The Cyberabad Times

Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy on Friday expressed hope that the Metro project for Hyderabad would start within the current financial year. Assuring technical and financial support from the Centre, he said the project should be a reality on the lines of Delhi Metro.

Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan, who also addressed the delegation, said compared to other cities, Hyderabad Metro had many positive features. The city had already undertaken widening of roads and the envisaged Metro route did not have any underground sections and the city was located in a quake-safe zone. Delays in decision-making would only push up the cost of the project, he reminded the legislators.

MLAs and MPs representing the twin cities unanimously demanded a Metro system on the lines of Delhi. The delegation on Thursday undertook a journey on Delhi Metro. Mr. Shabbir Ali said the State Government proposed to take up three-line, 60 km project in the first phase of the estimated Rs. 7,000-crore project. The three lines were Miyapur- Chaitanyapuri (26 km and 25 stations), Secunderabad- Falaknuma (13 km, 14 stations) and Tarnaka- Shilparamam (21 km and 20 stations).

Satellite phones for district Collectors

Landline and mobile phones may go dead. Yet, district Collectors can contact the headquarters, for that matter any person anywhere in the world, even during worst calamities. Not by ham radios on which the administration depends to contact the outside world during disasters when the conventional communication systems fail. The efficacy of these amateur radios is hampered by some shortcomings like installation of equipment, trained manpower to operate them and incapacity to transmit data.

Now, to overcome these limitations, the Government has decided to provide satellite phones to Collectors of the nine coastal districts - Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East & West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore - as part of new disaster management plan. Khammam district will also be provided a satellite phone as several areas get cut off during floods in the Godavari.

These phones will be connected to the U.S. communication satellite - Immar - which is maintained under an international protocol to meet world emergencies.

The Government of India, being a signatory to the protocol, has cleared the proposal of the Andhra Pradesh Government. These phones, which are quarter the size of a briefcase with back-up equipment, will be provided to Collectors and two other officers in each district. The tariff for satellite is Rs. 72 per minute but it is expected to fall to Rs. 60 in the coming months.

ATI to double R&D staff size here

Graphics chip firm ATI Technologies Inc. has readied a new center in Hyderabad, where it first set up shop less than a year ago. The new center will be able to accommodate more than 400 people, allowing for more than doubling of the company's Indian staff size of 175. The new center makes ATI's expansion plans in India clear, but there is currently no timetable for the expansion. Hyderabad is already ATI's largest R&D site outside North America. Development of chipsets for wireless handsets, high-definition TV sets and set-top boxes is conducted there.

The Indian development team has kept pace with the growth of our worldwide customer demand and has helped us develop products faster and more efficientlySaid the senior management speaking to press. They added that, It has also opened up new regional markets. Expanding into a new facility in less than a year indicates ATI's acknowledgement of Indian talent in VLSI design.

Widened roads fail to ease traffic

Even after completion of road widening works at several places in the twin cities, motorists and pedestrians are unable to take advantage of the additional road space due to non-shifting of electric poles.

Stretches of such unused road space have come in handy for shopkeepers to turn them into makeshift parking lots for their customers while some pushcart vendors have also occupied whatever space available there. Despite valuable properties being demolished and completion of carpeting works, the extra road space has not quite been visible to the road users.

Barring erection of new poles on the main stretch from Rajiv Gandhi statue at Somajiguda to Raj Bhavan Road and on Road No. 2 in Banjara Hills, the Central Power Distribution Company Limited (CPDCL) has hardly taken measures in removing the poles from places where roads had been widened.

Zavata opens new facility

Zavata India Private Ltd., a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, Thursday opened its new state-of-the-art delivery centre at Kondapur on the outskirts of this Andhra Pradesh capital.

According to a company statement,US-based Zavata has invested about $5 million in the facility to make it a world-class centre.

Built on 58,000 square feet, the facility has the capacity to house over 1,200 employees. The facility is equipped with the latest modular work spaces, training rooms, secured high speed connectivity, high bandwidth voice systems and a spacious cafeteria.Zavata will hire around 100 associates for its voice-based process, which will take the total number of associates in the voice process to 300 by June end.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Zavata Inc. provides technology-enabled BPO services and solutions to healthcare payers and providers, the insurance and corporate sectors as well as government and public health agencies. It employs 1,000 process-certified professionals, across the US and abroad.

Mass Rapid Transit System : An update

The Government has selected Span Consultants (Delhi) & SEMALY (France) consortium as its technical consultant to assist in final selection of developers for Hyderabad Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) on Wednesday.

The consortium was chosen from among the five shortlisted after gruelling sessions of presentations and consultations over the last few months. The consultant will assist Government in preparation of technical and financial bid documents for selection of Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) developers. They will also assist Government in finalising technical specifications, preparation of financial model, contract structure, legal framework, assessment of viability gap funding, stations planning and land development for improving project viability.

Six consortia of national and international companies are in race for MRTS first phase of about 60 kms on three routes from Jubilee Bus Station to Falaknuma, L.B.Nagar to Patancheru and Habsiguda to Hi-tec City.

Companies bidding include
1) Essar Consultants (Mumbai), SREI (Kolkatha), SmbCorp, STE (Singapore) & Singapore MRT
2) Magna Allmore (Malaysia), Siemens AG (Germany), ETA (Dubai) & NCC (Hyderabad)
3) Reliance Energy (Mumbai) & Bombardier (Canada)
4) Metrail (Switzerland), Macquarie Bank (Australia) and MMC (Malaysia)
5) GVK (Hyderabad), Gammon India (Mumbai), Alstom (France) and IDFC
6) Navabharat (Hyderabad), Maytas (Hyderabad), ItalThai (ITD Thailand) & ITD cem (Delhi).

Airports Authority of India, IPO?

Even as the proposed IPOs for Air-India and Indian have been put on the backburner, the civil aviation ministry is now looking at an initial public offering, IPO for the Airports Authority of India, AAI.

The move is significant since it contains a proposal for ESOPs to employees of AAI, who have been protesting against corporatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports. In case, the stock options plan is attractive, it will go a long way in mollifying AAI employees, who recently went on strike against handing over of Delhi and Mumbai airports to joint ventures controlled by private sector players.The ministry feels that AAI should tap the capital market to raise funds to develop non-metro airports, which require huge investments to meet the ongoing boom in passenger as well as cargo traffic. The details of the IPO for AAI will be worked out once the civil aviation ministry obtains Union Cabinet's approval for the public issue.

According to rough estimates, AAI's assets are worth Rs 5,265 crore (Rs 52.65 billion). The actual value unlocked by an IPO will be far higher as the market goes by the earnings potential rather than the 'gross block' valuation. As on April 1 this year, the 'gross block' of Delhi and Mumbai airports, respectively, is estimated to be around Rs 847 crore (Rs 8.47 billion) and Rs 911 crore (Rs 9.11 billion). While the market capitalisation of AAI could be much higher than the 'gross block' valuation mentioned in AAI's books, the IPO will have to take into account the handing over of Delhi and Mumbai airports to JVs controlled by private sector players. The current plans for upgradation of Chennai and Kolkata airports will also have an impact on the Authority’s initial float.

On one hand, AAI stands to lose control of metro airports since new international airports being built in Bangalore and Hyderabad by private players. The government also needs to restructure AAI, which was created by Parliament through an Act, before the IPO. The authority needs to be converted into a company and the civil aviation ministry plans to hive off various divisions of AAI into separate profit centers.

The final decision on the IPO plans of the three companies is expected after the long pending civil aviation policy is cleared. The IPO plan for AAI, the ESOP offer to AAI employees and the proposed restructuring of the Authority have been mentioned in the policy draft which is being considered by various arms of the government now.

IIT at Basar ruled out

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on Wednesday ruled out establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at the temple town of Basar in Adilabad district. He said the IIT could not be established because of the changed policy of the Union Government, which envisaged only upgradation of the existing institutes like engineering colleges across the country.

Addressing a press conference here while he came visiting Basar for the Praja Patham programme, the Chief Minister revealed that his efforts for the establishment of an IIT at Basar with the Centre were not fruitful due to the changed policy. He cited the examples of the engineering colleges of Osmania and Andhra Universities being upgraded as a result of the implementation of the policy.

The Chief Minister also unfolded the State Government's plans to create centres of excellence in a phased manner in the State. He termed these plans as a 'new concept'.

AP records 51 pc growth in IT exports

Andhra Padesh has recorded total IT exports of Rs 12,500 crore during 2005-2006, reflecting a growth of about 51 per cent from Rs 8,270 crore last year.

While the country's overall IT exports crossed the magical Rs 1,00,000 mark registering Rs 1,00,809 crore during 2005-2006, the State recorded a growth rate of 51 per cent, which was among the highest compared to the other States.

While Karnataka (Rs 37,500 crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 15,500 crore) registered a growth rate of 34 per cent, Tamil Nadu registered a 29 per cent growth rate (Rs 13,900 crore).

In a statement today, the AP Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, complimented the State officials for the IT exports and said the growth of 51 per cent needs to be complimented given the overall growth of 36 per cent.

The Government is determined to transform Andhra Pradesh into a prime investment destination and the fastest growing economy in the country, the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister reviewed the report of the Union Ministry of IT&C and urged officials to keep the pace with the sector's growth.

GMR group to launch an airline?

Hyderabad-based GMR Group has made an entry in aircraft services with the purchase last month of Falcon, a 12-seater aircraft, at a cost of about Rs 75 crore. The group is also into airport construction K Narayana Rao, managing director of GMR Industries, said the aircraft would be used as a chartered service as well as for captive purposes.

An aircraft division has been created for the purpose. While the company has no plans of acquiring more aircraft in the near future, Rao did not rule out the possibility of the aircraft division evolving into a full-fledged airline service wing.

"We will certainly think of such a possibility based on the experience gained from operating the present aircraft," Rao said.

The company has got the permission to operate the aircraft both from Bangalore and Hyderabad and would seek similar facility at Delhi and other places in coming days, Rao said.

IT solution for AP rural employee scheme

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd has developed a Web-enabled information and communication technology solution for Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee System, a scheme under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

The solution has gone live in 658 mandals across 13 districts in the State. The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajaselkhara Reddy, launched this at the CMC campus at Gachibowli. He said it was a unique programme for the poor and the technology solution would ensure that the benefits reach the right person.

With transparency built into it, the system would provide opportunity for public scrutiny by making the entire data available and accessible. AP is the first State to implement an automated solution for the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The scheme is an effort to execute the NREGA, a requirement for every State government.

Intelligroup signs $24 mln deal

Intelligroup Inc., a global provider of strategic consulting services has signed a seven year $24 million year Infrastructure Outsourcing Contract with Royal Greeland, which is one of the world's leading groups specializing in fishing, processing, production, marketing and distribution of seafood products.

Intelligroup has been contracted to provide complete IT operations support including infrastructure and server management and desktop support for Royal Greenland's global locations.

Intelligroup will use its 24x7 onsite and offshore delivery model to provide such services to Royal Greeland, Vikram Gulati, President and Chief Executive Officer, Intelligroup told reporters here today.

The company also inaugurated its new state-of-the-art Hyderabad facility at Hi-Tech City and in process of increasing its headcount from the existing 2000, Gulati added.

GVK group gets finance for Mumbai airport

A consortium of banks has agreed in principle to lend up to Rs 5,000 crore to the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAPL), which won the bid for modernising and expanding the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

However, the company is unlikely to avail the entire funding, given its limited requirements in the initial phase. MIAPL will spend about Rs 3,000 crore to bring the airport to international standards within the next three years. The company will invest an additional Rs 5,000 crore in the second phase.

MIAPL is a joint venture company that recently became a majority stakeholder in the Mumbai airport. It beat nine other bidders to win the modernisation and expansion contract with a revenue share offer of 37.6% to the government of India.

The consortium comprises the Hyderabad based GVK group (with an equity of 37%) and South African companies Airports Company South Africa Ltd (with 10%) and The Bidvest Group Ltd (27% equity participation). The Airport Authority of India will retain 26% holding in the company.

E-Grandhalaya solution launched

The Andhra Pradesh Government in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre today launched the 'E-Grandhalaya', a user-friendly IT solution to computerise 1800 public libraries in the State in phases.

Launching the initiative to connect the libraries in the State with a collection of over two crore books, State Libraries Minister, N Rajyalakshmi, said this would be a boon to researchers, who could get to know the book of his choice from any of the public libraries in the state with just a click of a mouse.

To start with, the State Central Library here, regional libraries and District Libraries would be covered under the initiative, State Director of Public Libraries said.

Informing that the NIC provided the relavant software as also training free of cost, NIC Deputy Director General, C S R Prabhu, wanted all States to benefit out of the NIC's Library Management initiative.

VisualSoft profit slips

VisualSoft Technologies Ltd, which walked out of the three-way amalgamation with Applabs Technologies and eSolutions Pvt Ltd last month, has reported a 28.69 per cent drop in net profit and 15 per cent fall in revenue for the year ended March 31, 2006.

An unaudited result of the company released today said net profits stood at Rs 20.20 crore and revenues at Rs 163.91 crore for 2005-06 compared with a net profit of Rs 28.33 crore and revenues of Rs.192.28 crore in the previous fiscal.

IT services provider VisualSoft, testing services company Applabs Technologies and Chennai-based eSolutions had merged in October 2005. However, on January 4, Citigroup Global Markets (Mauritius) had sold its 2.95 per cent stake in VisualSoft in a secondary market sale. On March 20, the companies called off the merger, citing delays in regulatory approvals as the reason.

No to industies with 10 km radius of reservoirs

The division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice G S Sanghvi and Justice Bhavani Prasad today directed the state government and all concerned departments and corporations not to grant permissions for setting up any industry within a 10 km radius of reservoirs Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar.

The bench gave the above direction on a suo motu application to curtail pollution within the vicinity of drinking water reservoirs. The Chief Justice observed that already several industries had come up in these areas causing a lot of pollution and development of many more industries would cause serious drinking water problems to the people in the twin cities.

The bench also directed the state government to take appropriate action against Seethal Refineries, who despite a closure notice by the Pollution Control Board (PCB), has been operating.

The bench directed PCB to give status report on the pollution caused by the industries near both the reservoirs and also identify industries which required immediate closure.

Wipro and TCS new campuses

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Monday laid the foundation stone for Wipro's second campus at Gopanpally on the city outskirts. The first phase has 600,000 square feet of office space on 14 acres while another 800,000 to one million square feet is nearing completion in the second phase with an estimated investment of Rs.3 billion. Spread over 30 acres of land, the campus can seat 3,000 employees.

The second campus, the foundation stone for which was laid, is coming up on 100 acres of land at an estimated investment of Rs.1 billion. This facility will provide employment to 4,000 to 6,000 software engineers in the next three to five years. It will be developed in phases and the first phase will be completed within 18 months. The campus will also have training facility for 1,200 employees.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one the world's leading information technology companies, Monday launched work on its new campus here. The new facility, called Synergy Park, is coming up on an area of 51 acres in CMC campus, Gachibowli. The facility, the foundation stone for which was laid by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy this evening, will be ready by March 2007. With an office space of 335,000 square feet, the new facility would have a capacity to house 8,000 software engineers. TCS CEO and managing director S. Ramadorai was present at the foundation-laying ceremony.

TCS employs 4,000 software professionals here and made exports of Rs.6 billion from Hyderabad In 2005-06. The chief minister also released a software developed by TCS for automated management of Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The information and communication technology solution will help in implementation of the scheme in 13 districts of the state.

McDonald's to enter Hyderabad

McDonald's is planning to enter Hyderabad and Chennai shortly. Currently, McDonald is carrying out its expansion plan in Gujarat where it will soon open its first outlet at Surat by May 15 and add a second outlet in Vadodara. Under the all India expansion plan, the company will be investing Rs 300 crore in next two to three years time.

Recently, McDonald opened its second outlet at Bangalore. The Hyderabad outlet operation will kick off by the second half of the calendar year of 2006 while in case of Chennai the outlet will open by the end of 2007. The company hinted to earmark an approximate fund of Rs 3 crore for each outlet with the additional cost of the property.

Dell opens community computer centre

As part of Dell Corporation's community reach programme, a Dell computer centre was inaugurated by Mr Romi Malhotra, Managing Director, Dell International Services, at the HOPE Foundation facility here.

Backed by funds from Dell Foundation, the centre is equipped with 30 Dell desktop computers, and will impart computer education to under-served students of the twin cities.

Dell, the $56-billion technology major, works on community outreach initiatives under h.u.g that stands for 'Helping U Grow.' This involves employee engagement and support for the communities. It had set up similar Dell centres in two schools run for under-served children by Parikrama Humanity Foundation in Bangalore in 2004.

GoAir plans direct flights from Hyderabad

GoAir is planning to launch direct flight services from Hyderabad to Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata and a couple of non-metro cities.

With a fleet of four leased Airbus services, GoAir currently runs 28 flights covering 13 destinations, including Hyderabad, with two of its services connecting Mumbai and Chennai from here.

Karunya looses but Mayor gives hope

The fond hopes of people in the twin cities came crashing down with Karunya losing the coveted title of the Sony Entertainment Television's Musical Talent hunt- Indian Idol 2 to Sandeep Acharya on Saturday.

With a Hyderabadi making it to the final round, the city was agog with excitement and watched the live contest keenly. With even judges rooting for Karunya, none had doubt about the talent of Karunya but were just hoping the audience votes too would go in favour of him.

Thunderous applause filled the air when the anchors informed that they were going to announce the results within a few minutes. Confident about Karunya's performance, his admirers remained seated in front of the television sets with prayers on their lips. As the anchors announced that Sandeep won the contest, many were disappointed.

The Mayor said Karunya should not get disheartened with the results and announced his plan to open an academy with him. Karunya is in his third year of B.Tech in an engineering college in the city.

Jobs scheme for rural youth in IT sector

Even as two major information technology companies are launching their new campuses in Hyderabad on Monday, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, is contemplating to initiate a special scheme to provide maximum employment opportunities to youth from rural areas in the IT sector on par with urban areas, a press release from the CM's office said here on Sunday.

According to the release, through the rapid and enormous growth of the IT sector provided ample opportunities for employment, the potential has, so far, been limited to urban areas only.

Dr Reddy would inaugurate the new campuses of the IT giants - Wipro and TCS - here on Monday. On the occasion, he would also release the information and communication technology solution for the Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, a software package developed by CMC.

The Chief Minister's proposal to create employment opportunities for rural youth in IT sector comes in the backdrop of the Centre recently approving the State Government's proposal for setting up of 10 IT clusters across the State, the release said.

According to the CM office release, the IT clusters are expected to provide employment opportunities to 3.45 lakh youth, particularly from the rural areas.

IT jobs at its peak

The IT giants in the country are on a hiring spree. If the announcements made by the top four companies are an indication, nearly one lakh professionals will be hired in the next one year.

University campuses across the country are already turning out to be favourite placement destinations. IT giants are eyeing the universities to get their entry-level placements.

In the next one year, Infosys will hire 25,000 professionals. Satyam plans to hire about 12,000, TCS 30,000 and without divulging the figures, Wipro says it would recruit professionals in 10 cities.

For IT companies, the number of employees is directly proportionate to its growth plans. "We are looking at growing at 27 per cent. For us to grow at that level, we will be requiring that kind of numbers and larger the size of the company, larger number of people we need to recruit," say V Srinivas, Chief Financial Officer of Satyam Computers.

Last year, Wipro added 11,855 people to its staff list. Infosys enlarged its rolls by 22,868 new recruits, TCS by 21,140 and Satyam hired 7,200 people. For this year, their projections are comparatively higher. It might be easier for the companies to find candidates in campuses for the entry-level jobs, but they are finding it tough to get senior-level professionals.

With all companies offering handsome packages for the seniors, the IT industry may also witness a high rate of attrition this year. In the last fiscal year, 19 per cent of its senior executives quit Satyam. Nearly 16 per cent left Wipro, about 11 per cent left Infosys and 10 per cent quit TCS.

To prevent this, big IT companies have decided to give good increments to all of their senior employees. And now with more than one job offers, candidates at the entry-level too may get the advantage of bargaining for a better package.

Natco Pharma ties up with US company

Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma said on Sunday that it has tied-up with US pharmaceutical company Akorn to commercialise two Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) injectable drug products.

"The two ANDA drug products will focus on the anti-emetic and cancer related markets, and have a combined market size of approximately $ 875 million," the Indian company said in a statement here.

The agreement will see Natco supply Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) for both products while Akorn will be responsible for the manufacturing, regulatory submissions and marketing and distribution in the US and Canada.

Rs 250-cr bus terminus project

The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda) will invest Rs 250 crore in the proposed integrated bus terminus (IBT) at the old Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad.

The government has decided to entrust the project to Huda and the civic body will take it up under engineering procurement contract (EPC) basis.

In other words, it will invest money and award contract to private companies.At a meeting in which officials of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), South Central Railway and the traffic police were present, concept plans, submitted by the Huda, were accepted by the government.

Tenders will be issued in the next 15-20 days. Detailed plans and estimates will have to be prepared by the company which will get the contract. The investment of Rs 250 crore will be raised through banks.

Another issue which came up at the meeting was the acquisition of the old Gandhi Hospital land. The nearly 11 acres of land is owned by the tourism department. Huda asked the government to provide the land free. The chief minister has reportedly agreed to the request.

Huda's reasoning is that the project is not entirely commercial in nature and when it is serving the cause of relocation of hawkers and easing traffic congestion, it should be given the land free.

Asian Development Bank Meet

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has directed officials of the departments concerned to make foolproof arrangements for the forthcoming 39th annual general meeting of the Asian Development Bank to be held in the city from May 3 to 6.

Finance Ministers of 65 ADB member countries besides 3,000 delegates including representatives of ADB member countries, observers, ADB personnel and 1,500 members from the international financial community are expected to attend. Reviewing the arrangements with senior officials, the Chief Minister wanted them to leave no room for complaints from any quarter.

Announcing the posting of six IAS officers who would work as liaison officers for the successful conduct of the prestigious event, Dr. Reddy said no demonstrations should be allowed near the venue.

The Police Commissioners of Hyderabad and Cyberabad have been directed to ensure adequate security at all the venues besides making efficient traffic arrangements.

Uninterrupted power supply should be ensured during the four-day event. The officials explained to Dr. Reddy that already 1,267 rooms were booked and 2,464 rooms blocked in different star hotels and institutes for the visitors while several professional agencies had been roped in for managing accommodation, transport and reception.

CT Exclusive : SENSEX at 12000

Robust portfolio investments and heavy fund buying lifted the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex past the magical 12,000 mark* on Thursday. It only took 15 trading sessions to reach the 12,000-mark from 11,000 level, the shortest time for covering 1,000 points. The unprecedented Bull Run started on May 6, 2003 when the Sensex was at 3,001.21 level. It took just 67 trading sessions to cross the 4,000-mark and touch 4,026.27 points on August 19, 2003.

Sensex at 12000

The rally continued and the index gained another 1,000 points in 54 trading sessions to post 5,068.66 points on November 3, 2003. Thereafter, it pierced through the 6,000 mark on January 2, 2004 in another 43 trading sessions. The market then seemed to pause for breath as it took a whopping 370 trading sessions to cross the 7,000 mark, at 7001.55 on June 20, 2005. From 7,000-mark, the sentiment turned distinctly firm following good liquidity that played a significant role to determine the market direction and Sensex crossed 8,000-mark in just 55 trading sessions at 8,060.26 on September 8, 2005 and 54 trading days to cross 9,000-mark at 9,005.63 on November 28, 2005.

From 9K to 10K, it took just 48 trading sessions. The index crossed 10,000-mark on February 6, 2006 at 10,002.83. From 10K to 11K, it only took 29 trading sessions.

The Bombay Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in Asia, was established in 1875 as the Native Share and Stock Brokers Association at Dalal Street in Mumbai. A lot has changed since then when 318 persons became members upon paying Re 1. In 1956, the BSE obtained permanent recognition from the Government of India -- the first stock exchange to do so -- under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956. The Sensex, first compiled in 1986, is a 'Market Capitalisation-Weighted' Index of 30 component stocks representing a sample of large and financially sound companies. The BSE-Sensex is the benchmark index of the Indian capital markets.

The BSE Sensex comprises these 30 stocks: ACC , Bajaj Auto , Bharti Tele , BHEL , Cipla , Dr Reddy's , Gujarat Ambuja , Grasim , HDFC , HDFC Bank , Hero Honda , Hindalco , HLL , ICICI Bank , Infosys , ITC, L&T , Maruti , NTPC , ONGC , Ranbaxy , Reliance Industries , Reliance Energy , Satyam Computers , SBI, Tata Motors , Tata Power , TCS , Tata Motors and Wipro.

Here's a timeline on the rise and rise of the Sensex through Indian stock market history.

1000, July 25, 1990

On July 25, 1990, the Sensex touched the magical four-digit figure for the first time and closed at 1,001 in the wake of a good monsoon and excellent corporate results.

2000, January 15, 1992

On January 15, 1992, the Sensex crossed the 2,000-mark and closed at 2,020 followed by the liberal economic policy initiatives undertaken by the then finance minister and current Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

3000, February 29, 1992

On February 29, 1992, the Sensex surged past the 3000 mark in the wake of the market-friendly Budget announced by the then Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

4000, March 30, 1992

On March 30, 1992, the Sensex crossed the 4,000-mark and closed at 4,091 on the expectations of a liberal export-import policy. It was then that the Harshad Mehta scam hit the markets and Sensex witnessed unabated selling.

5000, October 8, 1999

On October 8, 1999, the Sensex crossed the 5,000-mark as the BJP-led coalition won the majority in the 13th Lok Sabha election.

6000, February 11, 2000

On February 11, 2000, the infotech boom helped the Sensex to cross the 6,000-mark and hit and all time high of 6,006.

7000, June 20, 2005

On June 20, 2005, the news of the settlement between the Ambani brothers boosted investor sentiments and the scrips of RIL, Reliance Energy, Reliance Capital and IPCL made huge gains. This helped the Sensex crossed 7,000 points for the first time.

8000, September 8, 2005

On September 8, 2005, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share index -- the Sensex -- crossed the 8000 level following brisk buying by foreign and domestic funds in early trading.

9000, November 28, 2005

The Sensex on November 28, 2005 crossed the magical figure of 9000 to touch 9000.32 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange on the back of frantic buying spree by foreign institutional investors and well supported by local operators as well as retail investors.

10,000, February 7, 2006

The Sensex on February 6, 2006 touched 10,003 points during mid-session. The Sensex finally closed above the 10K-mark on February 7, 2006.

11,000, March 27, 2006

The Sensex on March 21, 2006 crossed the magical figure of 11,000 and touched a life-time peak of 11,001 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange for the first time. However, it was on March 27, 2006 that the Sensex first closed at over 11,000 points.

12,000, April 20, 2006 *

The Sensex on April 20, 2006 crossed the magical figure of 12,000 and touched a life-time peak of 12,004 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange for the first time.

SpiceJet reports an overwhelming success

2006 has been registered as a historic day in the Indian aviation industry as the fastest growing low-frill airlines SpiceJet is the first airline to cross 95 percent passenger load factor barrier. The airline achieved all time high 95.4 percent passenger load factor on April 18th, and remained undisputed load factor leader among all the domestic airlines.

On 11 sectors the airline registered 100 percent passenger load factor, while on 17 sectors SpiceJet maintained the load factor between 95 per cent & 99 per cent. The sectors which registered 100 percent load factor mark include; Ahmedabad – Delhi, Bangalore – Ahmedabad, Mumbai – Delhi, Hyderabad – Delhi, Jammu – Delhi, Chennai – Bangalore, Pune – Delhi and Srinagar – Jammu.

After getting such an overwhelming response from the passenger's, the airline has started a new sector from Mumbai to Hyderabad. While, it has also added more flights on existing sectors of Delhi – Hyderabad – Chennai, Delhi – Srinagar and Delhi – Pune.

Satyam joins billion-dollar club

Satyam Computer Services Ltd. today posted 35.96 per cent increase in quarterly net profit to Rs 289.90 crore for the fiscal forth quarter ended March 31st, from Rs 213.21 crore the previous year.

Revenues of the Hyderabad-based software exporter increased 31.56 per cent to Rs 1287.52 crore during the reporting quarter from Rs 978.64 crore a year ago. In fiscal 2006, the firm reported a net profit of Rs 1,239.75, up 65.24 per cent from Rs 750.26 crore reported during the previous fiscal.

The total revenues for the year stood at Rs 5,012.22 crore compared to Rs 3,546.78 crore reported during the previous year, an increase of 41.31 per cent.

APTDC in Aussie pact

The Andhra Pradesh Technology Development Centre (APTDC) has announced an alliance with the University of Western Sydney, Australia, to bring synergies between industry and academia through research placements for Indian engineering graduates.

Addressing a press conference here today, the Chairman of Technology Development Centre (TDC), Dr M.V. Ramana Rao, said the TDC has partnered with about 12 engineering colleges. Students of these colleges would get a chance to work on research projects, which would come through this alliance.

The Head of Engineering, University of Western Sydney, Mr Bruce Campbell, and Professor Mr Steven Riley, said that increasingly small- and medium-sized enterprises are seeking to outsource their project work through industry- academia alliance.

Austria Microsystems sets up design center

Analog IC design and manufacturing company Austria Microsystems AG has set up a development center at Hyderabad in southern India and plans to invest between $40 million and $50 million into this effort.

According to a report in The Economic Times from Hyderabad on Thursday (April 20), the company has taken up residence in a 6,000-square-foot facility, which is already operational. Quoting a government official, the report said the company has hired 10 engineers.

Austria Microsystems plans to use the center for developing and producing customized and standard analog semiconductors. The staff is now undergoing training overseas and will soon set up shop in the Hyderabad facility.

Hyderabad's emergence as the chosen destination for the two upcoming large fab projects in India has given the region a leg up on Bangalore as a destination for design centers. Hyderabad houses 30 percent of the companies in the VLSI design segment.

Infotech To Open Campus

Infotech Enterprises Ltd. is planning to set up its own campus in Nanakramguda, Hyderabad. The 10-acre campus will additionally have facilities for training and residential purposes for its employees. Infotech has already received the allotment from the government of Andhra Pradesh and the development works are already in progress. With an investment of Rs 30 crore, Infotech's campus is expected to be completed in three phases by 2007. The campus will have a built up area of 100,000 sq. ft. in the first phase. Over 1000 associates of Infotech will be housed in the campus and will work on engineering and IT services for its global client base. In India, Infotech already has development centres in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Noida and employs over 3500 associates in these centres.

Website : http://www.infotechsw.com/

You may fly to shirdi next year?

It won’t take more than 30 minutes to reach Shirdi if everything goes according to the Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation’s (MADC) plans.

The corporation wants to develop an airport at Shirdi in Nashik. It will come up on a 500-acre plot, some 3 km from in Sonewadi. There will be a 3,000-metre runway, a terminal building, parking and cafeteria services. A 2-km road from Shirdi to Kopargaon has also been proposed.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs45 crore, and will be built with private partnership. Experts say the airport will have tremendous potential as 20,000 devotees visit Shirdi daily with the figure going up to 30,000 on Thursdays and Sundays.

It takes over 8 hours to reach the town. If 10 per cent of these devotees decide to fly down, it will be 2,500 passengers per day.

Air-Deccan has expressed eagerness to start daily flights to Shirdi from Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Radio Mirchi goes on air

Entertainment Network (India) Ltd on Wednesday informed the BSE and NSE that it had launched its new FM radio station in Hyderabad under the popular brand name, Radio Mirchi.

Radio Mirchi 95 FM Hyderabad is the 10th station of ENIL to start operations. The station went on-air at 6:00 am, with southern superstar Chiranjeevi being the first sound on the station.

Radio Mirchi 105 FM Jaipur and Radio Mirchi 93.3 FM Bangalore went on air on April 17, 2006. Radio Mirchi Jaipur, Bangalore and Hyderabad have thus become the first private FM radio stations to go on-air under Phase-II of radio privatisation.

Infosys crosses $2B mark in revenues

Infosys crosses $2B mark in revenues. Infosys Technologies said its earnings rose 32 percent in its latest fiscal year, while yearly revenue exceeded $2 billion for the first time amid strong growth in the information technology industry and large contract wins for the company. Infosys said its full-year revenue rose 35 percent to $2.15 billion, and it expected that figure to grow by 28 percent to 30 percent in the fiscal year through March 2007, to between $2.76 billion and $2.8 billion.

Net income increased to 6.73 billion rupees ($149 million), or 23.84 rupees a share, in the three months ended March 31, from 5.58 billion rupees, or 20.07 rupees, a year ago. Fourth-quarter revenue stood at $593 million, up 30 percent from the same quarter of last year.

Net profit came to $555 million, or $1.99 per share, for the year, up 32 percent, the company said. Infosys forecast earnings per share will rise as much as 28.4 percent this year. Infosys, which celebrates its 25 anniversary this year, said it will give one bonus share for each held and pay a one-time dividend of 30 rupees a share and an additional final dividend of 8.5 rupees for the year.

Bangalore-based Infosys expects "stable prices with an upward bias" in the year to March 2007, with business from Europe, which currently accounts for one-third of revenues, growing faster than other revenue streams. The company plans to hire almost 50 percent more staff this year, adding a gross 25,000 to a payroll that suffered an attrition rate of over 11 percent in the quarter. It expects its consulting unit to "break even" this year and also plans to double workers in China to 1,000 from 500.

Infosys said it had attracted 38 new customers in the fourth quarter after gaining 106 clients in the first nine months of the fiscal year. Operating margin in the fourth quarter stood at 27.5 percent, squeezed as salaries rose up to 8 percent on year and the rupee appreciated nearly 1 percent against the dollar in the quarter. For the current year the margin is expected to remain stable, as Infosys is looking for ways to control costs. To keep salary costs low, Infosys is hiring more fresh college graduates, who made up 96 percent of its new employees in 2005. It is also expanding into smaller cities such as Pune in western Maharashtra state, Hyderabad in the south, and Chandigarh in the north to keep costs down. The company plans to spend 12.5 billion rupees in the next 10 years building a campus for 25,000 people in Hyderabad, where salaries are lower than in cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

Infosys said it was in talks to buy out investment bank Citigroup's holding in Progeon, the back-office arm of Infosys.

Hyderabad IT giants on hiring spree

IT professionals in Hyderabad never had it so good. Companies are giving big hikes to employees and several IT biggies plan to hire more people. Infosys has announced that it will hire 20, 000 software professional for its Hyderabad campus over the next 10 years, it’s rival Wipro is starting its second center in the city and Satyam, Hyderabad too is planning to recruit in bulk.

The downside of this boom is that the IT companies could face a high attrition rate. The Nasscom-Hewitt Total Rewards Study shows that, many companies in the IT-enabled services sector have registered a 100 per cent attrition rate while in the IT sector it is 75 per cent. But the industry isn't worried about it, since junior level recruitments can be done at university campuses. And to ensure that the senior employees are retained, many companies are proposing increments and cash incentives.

Satyam to up headcount 67%

The company plans to increase the staff count to 50,000 by March 2008. Satyam Computer Services Ltd, the Hyderabad-based consulting and IT services major, is planning to ramp up its employee strength. The company has a workforce of "close to 30,000" and intends to cross the 50,000-mark (or increase by 66.7 per cent) by March 2008. Earlier announcements made by the company reveal that Satyam had an employee strength of 9,759 on March 31, 2003. This number increased to 14,032 by March 2004, which means an addition of 4,273 associates.

A year from then, Satyam added 5,132 more employees to its empire, bringing its total headcount to 19,164 by March 2005. In 2005-06, the company increased its manpower by 4,268 within a nine-month period, bringing it to 23,432 associates on December 31, 2005. Satyam will be announcing its annual results for 2005-06 on April 21. The company is learnt to have crossed the magical figure of a billion dollars in revenues during this period.

The annual guidance for the company was revised upwards in the light of "better than expected performance for the first three quarters of 2005-06". As per consolidated Indian GAAP financials, its revenues for 2005-06 were projected to be between Rs 4,780 crore and Rs 4,786 crore, implying an annual growth rate of around 35 per cent.

Inner ring road fast nearing completion

While the proposed Outer Ring Road hitting the capital's boundaries is hogging the limelight, a small inner ring road forming outside the Charminar buffer zone is getting ready, albeit quietly. The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad is engaged in widening the congested road stretches from Gulzar Houz-Eitabar Chowk-Royal Function Hall to 50 feet to enable smaller vehicles weave round the historic monument. Initially, MCH wanted to have a 60 feet-road but in deference to local sentiments and to minimise demolitions, it was reduced to 50 ft.

The entire Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) received a new lease of life when the Charminar-Falaknuma road widening was taken up last year. Of the 260 properties on way, 120 were still to be acquired. MCH, which took over the CPP in 2003, has managed to take more than 400 properties of the 782 that are to be affected under CPP and 55 land acquisition cases were filed. More could be in the offing.

Viceroy, with Marriott, will spread wider

Viceroy Hotels Ltd is planning to scale up its business in south, as part of its plan to expand association with the US-based global hospitality chain Marriott International. The move is an aggressive step by Viceroy to position itself as a leading hospitality player in India.

The hospitality group will launch its flagship Hyderabad property in May under the brand name of Marriott Hyderabad and is also going to add three new properties each in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.This expansion of the hospitality business is expected to cost close to Rs 1,000 crore, which will be funded through both debt and equity. The ratio is yet to be decided. The Chennai property will have total 550 rooms out of which 350 will be JW Marriott rooms and 200 will be Marriott executive apartments.

Located in the vicinity of the race course, the Bangalore hotel will have 250 rooms and will come under Marriot’s Renaissance brand. The other two new properties in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad will be under Marriott's economy hotel brand Courtyard.Interestingly, the 175-room Marriot Courtyard in Hyderabad is located adjacent to the 308-room Marriott Hyderabad hotel. It is also understood that both the hotels will share the operational infrastructure in terms of food production and housekeeping services amongst others that will be common for both the brands. Though work on most of the new properties is expected to start by June-July this year, however, work on the Marriott Courtyard in Visakhapatnam will start only in 2008.

Regulations for land relaxed

Construction of star hotels, corporate offices, hospitals and residential-cum-commercial complexes will be allowed on the 23,636-square metre of land near Jubilee Hills check-post without any restriction on height and with a floor space index of 1.75. Buyers of land in this area need not pay any "impact fee" to the urban authorities.

Proposed Land

The Cabinet, which met here on Monday, took a decision to this effect in response to a plea by the Vice-Chairman of the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority. The land located near Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Park abutting Road No 2 of Banjara Hills was handed over to HUDA by the Hyderabad district Collector for raising funds for the Government through sale.

The land is strategically located in the prime area and is in a triangular shape. Information Minister Mohd. Ali Shabbir told reporters that all these benefits would be in relaxation of the special regulations of the civic body.

ORR corridor regulations by May 16

Those who are set to lose land for the newly proposed Outer Ring Road Growth Corridor will either get Special Development Rights in the form of transferable/redeemable land bonds or compensation under land acquisition. And those losing land under Special Amenities zone would get proportionate serviced land with high added value, amounting to around 10 per cent of total land as compensation.

In all, 10 junctions covering a total area of 1,000 acres at National Highways and State Highways will fall under the special amenities zone. A unique charge called Deferred Development Charge (DDC) will be introduced to discourage people holding land for speculation purpose after construction of ORR. Special incentives for large integrated townships would be given.

The area of 1 km on either side of the proposed 162 km ORR has been designated as Growth Corridor covering 113 villages and an area of 80,000 acres. Special zoning regulations for the corridor have been prepared to prevent ribbon development and to tap the unearned income from spurt in land prices in view of the proposed ORR. The special regulations envisaged high quality urban living by creating and directing new growth and decongesting the core city area.

Minimum plot size, as per proposals, would be 122 square metres and minimum layout area 15 acres. Of this, 55 per cent should be maximum saleable area. Five per cent of area would have to be handed over to HUDA in all projects of above five acres for special purpose projects.

The Chief Minister also reviewed multipurpose bus-cum-business complex proposal at old Gandhi Hospital land and directed the officials to invite tenders immediately.

The Hindu

Major reshuffle of police force

In a major reshuffle, the Andhra Pradesh Government on Monday transferred 49 IPS officers, promoted 10 officers to the IGP rank and eight to the rank of DGP. Significant changes in Hyderabad include:

Ambati Sivanarayana, Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence, Hyderabad is transferred and posted as the Additional Director General of Police, AP Special police.

Vikram Singh Mann, IPS, Superintendent of Police, Security, Intelligence, Hyderabad has been transferred and posted as the Superintendent of Police, Vizianagaram district.

T Yoganand, Joint Director, ACB Hyderabad has been transferred and posted as superintendent of Police, CID, Hyderabad.

Joint Working Group on Biotechnology

Move over Silicon Valley, the new buzzword in the Indo-US lexicon is biotechnology. American biotech companies are keen to off-shore their research and development to India to reduce costs. Facilitating such a move, was the agreement of the bilateral Joint Working Group on Biotechnology on working out protocols for the transfer of bio-materials and clinical trials of medicines to India.

According to Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, the JWG, which is part of the bilateral High Technology Cooperation Group, decided at its April 5 meeting to prepare a roadmap in the next three months for allowing companies to export or import bio-materials without the fear of being hobbled by the Bush administration’s dual use restrictions.

The other significant result of the JWG has been the agreement to develop protocols for clinical trial of drugs in India in the coming months. This means that Indian clinical trials will measure ups to the global standards and will be treated on psar with the international standards.

A significant example is of a US drug giant currently considering India for clinical trials of an anti-cervical cancer drug beginning June this year.

But this is only one aspect of a biotech partnership between the two countries. Dr Ram Mandalam, vice-president (Pharmaceutical Operations) of Cellerant Therapeutics, says a number of pharma companies are off-shoring their R&D work to Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad to bring down cost. "Companies such as Reamatrix and Sigma have opened shops in India to conduct studies on the basic biochemistry of drugs with the costs working to their advantage," he said.

MS, Honeywell allotted land

Microsoft Corporation India has been allotted about 6.8 acres of additional land near the existing campus here to meet its requirements for expansion. The company currently employs about 3,600 people and has projected that it would potentially recruit about 1,900 people here, the State Minister for Information, Mr Mohd Ali Shabbir, said here today. Briefing newspersons after the State Cabinet meeting, the Information Minister said the Microsoft campus was now spread across a 42-acre site and this land would enable them to further expand their operations.

Alongside this, the US major Honeywell International has been allotted a 10-acre site that will enable to locate a campus here. The Honeywell management has indicated that it will employ about 5,500 people within three years and potentially invest about $10 million (about Rs 45 crore). Referring to the strides the State technology sector had made in the last 9 years, Mr Ali said during 1994 to 2004, the sector created jobs for about 80,000 people.

DaimlerChrysler launches new models

DaimlerChrysler India on Saturday launched its latest edition of the S-Class and M-Class vehicles in Hyderabad besides showcasing other range of cars including completely imported SLK-Class, CKS-Class, M-Class and Maybach.

Unveiling the new editions, Wilfried Aulbur, managing director and CEO of DaimlerChrysler India, said roaming around in the city was a pleasure and Mercedes would make the experience even more pleasant. According to him, the new versions in C, E, S and M class come with more efficient performance and some are even fuel-efficient.

South India contributed 25% of the total sales of over 2,000 vehicles in India last year. With built-in intelligent technology, comfort and safety features besides robust and sleek designs across the range, the company hopes to see its sales growing in Hyderabad and other cities in the coming days.

The company's Hyderabad showroom sold about 120 cars last year of which up to 60 vehicles belonged to C-Class and about 30 vehicles were S-Class. The S-Class is priced between Rs 48 lakh and Rs 1.3 crore, E-Class carries a price tag of Rs 35 lakh-Rs 40 lakh. The C-Class comes at a price ranging between Rs 24 lakh and Rs 29 lakh. The M-class, which is expected to have the largest market share, is priced at Rs 56 lakh. The C-Class vehicle has been localised up to 50%, others comes in CKD (complete knocked down) or CBU (complete built up) forms, Aulbur said.

Paramount flights to Bangalore, Hyderabad

Paramount Airways will increase its daily operations to 20, launching twice daily services from Chennai to Bangalore and Hyderabad from April 19.

The airline will set up its maintenance base in the Chennai airport, with the Airports Authority of India providing 10,000 square metre area. Air links between Hyderabad and Kochi will also begin from the same date.

Hyundai to set up R&D centre

Hyundai Motor Group would set up its world-class R&D Centre at Hyderabad soon. The Korean major is also contemplating a manufacturing facility near Tada in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The State Government has agreed to provide 42 acres of land in Hyderabad as sought by the automobile major. A delegation from the Hyundai Motor Group led by its President, R&D, Lee Hyun Soon, along with Vice-President (R&D), Yang Woong Chul, the Hyundai Motor India Executive Director, Park Han Woo, and Senior General Manager, Woo Moon Man, met the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy discussed their intention to set up a Research Centre at Hyderabad.

Honeywell to hire 5,500 in Hyderabad

It was a day of expansion for Honeywell Technology Solution Lab (HTSL), the R&D wing of IT blue chip Honeywell International. The company decided to set up an R&D facility in Hyderabad at an investment of Rs 45 crore and a new facility on 40,000 sqft at its Madurai lab campus, as part of consolidating its training operations there. The Andhra Pradesh government has allotted 10 acre of land in the APIIC Nanakaramguda Software Units layout to the company.

The company expects to have its first building up by first quarter of next year. Honeywell International is a $30-billion technology and manufacturing company. It was clearly a busy day for Honeywell chief information officer Larry Kittelberger, who was present both at the ground-breaking ceremony of the facility at Hyderabad and the inauguration of the Madurai one. In Hyderabad, HTSL currently had 4,000 employees in the Bangalore R&D centre and it expected to double the R&D workforce strength in the next five years.

TiE Semi SIG launch activities in Hyderabad

Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju will formally launch The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Semi-Conductor (Special Interest Group) SIG on April 16.

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is the premier Silicon Valley organisation and a global non-profit organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through mentoring networking and education TiE help for budding entrepreneurs through advice guidance and assistance from successful and experienced entrepreneurs and professionals.

JA Chowdary president TiE SIG, a veteran of semiconductor industry will be spearheading the activities in India. There are about 30 companies located in Hyderabad who are engaged in Semiconductor and embedded technology area which is continuing to grow.

The SIG plans to conduct several events and initiatives to create a better informed and better connected semi-conductor industry in India. The plan is organize at least one event once every quarter with one of these events being a big-tent, large format session.

The global semiconductor industry is valued $230 billion of which Indian industry accounts for approximately $100 million. The semiconductor boom is on and India has already attracted globally known FAB players to make investments. The state of Andhra Pradesh is witnessing hectic activity in this sphere with Sem India Ltd and American semiconductor company AMD unveiling their plan to set up India's first advanced semiconductor fabrication (FAB) $3 billion facility in Andhra Pradesh.

KLM launches fourth flight

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has launched its fourth weekly flight between Amsterdam and Hyderabad.

"We are happy with the response we have received for our thrice-weekly service on this sector and the positive load factors have encouraged us to launch this additional frequency," KLM Northwest General Manager India (and SAARC) General Manager Warner Rootliep said in a statement.

With the new flight, KLM, in cooperation with Northwest Airlines, now has 18 weekly roundtrip flights between India and Amsterdam.

GHIAL airport trials end of 2007

Operational trials at the new international airport in Shamshabad near the capital city of Andhra Pradesh will begin by next year-end. ''There has been substantial progress in the past one year and the first flight could take off in first quarter of 2008,'' said Mr T. Srinagesh, chief operating officer of the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL).

The foundation stone for Rs 17.6 billion project spread over 5,500 acres was laid on March 16 last year by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. About 11.77 million cubic metres of area has been cut of which 8.08 million cubic metres has been filled.

The initial phase of new airport will be capable of handling seven million passengers and more than 100,000 tonnes of cargo per year. ''The ultimate capacity is over 50 million passengers and one million tonnes of cargo,'' said Mr Srinagesh.

At present, the Hyderabad airport records four million passenger movements with 11 international and seven domestic airlines operating. ''The emergence of Hyderabad as a growth hub is getting new airlines like British Airways and Thai Airways to fly here.'' he told reporters visiting the site of new airport.

The GHIAL is a joint venture company promoted by GMR group with 63 per cent equity stake, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhard (11 per cent), the Andhra Pradesh state government (13 per cent) and the Airports Authority of India (13 per cent).

Live Weather

Picture of the day

Market Watch

Horoscopes

Contact : Cyberabad Times

Disclaimer