were chatting: Raman: Narain, I’ve been attending night classes for 5 months now and I have an exam next week. Narayan: oh! Raman: For example, do you know who is Graham Bell? Narayan: No Raman: He’s the inventor of the phone in 1876; if you
take night Courses you would know this. The next day, the same discussion took place: Raman: Do you know who Alexander Dumas is? Narayan: No Raman: He’s the author of “The 3 Musketeers”, if you take night courses, you would know this. The next day, once again: Raman: And do you know who Jean Jacques Rousseau is? Narayan: No
Raman: He’s the author of “Confessions”, if you take night courses, you would know this. This time, Narayan got irritated and said: And you, do you know who is Balakrishnan Kuppuswamy? Raman: No Narayan: He’s the guy roaming with your wife!! If you stop night courses, you would know.
What happens when desi returns from USA? 21.Tries to use Credit Card in road side hotel. 20.Drinks and carries Mineral Water and always speaks of Health. (proving to be very health conscious). 19.Sprays DEO such so that he doesn’t need to take bath. 18.Sneezes and says ‘Excuse me’. 17.Says “Hey” instead of “Hi”.Says “Yogurt” instead of “Curds”.Says “Cab” instead of “Taxi”.Says “Candy” instead of “Chocolate”. Says “Cookie” instead of “Biscuit”.Says “Free Way” instead of “Highway”.Says “Got To Go” instead of “Have To Go”.Says “Oh” instead of “Zero”, (for 704, says Seven Oh Four Instead of Seven Zero Four). 16.Doesn’t forget to crib
about air pollution. Keeps cribbing every time he steps out. 15.Says all the distances in Miles (Not in Kilo Meters), and counts in Millions. (Not in Lakhs). 14.Tries to figure all the prices in Dollars as far as possible (but deep down the heart multiplies by 43 times). 13.Tries to see the % of fat on the cover of a milk pocket. 12.When need to say Z (zed), never says Z (Zed), repeats “Zee” several times, if the other person unable to get, then says X, Y, Zee (but never says Zed). 11.Writes date as MM/DD/YYYY & on watching traditional DD/MM/ YYYY, says “Oh! British Style!!!!”. 10.Makes fun of Indian Standard Time and Indian Road Conditions. 9.Even after
2 months, complaints about “Jet Lag”. 8.Avoids eating more chili (hot) stuff. 7.Tries to drink “Diet Coke”, instead of Normal Coke. 6.Tries to complain about any thing in India as if he is experiencing it for the first time. 5.Pronounces “schedule” as “skejule”, and “module” as “Mojule”. 4.Looks suspiciously towards hotel/dhaba food. 3.From the luggage bag, does not remove the stickers of Airways by which he traveled back to India, even after 4 months of arrival. 2.Takes the cabin luggage bag to short visits in India, tries to roll the bag on Indian roads. 1.Tries to begin conversation with “In US ....” or “When I was in US.
Business Digest
September 2010
Casio reinvents G-shock lineup with exciting new colours Casio India Pvt. Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of Casio Computer Co. Ltd, Japan has rannounced the availability of its newer ranges of watches in the G-shock brand. The newer GA110 lineup in addition to boasting of the familiar robustness of GSHOCK brand comes in 7 new exciting colours. This is especially meant for young adventure enthusiasts who would want to get introduced to the G-SHOCK family and graduate to something much more advanced. One of the features that is unique to all G-SHOCK watches including the recent GA 110 is water resistance to upto 200 metres and superior robustness to outside wear and tear. These new G-SHOCK watches boast a variety of functions including a 1/1000-second stopwatch, a velocity indicator, and magnetic resistance
Vanesa’s Envy Deodorants Body Spray For Men & Women
Envy Deodorants Body Spray in a new improved version for men and women have been unveiled by a leading Personal Care Products manufacturing company Vanesa Inc. Simply Provocative…..very manly ENVY Deodorant bodyspray for men and Sensually Seductive…..very feminine ENVY Deodorants body-spray for Women that carry fresh notes which keep everyone very lively and leave a lasting impression behind as the products designed exclusively as per International standard and compliant with the International protect you for up to 12 hours Organization for Standardiza- from bad odour. tion (ISO). Sure and solid operation is enhanced by oversized buttons with anti-slip finish, and a large face with easyto-read displays for viewing the results of important measurements. The colorful G-SHOCK watches, GA-110 are available at all Casio outlets and multibrand electronic stores at a retail price of Rs. 6995/-
BAE Systems secures £500 Million order from HAL In a move underlining the importance of BAE Systems’ presence in India, the company has secured a new order, worth over £500 million, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), to supply products and services to enable a further 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aircraft to be built under licence in India for the Indian Air Force (40 aircraft) and Indian Navy (17 aircraft). The final terms and conditions for the contract were signed by Guy Griffiths Group Managing Director International, BAE Systems, in the presence of British Prime Minister, David Cameron on his historic visit to India and BAE
Systems’ Chairman Dick Olver. The aircraft will be manufactured under licence at HAL’s facilities in Bangalore and BAE Systems will provide specialist engineering services, the raw materials and equipment necessary for airframe production and the support package for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy end users. C o m menting on the news BAE Systems India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Gallagher said: “HAL is the premier aerospace company in India and BAE Systems is proud to be able to build on its long-standing relationship with HAL to deliver a further batch of this
The new improved version of ENVY Deodorants Body Spray for Men & Women is very natural of international standards and keeping changing trends of day to day lifestyles, tastes and demands. Each packed in 150 ml attractive bottle the very exciting world class Deodorants body spray for Men & Women ENVY from Vanesa Inc. comes with a very reasonable price tag of Rs.125/- available at all leading stores across the country. excellent aircraft to increase the Indian Air Force’s fast jet training capacity and establish a similar fast jet training solution for the Indian Navy. The Hawk AJT fast jet training solution enables an Air Force or Navy to provide front line pilots for even the most modern fighter aircraft such as the Eurofighter Typhoon or Sukhoi SU-30.”Guy Griffiths, added:
Just a sniff to prevent H1N1 infection The threat of swine flu now has a pain less prevention. India’s advances in medical research got a fillip with India’s largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute, announcing the launch of its indigeously developed intra-nasal vaccine named Nasovac for preventing H1N1 infections. The single dose vaccine, fitted at the top of a syringe, is just to be sniffed once in each nostril making it a painless prevention mode. Along with a needle prick-
Page No. 11
free benefit, Nasovac has a superior efficacy profile based on its administration through the respiratory route – it mimics the path followed by the virus to enter the body. The safety and efficacy of the vaccine was established through Clinical trials conducted in India for the vaccine. Nasovac is economically priced to increase availability amongst the masses. The vaccine is approved by the Drug Controller General of India
(DCGI) for usage by any individual above 3 years of age, except pregnant women. According to Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Chairman, Serum Institute of India Ltd., “the philosophy at Serum Institute always has been about providing quality vaccines at affordable prices. Last year we saw the panic due to fears about the H1N1 pandemic. I am happy that Serum has done its part in making the country self-reliant.”
Palakkad Institute of Science & Technology Attayampathy, Govindapuram (P.O.) Palakkad (Dist.), Kerala - 678 507
Imparting Excellent Engineering Education
We offer B.Tech. courses in: * Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE) * Electrical & Electronics Engineering (EEE) * Mechanical Engineering (ME) * Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) Salient Features * Well equipped and spacious class rooms, state-of-the-art labs and workshop * Computer lab with internet facility * Career guidance & placement cell * Separate hostels for boys and girls * Transport facilities * Canteen
For admission please contact:
Kollengode Educational & Charitable Trust H.No. 2/408, Old Bazar, Kollengode (PO), Palakkad, Kerala - 678 506 Phone: 04923-263877, Fax: 04293-263050 Web: www.pisat.org Email: principalpisat@yahoo.in, kect_kollengode@yahoo.in
Business Digest
September 2010
GM India launches CNG version of Chevrolet Aveo
HEALTH For Your Good Health
Risk Factors & Life Style Changes Good Health can be attained by becoming Health conscious and by making relevant Life Style changes. Major Risk factors which can affect Heart, Blood vessels, Brain, Kidney and Eyes are: 1. High Blood Pressure 2. Diabetes 3. Obesity ( over weight ) 4. Inactivity 5. High Blood Cholesterol 6. Family History of Cardio-
Page No. 12
vascular disease 7. Smoking Life Style Changes which are desirable are: 1. Weight Reduction (BMI < 24.9) 2. Dietary Changes a. Increase intake of Fruits & Vegetables b. Decrease intake of Fat products 3. Less Salt intake 4. Physical Activity - 30 minutes / Day,
General Motors India launched the CNG version of its Chevrolet Aveo mid-size sedan at a ceremony presided over by its President and Managing Director Karl Slym in Mumbai. The Aveo CNG is a bi-fuel vehicle with a full-size petrol tank that is one of the most environmentally friendly cars available in India. Speaking on the occasion, Slym said that the launch of the Aveo CNG is a testament to the importance that GM India attaches to green technol-
Aerobic activity like brisk walk. Be Active, Be Diet Conscious, Be Positive, Be Regular in your Medical Treatment (Do not miss to take the Medicines prescribed) Do Periodic Health Check up Quit Smoking - Dr. Sashikala Chandrasekar (sashishekar@hotmail.com)
ogy and environmentally friendly mobility solutions. Its running cost is approximately 57 percent lower than a similar vehicle powered by petrol and 25 percent lower than a similar vehicle powered by diesel. The Chevrolet Aveo CNG is equipped with next-generation computer-controlled CNG injection technology from Italy. In an industry first, all “critical to quality” CNG kit components are fitted at the factory – including the CNG injectors, selector >> Turn to page 18
Food Poisoning: Take precautions before taking tin food items Certain types of preserved food materials, especially tin food, carries infective agents. This happens due to carelessness during canning or preservation. Some pathogenic bacteria in these food items produce toxins. Those who use such foods will fall prey to food poison. Food poisons are of different types. Food poison can develop different signs and Dr. K.O. Antony Kannankeril symptoms in patients. Gastrointestinal problems are very common. One particular type of lar type of food poison. This food poison is known as botu- poison is responsible for varilism. It develops due to con- ous signs and symptoms . taminated tin food. Signs and symptoms of the Mode of infection disease The infective agent of botuSigns and symptoms of lism spreads through improp- botulism begins with in eight to erly- canned or prepared tin 12 hours after consumption of food, especially imported veg- such foods. Nausea, head etable or meats. Those who ache, loss of balance of the accidentally consume such tin head, visual problem, double food gets this infection. vision, dim vision, pareses of skeletal, ocular, pharyngeal Cause of the disease and respiratory muscles are The disease botulism is some of the symptoms. This caused by one particular type patient experiences difficulty in of microorganism. It is a gram talking and swallowing. negative bacilli known as clostridium botulinum, which Laboratory diagnosis belongs to the clostridium famLaboratory diagnosis of ily. It is a rod- shaped bacteria. botulinum is done in a microIt enters into the improperly biological laboratory. Isolation canned or preserved tin food and identification of this bacteand multiply within with in short ria is done by a culture test time. It produces one particu- Stool or vomitus of the patient
together with the suspected food, if available, are used as specimen for this culture test. Management /Curative treatment The disease can be controlled by the use of antibiotics. The selection of the suitable antibiotic can be done by culture and sensitivity test. This should be done under the guidance and instruction of a physician. Preventive measures For prevention and control of botulism and other food poison one should follow certain things in life . If possible try to avoid imported tin foods. If you take tin food then select product of reputed companies. Check the manufacturing date before buying it. Always give preference to fresh products. Never use expired or near expiry products. Before opening check the container or carton find out whether it has any crack or breakage. If yes, never use it. If any change in colour or bad taste is observed, never use such products. It is recommended to heat the tin food at high temperature for few minutes. In such case bacteria will be destroyed.
Health - important tips.. Answer the phone by LEFT ear. Do not drink coffee TWICE a day. Do not take pills with COOL water. Do not have HUGE meals after 5pm. Reduce the amount of OILY food you consume.
Drink more WATER in the morning, less at night. Keep your distance from hand phone CHARGERS. Do not use headphones/earphone for LONG period of time. Best sleeping time is from 10pm at night to
6am in the morning. Do not lie down immediately after taking medicine before sleeping. When battery is down to the LAST grid/bar, do not answer the phone as the radiation is 1000 times.
Karl Slym, President and Managing Director, GM India and P. Balendran, Director and Vice President, Corporate Affairs at the launch of Chevrolet Aveo CNG in Mumbai.
July Sales grow by 45% General Motors India has registered an impressive growth of 45% in sales in July 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. The July 2010 sales com-
prised 2244 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 1722 units of Chevrolet Beat, 1546 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 639 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 375 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 240
units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 225 units of the Chevrolet Captiva and 133 units of Chevrolet Optra. The increase in the sales >> Turn to page 14
Maruti Suzuki launches Alto-K10 Maruti Suzuki launched cc engines. This version called transmission, superior brake another version of Brand Alto, ‘Alto-K10’ comes with improved system and more knee-room equipped with a K-series, 998 suspension, new cable–type for rear seat passengers. The existing Alto clocks average sales of over 20,000 units every month. Maruti Suzuki expects the Alto-K10 to bring in additional customers. The Alto’s package of performance, fuel efficiency and attractive cost of ownership have together made it India’s most popular car. The Alto-K10 will take this forward. There are a growing number of first time Partho Banarji (General Manager – Marketing and Strategy) buyers who seek more power, Maruti Suzuki Ltd and Thomas Cherian (Regional Manager – Kerala) at the launch of Alto-K10 at Kochi.
TVS launches WEGO TVS Motor Company launched its latest offering TVS WEGO; the company’s first metal bodied scooter. TVS WEGO comes with unisex styling and is an ideal blend of stability, maneuverability, power and mileage, making it the perfect commuting option for people of all ages. Powered by a noise-free, all-aluminium,
low-friction engine which has been developed employing cutting edge technologies such as tailor made simulation models and frequency response analysis techniques, TVS WEGO delivers high performance ride quality and superior ride comfort. A clever combination of an efficient engine, styling finesse, >> Turn to page 18
>> Turn to page 15
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 13
Airtel offers Nissan Micra and Godrej Appliances targets Rs.80 gold coins as Onam gifts ONAM PROMOTIONS
crore turnover during Onam
Bharti Airtel, Asia’s leading integrated telecom service proGodrej Appliances is son in Kerala. This will be 50% Announcing the Onam of- vider kick-started Onam celtargetting Rs.80 crore sales growth, compared to that of the fer of the company, Kamal ebration in Kerala with the an>> Turn to page 15 nouncement of exciting Onam turnover during this Onam sea- last year. recharge Packs. Airtel Mobile customers can recharge with either RC12( priced Rs.12 ) or RC135 (priced Rs.135) and participate in the lucky draw contest to drive home brand new Nissan Micra. Besides this there are also three 100-Gram gold coins and Twenty 10 gram gold coins to be won by customers. What’s more, Airtel loyal retailers who have had the privilege of recharging the lucky winner will also win a Nissan Micra. RC12 comes with 15 local Kamal Nandi, Vice President, Marketing, Godrej Appliances ( Right) along with Ramesh Chembath, Airtel to Airtel mins and 15 loGeneral Manager, Marketing unveiling the Company’s Onam collections in Kochi cal/national SMS, both with a
validity of 10 days .RC135 gives Rs. 125 talktime to the customer with a validity of 15 days, besides making the customer eligible for the contest. Additionally everyday there would be a surprise benefit for customers on RC 135. These benefits could include 12 ps/ sec Gulf calling, 100 MB free data, 1500 local or national sms free, 10 mins of STD calls or 20 Airtel to Airtel mins. All surprise benefits are valid for 5 days. Rajiv Rajagopal, CEOKerala and Tamil Nadu, Airtel Mobile Services told press persons in Kochi that Airtel has included those who will recharge with Rs. 12 also in the contest with the sole intention of accommodating lower strata
of the society. “Festive seasons are meant for sharing and caring!! We bring this unique “rechargeand-win” contest to celebrate this joyous occasion with our customers & retailers and offer them an unmatched mobile experience. Mobiles have become an important means of greeting friends and relatives during festivals hence this contest will give our customers another reason to cheer and enjoy Onam to its fullest.”, says, Rajiv. Sameer Batra, Marketing Head, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Airtel Mobile Services and Manoj Murali, Vice President, operations (Kerala) were also present at the press conference.
GM India celebrates Onam with exciting new offers Widespread customer engagement through several scheme and intiatives General Motors India announced exciting new offers and a number of special schemes as part of Onam celebrations for its customers in Kerala. The company has tied up with several leading financiers like State Bank of India, HDFC, Sundaram Finance etc.
and worked out low EMI schemes for Chevrolet range of cars. There will also be display of product & accessories at various points and test drives of the vehicles will be given to the prospective customers across the state. A mobile Caravan carrying the Chevrolet
cars will also travel through many locations enabling car enthusiasts to see the range products. To further engage with the customers, several fun-filled activities, gala evenings and Chevrolet carnivals are also being organised in >> Turn to page 18
Rajiv Rajagopal, CEO, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Airtel Mobile Services announcing the Airtel Onam celebration in Kochi. Sameer Batra, Marketing Head, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Airtel Mobile Services and Manoj Murali, Vice President, operations (Kerala) are also seen.
Reliance BIG TV’s Special ONAM offers
P. Balendran Vice President, General Motors India presenting Onam Lucky Draw LCD TV to Ravindranath Menon of Cheranellore, Kochi. Manish Rathod, Zonal Manager, GM India, Babu Moopan (Dealer, Kochi) Capt: K.A. Sebastian (Dealer, Kozhikode) and Mrs. Ravindranatha Menon are also seen.
Dish TV celebrates Onam Offers Mix N Match Entertainment Bonanza Dish TV - India’s largest direct-to-home company launched a spate of new offers on the momentous occasion of Onam. A special Mix N Match offer, empowering its customers to customize their package as per their own choice, has been announced. All new subscribers, who buy dishtv this month, will get one Tamil pack free, in addition to 2 malyalam
packs, for 3 months. Furthermore, between 5th to 25th Aug, every new activation will be entitled to a sure-shot FREE recharge offer, from a minimum of 15 days to a maximum of 1 year subscription free. V.K. Gupta, COO, Dish TV at a press conference in Kochi said that the dishtv south silver pack is already the favorite for sports lovers, with 5 sports
channels on offer at a mere Rs125, including 2 packs of regional language of choice. All new subscribers of Dish TV now have the option of customizing their South Silver Pack with or without sports. Those that do not desire sports chan-
Reliance BIG TV, the country’s leading Direct- toHome (DTH) service provider brings for its customers in Kerala, hordes of exciting offers adding to the festival’s gaiety. The Onam Special Offers are available to all new Reliance BIG TV subscriptions beginning 2nd August at special packages exclusively during the onam period till 31st August 2010. The most lucrative package for new subscribers is the “Rs. 1390 South Offer” with 4 months free subscription. The package includes 13 Malayalam Channels, plus one additional South language pack plus four exciting sports
channels (ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket and Ten Sports) and lots of other entertainment channels which totals to 110 in all. Another interesting offer is “Rs. 1390 South Offer with Gold pack” of 2 months free subscription. This pack provides a total of 144 channels. Apart from these, other annual packages with 12 months free subscription are now available at a discount of Rs. 300/-. The dhamaka offer to pep up the festive season is that Reliance BIG TV HD-DVR is now available at an irresistible price of Rs. 4990/- for new customers. This is the best Value for Money option currently
nels, can now, opt for a 3rd regional channels pack, that can be “picked” from a list of 11 packs in malayalam, tamil or other language of their choice. All new language packs are now available on a-la-carte at a reduced price of an affordable Rs 15 only ! The scheme has been launched based on the consumer insight that a significant
population in Kerala that desires regional channels in more than 1 language, most popular mix being - Malayalam and Tamil. Now Silver subscribers can take a Tamil pack free along with 2 Malayalam packs. They can, further, add a 3rd pack, as an alternate to sports. Additional regional packs are available only at Rs 15 ! This will give unique POWER to the
available in the market, since it has both HD and DVR features in one set-top box. Reliance BIG TV has announced special trade engagement programs, festive retail merchandising, and entourage of in shop promoters at key accounts for personalized customer demonstrations. Further adding to the excitement, Reliance BIG TV would be participating in various local events especially exhibitions, road shows and the famous Alappuzha boat decorations. Kerala viewers to Make their own pack, and add more color and excitement to the Onam festivity. All new subscribers will further stand to win assured recharge, from 15 days, to 1month, 3 months, 6 months and even upto 1 year. A simple SMS from the new subscriber will entitle him to the free sub>> Turn to page 18
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 14
GAIL felicitates Utkarsh Eastern Condiments bags State Superb-30 HAPPENINGS
Trade Award The trade award for the highest tax payers and companies with the best record of tax compliance for the year 200809 instituted by the Department of Commercial Tax, Government of Kerala, under the category of Small Scale Industries (SSI) has been bagged by Eastern Condiments. The award has been instituted by the Department of Commercial Taxes in order to recognize the honesty and best tax compliance practices being
followed by the companies falling under the SSI segment. Group Chairman M.E. Meeran received the Award from Finance Minister Dr. Thomas at a function held in Kochi. Eastern Condiments is part of Eastern Group which has diverse business interests including curry powder, readymade garments and mattresses. The company which possesses 60 per cent share of the Kerala market is also the
largest exporter of curry powders. The award for this segment instituted by the Spices Board Award has been consecutively bagged by the company for the last 12 years. The trade award recognizes the highest quality standards of the company’s products, besides, the Group’s honesty and integrity in the prompt payment of taxes, said M.E.Meeran. Nawas Meeran is the vice chairman of Eastern Group.
B C Tripathi, Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL (India) Limited felicitated 14 students belonging to the lower income strata on their selection for B Tech programme in IITJEE, NIT and UPTU under a pilot CSR programme taken up by GAIL. Under the programme titled ‘Utkarsh Superb 30’, GAIL provided free residential coaching to the students by i Abhay Anand, ADG of Bihar Police and the founder of Super 30. Present on the occasion at this ceremony yesterday in GAIL Corporate Office, were R K Goel, Director (Finance), R D Goyal, Director (Projects), S L Raina, Director (HR) and Prabhat Singh, Director (Marketing ) along with other senior Officials of GAIL and CSRL. The first batch of 23 students from Uttar Pradesh were selected through a written test held at Kanpur, Etawah and
Pata in and around GAIL major work centres, in collaboration with the Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL), a non Government Organization in the supervision of a panel of experts headed by Shri Abhyanand, the founder of Utkarsh Superb 30. The economic criteria of poverty has been taken for children whose family income is not more than Rs.75,000/- per annum. The coaching programme for IIT/ NIT exams was started by GAIL with Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL), as a pilot programme at a total cost of Rs. 32 lacs in the year 2009-10. This year the intake for this programme has increased to 60 students. Speaking on the occasion B C Tripathi, Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL said “I am quite elated with a great sense of satisfaction for these boys and girls who have made
it possible to qualify to such prestigious institutions of the country with their diligent and hard work, under the superb guidance and mentoring of Shri Abhay Anandji”. He further said that “GAIL will also extend support to these students during their engineering course, by grant of a monthly scholarship.” S L Raina, Director (HR) said that “such endeavour of the company may not accrue much in the Company’s balance sheet but the achievements of these children will certainly add up in the company’s social balance sheet.” Congratulating the selected students Shri Raina mentioned that these students will always have a special place in GAIL’s context. Certificate of merit and symbolic token of appreciation was given to all the successful students during the occasion.
Dr. Thomas Issac, Finance Minister, Kerala presenting the Trade Award to M.E. Meeran. MLAs Dominic Presentation and K. Babu are also seen.
Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia named regional distributor of the year The global provider of engineered electronic components, network solutions, specialty products and undersea telecommunication systems, Tyco Electronics, has named Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia as its Regional Distributor of the Year – 2009. The Tyco Electronics Distributor of the Year Awards honor the firm’s top performing distribution partners, and also highlight the standards it has set for its channel partners. This significant achievement represents Tyco Electronics’ highest recognition of the out-
standing performance and commitment that Avnet Electronics Marketing has made to its business in the last year. In 2009, Avnet Asia focused on Tyco Electronics’ core industries and growing the business despite the challenging market conditions. Avnet’s extensive geographical presence in Asia provides a good sales and technical support coverage model for Tyco Electronics’ customer base.Avnet was praised for a variety of achievements, including sales growth, demand identification and creation, customer base
From page 12
was primarily driven by the response to Chevrolet Beat, Cruze and Spark. Chevrolet Beat and Chevrolet Cruze have become the industry benchmarks in their respective segments and a winner among consumers in India, with their best-in-class design, performance and other product attributes. Chevrolet Spark continues to register impressive sales, clearly validating it as the one of the most sought after car
in its segment in terms of styling, performance and fuel efficiency offering a value for money proposition. Commenting on the performance, P. Balendran, Vice President, GM India said, “There were some delivery constraints for certain models in July due to annual maintenance shutdown of the plant. With the operation back to normal, we should be able to clear the backlog this month.”
expansion and working capital velocity. “It is always rewarding to receive an award. However, receiving this one from a recognized industry pioneer like Tyco Electronics has made us doubly pleased,” said Stephen Wong, president, Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia. “We will continue to add value to our business partnership with Tyco Electronics to keep both Tyco Electronics and Avnet at the forefront of the industry, and we look forward to more success to come in future.”
Chevrolet recently completed seven years of its successful journey after its foray into the Indian market. Launched in 2003, Chevrolet has become one of the most popular and the fastest growing automotive brands in the country, having sold over 3,00,000 cars in India. With a wide array of products and services, Chevrolet has brought unmatched product quality and unparalleled performance to the Indian consumers.
B C Tripathi, CMD, GAIL felicitating a successful student of Utkarsh Superb-30
NIIT GIS President honored with National Geo-Spatial Excellence Award NIIT GIS Limited has been in the forefront of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in India . The company offers a wide range of GIS Solutions based on ESRI Technology worldwide to help governments and public undertakings leverage GIS in order to make more informed management decisions and provide enhanced service to its constituents. Dr Mukund Rao, President and Chief Operating Officer, NIIT GIS Ltd. has been honored with National Geo-Spatial Excellence Award by Indian Society of Remote Sensing
(ISRS). The award was presented by Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences and President, ISRS, at a felicitation ceremony held at Nagpur , India . Dr. Rao has made extensive contributions to the Indian community in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS). “GIS is an effective tool for governance and decision-making for large government programs. Dr. Mukund Rao’s innovative work in deploying GIS technology has contributed to numerous value-added applications. He has made a differ-
ence by integrating remote sensing with GIS.” said Mr. Arvind Thakur, CEO, NIIT Technologies Ltd. NIIT GIS Ltd. brings horizontal and vertical integration of satellite/aerial imagery, Remote sensing, Photogrammetry, GPS Applications, GIS web services & Portals, and enterprise solutions. The company has vast experience in seamless integration of spatial technology and conventional IT solutions and has emerged as leaders in the geospatial technology arena with the largest share in the Indian market.
Business Digest
September 2010
T. Sasidhara Panicker retires from PNB after 37 years of service T. Sasidhara Panicker who retired from Punjab National Bank after completion of more than 37 years of unblemished and eventful service in the Bank has been given a warm send-off jointly by All India PNB Officers’ Association, Kerala and Punjab National Bank Employees’ Union, Kerala, at a function held in Kochi. K.V. Rajesh, Circle Head, PNB, Ernakulam Circle presided over the function. S. Babu, Circle Head, Kozhikode Circle and D.S.N. Pillai, President, Punjab National Bank, Employees Union, Kerala felicitated. Jose Parecattil, Assistant General Secretary, All India PNB Officers’ Association welcomed the gathering and N.B. Viswan, President, All India PNB Officers’ Association, Ernakulam Circle proposed a vote of thanks. Joined Punjab National Bank on 22-02-1973 as a clerk in Gulbarga, Panicker has served various branches in Karnataka till 1979 and was promoted as officer and posted to Mandya branch. As Scale I officer he has served in various branches in Kerala till 1986 and was promoted to Scale II and worked as incumbent in Sadasivnagar, Bangalore branch. While working as Manager in Kozhikode he was promoted to Scale III and posted to Faizabad in UP. Even at a time of turbulent law and order
situation in Faizabad, he proved to be a very successful banker. Coming back to Kerala he has transformed the Ernakulam M.G. Road branch to the level of the Bank’s Brand Equity branch in Kerala which received ISO certification during his tenure and has earned many further laurels since then. In the year 2001 he was promoted as Chief Manager
and was posted to Ahmedabad branch where also he proved his mettle and the well deserved recognition came to him and he was posted as the first Regional Manager of Ernakulam Region. It was a time when he had to address multiple problems in connection with merger of Nedungadi Bank. With his unique capacity to solve any problems that comes in his way, he was able to handle the merger in a very smooth manner and he was the main architect in formation of the Bank’s Ernakulam Re-
gional Office. After his assignment as RM he was posted to Kozhikode Zonal Office from where he was promoted as Asst. General Manager and was posted as Senior Regional Manager of Trivandrum Region. Consequent upon abolishing Regional Offices he was continuing in Trivandrum as AGM (Development) at the time of retirement. While working in various branches, Panicker was cooperative and very helpful to his colleagues in all spheres. In fact, he had been a Guide, Philosopher and Guru to many of the colleagues. His vast knowledge in banking, especially in the operational areas has benefitted the Bank as well as many of his colleagues for career improvement. Even during his tenure in Senior Management position - in the present changed scenario, where the profit and productivity are the watchword - he has been successful in doing justice to the position he held, maintianing equilibrium between policy matters and human relations. He has been acting as a cushion between the Top Management and the field Functionaries in all cadres. His humane approach in the staff matters has been gainful to both the Officers as well as Award Staff in the matter of disciplinary cases and personal transfers, without any prejudice and bias.
Page No. 15
India and Saudi Arabia are strong economic partners: Talmiz Ahmad While addressing the business community at the meeting organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry at Kochi, Talmiz Ahmad, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stated that India and Saudi Arabia are old business partners. Besides being a major trade partner, India sees the Kingdom as an important economic partner for investments, joint ventures, transfer of technology projects and joint projects. India is the 4th largest trading partner for Saudi Arabia the volume of last year’s trade exchange between the two countries being about $ 25 billion. Over 550 small and medium Indian enterprises have been set up in the kingdom with a total value of over $ 2.5 billion. He mentioned that the most promising areas for IndoSaudi economic ties are Saudi investments in India’s infrastructure and energy sectors and setting up of joint ventures in the Kingdom in industry and the knowledge- based services sectors. Of late the number of
Saudi tourists visiting India has started increasing. With the joining of the Kingdom as a member of WTO in 2005 the Saudi economy has opened up and became more investorfriendly. Saudi Arabia is the 15th largest market in the world for Indian exports. Main Indian exports to Saudi Arabia are basmati/non-basmati rice, tea, manmade yarn, fabrics, madeups, cotton yarn, primary and semi-finished iron and steel, chemicals, plastic & linoleum products, machinery and instruments. India’s major imports from Saudi Arabia are petroleum and petrochemical products. Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of crude oil to India. It provides around a quarter of India’s crude exports. Saudi Arabia meets around 26% of India’s crude requirements annually. Abbas Ali Mirza, former President and present Board member of India Business and Professional Council, Dubai (UAE) also addressed the meeting. He said that India is the biggest trading partner with the UAE. Being an international
business hub with top class infrastructural facilities, the UAE still provides tremendous scope for Indian investment and trade partnership. ICCI President Jasbir Singh Chawla in his welcome address pointed out that the Government of Kerala is now keen to make the State investor-friendly. The State has already achieved an enviable position in the tourism and hospitality sectors and is giving focused attention towards development of IT sector and infrastructure. Traditional items of Kerala origin are being exported to Saudi Arabia for the past several decades and a good number of Keralites are employed in Saudi Arabia whose contributions to the Saudi economy are indeed commendable. Such favourable factors would immensely help further strengthening the economic relations between the two countries and widening the area of Saudi investment in the State of Kerala. Former ICCI President Anwar Hashim also spoke on the occasion.
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performance and attitude in their car, without having to stretch all the way to buy a higher segment car. The AltoK10 is meant for them. Partho Banarji (General Manager – Marketing and Strategy) Maruti Suzuki Ltd and Thomas Cherian (Regional Manager – Kerala) while launching the vehicle in Kochi said that Alto-K10 has a good fuel efficiency and better performance. This fuel efficiency is 20.2 km per liter; it is the highest among petrol cars in just in A2 segment. Alto-K10 can accelerate
from 0 to 100 kmph in just 13.3 seconds. It has new cable type transmission for easy gear shifting and enhanced driving pleasure. Alto-K10 has changes in dimensions, exterior and interiors. Alto-K10 is longer by 125mm to accommodate the bigger K-series engine. It has a new aggressive front, with a differently styled combination of dynamic hood, bold eagleeye headlamps with crystal – clean lens. The Alto-K10 comes with tinted glasses, body coloured bumbers, precise and smart
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Nandi, Vice President, Sales & Marketing said that Kerala is a very important market for the Godrej and it registered 47% growth in the Kerala market during the first quarter of the current fiscal against the industry growth rate of 18-19% in the country. The recent launch of its colour televisions in the
state, which is doing very well, will further help the brand to achieve higher volumes. Apart from that, there have been a series of new launches in frost free segment, split AC, microwaves and washing machine segments which would add up to the excitement this Onam. Ramesh Chembath, Gen-
front grill, stylish tail gate, large 13-inch tubeless tyres, trendy wheel-covers, interesting body side mouldings While the existing Alto will continue to serve customers across India, the new sibling, Alto-K10, is specially targeted at those customers, who are Talmiz Ahmad, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia addressing the business looking for premium features community at the meeting organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry(ICCI). ICCI and performance in an eco- President Jasbir Singh Chawla and former President Anwar Hashim are also seen. nomical package. The existing Alto holds the singular achievement of selling the highest number of units by a single model in a month with a stagCochin Shipyard Ltd deliv- tional this financial year beM/s Vroon Offshore Divigering 25,340 units in May ered a Platform Supply Vessel sides the three Platform Sup- sion. The protocol documents 2010. >> Turn to page 16 to M/s Purple Fleet Ltd, an af- ply Vessels delivered to filiate of M/s Tide Water Marine International, USA. The eral Manager, Marketing, vessel named ‘TROUNSON Godrej Appliances said that TIDE’ is the fifth Platform Supmost popular product of the ply Vessel delivered during this company in Kerala was refrig- financial year and the 18th Platerators and in recent years the form Supply Vessel congrowth rate showed by the structed and delivered by CSL airconditioner segment has so far. ‘TROUNSON TIDE’ is been astonishing. the second Platform Supply Riding high on its success Vessel being delivered to M/s >> Turn to page 17 Tide Water Marine Interna-
Cochin Shipyard delivers 5th platform supply vessel in four months
Business Digest
September 2010
Electricity from waste: Loro Group brings latest Irish technology Aluva-headquartered Loro Marketing and Trading Pvt. Ltd., established by a group of NRKs based in Abu Dhabi has brought Wilson System of municipal waste management and green energy production technology designed by the Irish company, Global Eco Energy Technology to India. Gary Lawlor, Commercial Director, Global Eco Enregy Technology, Mohammed Ayach, Business Development Director, MENA region, Dr. Sajith P. Hameed, Chairman, Loro Group, Firos Hamsa, Managing Director, Shankar Narayan, Vice Chairman and Mohammed Rafi, Director at a press conference in Kochi said that the uniqueness of Wilson system has been its effectiveness in dealing with plastic wastes as well as hospital wastes. The technology is helpful to solve the serious problem of waste management in the state as well as energy shortage. Loro Group with the support of the Irish company is ready to make available the technology to local bodies, government institutions, private
enterprises or public-private partnerships. Loro and global Energy Technology will be involved in setting up the plants. The investment for a plant is estimated at Rs. 300 crore-600 crore depending on the size of the plant. The plant can consume 1,60,000 tonnes of waste per annum and can generate 9 mega watt of electricity an hour, out of which one mw will be consumed by the plant itself to work. Dr. Sajith Hameed and Firos Hamza pointed out that Loro Group was concerned with the public health issues like widespread H1N1, related to the waste problem in Kerala and was keen to find out a solution for the same. According to Gary Lawlor, the Wilson system is currently operating in Ireland the first commercial scale MSW autoclave plant in the world. The technology has considerable advanges over competing waste disposal solutions. Wilson system is a steam treatment process of waste, using autoclaving and steam boiler technologies. It has capacity to size-reduce waste by
up to 80% of its original volume. The system produces a cellulose fibre which has various commercial uses. The process sanitises all materials and de-labels metals, allows for the efficient extraction of plastics and breaks down biodegradable materials in to homogeneous cellulose fibre. The technology is capable of handling non-hazardous solid waste through an automatic reception, transfer and processing operation. It significantly reduces landfill requirements. According to Shankar Nayaran, keeping in view of the water scarcity in the state, the group will also thinking of bringing advanced technology on waste water treatment and solar thermal desalination plant. For more details: Loro Marketing & Trading Pvt. Ltd., Royal Plaza Building, 2nd Floor, Bridge Road, Bank Junction, Aluva. Mob: 9645774411/ 9645774422. E m a i l : information@lorogroup.com www.lorogroup.com
From left: Loro Group Vice Chairman Shankar Narayan, Managing Director, Firoz Hamza, Chairman, Dr. Sajith P. Hameed, Global Eco Energy Technology Commercial Director Gary Lawlor and Business Development Director Mohammed Ayach at a press conference in Kochi.
Vodafone launches Solar Powered Phone Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular services providers, announced the launch of its latest generation eco-friendly solar charging handset in India. The new handset uses a solar powered solution to benefit users in areas with adequate sunlight. UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon George Osborne MP and Marten Pieters, MD and CEO, Vodafone Essar Ltd., today launched the VF 247 Solar Powered phone at the Vodafone store in Fort,
Mumbai. The launch of VF 247 solar powered phone is in keeping with Vodafone’s aim to increase mobile technology accessibility for millions in India. With an extended solar powered battery, the solar powered phone addresses the problem of unstable electricity supply in many rural areas. VF 247 solar powered phone charges by itself, by exposure to ambient light. Sun Boost, the special inbuilt hardware and software ensures that the phone
charges also in a room, under normal daylight. Speaking on the launch, UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rt Hon George Osborne MP said, “I’m very pleased to help launch Vodafone’s new solar powered handset. It’s the new UK-India economic partnership in action. The handset will get more people connected, paying less and doing their bit for the environment.” “Reflecting a strong com>> Turn to page 17
Page No. 16
Den Networks: 11 million subscribers and Rs.925 crore turnover in 21/2 years Business News Service Den Networks Limited, the cable television network company established only 2.5 years ago has, at present, a subscriber base of 11 million. S.N. Sharma, President, Den Networks Ltd. told Business
Thrissur, Malappuram, Palakkad, Kannur, Kottayam, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram. Den, which has recently awarded ‘The best Indian Cable TV MSO’ at Indian Telly Awards,
be available in Kerala in 2 months’ says Sharma. “Through our cable television services, we aim to be the preferred choice of consumers by redefining consumer’s TV entertainment needs, by work-
S.N. Sharma, Vice President, Del Networks inaugurating the Company’s operations in Kerala. V.K. Jaifer, Dy. General Manager, S.S. Noushad, Abdul Rahim, Roy Chakaraborty, Consultants are also seen.
Digest that the company has attained a turnover of Rs.925 crore last year. According to Sharma, Den Networks is targeting a subscriber base of 25 million by March 2012. Den Networks which has gone public last year has been the first listed company in the cable TV segment. Den’s digital cable service, “Digitally” has presence in 80 cities of 9 states. ‘We are planning to cover all the states by March 2012’, says Sharma. The company is promoted by Sameer Manchanda, formerly NDTV and an industry veteran with over 20 years experience in media and channel distribution with Ragav Bahl, Promoter and Chairman, Network 18 Group which consists of CNN IBN channel. Den’s leadership team also includes CEO, Anuj Gandhi and President S.N. Sharma who have been associated with the distribution industry for more than 10 years. Earlier at a press conference in Kochi, Sharma announced the launch of Digitally in Kerala. The service will be initially offered in 8 districts comprising Ernakulam,
plans to expand its digital network through its robust distribution channels to the rest of the districts across Kerala in the coming months. The company is well known in the industry for its reputation of being the most operator-friendly service provider in the country and works closely with the local distributors and operators. Den with able support of its affiliates, will deliver to its consumers a high quality digital viewing experience with crystal clear picture and digital sound experience. The consumers will also be benefited from a focused value proposition offered by 150 channels of regional and local array which no other service provider offers. Digitally brings a suite of innovative and engaging interactive services like games, blog.telly (a unique and latest micro blogging services provided only on Den Digital platform) and will soon launch an interactive 24 x 7 music service with 10 genres. Through these unique initiatives, Den Networks will set new benchmarks in the digital television viewing space. ‘This audio channels will
ing with global leaders on both content and technology and thus offering an enriching experience to consumers. Emphasis would always be on shaping the future of digital televion viewing by providing superior services on the digital platform and consolidate last mile connectivity”, adds Sharma. According to Amit Kamra, Manager-Marketing, as an underlying technology, digitalization is becoming a growth driver for the future cable distribution. Deployment of digital cable TV networks help to provide internet and broadband services. Some of the key advantages of digital cable are excellent picture quality and sound, consistent picture quality across all channels and a capacity to receive more than 1,000 channels and so many more innovative features have caught the imagination of consumers who want quality at affordable price. Shankar Devarajan, Finance Controller, Den, V.K. Jaifer, Dy. General Manager, Operations and S.A. Naushad, Consultant were also present at the press conference.
These Platform Supply Vessel Ships are of the popular UT 755 LN design for the Off shore industry. The vessel is designed for satisfying the specific demands of transport of deck cargo, pipes, liquid cargo, cement, barite etc and unloading to rigs and production platforms, pipe laying barges etc. They are the workhorse of offshore oil field industry which act as a lifeline carry-
ing all operational supplies and stores to far off Offshore installations. The ship is built and classified under the most stringent rules and regulations of Det Norske Veritas and is classed for unmanned engine room and dynamic positioning grade II. The vessel also satisfies “CLEAN” Notation of DNV which signifies high standards of environmental safety.
From page 15
of the ship were signed by Jose Mathew, Chief General Manager (Shipbuilding) on behalf of Cochin Shipyard and Thomas Davis on behalf of the owners. Cochin Shipyard is presently constructing 11 Offshore Support Vessels for various foreign and Indian owners. The yard is also entrusted with the construction of prestigious Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Project for the Indian Navy.
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 17
Gasflow diesel injection technology for fuel efficiency and emission control Irinjalakuda-based Efco economy. Gasflo Alternate Fuel Systems Franco Paul, has launched gasflow diesel CEO, Efco Gasflo (Ininjection technology from Aus- dia) told media in Kochi that the Gasflo Diesel EU2 system is designed for converting non-Euro standard diesel engines into achieving Euro 2 standards. Case study results have indicated significant emission reduction. Gasflo Diesel Technology is a pre-combustion retrofit system, simply added to the engine. It will be helpful for prolonged Franco Paul engine life, improved turbo tralia in the country which charger service life, less gear would improve power and change, less driver fatigue and torque characteritics while dra- improved drivability. The techmatically improving diesel fuel nology provides maximum per-
formance and economy with minimum omissions. Gasflo Diesel Injection system case studies have proved a significant reduction in emissions levels on Non-Euro Heavy Vehicles, bringing them into line with Euro 2 and 3 levels. For more details: 04802833532
Everest Industries gets ICWAI Award once again Everest Industries, one of India’s fastest growing building solutions companies in India, has been awarded the prestigious ICWAI award for the record second time. This award, presented to companies for effective cost management practices and lowering costs, is one of the sought after events for small and medium scale businesses. A high profile jury led by the former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India, Justice J S Verma, chose the winners after a comprehensive selection process. Everest Industries, with its Lakhmapur manufacturing facility has set newer bench-
marks in the industry when it comes to cost-effectiveness. The ICWAI awards are presented to companies on strategies, which are not only planned but time-tested and are viable in the long run. Established in the year 1994-95, Lakhmapur Works (LW) has an advanced stateof-the art manufacturing facility for the production of AC Corrugated Roofing Sheets, Flat Boards, Compressed Boards and Solid Wall Panels. Additionally, the company also has manufacturing facilities in Kymore (Madhya Pradesh), Kolkata (West Bengal), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu),
Nashik (Maharashtra) and Roorkee (Uttrakhand). The combined capacity of Everest’s fibre cement production facilities is 7.10 lac MT of which Lakhmapur facility is one of the biggest producers. The award was presented by Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Salman Khurshid at a glittering function. Speaking on this occasion M L Gupta, Managing Director, Everest Industries said, “Being one of the pioneers in the building solutions industry in India, we always strive to keep ahead of changing times. Being cost effective is yet another step in this direction.”
Bank of India disburses loan to SHGs
M.R.C. Murthy, Zonal Manager, Bank of India handing over loan amount to SHGs of Amrita Swasraya Sangham at a function held at Karunagappally.
120 SHGs of Amrita Swasraya Sangham were given loan amounting over 175 lakhs in a function arranged by Bank of India, Kerala Zone at Karunagapally, Kollam district. Around 2000 families were benefited. The loan disburseM.L. Gupta, Managing Director, Everest Industries receiving ICWAI Award for effective management practices from Salman Khurshid, Union Minister of State for Corporate affairs.
From page 15
in the state, the Company announced its Onam offer by encouraging its customers to celebrate the festival with gold or an exciting assured gift from Godrej on every purchase of a Godrej washing machine, refrigerator, air-conditioner, mi-
crowave oven or television, a customer can win gold coins up to 50 gms or a non stick appa chatti. These gifts, especially selected by Godrej, are ideal accompaniments for Onam celebrations. This offer is valid till 3rd September, 2010.
The Onam scheme for consumers would be promoted aggressively with intensive media and below the line activities for which a complete 360 degree promotional plan is in place, adds, Ramesh Chembath.
ment mela was organised at Puthumannayil Hall, Karunagapally. Earlier A.Shajahan, IAS, Dist.Collector, Kollam inaugurated the function. M.R.C. Murthy, Zonal Manager, Bank of India, Kerala Zone presided
over the function. .S.P.Pillai, Chief Manager, Quilon branch was also present on the occasion. Ranganathan, Coordinator played a vital role in grading and selection of SHGs with the help of the local branch manager.
tric supply is unstable, so that consumers can rely on solar charging to remain connected. This launch is likely to enable more people in rural India to go mobile and thus increase penetration from the current 20%. We will continue to invest to uplift the quality of telecom services and products in India.”
Vodafone’s rural network coverage of 65% is the second highest in India. It also has the second largest rural subscriber base in the country. The VF 247 solar powered phone comes with essential mobile phone features such as FM radio, color screen and a powerful torch light and will be commercially available shortly.
From page 16
mitment to the Indian market, Vodafone continues to launch affordable products and services to cater to the differentiated needs of consumers.” said Marten Pieters, MD and CEO, Vodafone Essar Ltd. “Vodafone’s solar powered phone is launched for people residing in areas where elec-
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 18
‘Paattinte Paalazhi’: Gurcharan Das in the advisory Meera Jasmin’s come back film Board of Parthenon Group ‘Paattinte Paalazhi’, directed by Rajeev Anchal and produced by U.S-based child specialist Dr. A.K. Pillai will be released on 20th August 2010. The special about the film was versatile actress Meera Jasmin is coming back to Malayalam after a gap of 3 years. Paattinte Paalazhi is the story of singer (Veena - Meera Jasmin) in trouble Manoj K. Jayan is the hero of the film.
Revathi, Jagathi, Nedumudi, Jagadish, Bala Bhaskar, Krishna Kumar and Premkumar are also there. Dr. Rajendra Babu has done the screenplay. Lyrics by ONV Kurup and music direction by new comer Dr. Suresh Manimala. Camera has been handled by Azhagappan. Gokulam Movies is the distributor. The film is marketed by Kalamaya Communications,
Kochi. The film was unveiled at a function held at Hotel Dream, Kochi. Those present at the occasion were Rajeev Anchal, Dr. A.K. Pillai, Meera Jasmin, Revathi, Dr. Rajendra Babu, Dr. Suresh Manimala, Azhagappan, Art Director Ratheesh Babu and the child artist of the film Bhavani and Revathi.
Reiterating its commitment and focus towards strengthening their India operations, Parthenon Group, a global strategic advisory boutique, has announced the appointment of renowned author, management guru and public intellectual, Gurcharan Das to its strategic advisory board for their India office, which is also the firm’s Asian headquarters. With an experince carved over a 30-year career across 6
countries, in advising companies on corporate strategy, Gurcharan Das joins the existing advisory board members Binod Khemka and Anne von Guionneau to help advance Parthenon Group‘s business strategy and support the executive team identify market opportunities as it continues to capitalize on the growing market demand for the firm’s business in Asia. Commenting on his asso-
ciation with Parthenon Group’s advisory board, Gurcharan Das said that he is look forward to advising and guiding the team to tactically develop the firm’s business in Asia. Karan Khemka, Partner and Mumbai Office Head, Parthenon Group said that Das’s vast knowledge and expertise in the business strategy domain will definitely help the firm grow and expand its business in the region.
Tune Group is Principal Partner for Professional Game Match Officials
Rajeev Anchal inaugurating the unveiling of ‘Paattinte Paalazhi’ (from left): Bala Bhaskar, Dr. A.K. Pillai, Dr. Rajendra Babu, Meera Jasmin, Revathi and Dr. Suresh Manimala are also seen.
From page 13
prominent malls in major towns of the state. Speaking on the occasion, P. Balendran, Vice-President, General Motors India, said that various attractive schemes have been rolled out to connect with the masses and join the celebrations. ‘This also gives us an opportunity to engage with the customers to serve them better, Kerala being a very important market for us. Chevrolet’s best-in-class products, widespread customer outreach through an expansive network, promise to deliver quality, efficiency and performance have led to widespread acceptance and support for our brand’, adds Balendran.
To kick-start the celebrations, GM India has introduced big savings on all Chevrolet models to enable customers to own a Chevrolet at attractive prices. While the most sought after mini car Chevrolet Spark comes with free maintenance for 3 years/45,000 kms (whichever is earlier), Beat comes with 3-years maintenance at just Rs. 5,999/- which is just Rs.166 per month towards the maintenance of the car. This will be in addition to an assured gift voucher of Rs.1,000 and daily lucky draw of a 32” LCD TV for the winner. A total of 60 LCD TV’s will be distributed during the two-month celebration process.
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scription. 4 draws will be done between 10th to 26th Aug during which the free subscriptions will be announced to the subscribers. The same can be enjoyed by him, when he recharges for the first time, after his initial free period expires. The special Onam schemes include offers on at 1390 for 3 months of South Silver Pack with FREE Toon Mania (Pogo, Hungama, Animax, Nickeledeon) + Fun Disney (Disney Disney XD) + 2 South Regional A-la-carte packs. Installation charges: Rs. 200. For those wanting longer term “bundles”, there are options at Rs 1690 with 5 months and Rs 2490 with 12 months.For viewers that desire english, hindi, kids, infotainment or urdu entertain-
ment, there is an option of choosing a Silver Saver pack @ Rs 160 per month with 7 additional channels viz, Cartoon Network, Disney XD, Discovery, HBO, Imagine Tv, ETV Urdu, Zee Salaam. In particular, Zee Salaam, which is relevant for muslim populated districts of Malapuram, Kannur, Kozhikode, Kollam, Kasargod etc., will be showcasing special Ramzaan programming for a full month including live Quran recital. New subscribers buy dishtv, with this pack, at only Rs 1390 for 2 months. Ms. Anjali Malhotra, Senior vice president(Marketing), Dish TV, Ajay Kumar David, Dy. Vice President ( Sales ) and P.B. Radhakrishnan, Regional Manager, kerala were also present at the press conference.
Chevrolet’s product portfolio boasts of eight cars suiting everybody’s pocket, which makes Chevrolet the second largest brand in terms of its portfolio size. With a wide array of products and services, Chevrolet has brought unmatched product quality and unparalleled performance to the Indian consumers. Manish Rathode, Zonal Manager, GM India, Babu Moopan (Kochi dealer), Capt. K.A. Sebastian (dealer, Kozhikode) were also present at the press conference.
Tune Group, the lifestyle and entertainment brand, has signed a deal in London to become the new Principal Partner for Professional Games Match Officials (PGMO) for three seasons beginning from 2010/11. PGMO is the body responsible for providing and managing all professional match officials in English football and uniquely works with all three major English governing bodies - the Premier League, The FA and the Football League – to provide match officials for their competitions: the Barclays Premier League, The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON, the npower Championship and Football League, the Carling Cup, The FA Community Shield
sponsored by McDonalds, and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. Tune Air, a member of the Tune Group, is the single major shareholder of PGMO’s previous Principal Partner, AirAsia. Malaysian-based Tune Group is also responsible for a number of other major brands including: AirAsia X, the world’s first and most successful lowcost, long-haul carrier; Tune Hotels, the limited service hotel chain that provides “5-star beds at 1-star prices” which will shortly be opening up its first European hotel in London; Tune Talk, Malaysia’s fastest growing mobile prepaid service that is set to venture into other Southeast Asian countries; as well as sports ventures in Formula 1 team Lotus Racing and
the ASEAN Basketball League, the first regional professional club league in Asia. Tune Group was founded by AirAsia co-founder Dato’ Sri Dr Tony Fernandes. The partnership gives Tune Group access to 2,000 professional football matches, with an estimated cumulative global TV audience in excess of three billion. The partnership delivers a range of designation and promotional rights, including shirt sleeve and training wear branding on all professional match referees, assistant referees and fourth officials, branding and accreditation on all publicity material, the PGMO and all governing body websites, as well as PGMO and refereeing inventory that offers extensive PR opportunities.
From page 12
switch, modified wiring and suspension – to ensure highquality and trouble-free service. In addition, the body is reinforced to carry the additional mass of the cylinder. Sequential injection represents the most advanced level of evolution of CNG kit technology. The ECU (Electronic Controller Unit) calculates the opening times of the injectors for each cylinder and acts separately on each gas injector with the highest precision. GM India engineers have done extensive testing and validation of the Aveo CNG. The Chevrolet Aveo CNG comes with a three-year/100,000-km standard warranty, which is an industry first in the mid-size sedan segment, and a service interval of 5,000 km or six months (whichever comes first). During the run of the Aveo in pure CNG mode will not impact the vehicle warranty.
Tune Hotels GCEO Mark Lankester (left) and EPL Referee Andre Marriner
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high levels of comfort and bestin-class mileage, makes this scooter a complete value for money product. At peak power, TVS WEGO’s 110 cc engine delivers 8 BHP @ 7500 rpm, enabling one of smoothest power trains in its category. Adding to the uniqueness of this trendy scooter are first time features such as twelveinch alloy wheels, telescopic front suspension and gas filled rear shock absobers, normally
found only in motorcycles. Multi-reflector halogen headlamps and LED tail lamp with optical guides magnify the scooter’s style quotient. Another pioneering characteristic of TVS WEGO is its Body Balance Technology which ensures optimum mass distribution, enabling easier steering, better control and maneuverability. An external fuel fill with hinged cap, under seat charger for cell phone and patented EZ center stand emphasize the product’s ease of use and con-
vince. In addition, the scooter has an under seat storage that can hold a full face helmet. With the launch of TVS WEGO, TVS Motor Company becomes the only company to have the widest range of scooters in India, including Scooty Teenz, the iconic Scooty Pep+ and the snazzy Scooty Streak. TVS WEGO will be available at Rs. 43,984/- ex-showroom and will come in colours of Cappuccino Brown, Golden Beige, Silver, Black and Dark Blue.
Business Digest
September 2010
COMMENT
Don’t Glorify terrorism The high-handedness of CBI in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case has created an impression that the investigating agency has been soft towards extremism and terrorism. Although it was a fact that Sohrabuddin and Kouser Bi were part of terrorist group, their custody death can’t be justified. But the sensationalisation of the case by the CBI and the Congress party has resulted in portraying the terrorists as heroes and the Gujarat police and the Home Minister who were acting tough against terrorists as criminals. The danger is that keeping top police officials in jail will, definitely, lower the morale of the security forces. After CBI charge sheeted against Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Amit Shah, Congress spokes persons Shakeel Ahmed and Abhishek
Singhvi were saying that this was only a beginning and Chief Minister Narendra Modi is next in line. Those statements indicate the politics involved in the whole affair. Amit Shah is now facing charges of having directed the Gujarat ATS team to carry out the fake encounter against Sohrabuddin. The problem with CBI has been its resolveness to get the accused (whether he committed the crime or not) punished by any means, unless political intervention was there. Here the agency was trying to make the police officers who were involved in the fake encounter the approvers to create evidences against the minister. Even Joginder Singh, former director of CBI has admitted that the political leadership has been involving in the affairs of the CBI.
We had several instances of the CBI stand on Mayavati, Jayalalitha, Mulayamsingh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav changing by the minute swinging with the political wind, especially when the UPA Government badly need their votes. CBI allowed Anderson the accused in the Bhopal Tragedy case and did nothing to get him in its custody. The agency gave a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar who were allegedly involved in Delhi Sikh riot, aftermath of the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Bofors was the another example. The pertinent question will be why the Government has been taking special interest in Gujarat affairs, while it was not very serious about controlling and averting on-going terrorist attack by Maoists, killing hundreds of people, almost everyday.
The chicken may have come before the egg British researchers may have uncovered a partial answer to the age-old question, “what came first the chicken or the egg?”According to a team, comprising researchers from the University of Warwick and the University of Sheffield, the answer is “chicken” or at least a particular chicken protein.There is, however, a further twist - this particular chicken protein turns out to come both first and last. That neat trick it performs provides new insights into control of crystal growth which is key to egg shell production. Scientists have long believed that a chicken eggshell protein called ovocledidin17 (OC-17) must play some role in egg shell formation. The protein is found only in the mineral region of the egg (the hard part of the shell) and lab bench results showed that it appeared to influence the transformation of (CaCo3) into calcite crystals. The mechanism of this control remained unclear. How this process could be used to form an actual eggshell remained unclear.University of Warwick researchers Mark Rodger and David Quigley, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Sheffield, have now been able to apply a powerful computing tool called metadynamics and the UK national supercomputer in Edinburgh to crack this egg
problem. Dr David Quigley from the Department of Physics and Centre for Scientific Computing, University of Warwick, said: “Metadynamics extends conventional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and is particularly good at sampling transitions between disordered and ordered states of matter.”Using these tools, the team was able to create simu-
lations that showed exactly how the protein bound to amorphous calcium carbonate surface using two clusters of “arginine residues”, located on two loops of the protein and creating a literal chemical “clamp” to nano sized particles of calcium carbonate.While clamped in this way, the OC-17 encourages the nanoparticles of calcium carbonate to transform into “calcite crystallites” that form the tiny of nucleus of crystals that can continue to grow on their own. But they also noticed that sometimes this chemical clamp didn’t work. The OC-17 just seemed to detatch from the nanoparticle or “be desorbed”.Professor Mark Rodger from Department
of Chemistry and Centre for Scientific Computing, University of Warwick, said: “With the larger nanoparticles we examined we found that the binding sites for this chemical clamp were the same as the smaller nanoparticles but the binding was much weaker. In the simulations we performed, the protein never desorbed from the smaller nanoparticle, but always fell off or desorbed from the larger one. However in each case, desorption occurred at or after nucleation of calcite.” The researchers had therefore uncovered an incredibly elegant process allowing highly efficient recycling of the OC-17 protein. Effectively it acts as a catalyst, clamping on to calcium carbonate particles to kickstart crystal formation and then dropping off when the crystal nucleus is sufficiently large to grow under its own steam. This frees up the OC-17 to promote more yet more crystallisation, facilitating the speedy, literally overnight creation of an egg shell. The researchers believe that this new insight into the elegant and highly efficient methods of promoting and controlling crystallisation in nature will be of great benefit to anyone exploring how to promote and control artificial forms of crystallisation. ‘ The study appears in the international edition of the journal Angewandte Chemie.
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Bharti Chairman Sunil Mittal is Global Telecom Leader for 2010 The Indian telecom industry celebrated its achievements the other day by recognizing key industry players and companies that had excelled during 2009-10 by clocking revenues of US $ 63 billion (Rs. 296,343 crore) and achieving tele-density of over 50% in 2009-10. The telecom industry revenues comprises of telecom equipment revenue Rs. 136,833 crore and telecom services revenue of Rs.159,510 crore. The DoT Secretary PJ Thomas lauded the telecom industry and presented V&D Telecom awards. Among those honoured Tata Teleservices MD Anil Sardana was the Voice&Data Telecom Person of the Year and Bharti Chairman Sunil Mittal was the Global Telecom Leader for 2010. In Mittal absence his award was received by . Sanjay Kapoor, CEO of Bharti Airtel. In his address, PJ Thomas, the man responsible for setting the telecom policy, complimented the telecom industry for crossing the 650 million subscriber milestone. The industry now needs to offer connectivity to the remaining 500 million Indians, he said. With the conclusion of 3G auctions, the industry can now embark on providing data services thus powering the mobile devices. Key industry players like Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Cisco and BSNL were honoured for being the leaders in more than one category. Alluding to the challenges facing the industry, M Pradeep Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, CyberMedia India said, “While the industry is gearing up to connect every single Indian, its profitability is under great strain. The indus-
try also looks forward to clearer policy directions on security issues.”Giving an overview of the Indian telecom industry Prasanto K Roy, Chief Editor of CyberMedia Publications said, “The operators will need much more than magic to make money post 3G spectrum licensing. An early allocation of 3G spectrum, quick ramp up of data services and lower energy costs as a result of reliable utility supply can alone help the industry stay afloat.” The Voice&Data Telecom Person of the Year 2010 award went to Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Teleservices, better known as the hero of the
Sunil Bharti Mittal
Indian mobile users by introducing “per second billing options” which created new opportunities for the mobile customers. In addition, he helped his company roll out GSM services in 14 of India’s 22 telecom circles in just six months. The Voice&Data’s Global Telecom Leader award went to Mr Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Airtel for building an incredibly successful business from scratch and setting new benchmarks for emerging markets worldwide following the acquisition of Zain Telecom. With the recent acquisition of Zain Telecom Bharti has access to Zain’s African mobile opera-
tions in 15 countries, with a total customer base of over 42 million. To honour companies that launch with great ideas Voice & Data presented the Voice & Data Emerging Company of the Year Award to Matrix Cellular for growing from a niche company to a name synonymous with international travel brand equity.The Best Telecom Innovator award from Voice & Data went to Vamshi Krishna Reddy, co-founder of Apalya Technologies for bringing entertainment-on-the-go in the form of mobile TV service. Constant improvements by Mr Reddy enabled mobile broadband users to exploit TV and video-on-demand content-onthe-go and earned them hundreds of thousands of viewers during IPL.Voice&Data’s Green Company of the Year award went to Huawei and Ericsson— the two equipment vendors who sold equal number of green Base stations in India to help service providers to spend less on energy bills. “The V&D Awards are as much about identifying the winners of tomorrow as they are about achievers of today. PwC’s research and analysis enabled the jury awards take a balanced view of both the present as well as the future,” said Sivarama Krishnan, executive director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the firm that played the Knowledge Partner role in the jury awards process. The jury members included A Sethuraman of Huawei, Naresh Ajwani, Wttil Quippo, Kunal Bajaj, Analysys Mason, Rajat K Mukarji, Idea Cellular, Satyen Gupta, British Telecom and Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, CyberMedia India.
Aegis starts Institute of Customer Experience Management Aegis, the BPO arm of the Essar Group has recently launched Institute of Customer Experience Management. This is the first institute in the country (and possibly the world) to train students for the services industry. There are no institutes which train students in managing ‘customer experience’, which all service sector companies recognize is the key to profitability. For this Aegis has partnered with IIM – Indore (for the first time an IIM has agreed to partner with another institute to train the latter’s students), and two internationally renowned quality and customer
experience names – COPC (USA) and SQ Centre (Singapore). The pedigree of this venture is impeccable (backed by $15 billion Essar Group, has partners in IIM – I, COPC, and SQ Centre) and Aegis already got assurance from industry for placements and internship opportunities. Besides Faculty of Aegis, full time faculty and visiting faculty from IIM – I, COPC and SQ Centre, participation of visiting faculty from industry partners is also assured. It’s a 15 month full time PG residential course where IIM – Indore would impart the
general management training, COPC and SQ Centre would train students in processes and mindset. More details (course module, fees, etc.) are available at: www.aegisglobalacademy.com. The first centre has been set up in Coimbatore and even before the first batch has begun classes, the response from the industry partners has been so phenomenal that already the next three centres have been planned (Kolkata, Bhopal, and NCR) which should come up over the next 18-24 months.
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 20
Bank of India opens new branch at Varkala Bank of India, one of the major nationalized bank with more than 3 million customer base, opened their 3249 th branch at Varkala. In an auspicious function arranged at the branch premises, M R C Murthy, Zonal Manager, Bank
of India, Kerala Zone inaugurated the new branch. With the newly opened Varkala branch, the total branch strength of Bank of India raised to 84 in Kerala. M R C Murthy, informed that all the branches are under CBS which enables the bank
to provide various innovative services to their customers like STAR SHARE TRADE, a 3 in 1 account which includes Bank account, Trade account and Demat account, Internet banking, Mobile banking, SMS alert and many more.
M.R.C. Murthy, Zonal Manager, Bank of India inaugurating Bank’s branch in Varkala. (Below) Murthy’s presidential address at the opening of ATM in Ottappalam.
13th ATM at Ottapalam Bank of India opened their 13th ATM in Kerala at Ottapalam. K.P. Ramarajan, Chairman, Ottpalam Municipality inaugurated the ATM at the function arranged at Ottapalam branch premises. M R C Murthy, Zonal
Manager, Bank of India, Kerala Zone presided over the function. In his presidential address Murthy said that Bank of India has already opened ATMs at Alleppey, Kottakal, PTP Nagar, Pathanamthitta and Attingal
during the last one year and is planning to open more ATMs in Kerala at various strategic places. He also explained the advantages of this ATMs. Rajan.T, Manager welcomed the gathering earlier.
Bankers’ Club Calicut: K.V. Suresh President; K.T.P. Unnikrishnan Secretary K.V. Suresh (Principal, Training, PNB, Kozhikode) and K.T.P.Unnikrishnan (Branch Manager, SBT, Thamarassery)
K.V. Suresh, President
have been elected as the President and Secretary, respectively of Bankers’ Club Calicut for the year 2010-2011.
KTP Unnikrishnan- Secretary
Other office bearers are K.T. Sudhir, Chief Manager, SBT and P. Ramesh, Chief Manager, Federal Bank (Vice Presidents), K.P. Venugopal, Chief Manager, SIB and Pramod Kumar T.V., Assistant Manager, Federal Bank (Joint Secretaries), C. Sethumadhavan, Manager, SBI (Treasurer) and A.V. Venugopal, Senior Manager, PNB( Charity Convenor & Joint Treasurer). K.V.Suresh president presided over the Annual General Body Meetingt held at Hotel Malabar Palace. K.T.P. Unnikrishnan presented the
report of the activities of the club 2009-2010. Treasurer C.Sethumadhavan presented the accounts of the club. K.U.Balakrishnan, General
secretary State Forum of Bank- banks and dire need of Bankers Clubs- Kerala was the Chief ers clubs among the banking Guest on that occasion. He in fraternity. He said that Bankers Clubs his speech touched up on the >> Turn to page 22 challenges before the Indian
Business Digest
September 2010
TELECOM
Page No. 21
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Why India’s $35 Joke isn’t PC sales grow 7.6% - Sanjiv Kataria funny anymore - By Prasanto K Roy Here we go again. Indian HRD minister Kapil Sibal has “launched” a $35 computer, evidently his “dream project”. The touch-screen, Linuxbased device looks iPad inspired, but we know little about how it works. It emerged from a student project with a bill of material adding up to $47, a price that the minister wants to bring down to $10 “to take forward inclusive education”. It promises browser and PDF reader, wi-fi, 2GB memory, USB, Open Office, and multimedia content viewers and interfaces. Will it die a quick death within this year, or a painful, government-funded one over the next two? I fear the latter. Project Sakshat even has a busy website so it looks like a project well under way. The Rs 10,000 PC. The Simputer. The $100 MIT laptop. NetPCs from a host of companies. India’s so-called $10 laptop. How many flops and failures will it take to convince governments (and brave but misled companies) to get these facts of tech, products, and life? You don’t launch products until you have a product to launch. Else it’s vaporware. The Indian government is building up a good track record of vaporware, from $10 laptops upward. (Apple launches with a million units ready to sell, and midnight queues outside.) You don’t show prototypes unless they are working ones with running apps, backed by a clear game plan to build up a vendor and apps
network, and a clear design, spec (and preferably bill of materials). It isn’t about the hardware. It’s the application and the apps ecosystem. What will it be used for, and who will make those apps? Where’s the developer community and the roadmap for hundreds of apps, as Apple had when it launched the iPhone and the iPad? Product design isn’t oneoff. It’s an ongoing process, with software updates, improvements, upgrades, and most of all, growing apps support. You can make a working laptop, but it’s no trivial task maintaining it through the lifecycle of the product, ensuring support, firmware and hardware upgrades, and new versions. Replicating the Nano story is no joke. It takes years, expertise, innovation, hard work and lots of luck (and many patents, as with the Nano) to launch a product at one-tenth the current market price. I don’t know of any examples of such overnight miracles (the Nano arrived after years of work, at about half of the current entrylevel product’s price tag.) You don’t re-invent the wheel. We already have $35 computing devices. We call them mobile phones. They’re capable, connected, alwayson, personal, and every second Indian has one. They’re an ideal front-end to information and entertainment, served over voice or SMS or data. Over the years I’ve been less blunt about cheap-PC efforts. But now I am angry. The government is wasting its ef-
forts and my tax money, and making a laughing stock of Indian technological prowess. It isn’t the government’s job to create and sell cheap PCs. If it wants to use ICT for development and education, it can use some of our tax rupeers to build the ecosystem. Create compelling G2C (government to citizen) apps. Shift to education delivered over networks, make e-tax filings mandatory, create citizen services delivered over the internet. And ramp up tech usage in the government: ensure employees have broadband at home, with reasons to use it—intranets and work-fromhome—as well as mobile data and apps. Oh, and it can use the funds and roadmap of the Sakshat project to fund content development for $35 mobile phones—of which there must be 100 million in India. This isn’t the first “cheap laptop” effort. MIT’s $100 laptop hasn’t taken off yet, though it’s at the $200 level and has a roadmap—including options to fund a subsidy. And maybe Sakshat 2.0 is not a hoax, unlike its predecessor. Yes, you can reach any price with sufficient subsidy. But that is no enduring solution. It may make more sense for India negotiate a rock-bottom price for 10 million of last year’s laptops, and subsidize them down to $35. *Prasanto K Roy, chief editor of CyberMedia’s ICT publications group, can be found at pkr.in or twitter.com/ prasanto
The overall India PC market sales touched 22.40 lakh units during the January-March 2010 quarter recording a 33% year-on-year and a 14% quarter-on-quarter increase. Desktop PC sales accounted for nearly two-thirds of total PC sales at 14.36 lakh units, representing 18% growth year-onyear 2010 over 1Q 2009. The sales of Notebook computers grew at 72% year-on-year clocking 8.03 lakh shipments, the highest in a quarter. In the overall PC (Notebooks and Desktops combined) market, HP retained the top spot with a market share of 16.5%, while Dell (13.6%) and Acer (13.0%) took the second and third spots, respectively.In terms of desktop PC shipments HP retained its top position with a market share* of 11.2%, followed by Acer and HCL in second and third spots, respectively during 1Q 2010. In terms
International Long Distance (ILD), broadband, VSAT and Radio Trunking businesses. Intense tariff war caused the steep fall and overall slowdown in the performance across segments, including cellular services that have been leading the growth of the telecom services sector over the past several years. “This is the worst telecom services revenue growth in the last five years. More tariff wars are not sustainable. There is likely to be consolidation ahead which should arrest more tariff wars and revenue attrition. The
3G rollout and rising broadband penetration, including wireless broadband, will also help improve service revenue—but the impact of these will be felt more in fiscal 2011-12 than this year,” Prasanto K Roy, chief editor, CyberMedia India, said. Despite a near 50% subscriber growth, the mobile services segment grew a meagre 3.6% to Rs. 96,860 crore from Rs. 93,522 crore. The tariff cuts and introduction of one paisa per second calling introduced by the new players forced the leading players also to cut tariff.
ket.” The market registered a 42% year-on-year (1Q 2010 over 1Q 2009) growth* in the consumer PC segment and a 28% year-on-year (1Q 2010 over 1Q 2009) growth* in commercial PC shipments as a result of improved performance across all segments. “The high traction in desktop PC shipments during 1Q 2010 can be attributed to the long-overdue spends on IT infrastructure by large and very large businesses and the Government segment. Growth in notebook PC shipments was mainly driven by consumer demand”, stated Sumanta Mukherjee, Lead PC Analyst, IDC India.” The mini notebook PC segment continued to show healthy growth in shipments, as more consumers sought affordable mobile computing. Intense competition forced a drop in prices, encouraging greater adoption”, Sumanta further added.
The new MSN Home page MSN India, your favourite online destination for rich and relevant content has just gotten better. Your very own MSN India is now Social with the latest versions of Hotmail, Messenger, Windows Live along with social networks like Facebook and Twitter available on the hip new MSN homepage. The new MSN home page allows you to surf multiple sites, chat, email, get sports & news updates, catch up on social networks and get your daily dose of entertainment and more. Log on to http:/ /in.msn.com. and find every-
Mobile user base grows 49%, revenues up a meagre 2.5% The Indian telecom services industry that braved the recession of 2008-09 to grow at 20%, bowed to internal competitive forces in the just concluded fiscal 2009-10, slowing to 2.5%, to post revenues of Rs.1,59,510 crore in 2009-10 against previous year’s earnings of Rs. 1,55,683 crore. This has been revealed in Voice&Data 100, the second part of the recent survey by the leading Telecom industry journal Voice&Data. Telecom services revenue include revenue from cellular, fixed line, National Long Distance (NLD),
of notebook PC shipments, HP reclaimed the top spot with a market share* of 25.9% in 1Q 2010; Dell slipped back to second position, while Acer was ranked at No. three. Fiscal year 2009-10 saw the revival of PC sales growth to touch 7.6% (over 2008-09). This was on the back of an 8.1% decline in fiscal year 2008-09 over the previous 12month period (FY 2007-08). According to Anirban Banerjee, Associate Vice President, Research, IDC India, “Continued consumer confidence and a revival of growth in the economy, led to the January-March 2010 quarter experiencing an upward trend in consumer PC shipments. The commercial segment, especially large and very large businesses, also saw a demand growth. This performance underscores a more broad based recovery in the India PC mar-
The cellular services market that grew at 36.4% just two years ago thus providing momentum to the Indian telecom revolution is now set for exciting times, the Voice & Data study says. Thanks to the mobile telephony revolution one in every two Indians owns a mobile phone. Three mobile operators— Bharti, Reliance and Vodafone — now boast of a subscriber base of over 100 million each. The subscriber base for fixed line in the country is languishing at 36.96 million.
thing you need or want to do online ! The new MSN homepage presented in a clean, crisp, rich new format. It’s not just easy on the eyes but also elegant in functionality and easy in navigation. With new content addi-
tions like stock market updates, schedules of your favourite TV shows, view popular videos on and even better a one click aggregated view to all your social updates to help you stay connected and informed at all times.
Intel Excellence award for KV Pattom Intel, in association with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sagathan (KVS) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), felicitated various schools, teachers and students who have demonstrated exceptional performance in ICT integration in school curriculum. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt of India felicitated eight schools, eight teachers, twelve students and six regions across India to acknowledge innovative teaching-learning practices adopted by them. Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom was selected as a winner in the school category and Ms. Jalagakumari has been selected as the best teacher. Classmate PCs were awarded to students for making effective use of tech-
nology in their projects. Netbooks were given away to teachers for incorporating ICT tools in their teaching, while schools which incorporated Technology Aided Learning (TAL) in their school curriculum and regions which received maximum participation in the contest were awarded Digital Photo Frames. “With the world moving rapidly into digital media and information technology, the role of ICT in education is gaining importance day by day to prepare us for global economy. Intel has come up with various initiatives to drive educational excellence with 21st century skills by integrating ICT in the teaching – learning process”, said R Sivakumar, Managing Director, Sales & Marketing, Intel South Asia.
Business Digest
September 2010
O. Venugopal re-elected as the President of Kerala Master Printers’ Association General Body meeting held here. Other office bearers are G. Venugopal (Kochi) - General Secretary, Prof: Mathew Koshy (Thiruvananthapuram), T.F. James(Thrissur), MS. Saji (Kollam), Joseph Muttathottil (Kochi) -Vice Presidents, R. Gopakumar (Kochi) - Joint O. Venugopal G. Venugopal Secretary, K.P. Uthup (Kochi)O. Venugopal (Kochi) has dent of Kerala Master Printers’ Treasurer and Jose Joseph been re-elected as the Presi- Association at the 32nd Annual (Kochi)- Co-ordinator.
Dr. Mathew in FICCI Committee Kochi. He has conducted a lot of studies on Industries in the SME sector. He is the recipient of the Birla National Award in Economics. Besides serving as the member of the consultative group of the PMO’s office on unorganised sector, he was also a member of the high power committee on SME of the Planning Commission.
Dr. P.M. Mathew, Economist and an expert on matters related to small and medium enterprises, has been inducted into the National Committee of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), as its expert Member. Dr. Mathew is Director of the Institute of Small Enterprises and Development,
From page 20
are the association of Branch Managers, Supervisors and other Bank executives working in a particular area, formed with the objective of friendship and fellowship and sharing information on customers, especially who are perennial defaulters. Some of these clubs are undertaking social and service activities as well. Clubs also arrange discussions and seminars inviting eminent speakers/ bankers/ economists etc. This has been to promote academic brilliance and professional skills among the bankers. The State Forum arranges various of programmes for its member clubs. State Forum of Bankers Clubs-Kerala is the apex body of all Bankers Clubs functioning in different centers of Kerala. This apex body is functioning for the last three years. Almost all clubs are affiliated to this forum. The current years activities of the forum was formally inaugurated by M.V.Nair, Chairman & Managing Direc-
tor, Union Bank of India, in a glittering function held in Kochi recently. Presentations on Loan Rating by CRISIL was arranged in all important centers by the Forum. The Forum in association with the Chamber of Commerce & Industry has arranged talks on Global Meltdown at various c enters. Over a period of time banking sector in our country has witnessed a tremendous growth in business both in volume and number of branches with cut- throat completion among the bankers. Banking today has become a very complex proposition and banks have become super markets for a basket of services by crossing the contours of normal banking. Stiff competition has also crept in the field were one banker push aside the others with the thinnest of the margins. Fraud and fraudulent transactions have become main concerns of the banks. In the process fraternity and
comradery have become the biggest causalties. Under this critical aspects State Forum of Bankers club, the apex body came into existence to create an era of togetherness and oneness in the professional filed, says, K.U.B. According to Balakrishnan, although the Indian banks were successful in weathering the global recession, the biggest challenges of our banks will be managing the human resources. A vacuum has already been created among the banks. Banks have to shift from generalist to specialist. They must attract new and young talents to its fold to bring down the average age of its work force. A proper succession plan has to be put in place to avoid the vacuum. Arming them to the best of skill sets and retaining them for a long term in the same institution are going to be the challenges of the banks in the future.
K.U. Balakrishnan, General Secretary, State Forum of Bankers’ Clubs, Kerala inaugurating the Annual General Body meeting of Bankers’ Club, Kozhikode. K.T.P. Unnikrishnan, Secretary, Bankers’ Club, Kozhikode, K.V. Suresh, President, C.P. Mohandas, Dy. General Manager, Federal Bank, Kozhikode and A.V. Venugopal, Joint Treasurer are also seen.
Page No. 22
Dr. Mohankumar wins ‘Sevana Ratnam’ Award Dr. Mohankumar, Managing Director, College of Marine Technology, Kochi won the ‘Sevana Ratnam’ Award for excellence in technical education, instituted by Netaji Smaraka Samithi. The award committee consisting of Prof. M.K. Padmakumar (Chairman), Dr.
E.K. Somarajan and Adv. A.S. Vijayakumar lauded the hardwork, far-sightedness and leadership quality of Dr. Mohan Kumar which were instrumental in making the institution the No. 1 in marine technology education. College of Marine Technology came into being in 1996 in a small way.
Business Digest
September 2010
World Malayalee Council elects Soman Baby as Chairman and V.C. Praveen, President
‘Quick Heal’ launches world’s first mobile phone virus scan
World Malayalee Council Conference held in Doha elected Soman Baby (Bahrain), Chairman, V.C. Praveen (Chennai), President, George Kakkanatt (Huston), General
world, the conference was addressed by Ministers M.A. Baby, K.P. Rajendran, Elamaram Kareem, former Union Minister O. Rajagopal, former M.P. Abdul Samad
Mukesh, Indian Ambassador to Oman Anil Yadav and Indian Ambassador to Quatar Deepa Gopalan Vadav. The conference in a resolution expressed concern over
Soman Baby Chairman
V.C. Praveen President
George Kakkanatt General Secretary
Secretary and Ajith Menon (Singapore), Treasurer. Other office bearers are Gopala Pillai (Dallas), Jolly Thadathil (Germany), Cicily Jacob (Nigeria), Vice Chairmen, A.S. Jose (Bahrain), Joy Kochatt (Switzerland), Vice Presidents, Anoop Dhanvanthri (Associate Secretary), Priyadas Mangalath, Anoj Kumar, Poly Mathew, Amy Varghese, Cyriac Thomas (Ex-committee mem- Ajith Menon, Treasurer bers). Attended by around 450 Samadani, former Ambassador delegates from all over the T.P. Sreenivasan, actor
the failure of Kerala in attracting investments. 8th World Conference of the organisation will be held in Dallas, USA in May 2012. Androo Pappachan (USA) has been chosen as the global Advisory Board Chairman of the council. T.P. Sreenivasan, Dr. George Sudarshan, Abdul Samad Samadani, Dr. Babu Paul, Gokulam Gopalan, Adv. C.K. Menon, Dr. A.V. Anoop, Dr. Azad Moopan and Francis Joseph are the other Advisory Board members.
Kuldip Kaura is Managing Director of ACC The Board of Directors of the ACC Ltd appointed Kuldip K Kaura as Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of ACC Limited with effect from 13th August 2010. He succeeds Sumit Banerjee who is taking up a new assignment. Kaura brings with him rich experience in leading businesses in diverse sectors such as power, natural resources, metals and mining as well as a deep understanding of corporate governance and sustainable development. He has been a Director on the Board of ACC Limited since October 28, 2009. Prior to this Kaura was
CEO of Vedanta Resources Plc, where he is still acting as an advisor. He worked with the Vedanta Resources group for 7 years, playing a significant
role in transformation and rapid growth of its group companies, initially as Managing Director of Hindustan Zinc Ltd. Before that he was Managing Director & Country Manager of ABB India, a group where he served 18 years holding various management positions. He started his professional career at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in 1969, Kaura holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani and is an alumnus of several executive education programs at the London Business School and the Swedish Institute of Management.
Educated, unemployable - By Garima Pant Why must Infosys,one of the biggest names in the IT industry, which recruits the cr mede-le-cr me of professionals from the best institutes in the country, spend $184 million on training programmes annually or invest up to 30 weeks of residential programmes on engineers it hires? The answer is simple the need to build em-
ployee competency levels. Says Srikantan Moorthy, VP and head, education &amp; research, Infosys Technologies, “We recruit people on the basis of their learning ability. The investment is a non-negotiable. Besides training we conduct residential programmes to enable our engineers to meet client requirements. The need
Page No. 23
of the hour is not just for individuals to have strong conceptual knowledge, but also strong application capabilities.” His information is, perhaps, an indicator of how inadequate India’s education system is when it comes to preparing an individual for a job. While unemployment can>> Turn to page 24
Quick Heal, India’s leading anti-virus solution providers launched PC2Mobile Scan -the world’s first mobile phone virus scan. Addressing newsmen in Kochi, Quick Heal’s Director & CTO, Sanjay Katkar said that using ‘PC2Moblie Scan Technology’ you can easily find out if the mobile phone is having any virus infection. You just have to connect the mobile phone to the PC or laptop us- Sanjay Katkar, Director, Quick Heal and Abhijit Jorvekar, Vice ing USB Cable and scan the President, Sales and Marketing at the launch of mobile virus scan phone from Quick Heal Total in Kochi. Security 2010 installed on the The Company has achieved a Quick Heal’s Vice presiPC. If your PC or laptop is revenue of Rs. 100 crore in dent - Sales & Marketing, Bluetooth enabled and if your 2009-10. >> Turn to page 24 mobile phone is Bluetooth enabled then the mobile phone can also be scanned over Bluetooth connection. “For example a virus that is designed for Symbian operating system which is widely used in mobile phones can infect (drop) a virus file on mobile phone that is not a having Symbian operating system. Even though the virus will not get active on these nonSymbian mobile phones they still occupy lots of space on phone memory or memory card causing loss of space”. Quick Heal Total Security 2010, which has feature of PC2Moblie supports 581+ models of different makes (mid range to higher end PDAs), can be used to remove these dormant virus dropped files from even through a non-Symbian mobile phone as well. Currently Quick Heal has more than 30% market share in Indian Anti Virus Market.
PROPOSALS FROM PROBABLE DONORS, PHILANTHROPISTS AND PUBLIC We are inviting proposals from probable donors, philanthropists and secular public who are interested to donate sizeable sums of money for a Foundation. Business Digest Best Awards Foundation, a charitable public trust has been registered a few months ago and the proposed activities are in the public interest to social, education, cultural and economic upliftment of the society. This trust will honor and award those who have excelled in public life, corporate life and other domains. The Trust will run educational programs and institutions commensurate with its objectives. Proposals are invited and can be directed to the Chairman of the fund raising committee, Business Digest Best Awards Foundation at a5newventure@yahoo.com with a copy to amadhavan1@rediffmail.com This is a private entity and not under any government, or regulator. All decisions taken by the Foundation will be final and the criteria for selection of the donors will be decided by the Foundation. BUSINESS DIGEST BEST AWARDS FOUNDATION A.Madhavan Managing trustee, Business Digest Best Awards Foundation, Journalist Nagar, Maria Park Lane , Pipeline Road,Thrikkakara P.O., Kochi.682 021. Phone: 09847178836. Landline: 0484 4025403 , 2425211 amadhavan1@rediffmail.com
Business Digest
September 2010
Page No. 24
Q1 earnings not up to the mark Underperformance of stock market a concern Business News Service Although the first quarter results of leading companies were showing growth in sales and net profit, it was not enough to make positive influence in the stock market. The average profit growth
was 12% and sales growth 20%. But even sensex companies found it difficult to match the 25% growth they were expecting. The concern is that although the economy continues
to grow the stock market is not growing along with it. As the banks have increased interest rates the going will be more difficult for India Inc. in the coming days. But banks have performed
well and they are expected to repeat it in the future as well. Once interest rate rise, it gives banks the pricing power. Deposit rate will go up but they will be able to maintain their spreads. Since the economy is
growing at 8-8.5%, non-performing assets also will be lower. Despite intense competition and high inflationery pressures, India’s banking sector will continue to show high growth owing to the country’s
strong economic expansion, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s says. ‘We expect credit growth of about 25% in the next fiscal year’, adds, Standard and Poor’s.
From page 23
An inefficient human resource development regime in the country, absence of an academia-industry interface, lack of focus on skill development of individuals and an almost non-existent quality assurance framework are the root causes of the poor outcomes of the current educational regime. With no returns expected in terms of jobs, there is a significant drop-out rate leading to an under-trained and underskilled workforce. “I opted to work right after graduation as I could see how my seniors were struggling to find a job of their choice and had to make peace with jobs that were underpaying and not worth their efforts,” rues 23year-old Jitesh Bhasin, a BPO employee. His fears are not unjustified. This trend will result in a deluge of ‘shall drop, will work’ accumulating at the bottom of the education pyramid. The NSS’ 61st round employment data hardly sprung up a surprise when it revealed that in urban India, 207 out of every 1,000 men who completed their graduation or went beyond that remained unemployed, against only 10 men out of a 1,000 who are not literate. Skill deficit Consensus on the lack of vocational training in the country impeding competitiveness and productivity of the workforce is easy to achieve among experts. How else do you interpret that only 25% of the engineering graduates, 15% of finance and accounting professionals and just 10% of professionals with any kind of degree are suitable to be employed in MNCs. Incidentally, that finding comes from an MNC itself (McKinsey). India better pull up its
socks. Close to 500 million people, says McKinsey, will need to go through skill development by 2020. As Dilip Chenoy, CEO, National Skills Development Council, says, “It’s not education that is prima-
rily responsible for lack of skills. It’s probably the lack of systematic approach in skill development and building on whatever education one receives.” The 11th Plan document suggests that due to “the near
exclusive reliance upon a few training courses with long duration (two to three years) covering around 100 skills, 80% of new entrants into the workforce have no opportunity for training in skills. 12.8 million popu-
lation (sic) will enter the work force as new entrants per year. As against this, the present (largely government-administered) system of delivery can only provide training to 3.1 million per year”.
not be brushed under the carpet, youth employability is no less a nightmare. A lot can be blamed on the education system. As many as 90% employment opportunities require vocational skills, but 90% of our college and school outputs are just cram experts, rendering no less than 57% of India’s youth suffering with some degree of unemployability, reveals a recent TeamLease Labour report. So, if you were looking at the bright side of the picture that just 8% of the youth in India are unemployed, there’s hardly a reason to cheer, because 53% of the rest suffer from some form of skill deprivation. That sets back the demographic advantage India could hope to enjoy in future. “India is coming into its dividend as an unusually young country in an unusually ageing market a young, fresh-faced nation in a graying world,” Nandan Nilekani observed in his book, Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century. That’s not just another observation. By 2025, 25% of the world’s workers will be Indians, points out the TeamLease report. Three hundred and fifty universities, 18,000 colleges and 6,000 ITIs will till then continue to churn out five lakh technical graduates, along with around 2.3 million graduates (or maybe more). Unfortunately, just 10-25% of them will be ‘employable’, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). If that to you seems far fetched, consider this: according to a 2008 report of the Boston Study Group, India by 2012 will have 1.3 million surplus of un-trained and under-educated people and the country will fall short (by 5.3 million) of real talent. From page 23
Abhijit Jorvekar said that Smart phones are going to pose greater security risk to corporations as these phones are given abilities to access corporate networks in real time just as laptops have been doing it. This presents hackers and
cyber criminals with wider opportunity to use smart phones to compromise corporate network and access sensitive data. This is going to be a big challenge for corporate security in coming days.
Edited, Printed and Published by P.V. Radhamani, Printed at Printers Castle, Kochi - 16. Published at Journalist Nagar, Thrikkakara P.O., Kochi - 21. Chief Editor: A. Madhavan (Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act). Tel: 98471 78836, 90482 11587, 0484-4025403/3240781. Fax: 0484-2357581 E-mail: business_digest@yahoo.co.in, admin@businessdigestmagazine.org Web: www.businessdigestmagazine.org