New Delhi, February 24
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today said the central bank's focus is to bring down inflation to boost investor confidence.

Rajan also expressed hope that a stable government after the Lok Sabha elections will continue the broad fiscal policies of the current regime and India may finally get the Goods and Services Tax (GST), an ambitious indirect tax reform measure.

"My belief is that we should be focused on getting our fundamentals right and that has been our focus ever since the summer of last year. One of the main aspects of our fundamentals is the inflation rate.

"If investors have a sense that inflation rate is going to come down, both domestic and international investors, they would be more prepared to take a bet on the rupee and that is essentially what we are focused on," Rajan said in an interview to a news channel.

After the US Federal Reserve indicated in May last year that it would taper its monetary stimulus, the rupee depreciated to a record low of 68.85 against the dollar on August 28. The Fed started gradual withdrawal of its monthly bond-buying programme in January.

Both the government and the RBI took steps to check the slide of the rupee, which has recovered and closed today at 62.07 against the dollar.

On policy expectations after the general elections, Rajan said it would depend on which government comes in.

"Even within the Congress, if a new UPA comes in, it could be quite different from the current government with a generational change. The jury is out on how it will change.

"My sense is if there is a stable coalition in power post-elections, no matter which persuasion it is, broad policies will continue," the Governor said.

He said "there may be a difference in details but they are all" for passing the GST and for a number of actions, which the current government is taking. — PTI

Bahadurgarh, February 24
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today inaugurated Yokohama India’s first tyre manufacturing unit here. Set up with an investment of over Rs 300 crore, the plant would produce 2,000 tyres per day and the first phase of commercial production would start next year, said Takeshi Fujino, managing director, Yokohama India Pvt Ltd.

“The capacity of the plant can be scaled up to 8,000 tyres per day in the next phases. Yokohama India will continue to import tyres other than being manufactured here,” Fujino said.

He said the Yokohama Earth-1 tyre was specially designed for India keeping in view the diverse road conditions. 

Mohali, February 24
After launching its maiden project, The North Country Mall here, US-based Gumberg Global is set to spread its wings in Punjab and other parts of the country.

The company is planning to invest a whopping Rs 35,000-Rs 40,000 crore in the next seven years in India, said B Anantharaman, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Gumberg India, a subsidiary of Gumberg Global.

Anantharaman, who was in the town recently, said the company is targeting tier-II and tier-III cities to open new malls.

“After Mohali, we are looking forward to open malls in Ludhiana and Jalandhar. We have planned to open 21 malls across the country in seven years”, he said, adding the mall at Mohali is one of the biggest malls in the northern region.

The project boasts of being the first 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate sector in Punjab.

He said the company has selected India for big investments as it has emerged as one of the biggest markets in the world. “The paying capacity of people in India, especially in the urban areas, has increased manifold. Besides, shopping in malls has been become a fad here”, he said.

He said Mohali was chosen for their first mall because it is one of the most upcoming city not only in Punjab but across the country with huge retail business opportunities and infrastructure to accommodate shopping centre of such a massive scale. 

Mumbai, February 24
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet today triggered a third round of fare war by cutting ticket prices by a massive 75%, a move which was soon followed by its rivals GoAir and IndiGo.

This is the third time in past one month that the Kalanithi Maran-promoted carrier has doled out enticing fares to customers, forcing the rivals to ape the move.

"Super Summer Sale' offers up to 75% off base fare plus fuel surcharge relative to last minute fares, for travel between April 1 and June 30," SpiceJet said while announcing the scheme. — PTI

Agrochemical formulation company, Dhanuka Agritech Ltd reaches out to more than 10 million farmers with its eco-friendly crop care products. It has manufacturing facilities in Udhampur, Gurgaon and Sanand. MK Dhanuka, managing director, talks about growth in the industry due to good monsoon, expansion plans and international tie-ups.

Q: Which crop categories your company caters to?

A: Dhanuka has a wide range of products with over 80 brands to serve almost all crop categories across the country. Dhanuka Agritech is engaged in the formulation of wide range of pesticides covering herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, miticides, plant growth regulators /stimulants which are used to protect crops from pests, insects and diseases. We are particularly strong in paddy, soybean and tea crops.

Q: How has the pesticides industry grown with abundant rainfall this year?

A: With good rainfall this year, kharif and rabi crops were abundant. Moreover, there is increasing awareness among farmers about the correct usage and cost-benefit analysis of using plant protection chemicals. Also, with increasing farmers’ incomes, availability of better, scientifically advanced and high-efficacy plant protection products and other factors, the plant protection chemical industry is growing rapidly. It is expected that Dhanuka will continue to perform better than industry average.

Q: What is the expansion strategy with the new manufacturing plant in Rajasthan?

A: We have three manufacturing units located at Gurgaon, Sanand (Gujarat) and Udhampur (J&K). The company is setting up a fourth unit at Rajasthan to triple its current manufacturing capacities with an investment of Rs 45-50 crore. Construction is in full swing and it is expected that the plant will become operational in finanical year 2014-15.

Q: What are the initiatives for farmer awareness?

A: Dhanuka today has over 1,200 trained DDs (Dhanuka Doctors) working as consultants to farmers with regard to agri input practices and bringing modern and world-class technology to Indian farmlands. In addition, monthly farmer meetings are conducted in the targeted villages. Issues related to the overall development of crop are discussed in an open forum. Annually, more than 10,000 such meetings are conducted on various crops.

On farmlands with successful product demos, field days are conducted. As many as 30-40 farmers from surrounding villages are invited to see the results against their cultural practices. Across the country, more than 9,500 field days are conducted annually on various crops.

Q: What is the strategy on international tie-ups?

A: Dhanuka collaborates with original innovators to bring the latest technology and environment-friendly, high-efficacy products to the Indian farmer, to enhance farm’s yield and profitability. These MNCs are keen on partnering with Dhanuka since the company has a pan-India presence. At present, we have strategic tie-ups with three American firms (Dupont Crop Protection, Chemtura Corporation & FMC Corporation) and four Japanese companies (Hokko Chemical, Sumitomo Chemical, Nissan Chemical and Mitsui Chemicals) for specialty molecules. The original research for new agro-molecules is done in the US and Japan.

Q: What is your distribution and marketing strategy?

A: Dhanuka has a pan-India presence through its marketing offices in all major states in India, with a network of almost 7,500 distributors/dealers selling to over 70,000 retailers across the country in over 550 districts. Dhanuka is no. 3 in branded sales among Indian companies selling plant protection chemicals.

BRIEFLY

Nokia unveils Android-based smartphones
Barcelona: Nokia on Monday launched the much-anticipated Android-based smartphones starting at euro 89 (around Rs 7,600). The company introduced three smartphones, based on a modified version of the Android, called Android open source project (AOSP), for the X series. — PTI

BBM for Windows Phone, Nokia X soon
Barcelona: BlackBerry will roll out its popular instant messaging service BBM for Windows Phone and upcoming Nokia X smartphones in the next few months. The Canadian smartphone maker in October last year launched BBM for rival Android and iOS-based handsets and the app since then has been downloaded on over 40 million such handsets. — PTI

Apple sues China’s govt body, firm over Siri
Shanghai: US technology giant Apple is suing a Chinese government agency and a domestic company over patent rights for its "Siri" personal assistant, according to a media report. Apple launched the case against the State Intellectual Property Office, which is in charge of patent rights protection in China, and Shanghai's Zhizhen Network Technology, which developed software similar to Siri. — AFP

Honda inaugurates new plant in Rajasthan
Alwar: Honda Cars India on Monday inaugurated its second manufacturing facility at Alwar in Rajasthan. The Rs 3,520-crore plant, which has a total production capacity of 1.2 lakh cars per annum, doubles the company’s total manufacturing capacity. to 2.4 lakh cars per annum. — PTI

NTPC tanks 11% on CERC tariff guidelines
Mumbai: Shares of NTPC plunged over 11% on Monday amid concerns that the new tariff regulations by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) could have a negative impact on the company. — PTI