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Infosys profit rises high on mega trend
Seed potato sent to Pak after decades
Ambani most influential person in
telecom; Airtel best brand |
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Kinetic’s Comet hits Indian roads New Delhi, October 12
Industrial growth up 7.9 per cent
Nath seeks FDI from Britain
Nickelodeon ko Jadoo mil gaya
SBI, LIC join hands to fund big projects
Plastic cartons to transport apples
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Infosys profit rises high on mega trend
Bangalore, October 12 Mr Nandan Nilekani said the guidance had also been revised upward, with revenue expected to grow 48 per cent in fiscal 2005, with Earnings Per Share (EPS) growing to Rs 67 at 43 per cent The upward revision of the guidance had factored in the possibility of political changes in the United States putting pressure on outsourcing of business from there, he said. “We see outsourcing as a win-win situation for the US and India.” The EPS this quarter increased by 47 per cent to Rs 16.71, and an interim dividend of Rs 5 per share has been announced. Thirty-two new clients were added during the quarter, as were 5010 employees. Providing the outlook for the next quarter ending Dec 31, he said Year on Year (YoY) growth would be about 49 to 50 per cent while EPS is expected to be Rs 17.10. Among the new clients added, Mr. Nilekani listed a discount retailer in the US, an European retailer, a UK-based aerospace company, and a European automotive company. While the aerospace company has hired Infosys for a design and analysis project of an aircraft subsystem, one of the world’s largest companies in the IT storage space was partnering with the Infosys for the development of a storage management product. Infosys relationship with telecom players has continued, with an addition of one of the largest wholesale telecom carriers in Europe. On Bangalore’s continued infrastructure problems, he said Infosys too was very concerned, but they would participate in the upcoming Bangalore IT.com, (some companies have threatened a boycott) to sustain engagement. “Bangalore today is a global brand, and this should not be tarnished,” Mr Nilekani said.
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Seed potato sent to Pak after decades
Mullanpur, October 12 “This is the first time after several decades that seed potato from India is being exported to Pakistan,” said Mr
K.V. Iyer, managing officer, Chambal Agritech. He said it was a positive step towards the improvement of trade relations between the two countries. A Lahore-based company, Trade Channels, will receive the consignment, he said. Pakistan has an average annual demand of 40,000 tonnes of potato. It imports 10,000 tonnes from Holland. Chambal Agritech expects to capture 50 per cent of market share within three or four years. This hope is based on competitive pricing and the quality of seed which would suit Pakistan’s soil and climactic conditions, Mr Russell Cant, general manager technology, Techni Pty Ltd. said. Apart from Desiree, Granola, Cardinal and Diamant (Dutch) varieties, the other two varieties that have been sent are Kufri Badshah and Kufri Bahar, which have been developed by the Central Potato Research Institute, India. These Indian varieties would give a higher yield in Pakistan as well, said Mr Cant. Moreover, the farming practices adopted there are also similar, he added. The yield obtained from European varieties hovers around 35-40 metric tonnes per hectare whereas Indian varieties give 40-50 metric tonnes, Mr Iyer said. “The early generation seed is far superior in terms of quality than conventional seed. These varieties also carry lesser disease load,” he said.
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Ambani most influential person in
telecom; Airtel best brand
Chandigarh, October 12 The World Communication Awards, organised by London based Emap Communication Group, were given to the two companies last evening. After receiving the award, Sunil Mittal said “it is indeed noteworthy that our efforts at placing Bharti on the global map at par with the leading telecom brands of the world has been recognised.” “The potential of telecommunications in this country (India) is enormous and Airtel has been the first to recognise this potential and commit itself to play a lead role in connecting India like never before and providing high quality telecom services to all,” Mittal added. Ambani, who could not attend the function, said in a statement “the award is, of course, very much associated with a recognition of the rapidly growing influence of India in the global telecommunications arena.”
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Kinetic’s Comet hits Indian roads
New Delhi, October 12 “We are moving towards the niche market of bikes, as the players are few and margins are good. Launch of this bike is a step towards building volumes in the premium segment,” Kinetic Engineering Joint Managing Director Sulajja Firodia Motwani told reporters here. The Comet is manufactured by Korean automobile maker Hyosung Motors, with which Kinetic has a technical collaboration. Kinetic had earlier introduced another bike for the niche segment, Aquila, also manufactured by the Korean company. Aquila sold 100 units in the first year of introduction and the production was raised to 200 units following rise in demand. Five years ago, the company planned to enter the motor cycle market in a big way, but currently it is concentrating primarily on the premium segment. It had targeted to sell 100,000 units of bikes in the last financial year, but scaled down the target by half apparently due to inadequate demand. With the new offerings and its already existing bikes sale, the company plans to match its sales target of 50,000 units this fiscal as well. “We will sell 100,000 bikes by 2005-06,” Ms Firodia said. The company plans to launch another 125-cc bike by June 2005 in the same segment. The Comet will be supported by Kinetic in terms of after-sales service and spare parts, in the cities where it is launched. The limited edition bike will be available in select cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and others. — UNI
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Industrial growth up 7.9 per cent
The Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) shows that the General Index for August, 2004, stands at 196.4, which is higher by 7.9 per cent as compared to the level in August, 2003. The Indices of Industrial Production for the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors for August, 2004 stand at 142.4, 205.8, and 178.7, respectively, with the corresponding growths of 4.7 per cent, 8.2 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively, in August, 2003. The cumulative growth during April-August, 2004-05 over the corresponding period of 2003-04 in the three sectors has been 5.2 per cent, 8.2 per cent and 7.7 per cent, respectively. As many as 15 of the 17 two-digit industry groups have shown positive growth during the August 2004 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. ‘Machinery and Equipment other than Transport Equipment’ have shown the highest growth of 26.3 per cent, followed by 18.2 per cent in ‘Other Manufacturing Industries’ and 13.3 per cent in ‘Basic Chemicals & Chemical Products (except products of Petroleum & Coal)’. On the other hand, ‘Wood and Wood Products; Furniture and Fixtures’ have shown a negative growth of 10.6 per cent followed by a decline of 2.5 per cent in ‘Wool, Silk and Man-Made Fibre Textiles’.
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Nath seeks FDI from Britain
New Delhi, October 12 “We especially look to FDI in manufacturing sectors and greenfield projects. Mere acquisitions do not excite us. What we really want is FDI that generates maximum economic activity, and thereby creates employment, that creates wealth for ordinary people,” Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said at a Destination India Seminar organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
(Ficci) in London last evening. A Commerce Ministry statement issued here said that Mr Nath indicated that a Bill would be introduced soon in Parliament on Special Economic Zones
(SEZs), which would also include biotechnology parks and Free Trade Warehousing Zones. In all these, FDI up to 100 per cent would be permitted, including in the real estate development and establishment of the zones. “We see SEZs as hubs of manufacturing, and Free Trade and Warehousing Zones as trading hubs. Units located in them will enjoy a number of tax preferences,” the minister said. Referring to the recent World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report which ranks India at third place in the availability of scientists and engineers, Mr Nath said over the next two decades, India will become one of the largest economies in the world and would continue to be among the most dynamic ones. On outsourcing, the minister said several studies had shown that “outsourcing is in fact a win-win situation. India benefits no doubt, but so do British companies; and the additional profitability of the companies sustains and creates more jobs in the UK”.
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Mumbai, October 12 The company has also entered into a tie-up with Graphiti Multimedia Pvt Ltd and Filmkraft India (owned by director and actor Rakesh Roshan) to produce the animation TV series, MTV Networks India managing director Alex Kuruvilla said here today. Nickelodeon, the kids’ channel, which is a part of MTV group, has acquired rights for 23 episodes from Filmkraft India, he said. Jadoo had played an important role in the success of the movie Koi Mil Gaya, and the companies are planning to “recreate the magic on air,” it said. Nickelodeon proposes to air the animated-cum-action series at noon every Sundays, starting November 14, it said. The production of the series has already begun. Co-produced and co-authored by Nick and Graphiti Multimedia, the series would also be used in the global market, it said. “Nick will provide shows and content of quality that blend the best of international expertise with the local creative talent to give Indian kids the best they can get,” Mr Kuruvilla said. — PTI
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SBI, LIC join hands to fund big projects
Chandigarh, October 12 The MoU to cooperate and coordinate in infrastructure financing was signed by SBI chairman A K Purwar and LIC chairman S.B. Mathur here. The infrastructure projects have a long gestation period and the SBI could provide finance only up to 10 years, Mr Purwar told newspersons. The MoU would help to overcome the asset liability mismatch with the LIC acting as source for long-term funds. SBI’s current exposure to infrastructure projects is close to Rs 27,000 crore and has already disbursed Rs 2,000 crore to road and power projects against sanctioned amount of Rs 6,000 crore this year, Mr Purwar said, adding the bank would double the disbursals next year.
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Plastic cartons to transport apples
Shimla, October 12 The new cartons which were formally launched yesterday at a function at the Dhalli Market, near here, will help eliminate wooden and paperboard-based packing boxes which are a big drain on forests reserves. The paper cartons also posed problems like loss of strength and possibility of attack of micro organisms on apples due to moisture absorption. The national horticulture board has given a subsidy of Rs 18.50 per carton for the launch of 50,000 cartons.
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New Delhi, October 12
