New Delhi, September 29
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has warned mobile telecom subscribers of unscrupulous telemarketers trying to wriggle past the latest ban on pesky calls and messages.

The regulator has said that telemarketers are sending fraudulent SMSes to customers registered on National Customer Preference Register (NCPR) to de-register themselves from the service, if they want to receive messages from important service providers like banks, airlines, schools and some other categories like social networking sites, directory services, electronic recharges and e-ticketing services etc.

“Customers are requested to be aware of such messages which are apparently based on misunderstanding of the regulations and customers already registered on NCPR are requested to not deregister,” TRAI said.

It added that it was open to the Authority to notify further categories, as and when warranted. While launching the countrywide ban on Tuesday, TRAI had sought to put a limit of 100 SMSes per day per SIM card for all customers.

This was meant to ensure that telemarketers, especially, the unregistered ones do not carry on sending unsolicited commercial SMSes.

“Concerns have been raised that such provisions will impact flow of transactional messages such as from a bank to its customers or from Airlines to its passengers, and likewise from the schools to the students/ parents. This concern is misplaced. Under the Regulation, such messages are classified as Transactional messages [see Clause 2(ab)] and the limit of 100 SMS does not apply to the Transaction messages,” TRAI said.

It said that the time restriction of 9 pm to 9 am does not relate to the transactional messages which can be sent at any time. The regulator has also said it was planning to introduce termination charges of five paise for every commercial text message.

BEWARE

Telemarketers are sending fraudulent SMSes to customers registered on National Customer Preference Register (NCPR) to de-register themselves from the service, if they want to receive messages from important service providers like banks, airlines etc.

New Delhi, September 29
Bharti Airtel today said that it had entered into an agreement with Nokia Siemens Network (NSN) to expand its 2G network and launch its 3G network in seven African countries for an undisclosed amount.

Under the agreement, NSN will manage network operations, including planning, design and implementation of 2G and 3G networks for Airtel in seven African countries. The seven African nations are Madagascar , Malawi , Zambia , Tanzania , Kenya , Uganda and Congo Brazzaville.

The vendor will provide energy-efficient base stations to expand Airtel’s network coverage in under-served areas, including smaller towns and villages in the seven countries.

“This partnership will enable us to expand our network coverage and provide high-speed wireless internet connectivity to our customers,” Bharti Airtel Chief Executive Officer (International) and Joint Managing Director Manoj Kohli said.

“We believe Nokia Siemens Networks’ global expertise in managed services and compact energy-efficient network equipment fit our long-term goal to be the leading telecommunications provider on the African continent,” he added.

“We look forward to working closely with Airtel to expand its network rapidly and deliver the right innovative products and services to help meet these demands,” Nokia Siemens Networks Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri said.

Bharti Airtel has operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa and has 233 million customers world-wide end August. 

New Delhi, September 29
Additional capacity compared to load factor, global economic slowdown and soaring turbine fuel costs that led to Kingfisher exiting its low-cost arm are affecting other Indian carriers as well.

Aviation expert Jitendra Bhargava said additional capacity induction by carriers during the boom period combined with the prolonged gloom in the global economy is adversely affecting the airline industry.

“As it is, a legacy carrier like Kingfisher can never effectively run a low-cost carrier. However, capacity building by Indian carriers in boom times leading to a low-fare war to increase market shares was bound to affect profitability. The decision by Kingfisher just establishes what had been known for long,” he said.

He added that another airline (though he did not mention the name) may also have to follow suit because of mismatched capacity versus load factor issues.

Even though airlines have increased the number of flights with the available fleet to tackle additional capacity induction, soaring prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) is a matter of concern. High cost of ATF coupled with a weakening rupee was the biggest challenge before the aviation industry, Bhargava said.

Shares of airlines listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange — Kingfisher, Spicejet and Jet Airways — have fallen, every time crude oil prices jumped on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude oil futures for November delivery gained $4.21 a barrel or 5.3%, to settle at $84.45 a barrel on Tuesday. This was not good news for the industry as fuel comprises more than 50% of operating cost.

Prices of jet fuel are directly linked to crude oil prices, which are revised twice a month by Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation on the basis of average international crude price in the preceding fortnight. Civil Aviation Minister Vyalar Ravi agreed that soaring prices of ATF was a matter of concern. He asked the the States to reduce sales tax on ATF,. He added high fuel prices were forcing airlines to increase airfare. Ravi also said he would write to States to reduce sales tax on the jet fuel.

Narsapur (Ktk), Sep 29
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), Honda’s wholly-owned two-wheeler production and sales subsidiary in India, today laid foundation stone for its third two-wheeler production plant in the country at Karnataka’s Narsapur.

Spread across 3,50,000 sq, the plant at Narsapur Industrial Area, 52 km away from Bangalore, would be operational in first half of 2013 with annual production capacity of 1.2 million units in the first phase. The project has entailed an investment of Rs 1,350 crore, HMSI President and CEO Keita Muramatsu told reporters here.

“Subsequently, capacity will be enhanced to 1.80 million vehicles per annum and will provide employment opportunity to 3,000 people,” he said.

Utilising production technologies refined at Manesar and Tapukara plants as a starting point, HMSI will strive to improve process ergonomics and employ more advanced automation and other measures to reduce the burden on associates at the Narsapur plant, Muramatsu said.

The plant would also increase HMSI’s total annual production capacity to 4 million units, including 1.6 million units at the first plant at Manesar (Haryana), 1.2 million units at the second plant at Tapukara (Rajasthan) and 1.2 million units at the third plant planned at Narsapur, HMSI Vice President (Sales and Marketing) N K Rattan said.

India is the world’s second largest motorcycle market after China. Industry-wide two-wheeler sales in India reached 11.32 million units in 2010, he said.

HMSI’s sales have grown steadily with 2010 sales approximating 1.526 million units (up 40 per cent from 2009) achieving a record high for 10 consecutive years, he said.— PTI

Pune, September 29
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Thursday launched its premium sports utility vehicle (SUV) — XUV500 — with an introductory price ranging from Rs.10.8 lakh to Rs.12.88 lakh (ex-showroom price Delhi).

“This is our premium offering aimed at the global market with a very competitive price. We believe the car will expand the market for us and create a new category for itself,” Mahindra Group vice-chairman and managing director Anand Mahindra said here at a press conference.

The introductory price for the vehicle would remain the same for two to three months, the company said.

The car has three variants, all in diesel, and offers the option of a four-wheel drive.

All the three variants of the car would be produced at the company’s Chakan plant, located on the outskirts of Pune with an initial capacity of 2,000 units per month.

“We will ramp up production according to the response we receive,” Pawan Goenka, Mahindra & Mahindra president for automotive and farm equipment, said.

“The car is open for bookings and we have around 1,000 cars ready to be delivered at our dealers and customers,” Goenka added.

The XUV500 was developed over four years at the company’s Chennai facility at a development cost of Rs.650 crore. The company also developed — at a cost of Rs 200 crore — a 2.2-litre M-Hawk engine that gives a maximum power output of 140 bhp and a 15.1 km per litre mileage for the SUV.

“We have worked from the design stage upwards to control as much cost as we can. So, we are able to offer the car in such a price range, such a high mileage and a superb SUV,” Rajan Wadhera, CEO, technology, product development and sourcing, M&M, said.— IANS

Jalandhar, September 29
Panasonic India will start production from its unit in Jhajjar district of Haryana from November next year. The company will make Air Conditioners, washing machines and rice cookers in at the unit.

With the setting up of the unit, the company will provide employment to over 4,000 persons of the area, claimed Daizo Ito, President, Panasonic India. Ito was in the city to launch the company’s two brand shops.

Ito said the process for acquiring 100 acres at Dadritoi village in Jhajjar for setting up of the unit had been initiated. The process will entail an investment of 
Rs 1,000 crore.

He added the company was on a expansion mode. As part of its India strategy, two brand shops have been opened to provide one-stop solution to a family’s entire needs for electronic gadgets and home appliances under one roof.

With the launch of these stores, the company now has 121 stores pan-India, he added.

Ajay Sachdeva, Regional Manager, Punjab and Haryana, Panasonic India said that the company aimed to capture 17% market share in Punjab.

The company has a workforce of about 11,000 in India. It registered sales of Rs 3,200 crore in fiscal 2010. Its turnover for the 2011 fiscal is estimated at Rs 5,500 crore. The company plans to double its targets for the next fiscal.

New Delhi, September 29
Indo-Russian telecom joint venture Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL), which offers telecom services under the brand name MTS, has picked a loan totalling $ 200 million (nearly Rs 977 crore) from two banks.

The company has raised $100 million from ICICI Bank and another $100 million from Barclays Bank.

“We plan to utilise the money to scale up our telecom operations,” SSTL Chief Financial Officer Sergey Savchenko said.

The loan has been proportionally secured by Russia 's Gazprombank through a standby letter of credit and bank guarantee. The loan is payable within three years, by 2014. 

Chandigarh, September 29
The Haryana Government has finalised the appointment of SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company as the agencies for distribution of annuity to the land acquisition oustees, whose lands are acquired under the land Acquisition Act 1894.

Rajeev Arora, MD, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, said this today.

The state Government had implemented the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy in 2007. The developing agencies, for whom the land was acquired by the Government, were required to pay annuity to the land owners (Beneficiary or Nominees) for 33 years.— TNS