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Agriculture
Rotschilds sells stake in Bharti joint venture
UK based EL Rothschild company, has sold a 40.1 per cent stake from its 50 per cent stake in the JV - Indian FieldFresh Foods Private Ltd - to Philippine-based Del Monte Pacific Ltd for $20.85 million. FieldFresh exports fresh fruits and vegetables to Europe and other markets, while it also sells to its domestic Indian market.
Also part of the deal is that the existing Indian operations (tomato and puree manufacturing facilities in Bangalore) of Del Monte will be merged to the Bharti-Del Monte-Fieldfresh entity. Rothschild will stay ON as a minority partner in the joint venture with 9.9 per cent stake.
The JV between Bharti Enterprises and ELRo Holdings India Ltd, an investment company of the Rothschild family, formed by Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, was set up last year with an initial investment of $50 million.
World bank approves loan for Tank management project
The World Bank has approved a US$64 million loan and credit in additional financing to the Karnataka Community Based Tank Management Project, a project that has so far mobilized 1518 Tank User Groups (TUG) to develop and manage some 1681 irrigation tanks since April 25, 2002, when the original project was approved by the World Bank.
The objectives will remain the same as the original project, to improve rural livelihoods and reduce poverty by developing community-based approaches to improving and managing tank systems. The project is expected to facilitate sustainable tank development, ensure meaningful participation of traditionally marginalized tank users, increase agricultural productivity and farm income, and enhance income generating opportunities for non-command area tank users.
About 250,000 rural households are expected to benefit from improved tank management supported by this project (including additional financing). It is anticipated that the major economic benefits will be in agriculture and horticulture production, fisheries, forestry, livestock, ground water recharge and time saved in fetching water, which will have a particular impact on the lives of rural women.
The US$32 million loan is from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and has 20 years to maturity including 5-years of grace period.The US$32 million credit is provided by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessionary lending arm and has 35 years to maturity and a 10-year grace period.
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Aviation
GMR signs MOU with Sabena Flight Academy
PGMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which is developing the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad has signed an MoU with Sabena Flight Academy, one of world's leading independent flight academies based in Brussels, Belgium. The new joint venture company will set up a modern aviation academy at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad by January 2009. More than 80 million Euros (Rs 450 crore) will be invested over the next three years covering infrastructure including accommodation for more than 200 trainees per year, six full flight simulators, cabin trainers and engineering tooling.
The academy will offer complete training packages for aviation related activities covering pilot and cabin crew training, engine engineers, technicians and aviation consultants. Training for airport operations staff such as passengers and ramp services agents will also be provided, thus bridging the demand-supply gap in these areas.
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Finance
Indians abroad lead in remittances
According to latest data released by the World Bank, Indians working in foreign countries sent back over $25.7 billion (roughly Rs 1,28,500 crore) as remittances in 2006, followed by Mexico ($24.7 billion), China ($22.5 billion) and the Philippines ($14.9 billion).
The money received by India through this route is roughly the same as the country's total estimated annual expenditure on defence, or about five times the estimated expenditure on education in 2007-08. Total income tax and wealth tax collections in the country are less than the remittances received. And they are over three times the foreign direct investment in the country in 2006. However, the remittances make up only about 3% of India's GDP.
The World Bank study estimates that the number of Indian immigrants is about 10 million. Among the Indian states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu provide almost half of the total immigrants from India. These are followed by Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. A study, conducted by the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, showed over 25% of households in Kerala have at least one person working abroad.
World Bank approves loan to Himachal Pradesh
The World Bank today approved a US$200 million loan and credit to the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, to support the implementation of critical structural, fiscal, and administrative reforms needed to boost economic growth and inclusive development, while sustaining the environmental heritage of the state.
The First Himachal Pradesh Development Policy Loan and Credit is designed to create fiscal space to support the state's development vision, and promote environmentally sustainable development. The operation supports fiscal reform including the strengthening of public financial management, and measures to improve the state's environment management capacity. It aims to enhance growth and employment, especially in the private sector, and improve governance and public administration.
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Information Technology
Patni wins contract from UK firm
Mumbai-based Patni Computer Systems has bagged a $ 200 million multi year outsourcing deal with UK-based The Carphone Warehouse. The project involves managing IT systems and consulting for the UK-based mobile phone retailer.
As a part of the deal, Patni will become a technology partner and provide integrated services in consulting, systems integration, application development and maintenance. Patni will also be a key partner to The Carphone Warehouse for developing next-generation systems like Internet Protocol Television and multimedia content for Carphone's global telecom and retail operations across all its Europeean locations. These services will be offered from India.
Sap acquires Yasu
SAP AG has announced the intent to acquire YASU Technologies, a privately held leader in business rules management systems. SAP will embed YASU Technologies solutions into its market-leading technology platform, SAP NetWeaverŽ, to provide the business rules infrastructure that allows companies to move their strategies forward and better maintain compliance while saving time, resources and money. The acquisition of YASU Technologies is continuing evidence of SAP's strategy to use targeted, fill-in acquisitions to complement its broad solution offering and successful organic growth strategy.
Som Mittal appointed new president of NASSCOM
NASSCOM, the premier chamber of commerce of the IT software and services industry in India, today announced the appointment of Mr. Som Mittal as the successor to Kiran Karnik, as President, NASSCOM. Mr. Mittal will assume the office of the President from January, 2008. He is presently the head of services business of Hewlett-Packard for Asia-Pacific and Japan region. Mr. Mittal has been responsible for the services operations in Asia-Pacific and Japan of the largest IT company in the world. His extensive experience in the IT industry, in addition to his previous work in other sectors, brings a unique blend of industry-specific knowledge as also broader global perspective
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Petroleum and Natural Gas
ONGC to invest $5 billion in Krishna Godavari
The state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) plans to invest over USD 5 billion to produce 25 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) of gas from its eastern offshore Krishna Godavari fields by 2013.
ONGC has submitted to the regulator Director General of Hydrocarbons an appraisal programme of the discoveries it had made in KG offshore basin, putting the in-place reserves at 6.37 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf), industry sources said. Besides natural gas, ONGC also plans to produce 8,000 barrels of oil per day from the fields.
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Ports
L&T to build two ports
RLarsen and Toubro, India's leading engineering and construction firm, plans to build two ports at a total cost of Rs 3000 crores (1 crore=10 million ).
L&T will build the ports and operate it and then transfer them to its subsidiary company, L&T Infrastructure Development Projects L&T is already developing a Port at Dhamra in Orissa
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Power
3i invests in Adani Power
UK private equity firm 3i Group-sponsored India Infrastructure Fund has invested $227 million for a minority 10 per cent stake in Adani Power. Adani power, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprise, is setting up a 2,640 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Gujarat. The project launched in June 2006 is expected to become operational by 2009
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Renewable Enery
Astonfield to build solar plant in West Bengal
Aston field Management , a Geneva based infrastructure management company , aand Sun Edison of USA plan to set up a 5mw capacity solar power plant in Bankura in the state of West Bengal. The joint venture company plans to invest $25 million in the project. Work on the project is expected to start in December this year. |
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Transportation
Bangalore metro shortlist Siemens and Alstom
Bangalore Metro Rail Corp. Ltd (BMRCL) has short-listed four firms- Siemens AG of Germany, Bombardier Transportation GmbH, Alstom Projects India Ltd, the local subsidiary of France's Alstom Corp., and state-run BEML Ltd-to build and supply coaches for the local rail network it is building in Bangalore
The state-owned company expects to spend around Rs750 crore (1 crore = 10 million ) for 180 coaches that will be needed to run trains on the project's 33km first phase-trains will start running on this route by 2011.
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Telecommunications
Government accepts regulators recommendations
The Government has accepted the recommendations of TRAI that there should be no cap on the number of access providers in any service area.
The Unified (Telecom) Access Services (UAS) licenses are technology neutral and the licensees are required to provide access services and meet the stipulated roll-out obligations using wireline and / or wireless technologies by utilizing network equipment that meets the prescribed standards. The allocation of radio-spectrum and grant of Wireless License shall be subject to availability. In case UAS Licensee is not allocated spectrum due to non-availability, the Licensee shall endeavor to roll out services using wireline technologies. It has also been decided that the roll out for wireless services shall be reckoned from the date of spectrum allocation. This will also apply to those licensees who are awaiting initial spectrum allotment.
TRAI had also recommended to enhance the subscriber link criterion for allocation of frequency spectrum to UAS/CMTS licensees The government has accepted the TRAI's recommendation of enhanced subscriber linked criterion for frequency allocation and has set up a committee in Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) to further study and give a report to the Government.
The government has also decided that the existing private UAS Licensees may be permitted to expand their existing networks by using alternate wireless technology i.e. the present UAS Licensee who is using GSM technology for wireless access may be permitted to use CDMA technology and vice-versa. The spectrum for the alternate technology, CDMA or GSM (as the case may be) shall be allocated in the applicable frequency band subject to availability after payment of prescribed fee.
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