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November 22, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Wipro offers Net services in
Chandigarh Aao bune,
says Renuka Shahane Locking horns over mobile phones ‘Bureaucracy deterrent to investment’ Birla Eric to raise 50 cr |
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Hunt for
bargains
IT industry poised for 51 pc growth Cable accident hits
Internet services
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Wipro offers Net services in
Chandigarh CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — Now you will be able to get an Internet connection from supermarkets, or a nearby grocery shop or even retail outlets. Wipro Net, which announced the launch of its Internet services in the city today under the
brand name netKrackerTM, plans to open atleast 100 such distribution outlets. Chandigarh is the second city in the North after Delhi where Wipro Net, a subsidiary of Wipro, has launched its Internet services. With this, another ISP has been added to the list of already existing five ISPs. The company aims to capture atleast one-fourth of the total Internet market share of the city in the coming six months. “Chandigarh offers a great opportunity since a higher disposable income of the residents is conducive to e- shopping. Moreover, the number of Internet connections in the city are expected to increase to 1,85,000 within three years”, Mr Jose Koshy, National Sales Manager of netKracker explained the reason of choosing the city beautiful as one of the destinations. netKracker, he said has been rated as one of the best ISPs in the country in a recent survey by Chip magazine. The company officials are confident of capturing a substantial market share. Subscribers of netKrackerTM will get free home installation, 5 e-mail IDs for every connection, mail manager for every mail ID, 5 mb space and round the clock service via call centres. How the increasing competition among the ISPs will benefit customers as well as service providers yet remains to be seen. While the existing number of Net subscribers in the city is merely 20,000, atleast 10 more ISPs are expected to start their services in the coming few months. Officials in these companies agree that the business is affected by more number of service providers vying to capture the market, however, ultimately the one offering good quality services only will be able to survive. “Business might be affected initially, but the consumer will chose to go in for the best ISP only”, opines Mr Anil Kaura, Sr Executive at Satyam. Consumers agree. “Initially less rates or additional benefits like more free hours etc. can attract more customers, but if one finds the services are not up to the mark, there is no reason not to shift to the better service provider”, says Mr Binwat who is working in a dot com company. |
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Aao bune, says Renuka Shahane CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — Renuka Shahane, the ever-smiling model- actress who has become the brand ambassador for the Vardhman group, was in the city today to launch three products, reflecting the trend of increasing alignment between glamour and the corporate sector. The first product launched by Renuka, who first lighted the traditional lamp at a local hotel, was the Aao bune, packaged fabulously and targets children of tender age and to be sold on a no-profit basis. For each pack sold, Re 1, will be donated for the welfare of physically-challenged children. Informed Mr Sachit Jain, Executive Director, Vardhman Spinning and General Mills, “This venture is all about preserving our age-old tradition. The Aao Bune pack contains all ingredients essential for the learner. We are targeting children in a big way because we want them to inherit the hand-knitting tradition which is also a wonderful way of artistic expression.” The introduction to the Aao Bune venture which was taken a step further with the launch of another package called Cuddles 1-2-3 by Renuka today was earlier given by Mr V.K. Goyal, Chief Executive, of the company. This ready-to-knit pack was launched last year for the expectant and new mothers for the newborns aged up to 1 year. The third event in the row was the launching of the first-of-its-kind hand knitting portal, www.cuddlesvardhman.com, a user friendly website which educates the user on all aspects related to hand knitting. It helps you to make a choice
between colours, it teaches you how to use needles, and also offers patters and designs. The portal also has an alliance with the India’s hottest woman portal www.smartbahu.com for the sharing of content. Renuka was chosen by the group for the beautiful blend of modern and traditional character traits that her personality offers. Said Mr Sachit
Jain,”We wanted someone who could epitomise tradition because the brand ambassador should be able to trade the product well.” Talking to The Tribune, Renuka said, “You must be wondering what a woman living in Mumbai has to do with knitting. But I must tell you that I was thoroughly convinced about getting associated with the venture which I think is very close to our tradition. I still remember the affection which my mother and grandmother used to knit into sweaters.” The interesting part is that Renuka herself learnt how to knit using the Aao Bune pack. Said the Mumbai-born actress who was crossing Delhi for the first time today, “A mother and a child share a very special bond which this company seems to understand. One can really learn a lot of knitting from the novel venture of the company.” Also present at the function were 42 senior teachers of schools. While Renuka was busy giving autographs to fans, she did take out a little time to speak to The Tribune about her latest acting ventures. “I am working in two serials titled Khamoshiyaan and Ansh. But I identify myself the most with my role in Imtihaan.” She added that after Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, she had not been accepting film roles. “I was getting similar roles, nothing challenging.” Renuka, who hosted prime time shows like Antakshri and Surbhi, will shortly be seen as a film director. “I am quite inspired by the experimental Marathi and Gujarati theatre. Nowadays I am working on a script,” she said. The actress also visited a retail outlet in Sector 15 after leaving the function. She will also attend a function at Ludhiana tomorrow. |
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Locking horns over mobile phones NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (PTI) — The tussle between cellular and basic telecom operators on the issue of limited mobility telephony has intensified further with the former strongly opposing it and the other vehemently supporting it. “Allowing the basic operators to provide limited mobility is nothing but a back-door entry to the mobile services which will harm the long term interests of the country as well subscribers,” Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said here today. There is no concept of “limited mobility”, it should be either “fully mobile” or “fixed” services, T.V. Ramachandran, Executive Director of COAI said. On the other hand, the basic telecom operators asked the regulator to consider public interest rather than the viewpoint of any one section or profitability of any service provider. “There should be no restriction on using wireless in local loop (WLL) technology for providing mobility either in rural areas or urban areas,” S.C. Khanna, Secretary General of Association of Basic Telecom Operators (ABTO) told PTI. On the issue of level playing field, Khanna said it should be in respect of tariff being charged by Basic Service Operators (BSOs) and Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) in providing similar services. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is likely to give recommendations on the issue by first week of December after completing the process of Open House Discussion in various parts of the country. Ramachandran said the concept of limited mobility should be considered as a different type of telecom service and should not be merged with any existing service and thus, set of terms and conditions need to be worked out. “Let them come through proper channel by paying a licence fee... And as far as the affordability of the service is concerned, we can offer much cheaper rates provided we are given similar treatment as given to basic operators,” he added. Moreover, there is no parameter for defining limited mobility, the COAI said. In the New Telecom Policy’ 99, the issue of limited mobility has not been mentioned and “nobody should be allowed to flout the policy within a year,” Ramachandran said. Permitting hand held sets using WLL technology will be in the wider interest as it would provide affordable service. The cost of a hand-held set will be Rs 6,000 as against Rs 15,000 for fixed terminals, ABTO said adding that BSO tariffs were based on the criteria of affordability to masses and not on a cost-plus model. COAI said that such moves, if permitted, would send wrong signals to the investors and would have adverse impact on the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector, especially in cellular services, which got the highest 48.37 per cent of the total
FDI.
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‘Bureaucracy deterrent to investment’ NEW YORK, Nov 21 — Executives of Global 1000 companies consider India a destination that presents good opportunities for investment but few have the country on their list of likely new investment destinations for the next one to three years, with government bureaucracy cited as the main deterrent to investment. That is among the key findings of the “Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Audit: India report” released on Monday by management consulting firm A.T. Kearney and its Global Business Policy Council here. A.T. Kearney is the high-value management consulting subsidiary of global information technology services leader EDS. “When it comes to foreign direct investment, India is at an important crossroads — investors are generally sanguine about the country but reluctant to invest because of a perception that it has done less than other emerging markets to reduce fundamental obstacles to investment,” said Paul A. Laudicina, A.T. Kearney, Vice-President and Managing Director of the firm’s Global Business Policy Council that conducted the study. “As the Indian government commits itself to increasing its share of FDI, our study suggests the country may not realise this promise unless substantial changes are made in the investment environment,” he said. The report attempts to illustrate India’s assets and liabilities as seen by Global 1000 executives and how to overcome them. Laudicina said 67 per cent of the executives surveyed in the Indian Audit were positive about the country as an investment destination and 61 per cent of companies with existing investments there said they were likely to add to those investments. But among companies without investments in India, only 14 per cent of the executives surveyed characterised their likelihood of investing in India as high. In fact, a full 71 per cent of companies without existing investments in India said their likelihood of investing there was low. This trend emphasises earlier findings of the January 2000 FDI Confidence Index where, overall, only 13 per cent of executives surveyed said that there was a high likelihood that they would invest in India over the next one to three years and 36.5 per cent said they had no intention at all of investing in India. “The good news here is that most companies already investing in India say they have a high likelihood of making new investments within the next three years,” said C. Srinivasan, Managing Director of the New Delhi A.T. Kearney office that sponsored the survey. “This suggests that India’s vast potential retains sufficient allure at least for committed firms. The challenge for India lies in changing the investment liabilities and convincing new investors of the country’s continuing potential,” he said. Thirty-nine per cent of the respondents cited the Indian bureaucracy as a major obstacle. Another 28 per cent cited the slow pace of reforms as the main deterrent to investment. Eight per cent cited government involvement in the economy and six per cent cited corruption. Other perceived liabilities included poor infrastructure (17 per cent), cultural barriers (11 per cent) and poverty and income disparity (8 per cent). “Concerns about infrastructure, investment policies, and other fundamentals have kept new investors away,” Laudicina said. “Given foreign investment’s rising importance in fixed capital formation — an important driver of the economy — the reluctance to commit new investments could put the brakes on growth and sour the investment climate even for the committed investors,” the survey says. India faces stiff competition from China, the study says. More than 90 per cent of respondents volunteered China as a principal benchmark for Indian investment, with a full 96 per cent answering “yes” when asked “would you consider China to be comparable to India in an investment analysis?”. Of this group, 56 per cent said they were more inclined to invest in China than in India. Twenty per cent were equally as likely to invest in both countries and only 16 per cent said they were more inclined to invest in India than in China. Moreover, only 3.6 per cent of respondents cite India as a “unique” investment destination.
— IANS |
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Birla Eric to raise 50 cr CALCUTTA, Nov 21 (PTI) — Birla Ericsson Optical Limited is contemplating to raise Rs 50 crore for general corporate purposes including capital expenditure and investment in strategic and backward integration projects. For the purpose of raising above funds, the company will issue 1.25 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each, an official said. It has not yet been decided whether the amount would be raised through public issue, book building route, private placement or any other means, he said. The issue of above equity shares, however, will not have any effect on its authorised share capital. Official said the authorised share capital of Rs 50 crore at present divided into 3.50 crore equity shares and 1.50 crore preference shares of Rs 10 each would be reclassified as 4.25 crore equity shares and 0.70 crore preference shares of the same value to facilitate the issue. Resolutions related with classification of authorised share capital and raising of funds would be placed for approval of shareholders’ at company’s extra-ordinary general meeting on December 4 next. |
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Hunt for
bargains WITH the American presidential race dragging on in a seemingly interminable manner, the depressed state of the American bourses continues to loom large over markets worldwide and the Indian markets are no exception. Inevitably, the Indian markets have been displaying vertical mobility and which way these break out remains unclear at the moment although there are fair signs that a quick resolution of the American election impasse could fuel a stock market upswing. In the meanwhile, as always, trading opportunities are still there for the taking and traders with a bearish sentiment could consider taking positions at the counters of Reliance Industries at Rs 329 (cover up at Rs 304) and Wipro at Rs 2548 (cover up at Rs 2389). Bull operators could consider taking up long positions at the counters of HCL Technologies at Rs 1215 (square up at Rs 1299) and BFL
Software at Rs 478 (square Rs 527). The portfolio pick of the week is Gujarat Gas whose long term prospects appear brightening. The optimal strategy for this week would be to hunt for bargain buys. |
IT industry poised
for 51 pc growth NEW DELHI, Nov 21 — Indian software and services industry is expected to maintain an annual growth of about 50 per cent to register Rs 60,000 crore during 2001-02, with the export revenue contributing Rs 44,000 crore to the overall figures. The revenue estimates for 2001-02 represent a 51.1 per cent increase over software revenue projection of $ 8.6 billion during the current financial year, comprising $ 6.3 billion of exports and $ 2.3 billion of domestic software revenues. “As per the latest estimates, in the year 2001-02 Indian software industry is projected to earn revenues of $ 13 billion of which approximately $ 9.5 billion would be generated by exports and balance $ 3.5 billion by the domestic market,” Mr Dewang Mehta, president of Nasscom said while releasing the latest targets for next financial year. He said that e-commerce revenues were expected to touch $ 2.17 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) in 2001-02 against $ 1.4 billion in 2000-01. Nasscom which has come out with an Indian software and services industry roadmap over the next eight year, has further projected that the industry would clock $ 87 billion of revenues, including exports of $ 50 billion in 2007-08. While the industry would generate a revenue of $ 19 billion in 2002-03, the figure is expected to rise to $ 28 billion in 2003-04, $ 41 billion in 2004-05, 55 billion dollars in 2005-06 and $ 71 billion in 2006-07 respectively. Cable accident hits Internet services SYDNEY, Nov 21 (AFP) — Millions of Internet users in Australia, Asia and Europe are experiencing problems following damage to a major undersea cable linking the three continents, Australia’s Telstra Corp said today. The 39,000 km SEA-ME-WE 3 cable — the world’s longest telecommunications system — was damaged on the sea floor about 100 km from Singapore yesterday. A spokesman for Telstra, Australia’s communications network and Internet provider, said a large number of Internet users could expect slow service for the next few days until the cable break was repaired. Telstra spokesman Stuart Gray said the backlog had become so great yesterday night that the Telstra system logjammed. He said it was unclear what had caused the cable break but it could be several days until it was repaired. “Most people when they log onto the Net, if they are going to Australian sites, they should not have any trouble,” he said. “If they are going to international sites, they may find it is slightly delayed or slow in some cases. |
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NRI gives 1 cr for villages CHANDIGARH: A Punjab-born Indian American businessman has announced a grant of Rs 1 crore for a trust that will carry out development work in the rural areas of his native state. Chicago-based Darshan Singh Dhaliwal presented the Rs 1 crore cheque to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at a function in his native Rakhra village in Patiala district on Monday. Badal then announced a matching grant for development works to be carried out by the trust. Dhaliwal had set up the trust last year, contributing Rs 5 crore for it. Badal had made a similar contribution on behalf of the government. Monday’s function was organised to commemorate the fourth death anniversary of Dhaliwal’s father. Dhaliwal has been taking a lot of interest in promoting development work in Rakhra. The Dhaliwal family has been active in politics and is strongly aligned with the ruling Akali Dal. Dhaliwal’s brother Surjit Singh was the Akali Dal nominee in last year’s election to the Lok Sabha from Patiala but had lost to Congress candidate Parneet Kaur. — IANS Arun Kapur joins
PHDCCI as V-P CHANDIGARH: Mr Arun Kapur, who has been elected Vice-President of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has been associated with the chamber for the past 15 years and has held many important offices. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of Assocham. A widely travelled Mr Kapur is a technocrat who has been associated with Atlas Cycle Industries Ltd as Additional Joint President. An engineering graduate from BITS (Pilani), Mr Arun Kapur did his Masters in Business Administration from Delhi University, Delhi. He later qualified to be M.I.E. On behalf of the Engineering Export Promotion Council, he has led study delegations to China, Japan and South Korea. He represented the employers at the 75th Session of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) held in Geneva in 1988. Atlas Cycle Industries Ltd has been awarded the Brand Equity Award 2000 by the PHDCCI. The award was received by Mr Arun Kapur from Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in New Delhi recently.
— TNS Britain finds its
millionaire LONDON: A cousin of Prince Charles’ girlfriend made history on Monday night by winning a million pounds in the popular quiz show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” Judith Keppel (58) picked up the biggest prize in British TV history. The show is in its eighth series now, but this is the first time anyone has won the million. The Indian version of the quiz show - “Kaun Banega Crorepati” - recently found its millionaire in Mumbai-based civil services aspirant Harshvardhan Nawathe. Keppel, a garden designer from Fulham in London, is married to a TV scriptwriter and has two grown-up children. The final question that won her the million was: “Which King was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine?” The choices were Henry I, Henry II, Richard I and Henry V. She lost no time in answering Henry II. It was a tense build-up with much of Britain glued to the programme. The penultimate question for 500,000 pounds was: “Who is the patron saint of Spain?” Keppel, who descended from Alice Keppel, mistress of Edward VII, answered rightly when she said “St. James.” Keppel jumped for joy when she won. So did presenter Chris Tarrant, who gave her a hug and a kiss. She said she took a risk when she opted for Scotland when asked where Prime Minister Tony Blair was born. That was at the 16,000-pound stage. “I just do not know what to do,” she said, adding, “I’ve always said to myself I would be risky up to 16,000 pounds because I would hate to lose 15,000 pounds.” The quizmaster asked her what she had to lose. She said: “One thousand pounds would be a nice Christmas. I’ll risk it and go for Scotland.” From then on it was all the way to a million.
— IANS |
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