Monday, August 27, 2001		Newsscape

Most admired

Infosys has emerged as ‘India’s most admired company’ while 14 other ICE companies figured in the list of top 60 companies, according to the Taylor Nelson sofres-Mode survey for 2001, PTI reported. Old economy major Reliance Industries was placed at number two followed by Wipro, Hindustan Lever, L&T, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, and Colgate-Palmolive, the TNS-Mode survey published in Business Barons said. TNS-Mode, the world’s second largest market research agency, listed 16 technology companies among the 60 top companies.

Divided opinion

The Indian hardware and software sectors are divided over the WTO deadline for making 217 infotech items duty free, Hindustan Times reported. The hardware industry wants the government to revert back to the original 2005 deadline prescribed under the Information Technology Agreement of the WTO. The software sector, on the other hand, wants the government to stick to its decision to bring forward the deadline to 2003. Obviously the two sectors are trying to safeguard their respective stakes.

Album debut

British pop group New Order last week debuted its new album, Get Ready, on AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Spinner.com Internet radio service, weeks ahead of its October 16 release to retail stores, in what analysts said was a significant move. The online promotion reflects the recording industry's growing momentum in its effort to offer albums to fans via the Web — a move that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. New Order's music label is AOL Time Warner Inc's Reprise Records. The company also is offering a series of online promotions for the album, which is the band's first studio album in eight years. As part of the advance premiere on Spinner.com or Spinner online radio service, the album was streamed in its entirety from August 20 through August 27, according to Reuters.

Simputer’s roll-out

The Simputer, a $-200 hand-held Indian computer, aimed at taking the Internet to the rural areas, will hit the market in November, the firm spearheading the manufacture of the device designed by a non-profit trust, as per an agency news report. The simputer, short for Simple, Inexpensive and Multilingual, is a brainchild of the Simputer Trust, one of whose key trustees is the CEO of Encore Software Limited. The trust sells the design and licence to make the Simputer and Encore is expected to be the first to make and sell it.

India insurance

US-based online insurance company Ebix.Com plans to enter the Indian market following deregulation of its insurance sector, according to The Times of India. "Boasting the world's largest population and an annual growth rate of nearly seven per cent, India offers great opportunities for US," the company's president and CEO Robin Raina, said. Ebix.Com's expansion into India is a major step for Ebix to become a global supplier of internet-based insurance tools for consumers and insurance professionals, he said. In a diverse country such as India it is imperative that a universal insurance infrastructure be created to maximise efficiency in the insurance industry, Raina said.