About 70 to 80 pigeons are found in the vicinity of the airport at any point of time. Hyderabad Airport Director R K Singla whose previous posting was in Lucknow, says the pigeon population is quite high here than that of Lucknow. Even if new methods are being tried out to drive away birds from the vicinity of the airport, the winged creatures are returning to the area within no time. It seems there is no permanent solution in sight to curb the bird menace. "I worked at more than 10 airports in the country. But nowhere I have seen this kind of bird menace," Singla says.
A Newer version of Cyberabad Times is now available.
Of Steel birds and real birds
About 70 to 80 pigeons are found in the vicinity of the airport at any point of time. Hyderabad Airport Director R K Singla whose previous posting was in Lucknow, says the pigeon population is quite high here than that of Lucknow. Even if new methods are being tried out to drive away birds from the vicinity of the airport, the winged creatures are returning to the area within no time. It seems there is no permanent solution in sight to curb the bird menace. "I worked at more than 10 airports in the country. But nowhere I have seen this kind of bird menace," Singla says.
City firm develops GPS system
City’s first speedway
According to sources, it was decided to provide access points to the ring road at intervals of 8 km so that vehicles taking a U-turn do not come in the way of fast-moving cars. As the new generation of vehicles can do 160-200 kmph, the expressway is being designed to allow vehicles to travel at 120 kmph. Of the four lanes, the first two will be dedicated to fast-moving vehicles with each lane having a width of 3 m. The outer two lanes will have a width of 3.75 m. The median will take 9 m of space.
As speed thrills and also kills, planners are incorporating safety measures into the design. Traffic police will monitor the movement of vehicles on close-circuit TVs, while there will be signage across the road indicating the road-use pattern.
"Once the project is ready, it will be a model for the rest of the country," vicechairman and managing director of the Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (INCAP) L V Subrahmanyam told The Times of India. Based on the recommendations of the experts panel, the ORR project team is preparing a detailed project report within a month. Land acquisition for the project is likely to be completed by August.
Length: 22 km (Gachibowli-Shamshabad)
Width: Eight lanes. 4 to, 4 fro
Maximum speed: 120 kmph (two lanes)
U-turns: 8 km apart
Source: The Times of India
Hyderabadi wins Green Oscar
Hyderabad-based Dharmappa Barki, chairman and managing director of Noble Energy Solar Technologies Ltd (NEST) won the 'Ashden Light Award' and a cash prize of Rs 2,40,000 for the solar lanterns he developed for India's poor.
Bangalore-based Harish Hande received the 'Enterprise Award' and an equal cash amount for his village-level solar home systems.
Chandigarh-based Ramesh Kumar Nibhoria of Nishant Bio-energy Consultancy, inventor of school cook stoves running on crop waste, was declared joint winner of the 'Climate Care Award' along with Stuart Conway of Honduras, developer of a fuel-efficient cook stove. Both of them shared a cash prize of the Rs 2,40,000.
Britain's Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn presented the awards at a glittering ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society here last night.
Other recipients of the awards included Nepal's Sundar Bajgain (Welfare Award) for developing biogas cooking fuel for the home. After receiving the award, an elated Barki said he would use the award money for creating a widespread awareness of the solar energies system in India.
Lifetime Achievement Award for Raju
Raju was selected for the award for his "unprecedented contribution to the Indian IT Industry, not only in India but also on the global IT platform".
Among the past recipients of the 'lifetime achievement award", instituted in 2000 by HMA, had distinguished winners in the past, such as Dr Anji Reddy, chairman, Dr Reddy's Laboratories; Gen K V Krishna Rao, PVSM (Retd), former governor, J&K; and Justice K Jayachandra Reddy, chairman, Press Council of India.
Viceroy part of JW Marriot
The new hotel in the southern city of Hyderabad will be a franchise for JW Marriott, a part of Marriott International Inc., the largest US hotel operator.
Viceroy's board will meet on July 4 to consider a preferential issue of shares of up to 280 million rupees to the founders to help fund the hotel. The remainder will come through debt, the official told Reuters.
MoU signed for hi-tech textile hub
The company would develop a national textile hub near Cheguru village of Kothur mandal in Mahboobnagar district. It is expected to generate 5,000 jobs.
According to officials sources, over 125 well experienced and potential weaver entrepreneurs have joined the Textile Park, which will house modern shuttleless powerloom weaving units in different widths and design equipments with focus on value-added product mix comprising, suitings, shirtings, furnishings, made-ups and export quality 100 percent cotton fabrics.
The State is hopeful that the public-private partnership venture with backward and forward linkages would help the weavers community.
Satyam goes overseas for recruitment
"At present around 3 percent of our workforce comprises of foreigners. We will be increasing this to 5 percent soon by recruiting more people from foreign universities," T Hari, senior vice-president, global human resources, Satyam Computers, said here on Monday.
In order to bridge the gap between the industry needs and the skilled talent available in India, Satyam has taken up an initiative "Campulse" along with Nasscom to strengthen the relationship between industry and academic institutes.
"This is aimed at training, grooming and enhancing the quality of young aspirants joining the IT industry. As a part of this programme, Satyam will take up faculty training programme. Presently we can train about 30 faculties. It is a kind of sabbatical training programme which will not hinder their academic schedule," Hari said.
He said according to Nasscom IT exports from India will reach $50 billion in 2008. However, the supply of skilled manpower will fall short of requirements by almost 22 percent by 2009 if specific issues around human resource development are not addressed. "We are trying to find a solution to this through Campulse," he said.
The company has also suggested a common entrance test for all IT company recruitments as this could prevent the present scramble for jobs in campuses. It is also working with Nasscom to give suggestions for modifying the present curriculum to equip students to handle industry challenges. "Satyam has tied up with 30 institutes including Panjab University, MSRT, Bangalore, NIT, Warangal, Satyabhama Institute, Chennai and KITS, Bhubaneswar ," Hari said.
Mutually beneficial models
In his message to shareholders, K. Anji Reddy, said in the annual report (released here on Monday) that it was premature to share any details and information would be given as and when deals were finalised. Noting that despite reversals, the company actually raised R&D investments during 2004-05 by 41 per cent, he said this year would be a challenging one for the company. On corrective measures, he said the company was now more focussed on metabolic disorders, obesity, cardiovascular and cancer. It had separated potentially winning molecules and eliminated 'also rans (molecules)' from its R&D portfolio.
The real payoffs from new molecules were expected to occur only after three to four years. Meanwhile, the company would have to pare operational costs, work at re-establishing and growing the revenue base it lost in 2004-05, he said.
7th largest pharma company?
Since Matrix is largely an active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) player and Strides a generics and OTC player, the merged entity will be a vertically-integrated organisation that will draw synergies from the two organisations. The boards of Matrix and Strides Arcolab met separately in Delhi and Hyderabad and have agreed in principle to the proposed plan of merger.
Both the companies have appointed independent chartered accountant firms to conduct due diligence of each of their companies, Mr N Prasad, chairman and CEO of Matrix, told a group of reporters immediately after the board meeting at Hyderabad. Mr Prasad declined to give any details of share swap or financials. But market sources reckon that it would be in the ratio of 1:3 between Matrix and Strides shares.
According to a combined press release, the boards of both companies have proposed to meet again in the next six to eight weeks (presumably after due diligence) for other regulatory approvals. The combined entity is christened “Matrix Strides Ltd” and becomes one of the largest integrated pharmaceutical companies in India. Matrix Strides will have six API facilities (four USFDA approved), five drug intermediate plants and nine (two USFDA approved) formulation units.
From day one, the company will be operational in over 70 countries with manufacturing operations in India, USA and Latin America. On the research and development front, the new entity is expected to complete 70 DMF (Drug Master File) filings and 20 ANDA filings by the end of the current year. In a joint statement issued by both the companies, N Prasad of Matrix and Arun Kumar of Strides Arcolab said: “The coming together of two leading first generation pharmaceutical companies with similar philosophies and vision will create a significant generic company based out of India. Matrix Strides will have significant presence in all the value chains of an integrated life sciences Company.
The proposed merger of the two companies will compliment each other’s strengths and will emerge as a leader in the global generic space, leveraging Indian innovation and a strong global partnering philosophy.” Meanwhile, Strides Arcolab has also announced that the board of directors has approved the proposal to acquire up to 60% stake in Biopharma, a Venezuelean pharmaceutical and marketing Company.
Helipad in secretariat
Chief Minister Y S Rajsekhar Reddy formally landed on the helipad yesterday after attending a function in the neighbouring Ranga Reddy district.
"It will help in drastically reducing Chief Minister's travel time besides causing little or no inconvenience to the general public as traffic need not be stopped for VVIP movement," sources in the Chief Minister's Office said here.
The short drive from Reddy's Begumpet residence to Secretariat is being managed with minimum regulations by the traffic police as per his direction to avoid inconvenience to the people, they said.
India's first Mega Fab
Titled Rajiv Gandhi Nano-Tech Silicon India (NTSI), the mega fab unit will be developed in two phases; phase I, a logic semiconductor fab will incur investments of $ 600 million and will develop wafers with a capacity of 30,000 units per month. Phase II is expected to incur investments of $ 2.5 billion.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Reddy said, “If everything goes well, we should have our first fab in the next 15 months from now. This will hopefully fetch many supporting companies and more developments will take place.”
NTSI is a JV between AP government and Korean company Intellect Inc. The government has offered 50 acres of land initially for constructing the two phases.
Giving details about the project financing status, NTSI promoter and Intellect Inc. chairman P June Min said, “The first phase investment of $600 million will include $ 160 million of equity and $ 290 million of debt financing. Of the total equity, 20 percent would come from the technology partner.”
He further mentioned that 25 percent of the equity would also come from Indian investors. “We however need an industrial partner who can support over the next 15 to 17 years,” explained Min.
According to NTSI, the first phase will start commercial production by June 2006, including a range of products like automotive IC's, cell-phone chips, microprocessors and RF power devices.
NTSI expects to complete the first round of financing within the next 60 days, which will include $ 64 million to $ 72 million equity, $ 116 million to $ 130 million debt and $ 150 million construction fund.
“Two local industrialists-Vijaya Electricals CEO Jai Ramesh and Nuzividu Seeds MD Prabhakar Rao are understood to have agreed to participate by investing 20 percent each of the seed capital, while the rest 60 percent will be sourced by June,” informed Min. However, the exact amount of seed capital was not provided with.
Cancer hospital to procure equipment
The Chief Minister gave the approval while chairing the Governing Council meeting of the centre held in his chambers of Sunday.
The regional cancer centre had been permitted to procure equipment including a linear accelerator, 64 slice CT scan and second high dose rate Brachy therapy unit.
Rasoi ghar concept
Dr. Reddy noted that `rasoi ghar,' community kitchen concept introduced in the hospital by the Hindustan Petroleum Limited, was of immense help to attendants of the patients to cook food.
He said the digital library set up in the hospital would be beneficial to staff to document improvements in patient care and also to update their knowledge.
Blood bank
He hoped that the blood bank on the hospital premises would be of great help to patients.
The Chief Minister was told that 500 patients availed themselves of out- patient services everyday, of which a majority were from poor and underpriveleged families.
The cancer centre Director, B.N. Rao, the Principal Secretary, Health, I.V. Subba Rao, and the Principal Secretary, Finance, I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, attended.
CT Sunday : Its Six Months
Six months have passed since a violent tsunami rose from the Indian Ocean, bringing death and destruction to many coastal areas. Aid came flooding in from all over the world, but there are still many victims in need.
The worst natural disaster for several decades claimed 220,000 lives and wreaked havoc along the Indian Ocean coastline. The rich and poor, the luxury Thai resorts and poor southern Indian fishing villages were crushed under its weight. It made no distinctions as it destroyed rebel camps in northern Sumatra and the army troops attacking them.
In the overwhelming horror which the tsunami left in its wake, regional problems and conflicts paled to relative insignificance. The images which were beamed out around the world touched the hearts of people tens of thousands of kilometers away and led them to dig into their pockets as they had never done before. Rarely had the bond between north and south been as close as in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami.
There was even a distant hope that the flood waters would wash away some of the trouble already present in the region, such as the civil wars in Aceh and Sri Lanka, and corruption and mismanagement in almost all affected countries.
Short-lived good intentions
In the weeks following the tsunami, much lip service was paid to the notion that local survivors had suffered enough. Negotiations on ending the civil war in Aceh began and in Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger and Singhalese representatives met to discuss how best to spend the aid money. They agreed to get the money to those in need as quickly as possible without tangling it up in red tape or losing it in the normal labyrinths of corruption and mismanagement.
But now, half a year on, local and international aid workers have done their bit, the majority of designated money has been paid into United Nations accounts, many small-scale, grassroots projects have been implemented, and the Indian Ocean will soon get an early warning system.
That, however, is not the whole picture. Aid workers in Indonesia's Aceh are subject to changing residency rules imposed by local authorities, their freedom of movement is restricted and the civil war continues. And in Sri Lanka, the dispute about how to spend the aid money has already brought the coalition government to its knees and led to violent conflicts. Although India pledged swift and non-bureaucratic assistance, many people are still waiting for the authorities there to make good on that promise.
Aid funds are accumulating in bank accounts, there are constant reports of corruption and many victims who still haven't received any money feel as though they have been cheated.
Business as usual
Meanwhile, Thailand's beaches, with their slew of new hotels and tourist-filled bars, are testimony to the ability of some to leave the past well and truly behind them. Daily life has returned and with it the same local problems which dogged the region before the giant wave stuck. Much of the money is still in the bank, the emergency aid work is complete but in most regions reconstruction has not yet really begun. On balance, it is now clear that good will and solidarity are not enough, and that politicians have to make sure help is delivered where it is most needed. It must take priority over local conflicts and spending should be controlled by an independent body.
Politicians in the flood regions owe that to their populations, where many people are still traumatized, just as they owe it to the people in far off places who sent millions of euros worth of aid.
Beautification of Musi river begins
Mr. Jaju and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) Managing Director, Jawahar Reddy, conducted a joint inspection of the area coming under the proposed heritage precinct - Puranapul to Chaderghat stretch up to four kilometres, and reviewed the immediate steps to be taken.
These include clean up drive of the riverbed, restoration and repair of the existing old bridges, removing encroachments and fresh carpeting of the abutting road. On its part, the HMWSSB would start calling for tenders on laying the intercepting sewer lines to prevent sewerage from flowing into the river. These lines are to be linked to the proposed sewerage treatment plants.
High attrition asphyxiates IT sector
There has been a shortage of middle level professionals in the IT industry for quite some time now. Currently, the industry is moving up on the value chain.
It is moving from traditional segments such as application software to specialties like systems integration. The shortage of qualified hands could be a result of this among others, Mr Ashank Desai, Chairman, Mastek Ltd said.
The paucity is more in case of middle level professionals who currently constitute anything between 10 to 15 per cent, Mr Desai added. Similarly, the BPOs, now being seen as the growth engines of the sector, are suffocated by high attrition and inferior language skills.
IBM joins Intellect Hyderabad plan
According to reliable sources, as per the understanding, which is essentially a technology collaboration, entered by June Min, chairman of Intellect Inc and promoter of the fab facility, IBM will have about 24 per cent equity in the project.
Sources said June Min is currently in talks with Tata group for investment in the infrastructure required for the project.
When contacted to know about status of the project including details of the financial closure and the technology collaboration entered with the IBM, June Min refused to share any information prior to the ground-breaking ceremony for the proposed project to be held on June 26, 2005.
"We have prepared a detailed press release to be issued on Sunday. I will not disclose anything beyond this at the moment," was all he had to say. The fab capacity would be 30,000 wafers per month and the mass production is expected to begin by July 2006.
It may be recalled that in December last, June Min signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government to form a joint venture company for setting up a semiconductor fab manufacturing facility in the state.
Subsequently, he incorporated a company - NanoTech Silicon India Private Limited - to produce a range of products including wireless communication chips, PC chips, digital consumer electronic chips, automobile ICs and memories. State chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is scheduled to perform the ground-breaking ceremony for the proposed fab facility on Sunday.
The company is proposing to develop a logic semiconductor fab which will have a capacity of 30,000 wafer start per month and will start with 0.35fm (sub micron) 3 and/or 4 metal layers, 10,000 wafer start per month and then extend it to 0.25fm (sub micron) 5 metal layers 20,000 wafer start per month.
Besides the IBM stake, which is estimated to be around $150 million, Intellect Inc is trying to rope in Tatas to invest in the basic infrastructure facilities required for the proposed fab unit.
According to sources close to the development, the talks between June Min and the Tata Sons in this regard are at a very advanced stage. Going by the available information, if the ongoing talks result in a positive outcome, Tatas may even have over 40 per cent equity in the project.
According to information, promoters equity, including that of June Min, is expected to go up to $200 million from the originally envisaged $160 million.
ANGRAU team to visit China
Hosting lunch for a visiting nine-member Chinese delegation led by vice-chairman of Hubei Provincial People’s Congress, Den Daokun, here on Tuesday, the chief minister said the team would also explore promotion of mutual cooperation in food processing and pharmaceutical sectors.
The Information Technology department has offered to train the officials of Hubei province for three months in Chief Information Officer course at the MCRHRD here.
Tata's BPO India's Largest
UBS to build IT facility
The spokesman said the type of IT work to be done in India has not yet been decided and is still being discussed within the bank's individual business units.
Aviation News
"We will offer prices in the line with air-conditioned train fares, or perhaps cheaper," said vice-President (sales and marketing) S.Rajesh.
Rajesh further said that "Go Fair" would start fair at Re 1, or perhaps even lower. It would fly in western and southern India with nine aircrafts in the first year of operations and add 11 more planes in the 2nd year. Air-India will operate more direct flights to London from other Indian cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad in the coming days.
This had been stated by Air India's Director of of Public Relations,Jatindera Bhargawa, after the launch of the Kolkata-London flight. He further said that the flight had been introduced in view of demand from the local Indian Community here.
Generic AIDS Drug
The agency said it was giving tentative approval to applications for nevirapine tablets manufactured by two companies in India: Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited in Guragon and Aurobindo Pharma Limited in Hyderabad.
These are the first generic versions of Viramune Tablets manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim.
The new generic versions won't be immediately available in the United States because of patent exclusivity rules.
But the approval means the generic versions meet the FDA's standards and can be used by relief organizations outside the United States funded by President Bush's $15 billion AIDS relief plan.
Nevirapine is in the class of drugs that help keep the AIDS virus from reproducing. It is used in combination with other antiretroviral agents.
The administration was criticized last year for refusing to purchase drugs that hadn't been reviewed by the FDA. AIDS activists contended it was trying to bolster the sales of U.S. drug makers at the expense of AIDS patients in the developing world.
Research on nevirapine has drawn controversy, and in April an expert scientific panel at the Institute of Medicine concluded that, while U.S. studies on the drug in Africa violated federal patient protection rules, the work was conducted well enough to support its conclusions that the drug could be used safely to protect babies.
The Associated Press reported in December that the U.S. Office of Human Research Protections had concluded the NIH experiment in Uganda that dated to the mid-1990s had violated federal patient safety rules.
Sania enters Second round at Wimbledon
The 18-year-old Indian shot to fame after winning her country's first-ever women's tour title earlier this year in her home city of Hyderabad. She also became the first Indian woman to make the third round of a Grand Slam when she clinched two wins at the Australian Open in January and on Monday she scored a famous victory on her Wimbledon debut.
Mirza blasted Morigami at 71, ranked only four places above the teenager, but with vastly more experience all around the court in a quick first set, despite her limited previous grass court play. But the 25-year-old Japanese player fought back, edging a narrow second set and initially looking a more likely winner in the third as Mirza gifted Morigami a series of points with unforced errors.
Cheered on by a partisan crowd of Indian fans crammed into the limited seats around Court 17, Mirza seemed unable to halt a succession of mistakes, putting her head in her hands and shouting in frustration as the game slipped away.
But in a see-saw final set, Mirza sent Morigami running all over the court again to eventually clinched the match on Morigami's serve, blasting an unstoppable pass past her stranded opponent.
Andhra to vie for Intel's facility
A high-profile delegation led by state legislative Assembly speaker K R Suresh Reddy will be leaving for the US this month-end on a fortnight tour aimed at meeting NRIs of the state besides interacting with heads of several US-based companies and business associations to invite them to invest in the state.
There have been reports that Chennai, Noida or Bangalore could be one of the possible locations for Intel's proposed facility in India and this has made the state officials jittery.
"Till now, Hyderabad had been out of the race. But it will now join the race," a senior government official told. He said that he decided to be part of the group touring US only after an appointment was fixed up with Craig Barret.
The other members of the delegation include principal secretary of state industries department Lakshmi Parthasarathi, IT advisor to Andhra Pradesh government C S Rao and minister for industries B Satyanarayana.The team is commencing its tour coinciding with the conference of Telugu Association of North America.
Some of the industry bodies with which the state delegation plans to interact include, Semi Conductor Association of America, International Technology Association of America, Northern Virginia Technical Council, and US India Business Council.
The delegation is also expected to meet officials of AIG Insurance company, IBM and Computer Associates. Though the delegation will meet some of the top brass of pharma, biotech and automotive companies during the visit, its main focus will, however, be on IT and ITeS sectors. This is evident from the fact that the team will be in San Francisco for five days between July 6 and July 10, 2005, and interact with the chiefs of IT companies and address members of IT associations in the Silicon Valley.
The team will begin its tour from Detroit and visit Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, New York and New Jersey before leaving for India on July 14, 2005.
Hotel tariffs may go up
A study conducted by CRIS INFAC, CRISIL’s research arm has revealed that led by business travel, the demand for hotel rooms in the premium segment will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 9 per cent over the next five years.
The study projected that in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, room demand will outpace supply in the short to medium term, and thus the average room rates (ARRs) are expected to increase by 13 percent to 14 percent annually over the next two years.
The study has also projected supply scarcity in Delhi, Goa and Jaipur. In sharp contrast, however, Hyderabad will witness an excess supply, due to which occupancy rates will plummet to levels as low as 65 percent by 2007-08. Among leisure destinations, CRIS INFAC believes that there will be a supply shortage in Goa and Jaipur (especially during the peak seasons), and this will be reflected in their respective ARRs.
Indira Park all set to get a face-lift
It proved to be a blessing in disguise for the park as officials are working hard to make it more attractive. The park had seen days when it used to be packed with visitors. Their number came down subsequently with MCH authorities not showing much interest in it.
By July-end, the visitors will have an opportunity to witness the new changes as sprucing up has started already, senior MCH officials told City Express. The musical fountains, the first to be installed in Andhra Pradesh in 1994 became a major source of attraction for the visitors then. But it became defunct later on. For the last two and half years, the fountain remained dead.
"Our first priority is to restore the musical fountains," officials said. The other works include setting up a toy train. The water fall/fountain near Dr Marri Chenna Reddy memorial will also be taken up for repairing. Large-scale tree plantation will be taken up.
Matrix Labs bids for Belgium's Docpharma
The bid offers a 19.3 percent premium to the average share price in the past month and a 13.3 percent premium to Friday's closing price of 30.00 euros. "The value of the transaction, at the offer price of 34 euros per share, amounts to 214 million euros ($263 million). After accounting for Docpharma's net cash position and its own shares held by the Docpharma group, the enterprise value amounts to 193.85 million euros ($238 million)," both companies said in a statement.
Matrix said it would finance the deal through a combination of cash and bank borrowings. It said it would also consider raising funds in the capital market to reduce the bank borrowings after the transaction. It expects the deal to raise significant cost and revenue synergies.
Hyderabad-based Matrix Laboratories will soon merge with Strides Arcolab Ltd., creating a new firm valued at about $850 million. Docpharma -- founded in 1999 -- listed on Euronext Brussels in June 2001. It had 88.256 million euros in revenues for the first nine months ending on March 31, up 43 percent year-on-year.
Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 46 percent to 11.526 million euros in the same period. It generates most of its business in Belgium. UBS advised Matrix while ABN AMRO and Bank Degroof advised Docpharma.
MIM says no metro rail
"We don't want such development and we will not allow the project to be executed," the Majlis MP, Asaduddin Owaisi, has warned.
Charge against official
Participating in the District Review Committee (DRC) meeting here on Saturday, he said the plan of E. Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, was a conspiracy against the old city.
If implemented the project would finish off M.J. Market, Siddiamber Bazar, Begum Bazar, Chaderghat, Patherghatti and Yakutpura. At each turning, Metro Rail would cut into 200 properties.
Mr. Asaduddin wondered about the mention of a resolution on the Metro Rail project in the action taken report and said the MIM was not party to any such resolution. The Hyderabad Collector, Arvind Kumar, said the resolution forwarded to the Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, was merely about the discussion in the DRC on the project.
The Government had constituted a seven-member committee to examine the project in its entirety.
Not much 'demolition'
The MCH Commissioner, Sanjay Jaju, said the 58-km mass rail transit system would entail minimum demolition. Stakeholders would be taken into confidence before anything was done. The Khairatabad MLA, P. Janardhan Reddy, wanted a meeting of city MLAs to be arranged with Mr. Sreedharan to clarify doubts and allay apprehensions.
The Information Minister and DRC chairman, Mohd. Ali Shabbir, chaired the meeting. The Technical Education Minister, N. Narisimha Reddy, was present.
Source: The Hindu
CT Sunday exclusive
BOMBAY - Two brothers at the helm of India's largest private conglomerate, Reliance, have settled a long-running dispute that has transfixed the country, carving up their father's legacy in a deal announced by their mother.
The Ambani brothers will split the management of a business empire built by their father, just three years after his death, dividing control of a group with a vast shareholder base and revenues equivalent to more than 3 percent of India's economy.
The deal between Anil and Mukesh Ambani followed months of acrimony that hogged the headlines. It was announced on Saturday by their homemaker mother Kokilaben, who was approached for help by the business-school-educated duo after their ownership and management row became public seven months ago.
It formalises a parting of ways for two of India's best-known business leaders, whose personalities are as distinct as Reliance's myriad interests.
Kokilaben Ambani said in a statement that elder son Mukesh would run flagship Reliance Industries Ltd., with interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas exploration, refining and textiles, and Indian Petrochemicals Corp. Ltd..
Anil will be responsible for utility Reliance Energy Ltd., financial services company Reliance Capital Ltd. and Reliance Infocomm, a leading mobile phone operator that his brother has run since its launch in 2002.
A Reliance Industries statement said the board had authorised a committee to suggest a suitable scheme of reorganisation.
Anil Ambani told reporters late on Saturday that he wished his brother all the best for the future and was confident Reliance Industries would scale greater heights under his leadership.
"This is a new beginning for me. In the days and years ahead I am committed to creating value and adhering to the highest standards of governance," he said.
Mukesh has yet to make a formal comment.
"All focus was so far on the issue of control," said Devesh Kumar, head of equities at ICICI Securities. "Now they should be able to focus on the future of the companies."
But corporate lawyer H.P. Ranina said dividing the assets of the group, with $23 billion in revenue, would be a minefield of taxation and valuation issues.
POLITICAL JET SET
Reliance has had links with leading politicians, cutting across party lines. Just this week, a political row broke out following reports the ruling Congress party's president, Sonia Gandhi, had chartered a Reliance-owned jet to fly to Russia.
The group, founded in 1958 as a commodity trader, is credited with nurturing India's capital markets when Reliance Industries floated in 1977, and it now has more than 3 million shareholders.
"For all of them, this is good news," Prem Gupta, India's company affairs minister, said on television.
The broader stock market will be pleased to see an end to the dispute. Reliance Industries is the second-biggest constituent, and resolving it required the help of powerful corporate players.
Top investment banker Nimesh Kampani was called in to value the group and the settlement was mediated by K.V. Kamath, head of India's largest private-sector bank, ICICI Bank Ltd..
"The uncertainty has been sorted out amicably without litigation," said Abhay Aima, head of equities at HDFC Bank, adding that it should unlock value for shareholders.
Reliance Industries shares have gained more than 12 percent this month in anticipation of the settlement, and closed near an all-time high on Friday at 600.85 rupees.
Trading Strategies: How to play Reliance now
How must investors play Reliance group shares - Reliance Industries, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital? Must they follow the tried and tested rule of selling at news, or should they accumulate, hoping for better valuations in the future? Moneycontrol surveyed analysts and brokers for their tips.
Reliance Industries
Techical Analyst Rajat Bose - Reliance Industries is looking quite positive. I am bullish on these stocks. It looks like Reliance is going to move up even further. The immediate resistance will be at Rs 600 and going forward I have a feeling that after that it will be Rs 620. But medium term looks pretty good for Reliance. In the short term Rs 600 is the immediate target and above that Rs 605-613-620 are its resistance level. The counter will trade above Rs 700 levels.
Technical Analyst E Mathew - In Reliance Industries there has been a break out above the 200-day moving average. The 200-day moving average was at Rs 563 and the stocks went up above Rs 563 with very good volumes and sustained above that. It was a clear signal that it was finally coming out of the immediate down trend. There is resistance now at Rs 605 in the short-term.
Technical Analyst Salil Sharma - In Reliance Industries one strong support is at Rs 582 and the other at Rs 577. If Rs 577 holds in any correction, which might happen tomorrow, then it is headed upwards. Next major resistance is around Rs 600 which is more of a psychological resistance, but the technical resistance is around Rs 610. If that is broken on the upside then we are headed towards Rs 640 in a months time. On the downside after Rs 575 the next support is at Rs 564.
Reliance Energy
Bose - Reliance energy has Rs 600 as its target, which it almost touched today. Once it crosses Rs 600, then you can look forward to Reliance Energy going up to Rs 630. The counter will trade above Rs 700 levels.
Mathew - The entire power sector is looking very bullish. Reliance Energy is also looking pretty bullish. It has very strong support at Rs 571-572. Minor resistance is at Rs 588 and once that is crossed the stocks will get into a very strong up trend. Investors should hold on to Reliance Energy and Reliance Industries for the long term. I am bullish on the group.
Sharma - Reliance Energy is also looking good. As long it stays above Rs 578, that is a major support and if that is broken then the next support is around Rs 553. On the upside the resistance first is at Rs 605 and then around Rs 645.
Reliance Capital
Bose - Reliance Capital is already on an uptrend. Amongst the three the maximum technical strength is in Reliance Capital. But since the move has been so sharp in it, there could be a mid code correction. The movement in Reliance Energy and Reliance Industries is much more solid. They are moving up, consolidating and the then moving up further. But movement in Reliance Capital is sharp. The technical formation suggests that Reliance Capital might be on its way to Rs 300 plus levels, which is its medium term target.
Sharma - Reliance Capital is the most positive amongst all of them. It is the only Reliance group share which is making new highs, whereas the other two are recouping the losses that they have made earlier. In two months time it should be around Rs 290-300 and on the downside the support is around Rs 215.
Ascendas launches India IT park fund
"Ascendas is injecting two choice assets -- the International Tech park, Bangalore, which it lead-developed, and the Vanenburg IT Park (Hyderabad), which was acquired recently," it said in a statement.
The group's Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust is Singapore's second-biggest listed property trust. As a sponsor of the trust, Ascendas holds a 30 percent interest in the Indian technology parks fund, the statement said.
A company spokeswoman said 10 billion rupees were already in place in the fund and the doubling of size was an eventual target. The fund has been constituted in Singapore as a private trust, and has a term of seven years.
Special Purpose Vehicle for Musi project
“There will be focus on the project’s sustainability and it is the right time to get our act together. There should be good public support for its success,” asserted S P Singh, secretary, municipal administration and urban development department. He was speaking at a workshop on ‘Save Musi Campaign’ organised by Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) and JNTU School of Planning and Architecture here on Wednesday.
The project will be implemented in two phases each of 15 months duration. While the first phase will complete 28 projects at an estimated cost of Rs 238.16 crore, the second phase will take up 13 projects with an outlay of Rs 668.20 crore. Out of the allocation, nearly 45 per cent will be spent on the sewerage component.
According to Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) Commissioner Sanjay Jaju, all the public properties coming under the project will be handed over to the SPV. “An advisory group of experts will be formed shortly. Also the Heritage Conservation Committee will be consulted on the issues related to the heritage buildings,” he pointed out. He stressed the importance of Pollution Control Board (PCB) in controlling the dumping of effluents into the river.
Plans are on the anvil to introduce regulations for the construction of buildings and skylines around the river. “A multi-level Special Area Development Authority will be formed apart from improving the sewerage system in the catchment areas of Musi,” said Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) Vice-Chairman Jayesh Ranjan.
During the open forum, the suggestions from the participants varied from taking up a comprehensive study on the river water to restricting the flow of industrial wastes into Musi. A monitoring secretariat to keep track of the project’s progress will start functioning at JNTU, Masab Tank in the coming days.
Phoenix Tech Opens Engg Operations
The company said that the India office will focus on the development of Phoenix software applications to meet the needs of its worldwide channel partner program.
Phoenix recently added a development center in Nanjing, China, focused on its Core System Software and silicon porting. The company is headquartered in California and currently operates 16 offices worldwide in countries like China, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and several locations within the United States.
Phoenix develops a suite of Core System Software, tools and applications to deliver "trusted" computing to digital devices.
Roadmap for all-round development
The MCH Commissioner, Sanjay Jaju, said adequate parking bays would be created and space given for electricity poles that were to be shifted.
Central median
On the Raj Bhavan to Rajiv Gandhi statue road, where widening was taken up two days ago, a central median would be put up.
Mr. Jaju was briefing newsmen on Tuesday after announcing the revival of the City Co-ordination Committee meetings of heads of public utility departments after a gap of more than three years.
The Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), A.K. Khan, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board Managing Director, K.S. Jawahar Reddy, the State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) city Regional Manager, C. Panduranga Murthy, the Central Power Distribution Company Executive Director, A. Srinivas Rao, and other senior officials were present.
Promising better coordination among Government departments, Mr. Jaju said that a coordinated approach was needed to tackle issues relating to the city's development.
These meetings and visits to specific points would be a fortnightly affair from now on, he said, and hoped it would serve as a "clearance mechanism" to sort out common issues of concern.
Blame game
Mr. Khan said revival of the coordination meetings was timely as there was too much of a "blame game" among departments.
Mr. Jawahar Reddy specifically mentioned the issue of his department having to dig the road for laying pipelines. "We will have to come out with some mechanism to ensure that minimum inconvenience is caused to citizens when we go about our work," he said.
The team of senior officials, including the MCH Additional Commissioners - K. Dhanunjaya Reddy (Projects) and N.V.S. Reddy (Traffic & Transport) - went round the Necklace Road to consider steps to improve the traffic snarls near the Prasad's Imax, Rajiv Gandhi statue, the busy Punjagutta-Ameerpet road, Begumpet and Minister's Road, among other places.
The MCH Commissioner said some key roads were identified for re-designing traffic islands and junctions.
Sierra Atlantic to expand Oracle
The company's Oracle Center of Excellence, has won industry- wide acclaim, and services a worldwide base of more than 100 Oracle e-Business Suite customers.
Company Vice President Sanjay Khendry in a release said here today that the company was strengthening its Oracle practice to provide better service to its customers in North America. At this juncture, we are predominantly looking for business, functional or domain consultants for the projects, the release added.
Internationally acclaimed short films
Two international films and two films by local directors will be screened this month. The two international films are Andrea Arnold’s Wasp, which won this year’s Oscar and Nancy Stein’s multi award winning and breathtaking Stealing Innocence.
Wasp is about 23-year-old Zoe who wants to be wild and free but she’s already got four kids. Wasp takes place on a day when Zoe is broke and her kids are hungry. When Dave, an old flame swings by with the offer of brief release she lies about being a mum and leaves her kids outside the pub.
Nearby late summer wasps are hunting for food around an old rubbish bin. Wasp described by the Guardian as ‘socialist realist film poetry’ has won 31 International Festival Awards including the Academy Award (Oscar) for Short Live Action Film 2005.
Stealing Innocence is a poignant examination of the human cost to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. Using U.S. television news clips and the personal story of two girls, Rachel and Ayat, the filmmaker captures life in the Occupied Territories where the life of Palestinians is severely restricted.
Stealing Innocence has won the Runner-up Award for Best Short Film Reel Women Film Festival, Best Short Film, best screenplay and best director at the International Student Film Festival, Coveted GOLD Remi Award for Creative Excellence at the World fest International Film Festival, Best Drama Short and Best Supporting Actress at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival.
The two upcoming directors from Hyderabad whose films are also been screened are Poojita Chowdhury, daughter of Union Tourism Minister Renuka Chowdhury and Sini, an actress turned director.
Poojita Chowdhury will be showcasing her film Sand In My Nostrils, a film about the problem of female foeticide in India. Sini will showcase her ‘24 Times 7’, a brief peek into the space of a 13-year-old girl, among million others like her, who has been touched or perhaps affected by the ripples we create. The millions of things we do each day travel like tiny ripples and touch or effect different people in different dimensions.
IBM opens 1,000-seat IT centre
The 1.64 lakh sq ft facility can house up to 1,000 professionals and the full strength may be reached by the year end.
"Indian market conditions are highly encouraging to IBM and we will continue to grow here," IBM General Manager (Asia Pacific) Frank Kern said at the inaugural function of the GDC.
IBM has been growing in India with 5 GDCs at Bangalore, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Pune and Hyderabad with a total headcount of 23,000. "In the last four years, we have grown by 49%," Frank added.
IBM India MD Shankar Annaswamy said the main focus of the centre would be design and development and applications in mainframe, SAP and web technologies.
"The centre is fully networked with our other centres in india," Kern said.
Participating as the chief guest, Chief Minister y s rajasekhar reddy said IT and ITES are growing in the state in a rapid manner. "In the last one year, AP has registered highest growth in the country with 64.5% against the national average of 35%," Reddy said.
Visakhapatnam can be developed as a major IT hub and IT companies should consider setting up facilities there, Reddy added.
Shanta Bio to trial antibodies
Shanta Biotech expects to conduct clinical trials on these substances targeting non-small-cell lung, pancreatic, colon, and breast cancer, respectively. According to an analyst, the human trials on monoclonal antibodies will strengthen Shanta's oncology portfolio.
But if a product is finally brought to the market, it will bring a drop in prices in the same segment. Shanta's corporate strategy has been to bring products into the market at a price lower than the existing market price, as was seen with the Hepatitis B vaccine and interferon.
The latter was launched at a price 40 per cent less than its imported counterparts.
Hyderabad a likely venue?
Oman Air launches flights
The gala dinner, attended by senior officials from Oman Air, Omani media, dignitaries from the Indian Civil Aviation Authority, members of the travel trade and the local press, was hosted by Oman Air's Chief Executive Officer Abdulrahman Al Busaidy.
A similar function was held in Hyderabad on Thursday to celebrate the launch of Oman Air service to Hyderabad.
Oman Air commenced its Muscat-Delhi non-stop flights on June 2 with new generation B737 aircraft. The airline will operate four non-stop services a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing Delhi at 1615 arriving Muscat at 1735. The flight from Muscat will leave at 1100 and arrive in Delhi at 1515.
According to Oman Air officials, the timings are carefully chosen to suit the business travellers and also families.
The addition of Delhi on its network brings the total number of Indian destinations served by the airline to six. The other Indian destinations served by Oman Air are Mumbai (10 flights a week) Kochi (7 flights a week). Thiruvananthapuram (7 flights a week) Chennai (7 flights a week) and the recently added Hyderabad (3 flights a week).
IT Tower a la Hi-tec City
The proposal is pending with the State government.
To attract Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the IT sector, the government has formulated the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy 2005-2010.
Under the ICT Policy, SMEs are offered 25 percent rebate on power tariff for the first three years of operations and conversion to industrial tariff, 50 percent subsidy for participating in international exhibitions and preferred land allotment.
NEW ENTRANTS: Letters of permission had been given to four new export-oriented units (EOUs) in Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) in the current year, according to official sources. An equal number of companies were allowed to be started in the city.
Visakhapatnam city stands a good chance of attracting a large number of SMEs because of its easy accessibility compared to the VSEZ (located in Duvvada) and incentives promised under the ICT Policy.
IT SKILLS: With the entry of IT majors, the need for skilled manpower has been realised. A meeting of principals of various colleges was held recently by the State IT Department to motivate students to acquaint themselves with IT skills that are required for working in firms like TCS.
Visakhapatnam and the coastal belt from Kakinada to Srikakulam has a large number of science and engineering colleges churning about 5,000 graduates and post-graduates every year.
Mallya set to order five A380s
The A380, with a sticker price of $290m, is designed to carry a minimum of 550 passengers, with room for expansion to nearly 800 people. Kingfisher is also ordering an unknown number of the yet-to-be launched A350s and A330s. The planes are scheduled for delivery in a five-year period beginning ‘07.
UB group chairman Vijay Mallya confirmed the deal and said it was in keeping with his aim to make the company India’s largest airline by ‘10. No Indian airport currently has the capability for an A380 to land.
German carrier Lufthansa, which has ordered 15 of the aircraft, has announced its intention to fly the aircraft to India and the Airport Authority of India is beefing up Mumbai and Delhi airports to handle the aircraft. The new greenfield airports at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi will also be able to take the aircraft, airport sources said.
The huge order gives Kingfisher the first-mover advantage in terms of taking forward its ‘Funliner’ concept with the space available in the aircraft. With its huge cavernous cabin, the A380 has captured the imagination of some of the best airlines in the world, which are currently busy planning innovations that they say will change the way people travel.
It is still not clear how the UB group will finance the aircraft acquisition and no details are available on the routes on which they will be operated.
Kingfisher, which began operations in May, currently operates a fleet of three A320 single-aisle aircraft.
IT-based agri information system
Speaking to FE, YS Ramakrishna, Director of CRIDA said, ‘‘Agricultural operations require adequate contingency planning. Hence we are planning a coordinated project with the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural Institute (ANGRAU), IIIT, National Council for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and IMD. Using the expertise of each of the centres, our agrometeorological programme aims to know the influence of weather on dynamics of pests and diseases, climatic changes and its impact on different agro-ecological regions and identification of the crops based on GIS applications.
‘‘We propose to collect data from 25 Agromet centres, under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) present across the country and 83 centres of NCMRWF and link them to the Virtual Academy for Semi-Arid Tropics (VASAT) of ICRISAT, krishi channels and Crop Weather Watch group. The first pilot project is expected to come up soon at Mehboobnagar district in Andhra Pradesh state, ’’ Dr Ramakrishna said.
The information needs of the farmer include some general information like weather, crop demand-supply information, market prices, credit-related information; pre-sowing information like best practices in soil and tillage, choice of crops, source of seed materials, time to sowing; crop production and protection measures from pests, adverse weather conditions and post-harvest practices like time to harvest, storage facilities, current pricing and offtake at local markets.
Interestingly, the benefit ratio for the farmers after using these agromet services is surprising. On an average, a farmer is able to save about Rs 4,000-10,000 as the awareness on weather, crop protection, sowing and harvest time are well-calculated, he said.
Nizam's jewellery set to return to AP
Indian Tourism Minister Renuka Chowdhury told Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy on Saturday that the Centre has taken a decision in principle to bring back the Nizam's jewellery to Hyderabad on a permanent basis. A new facility will be built in the sprawling Public Gardens in the heart of the city for this purpose. Alternatively, the building currently housing the Health Museum will be vacated to make way for jewellery display.
For four decades, the fabulous jewellery collection of the Nizam was kept in the safe vaults of HSBC at Mumbai. In 1995, the Centre bought the famed jewellery collection for Rs 218 crore after protracted legal wrangles. Since then, the priceless collection is being kept in the safe vaults of the Reserve Bank of India at Mumbai.
The 173-piece collection comprises 325 pieces, accounting for pairs and groups of ornaments, not including the 22 unset emeralds and the Jacob's diamond. The collection includes turban ornaments, necklaces, earrings, armbands, bracelets, belts, buttons and cuff links, anklets, watch chains and rings-- all jewels once worn by the Nizams of Hyderabad, their wives, children and grandchildren.
The jewellery pieces also include rubies and spinels from Burma (now Myanmar), emeralds from Colombia and pearls from Basra, a diamond set made in France, diamond studded images of camels, gold ingots, a seven-strand pearl necklace with 150 large and 230 small pearls with a two-diamond pendant, a pair of bracelets studded with 270 diamonds and the famed Jacob's diamond, the seventh biggest diamonds in the world with 184.75 carats.
The rare collection, dating from the early 18th century to early 20th century, is currently worth a massive Rs 10,000 crore, according to the Department of Culture, which acquired it a decade ago. The Jacob's Diamond alone is said to be worth Rs 400 crore.
Rail Board seeks nod for MMTS 2nd phase
Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has already accorded his approval for the second phase. It has been proposed to run trains on six routes under the second phase. They are: Secunderabad-Medchal (28 km), Falaknuma-Shamshabad (20 km), Secunderabad-Ghatkesar (19 km), Moula Ali-Sanatnagar (21 km), Moula Ali-Kachiguda (10 km) and Telapur-Patancheru (8 km).
The total cost for implementation of the project in the second phase is Rs 324.08 crore. Of this, two-thirds (Rs 216.53 crore) would be borne by the State Government and another one-third (Rs 108.27 crore) by the railways.
The works would start immediately after the Railway Board sanctions its approval for the second phase. Two new railway lines would be laid for the project. They are: A third broad-gauge line from Secunderabad to Ghatkesar (19 km) and a 7 km-line from the proposed Shamshabad International Airport and the Shamshabad railway station.
RAKES READY: The MMTS rakes are already available for introduction in the second phase. While orders were placed for 18 rakes to Integral Coach Factory, Perambur for the first phase, currently only nine rakes were being used. Nine rakes are kept ready at the ICF and they would be brought to Hyderabad prior to the launch of the second phase. Each rake would have six coaches and would be able to accommodate about 2,000 passengers.
MCH demolishes encroachments
The first target was Babukhan Mall, near Rajiv Gandhi statue, Punjagutta. A huge police force was deployed to thwart any resistance from the management of malls to the demolition drive taken up on Raj Bhavan Road and Punjagutta crossroads.
The total width of the road from Begumpet to Punjagutta should be 150 feet. The present width of the road is 120 feet only. Hence, the MCH decided to widen the road by 10 feet on either side by removing encroachments, he said.
The management of Babukhan Mall tried to resist the demolition by stating that it would remove the flooring extended onto the road on its own.
The management of Amruta Mall also tried to prevent the demolition by stating that it would remove the ‘encroachments’ on its own. Due to the demolition, a portion of Chic Hair and Beauty Parlour located in the cellar of Amruta Mall caved in.
Monsoon sets in
The monsoon advent brought cheers to several areas of the State, some of which are still in the grip of heat wave in the Telangana region. Koyalkuntla recorded a rainfall of 3 cm and Anantapur, Nandyal and Atmakur 1 cm each.
Virinchi Tech major expansion plans
K Jagan Mohan Rao, director of VTL said that in the next two years the company will be investing to the tune of about Rs 15 crore in capacity expansion, strengthening its US arm and developing state-of-the-art infrastructure for research and development in the new niche areas like life sciences contract research, pharma etc.
The bio-technology projects will be done through its fully owned subsidiary Virinchi Bio VirinchiBio Ltd. Rao said that the current head count of VTL is 150, which will be doubled in the next few months and in the next one year it will cross 1,000 people.
To accommodate the expanding staff the company has decided to construct its own campus at Shamirpet, which will also house an R&D centre. Rao said that the company will be investing about Rs 6 crore for construction of this campus, which is expected to be ready in the next one year.
As for overseas expansion, Rao said that the company will be opening a branch in the US as a fully owned subsidiary in the name of Virinchi Product Design and Development Services Inc, a branch in Switzerland called Virinchi Technologies Ltd and yet another in Hong Kong as a fully owned subsidiary in the name of the Virinchi Technologies Ltd.
According to Rao the US arm will focus on development in aviation and automotive sectors. In the next one year to 15 months the company is aiming at sales of about $ 1.5 million from the US operations. The company plans to invest about Rs 2 crore in strengthening the US arm.
VTL’s US operations are currently developing technology services to Italian railways using computer-aided engineering (CAE) & designing. As of now, no Indian company offers services in CAE and VTL will be the first company to venture into this niche segment.
Rao said that the expansion projects will be financed through a mix of internal accruals and term loans and added that the company could also come out with a rights issue to raise fresh capital.
US consulate in Hyderabad or Bangalore
The move to include such a clause in a State Department authorisation bill was led by Congressman Joseph Crowley (Democrat, New York), who said his Indian American constituents had been clamouring for this convenience. "With Bangalore and Hyderabad becoming booming high technology centres the need for the United States to have a close centre to this area is imperative," Crowley said.
During the mark-up hearings for House Resolution 2601, to authorize appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, Crowley's clause calling for an additional consulate was passed as well. The US already has consulates in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
Crowley, the chief deputy whip of the Democratic Party, spoke of the need for such a consular post in southern India. He also announced that the State Department Authorization Bill will include language related to this issue that he successfully added. "The Congressman negotiated with Henry Hyde and Tom Lantos to get it into the base text of the bill itself," Rep Crowley's assistant Chris McCannell told IANS. Hyde is chairman of the House International Relations Committee and Lantos is the ranking Democrat on the committee.
The language Crowley secured in the bill says, "and an additional location in... India". And in his report language, which accompanies the legislation, Crowley directed the US Department of State to choose between Hyderabad and Bangalore as the best location for this new consulate. The bill will go to the floor within the next few weeks for a vote.
Crowley argued for his clause saying, "With Bangalore and Hyderabad becoming booming high technology centres the need for the United States to have a close centre to this area is imperative. I call on the committee and my colleagues in the United States Congress to make the addition of a consular post in southern India a priority. Currently, businesses, immigrants and visitors in southern India have to go to the US consulate in Chennai in order to get a visa or do any other business with the US government. The addition of an additional consulate in either Bangalore or Hyderabad will help both Indians and Americans doing business in southern India," Crowley told the House.
Representing one of the most diverse districts in the country, including one of the largest populations of Indian Americans in the United States, Crowley had been receiving complaints from his constituents over several months, Cannell said. Crowley is also the former chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.
Picasso Digital plans colleges
"The company has tied up with Canada-based Centennial College, one of the oldest animation colleges in Canada for the purpose", A B R P Reddy, managing director and chief executive officer of Picasso said. "The curriculum and faculty will be totally from Canada. The facilities in Hyderabad and Delhi will be state of the art," he said adding that the initial investment for setting up centres is around Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million). The first batch will have a strength of 60 students.
"Anybody who has passed Intermediate (10+2) is eligible to apply for a diploma course. The courses on offer are certificate/diploma programmes in digital animation and integrated design and digital animation," he said.
After the first batch of students, the company would venture into production in a big way, Reddy said, adding that the fee for a diploma/certificate course is Rs 1.75 lakh. The first batch commences fron July. Marina Lawrence, Centennial college manager (customer services) claimed that the college is one of the best in world and the students of this college are placed globally. Picasso Digital Media is promoted by Maharshi Group and Rayudu Vision Media Ltd.
Amazon in Hyderabad
The Hyderabad centre will offer additional email support to customers of Amazon.com. Pritam Baxi, Amazon's director of India customer service operations commented, "as more of our customers come from outside the United States, it is important that we have customer service representatives available to respond to our customers, regardless of the time zone they might be in. The additional resources provided by our new Hyderabad office will enable us to serve our customers more quickly and efficiently."
Amazon.com Inc is a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, Washington, where customers can find anything they might want to buy online.
Amazon 2 Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of new, refurbished and used items in categories such as beauty, health and personal care, jewellery and watches, gourmet food, sports and outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, dvds, electronics and office, toys and baby, and home and garden.
Canada, India agree to increase in flights
Canada's International Trade Minister Jim Peterson and Transport Minister Jean-C Lapierre made this announcement on Wednesday.
Previously, the agreement governing air services between Canada and India limited the number of air carriers that could serve the market; restricted total capacity to approximately seven round-trip flights per week for each country; confined Indian carriers' effective access to cities in Canada to Montreal and Toronto, and Canadian carriers' access to Indian cities to Delhi and Mumbai; and did not provide for the kind of flexible marketing arrangements, such as code-sharing, that have become prevalent in recent years.
Highlights of the new agreement
- Weekly capacity for passenger services will increase approximately five-fold to 35 round-trip flights per week for each country.
- Each country can designate as many air carriers as it wishes for flights between Canada and India.
- Canadian air carriers can access the cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi.
- Indian carriers can access Edmonton, Vancouver and two other cities to be named by India, in addition to Montreal and Toronto.
- Airlines of both countries will be able to take advantage of new code-share provisions whereby an airline sells seats in its name on the flights of another airline.
- Capacity for all-cargo services is unlimited.
The new agreement sets the stage for the growth of Canada-India air services and is consistent with Canada's International Policy Statement objective of creating sustainable long-term relationships with new economic powers.
The active promotion of trade and investment by both countries has resulted in a record merchandise bilateral trade valued at about $2.45 billion, reflecting a trade relationship that has grown over 60 percent over the past five years.
In light of the potential for rapid expansion of the Canada-India air transport market, the Canadian and Indian negotiating delegations agreed to meet again in 2007, or sooner if necessary, to ensure that the air services agreement continues to be consistent with Canada's trade objectives and meet the needs of the travelling public.
MCH drive gets a fillip
Coca-Cola will be providing five `PET' bottle collection bins, 25 jackets and caps to street `beautifiers' as the garbage collectors have been termed. The programme was launched in Jubilee Hills and is to be spread across the twin cities in the near future.
The MCH Commissioner, Sanjay Jaju, formally inaugurated the programme on Tuesday, and exhorted corporate houses to help the corporation keep the city clean and green, a press release said.
TCS next gen smart cards
The cards will not only be used for enabling access to a physical location but will also have digital certificates to facilitate e-commerce transactions like availing of housing loans. This apart, they will also ensure greater security in terms of not being vulnerable to differential power analysis. TCS has already started using the cards for internal needs for its 40,000-odd employees.
Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference, M Vidyasagar, executive vice-president (advanced technology), TCS, said, "The smart cards are being manufactured in Taiwan and we have shortlisted an Indian vendor for the distribution purposes to the retail market."
The company started designing the algorithm for the card almost three years back.
TCS has also entered into a strategic arrangement with the ICICI Bank for digital certificate issuance, enabling the bank to become a sub-certifying authority in this regard.
Apart from complete deployment and customisation of the offering for the ICICI Bank, TCS will also train the bank employees on public key infrastructure (PKI) technology.
“For issuance of digital certificates, we see a huge opportunity in broadband network. Besides, the Department of Company Affairs has also decided to facilitate communication to all companies registered with it through their portal. So there is again a good opportunity for us in this regard too,” Vidyasagar said. The market for integrated security services is slated to be around $8-10 billion and is growing at a fast clip of around 20 per cent.
TCS is one among the six certifying authorities in India and has 38 clients for digital certificates. Some of these include the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and UTI Bank. The company has issued 50,000 digital certificates till date out of which 40,000 are for its own employees on their existing smart cards.
Rs 10 crore for road development
Reviewing the works at a meeting with the executive engineers, the Commissioner instructed the staff to take up the works on a war footing in view of the onset of monsoon. Private cable agencies and HMWS&SB have dug up about 135 kms road in different localities of the twin cities. He also directed the staff to take up the desilting of storm water drains.
The Additional Commissioner (Works), Harshwardhan said that pre-monsoon desilting of nalas have been taken in 42 packages, of which 14 packages are mechanised and the rest were manual handling.
In order to speed up the completion of works and decentralisation of powers, Sanjay Jaju has decided to delegate more financial powers to Zonal Additional Commissioners for maintenance of works in their jurisdiction.
He asked them to take up the inspections everyday during the early hours between 5 am and 9 am to ensure that no potholes are seen on the main roads.
Waste disposal scheme
Speaking on the occasion, the minister underlined the role of citizens in keeping the city clean and green. Later, he distributed plastic bins to households for dropping the organic and recyclable waste. The residents will segregate the waste into organic waste (wet waste) and recyclable waste (dry waste). The organic waste will be collected everyday. The recyclable waste will be collected on Saturdays. The MCH will deploy tricycles for transportation of the segregated waste. A nominal fee of Rs 20 per month will be collected from the households by the RWAs.
The associations will pay wages to the workers from the fee collected from the residents. A tricycle will be provided to every RWA. It covers 150 to 180 houses.
Singapore direct flight from June 11
The thrice-a-week direct flight Airbus A-320 would operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in Hyderabad - Singapore - Hyderabad sector.
The flight IC-561 will leave Hyderabad at 5.30 am and reach Singapore at 12.50 pm. On the return, the IC-562 will leave Singapore at 1.50 pm. and arrive at Hyderabad at 4 pm.
An Indian Airlines direct flight to Bangkok from Hyderabad is flying since March 2005. The twice-a-week non-stop flight Airbus A-320 operates on Wednesday and Saturday
Traffic police to go hi-tech
It needs about Rs 40 crore to get modern infrastructure required by a mega city, as Hyderabad will acquire the status soon. If the proposals are accepted, speed cameras will be installed at traffic junctions that will catch signal jumpers and traffic violators. The present cumbersome and manually written summons and notices will be a thing of past as they will be replaced by electronic challans.
In the new format, the traffic violations and their corresponding sections and the fines to be collected will be fed to a portable computer. The traffic cop just have to feed the vehicle number to complete the challan.
The much delayed area traffic control systems, which can weigh the traffic at a junction and change the signal automatically will replace the present signal systems, which change at pre-set time intervals. Two more traffic police stations will be set up by bifurcating the Punjagutta and Karkhana traffic stations. It has been proposed to set up one unit at Ameerpet and one at Bowenpally.
The modernisation proposal also envisages interlinking of all traffic stations, enhancing the communication network and having a net presence with a direct link to the RTA data. The proposed website will host notifications and provide an interface for public with the officials.
One crane and 10 ambulances are also sought. Now, there are about 2,000 personnel, including 800 home guards manning the traffic in the city. An additional manpower of 12 SIs, 17 RSIs, 321 head constables, 758 police constables and several home guards has been sought, the Additional Commissioner said.
"The traffic police stations, unlike the law and order police stations, have to cover a large area. There is a need for more police stations and manpower," says DCP (Traffic) Anil Kumar.
PartyGaming: Winner takes all
A former internet porn baron, her husband and two Indian technology graduates are about to become dollar billionaires as a result of the phenomenal growth in online poker.
The four are the business brains that took the age-old game, once the preserve of card sharks in smoke-filled backroom bars, on to the internet and in to the homes of millions of people around the world.
So spectacular has been the rise in internet poker that, after only seven years in operation, the four owners of the world's largest internet poker company, PartyGaming, have a business worth £5.5bn. They now plan to float it on the London stock market and it is set to become one of the biggest companies in Britain by value, overtaking household names such as Boots, Sainsbury's, British Airways and Cable & Wireless.
Ruth Parasol, a Californian lawyer who made her original fortune in online pornography, her husband, Russ de Leon, and two Indian technology graduates, Anurag Dikshit and Vikrant Bhargava, are cashing in £1.26bn between them by selling part of their stakes to outside shareholders. They are holding on to the rest of the shares themselves - giving each of them a worth of between £750m and £2bn.
The company's 1,100 staff, ranging from top management to call centre workers in India, will also share in the bonanza.
Staff will each be given a package of free shares depending on their position and length of time with the company. Even those at a basic level in PartyGaming's Hyderabad call centre could earn more than three times their salary from the windfall.
Companies like PartyGaming have brought the glamorous image of poker - a macho game of nerve, wit, tactics and luck - to millions of ordinary punters. Rather than having to venture in to a casino, punters can play from their computer screen without having to leave home at any time of the day or night
Poker began its mainstream appeal in 2001 when the World Series, where hardened champions slug it out for multimillion-dollar prize money, was televised. Glass tables showed viewers the hands of the players, creating compelling viewing as tensions mounted. Audiences got hooked and wanted to take part themselves. The aptly named Chris Moneymaker began playing poker online and qualified for a seat in the World Series in 2003. He won, pocketing $2.5m in prize money. Most of the large poker sites offer seats in the Series, and these internet success stories are fuelling aspiring players.
Celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matt Damon and Tobey Maguire are all regulars at televised poker matches, and have also helped give the game a cult appeal.
So big is the potential for companies to make millions from the business that there is now a rush of other online gambling companies listing in the stock market. As well as Party Gaming, which plans to float later this month, Empire Online, another poker website, is planning to do the same. Set up by an Israeli businessman, it is expected to be worth more than £550m.
The millions being made by poker entrepreneurs are being raked in despite the fact it is in a legal grey area. The Government has passed a new Gambling Act to regulate internet betting, forcing operators to be properly licensed. Companies will also have to adhere to social responsibility codes that should ensure children and problem gamblers are protected, and ensure customers are treated fairly by websites.
The US has taken a more puritanical view and is trying to ban internet betting. PartyGaming does not believe its activities do break any US laws, but it is based in Gibraltar where it is free from legal problems.
Who's who in the poker business
VIKRANT BHARGAVA
Aged 32, and originally from Rajasthan, he pursued a career in banking before joining the poker party in 2000, having been asked to come on board as marketing director of PartyGaming by his old college friend, Anurag Dikshit. Married with two children, he is the only shareholder in the company to be seen in public and is a regular face in the crowd at PartyGaming's live poker tournaments.
RUTH PARASOL
A Californian lawyer whose first business exploits were in an even more controversial arena than poker. She made millions in the early 1990s from premium-rate adult chatlines and pornographic websites. By 1997, however, she had severed her ties with porn and hit on the idea of online poker.
RUSS DE LEON
Harvard law graduate who is Parasol's husband and co-shareholder. The pair now live in Gibraltar with their two children. They no longer play any part in running the business, but act as consultants, especially with the legal side of the business. Their combined stake is worth around £2bn.
ANURAG DIKSHIT
Very little is known about the 33-year-old computer whizzkid who created the technology behind online poker. He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, and he was working as a software developer in the US for various companies when he hooked up with Ruth Parasol in 1998. He owns 40 per cent of the company, which is said to be worth around £2.2bn.
RICHARD SEGAL
Aged 42, he was appointed chief executive of PartyGaming last year. Has gambling industry experience, and has worked with the casino and bingo group Rank, as well as running the Odeon cinema chain until it was sold in 2003. A keen poker player, he stands to make as much as £50m from free shares in PartyGaming over the next four years.
Deloitte's social IMPACT
The volunteers began with a visit to five places of historical importance to promote the cause of conservation of heritage structures of Hyderabad. Volunteers cleaned the areas surrounding the monuments, and worked on the landscape designed around them.
At the Deloitte office, weeklong eye donation camps, counters for selling leprosy home products were organised. The volunteers worked towards creating awareness among pedestrians and drivers at major crossroads in the city.
Commuters adhering to rules were rewarded. This year the volunteers also went to 10 orphanages and presented gifts to about 100 children.
Tracey Edwards, regional managing principal, Region 10, Deloitte, said, "This day helps our employees bond with each other and get back to work with renewed vigour. We will surely choose some of the activities from the current set and try and continue them throughout the year for sustained IMPACT."
In fact, as part of its Back to School activity for the last two years, the organisation has adopted two schools — BC Government Hostel and Andhra Upper Primary School. An art camp was held for around 200 children at New Vandhan Function Hall, Mehdipatnam.
Anoop Ratnakar Rao, one of the volunteers who was born and brought up in Hyderabad says, "I haven’t had many opportunities of giving back to my city. It was nice to be a part of the heritage thread as it gave me the opportunity to connect with Hyderabad’s rich cultural past." The Deloitte volunteers also spent a day with the inmates of the Chanchalguda Women’s Jail.
Green tax to keep the city clean
Among them, nearly 16 lakh ply in the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) limits resulting in severe air pollution. Green tax is intended to discourage people from driving old vehicles. Soon after Rajasekhara Reddy took over as Chief Minister in May last year, STA officials submitted several proposals for mobilising resources and levying green tax was one of them. All proposals except green tax were cleared at that time.
The officials suggested that transport vehicles like lorries, tractors, auto trolleys etc, which have to obtain fitness certificate every year after eight years, should be taxed Rs 2,000 per year. Similarly, owners of the non transport and personal vehicles like two and four wheelers, who apply for renewal of registration after 15 years, should pay Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 respectively once in five years. Confirming that the government was examining the proposals, senior officials of the Transport department said that the Law department has raised certain doubts for which clarifications were sent.
Ramanaidu studios in vizag
The studio would come up on a 35-acre land near Timmapuram village, on the Visakhapatnam-Bheemili road. The foundation stone for the studio would be laid on June 11 and the construction would be completed by the year end.
Ramanaidu Studios currently owns two state-of-the-art film studios in the state, one at the Film Nagar in Jubilee Hills, and the other at Nanankram Guda on the outskirts of the city.
The studio at Film Nagar was set up with a ‘walk in with a script and walk out with a canned film’ concept with features like 24-track digital recording facility, a full-fledged video studio, and preview and dubbing theatres.
Dubai Internet City in Hyderabad
Sulaiman said they were interested in exploring the possibility of associating with the development of the proposed knowledge corridor. Sulaiman said Dubai was keen to explore the possibilities of building investment relations in Hyderabad.
About 700 information and communication technology (ICT) companies have their operations in DIC. DIC is a free trade zone and a regional business hub for ICT companies, targeting emerging markets in a vast region extending from the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent, and Africa to CIS countries. DIC is also the Middle East's biggest IT infrastructure and has the largest commercial Internet Protocol Telephony system in the world.
OU plans degree in Saudi
Speaking to reporters here, the Osmania University Vice-Chancellor, Suleiman Siddiqui, said a committee was constituted to study the need and recommend the requirements for opening of extension counters.
He said the decision was taken on the request of the State Government and the Consul-General, Saudi Arabia. The committee would look into the viability factors for offering undergraduate courses and modular courses through distance mode for Indians in Jeddah city first.
The committee's report would be presented to the Government before. "We will decide on extending the facility to other cities like Riyadh and Dammam, based on the response," he said. The Vice-Chancellor said that the entrance test for admission into various postgraduate courses being offered by the university would commence from June 6. The university received 1,24,612 applications this year, which was a record.
Identifying builders violating rules
The MCH Commissioner, Sanjay Jaju, who held a meeting with the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Tejdeep Kaur Menon, and other senior officials here on Wednesday, also proposed to conduct a city-level joint coordination meeting with the traffic police every fortnight to sort out traffic related problems.
Mr. Jaju said top priority would be given to road-widening at important and busy corridors like the Charminar-Falaknuma, Rajiv Gandhi Statue at Somajiguda to Raj Bhavan, Punjagutta to Ameerpet and other places like Chandrayangutta, Nalgonda, Greenlands and Nagarjuna Circle crossroads. About 44 traffic junctions would be improved for ensuring free flow of traffic. The Vigilance and Enforcement Department too has been asked to gear up their machinery and work closely with the traffic police, a press release said.
Source: The Hindu
BreadTalk in Hyderabad
Microsoft to Host Tech Ed 2005
Targeted at the developer, server professional and architect communities, Microsoft Tech Ed 2005 is aimed at providing them
with insights in six key areas - developer tools, systems infrastructure, databases, mobility and embedded, connected systems and smart client, and architecture.
The event includes in-depth sessions, hands-on labs, technical showcases, partner pavilions, and informal interaction areas that are designed to answer technical queries and address technical problems. This year the event will include over 60 sessions delivered by more than 45 speakers over three days in each city. Approximately 4,000 participants are expected to attend from the Indian subcontinent.
For the first time at Tech Ed, Microsoft is hosting a "Women in Technology" luncheon to provide women developers, server professionals and architects an informal environment to engage and interact with experts from the industry. The vendor is also hosting an entertainment night in each city with performances from local bands.
Microsoft Tech Ed is being held for the ninth year in a row in India, and the sponsors this year include Intel, Dell, Sapient, Accenture, GrapeCity, and Avocent International.
APTransco MD to attend US seminar
She has been deputed by the State Government to take part in it. Andhra Pradesh is the only State invited.
Chatterjee will give a presentation on the power sector of Andhra Pradesh. Her presentation would cover reduction of transmission and distribution losses, successful implementation of free power to all eligible farmers (about 95 percent of total farmers in the State) and thus helping 21 lakh farmer families, waiver of arrears of power tariff to the tune of Rs 1254 crore for farmers and supplying more reliable and quality power to the industrial sector by segregating industrial feeders for industrial promotion and employment generation.
APTransco achieved the CRISIL rating for its performance in 2004-2005. Transmission and distribution losses were brought down from 23.15 percent in 2003-2004 to 21.5 percent in 2004-2005, according to a statement.
Editors Key Strokes
Vattinagulapally IT park update
Lakshmi Parthasarathi, who recently took charge as the new principal secretary of the state Industries department, is said to have found out that part of the land earmarked for the development of IT park falls under the GO 111, which prohibits any civil constructions in the catchment area of Himayat Sagar and Gandipet drinking water reservoirs, the lifelines of the state capital.
According to sources, chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has agreed to the idea of cancelling the bid process with regard to Vattinagulapally IT park and has invited Wipro chief Azim Premji to set up campus at the proposed site.
The government’s keenness to provide huge chunk of land to Wipro comes after the company is said to have promised to create over 30,000 jobs on its new campus. It currently has over 3,000 professionals on the existing campus in Hyderabad. The government may consider giving the entire land to Wipro and ask it to develop a greenbelt in the area which falls under the catchment of the city’s reservoirs.
The land for the construction of the campus is expected to be allotted to the company at market price, which matches the upset price of Rs 40 lakh per acre as fixed by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), officials said. This weekend, top brass of Wipro is expected to fly down to Hyderabad and visit the location before accepting the offer.
The state government’s decision to cancel the Vattinagulapally bid appears to be prompted by other reasons too including the price variation quoted by the top two bidders – Lanco Infratech Limited and the second highest bidder Nagarjuna Construction Limited (NCL). While Lanco quoted Rs 2.1 crore per acre, NCL quoted Rs 81 lakh on the upset price of Rs 40 lakh fixed by APIIC for the development of the IT park under private sector.
Similar proposals from Infosys and TCS for 100 acres of land each for the development of new campuses too are under consideration, IT officials said.
Bose products clicks
In range, Bose home products like Bose Lifestyle systems, wave systems, speakers, headphones and multimedia are a hit, said Ratish Pandey, general manager, Bose Corporation India. Declining to reveal the company’s sales figures, he said the segment has witnessed nearly 60 per cent year-on-year growth. As part of the mass product category, the company launched Bose Wave Music system in Bangalore market.
Priced at Rs 29,000, it is available in platinum white and graphite gray. For the music system, the company has incorporated waveguide speaker technology and uses proprietary signal processing to improve instrument clarity and definition at all listening levels, said Pandey. The company plans to adopt dual retail strategy i.e. set up experience stores and regular company sales and service showrooms in India.
So far, Bose Corporation has set up nine stores in six cities. Full service stores are in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. The experienced stores are in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, said Pandey.
New solar lighting system
Mr Reddy, agreeing in principle for the use of ECIL developed new solar lighting system in housing colonies under ITDAs and remote areas, directed the Managing Director of A P Housing Corporation Sunil Sharma to formulate detailed proposals in consultation with the ECIL officials in this regard. Earlier, making a power point presentation, the General Manager of ECIL G V Prasada Rao said the new lighting system which works on solar energy would illuminate a 10ft X 12 ft room, which would be sufficient for reading and writing. It supplies 12 hours lighting per single charge and works even under cloudy conditions. Elaborating the advantages of the new solar system, Mr Prasada Rao said that while the conventional bulb's life was 1000 hours, the low cost and solid state bulb's life under the solar system was more than 100,000 hours(20 years).
It was also easy to install, virtually maintenance free, safe (shock free) and environment friendly compared to the conventional lighting system, he added. The new solar lighting system costs around Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 and the Ministry of Conventional Energy, GoI, would provide 40 per cent subsidy of the cost, the Chief Minister was told.
Southern Splendour update
The project envisages operation of a luxury train connecting all the major tourism destinations in South India. The Southern Splendour is mooted on the lines of "Palace on Wheels" in Rajasthan.
Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will work in co-ordination under the SPV. The Southern Splendour project is estimated to cost Rs 40 crore. Funds for the project will be mobilised through the SPV. The project cost will be borne by the member states, Central Government and the Union Railway Ministry.
According to an official of the AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), there should be a consensus among the southern states for the smooth execution of the project. The Central Government has already sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the project. But the monetary contributions of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and the Railway Ministry are yet to be finalised. Discussions are under way at the Central Government level to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among the four southern states. Under the Special Project Vehicle, each State is expected to provide Rs 5 crore for the Southern Splendour. Though the Southern Splendour project was mooted in 2002, much headway has not been made due to administrative glitches among the participant states.
Matrix takes over rival Strides Arcolab
The two firms had combined sales of about $250 million in the year to March 2005, and both have been growing at about 35 per cent per annum, said Kumar, declining to provide an outlook for the combined entity.
Shares in Bangalore-based Strides rose 9 per cent to 274 rupees, valuing it at about $220 million. Hyderabad-based Matrix rose 2 per cent to 188 rupees, valuing it at about $628 million.
Both boards approved the deal, which is subject to a valuation exercise and due diligence by both companies. The two boards expect to meet within six to eight weeks to finalise the terms of the merger plan, a notice to the stock exchange said.
Headlines
- InfoStep sets up centre in Hyderabad
- Chinese film bags Golden Elephant award
- DRDO plan to export missiles
- Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' 06 at Hyderabad
- British Airways to spread wings
- 3COM to double headcount
- VLSI design conference
- Bombardier, Reliance in talks for metro project
- Air Deccan daily flights to Puttaparthi
- 20 Kashmiri children for Hyderabad film festival
© 2007-2008 The Cyberabad Times
Disclaimer:
The Cyberabad Times is a non-profit, ad-free, News aggregation service for all things about Hyderabad, India.
