indian exports zoom by 37 per cent in h1 of current fiscal · 2016. 2. 22. · the bangalore...

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INDIA'S third cyber training laboratory is being set up in Bangalore as a joint effort between the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and the Karnataka police. The new laboratory will provide training in digital forensics and will be attached to a new, 'cyber crime' police station. According to Sanjay Vir Singh, deputy inspector-general of police (economic offences), state-owned Canara Bank will pro- vide about $85,000 in funding for the new facility. The Bangalore facility will provide several courses for judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and police officers, to helping them understand the growing incidence of cyber crime. India's new IT Act requires officials to collect and preserve digital evidence, and the new lab will train police officers in recovering data from computers. The new lab will also be part- nered by IT major Infosys Technologies, Accenture, Motorola and Dell Computers. The association is also introducing its capability assessment programme - the NASSCOM assessment of competence - for potential employees of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) units all over India. The tests, to be introduced in eight states initially, will measure the aptitude of students in areas such as listening, keyboard skills, verbal and writing abilities, spoken English, comprehension, software usage competency, numerical and analytical skills, concentration and accuracy. The booming IT Enabled Services (ITES) sector in India is creating thousands of new jobs. Net employment in the sector has grown by about 100,000 in financial year 2006, taking total direct employment in the segment to 415,000. The ITES sector has shown strong growth during the fiscal, expanding by 37 per cent. Exports have shot up to $6.3 billion, according to NASSCOM. In the current financial year the figure is expect- ed to top $8 billion. Cyber training lab comes up in Bangalore 6 Update INDIAN exports continue to zoom, with the latest government figures indicating a hefty 37 per cent growth in merchandise exports during the first half of the current fiscal. According to figures, exports during the April-September period amounted to $59.3 billion, as against $43.2 billion in the first half of 2005-06. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath notes that the double-digit growth rate indicated India's exports were on a high-growth trajectory, and the export target of $125 bil- lion would be achieved in this fiscal. Last year, India's exports breached the $100 billion-mark for the first time. Exports in September shot up to $10.3 billion, up by a huge 41.2 per cent over the figures for September 2005. Imports have also gained significantly - in September, the country's imports added up to $15.63 billion, as against $10.48 billion in the same month last year. Total imports during the first six months of the current fis- cal add up to $83.92 billion, up 32.06 per cent over the corre- sponding period of the previous financial year. The trade gap has consequently widened, from $20.3 billion to $24.6 billion. Fuelled by a scorching 8.9 per cent growth in the first quar- ter of the current financial year, oil imports have risen by a massive 36.8 per cent in the first half of 2006-07 to $28.66 billion. Non-oil imports have grown at a more sedate 11 per cent. In September, oil imports crossed the $5 billion mark (as against $4 billion in September 2005). Indian exports zoom by 37 per cent in H1 of current fiscal IIT-M to host new Centre of Excellence in Engineering Design THE Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) campus will host a new Ashok Leyland and Bosch Centre of Excellence in Engineering Design. Indian commercial vehicles major Ashok Leyland, and international auto components supplier Bosch are contributing over $1.75 million for the new centre. The project aims to boost research and development activities at the two companies, as their engineers will be trained by IIT-M through its dual-degree programme in engi- neering design. The new department of engineering design at IIT-M will offer MS and PhD programmes beginning 2007. The new centre will feature modern facilities including a graphics art studio, a computer-aided engineering centre and a laboratories for design and ergonomics. The memorandum of understanding was signed by R. Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland - and president, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - Albert Hieronimus, managing director, Motor Industries Company Ltd (the flagship of the Bosch group in India), and M.S. Ananth, director, IIT-M.

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Page 1: Indian exports zoom by 37 per cent in H1 of current fiscal · 2016. 2. 22. · The Bangalore facility will provide several courses for judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and police officers,

INDIA'S third cyber training laboratory is being set up inBangalore as a joint effort between the National Association ofSoftware and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and theKarnataka police.

The new laboratory will provide training in digital forensicsand will be attached to a new, 'cyber crime' police station.According to Sanjay Vir Singh, deputy inspector-general ofpolice (economic offences), state-owned Canara Bank will pro-vide about $85,000 in funding for the new facility.

The Bangalore facility will provide several courses forjudges, prosecutors, lawyers, and police officers, to helpingthem understand the growing incidence of cyber crime.

India's new IT Act requires officials to collect and preservedigital evidence, and the new lab will train police officers inrecovering data from computers. The new lab will also be part-nered by IT major Infosys Technologies, Accenture, Motorolaand Dell Computers.

The association is also introducing its capability assessmentprogramme - the NASSCOM assessment of competence - forpotential employees of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)units all over India. The tests, to be introduced in eight statesinitially, will measure the aptitude of students in areas such aslistening, keyboard skills, verbal and writing abilities, spokenEnglish, comprehension, software usage competency, numericaland analytical skills, concentration and accuracy.

The booming IT Enabled Services (ITES) sector in India iscreating thousands of new jobs. Net employment in the sectorhas grown by about 100,000 in financial year 2006, takingtotal direct employment in the segment to 415,000. The ITESsector has shown strong growth during the fiscal, expandingby 37 per cent. Exports have shot up to $6.3 billion, accordingto NASSCOM. In the current financial year the figure is expect-ed to top $8 billion.

Cyber training lab comes up in Bangalore

6

Update

INDIAN exports continue to zoom, with the latest governmentfigures indicating a hefty 37 per cent growth in merchandiseexports during the first half of the current fiscal. According tofigures, exports during the April-September period amounted to$59.3 billion, as against $43.2 billion in the first half of 2005-06.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath notesthat the double-digit growth rate indicated India's exports wereon a high-growth trajectory, and the export target of $125 bil-lion would be achieved in this fiscal. Last year, India's exportsbreached the $100 billion-mark for the first time.

Exports in September shot up to $10.3 billion, up by a huge41.2 per cent over the figures for September 2005. Importshave also gained significantly - in September, the country'simports added up to $15.63 billion, as against $10.48 billion inthe same month last year.

Total imports during the first six months of the current fis-

cal add up to $83.92 billion, up 32.06 per cent over the corre-sponding period of the previous financial year. The trade gaphas consequently widened, from $20.3 billion to $24.6 billion.

Fuelled by a scorching 8.9 per cent growth in the first quar-ter of the current financial year, oil imports have risen by amassive 36.8 per cent in the first half of 2006-07 to $28.66billion. Non-oil imports have grown at a more sedate 11 percent. In September, oil imports crossed the $5 billion mark (asagainst $4 billion in September 2005).

Indian exports zoom by 37 per cent in H1 of current fiscal

IIT-M to host new Centre of Excellence inEngineering Design

THE Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) campuswill host a new Ashok Leyland and Bosch Centre ofExcellence in Engineering Design. Indian commercial vehiclesmajor Ashok Leyland, and international auto componentssupplier Bosch are contributing over $1.75 million for thenew centre.

The project aims to boost research and developmentactivities at the two companies, as their engineers will betrained by IIT-M through its dual-degree programme in engi-neering design. The new department of engineering designat IIT-M will offer MS and PhD programmes beginning 2007.

The new centre will feature modern facilities including agraphics art studio, a computer-aided engineering centre anda laboratories for design and ergonomics. The memorandumof understanding was signed by R. Seshasayee, managingdirector, Ashok Leyland - and president, Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII) - Albert Hieronimus, managing director,Motor Industries Company Ltd (the flagship of the Boschgroup in India), and M.S. Ananth, director, IIT-M.

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Mutual fund industry continues to attractinternational majorsTHE mutual fund industry, which has fared exceedingly well -assets under management has shot up by nearly 60 per centto reach $65 billion at the end of August - continues to attractinternational majors.

More than a dozen international and Indian companies areplanning to set up funds to cater to the huge investor appetite.

There are 30 asset manage-ment companies operating inIndia, but the number isexpected to leap by over 50per cent over the comingmonths, as 16 new fundhouses plan to launch opera-tions.

They include UK-basedDawnay, Day International

(DDI); American giant Goldman Sachs; Dutch majors Robeco (adivision of Rabobank) and Aegon; Zurich-based Credit Suissegroup; France's AXA; Sumitomo, Nikko, Shinsei and NipponLife from Japan; and Mirae from South Korea.

DDI has received in-principle approval from the Securitiesand Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the country's capital mar-ket regulator, for setting up a mutual fund. The group plans tofloat mutual fund schemes by next year and raise about a bil-lion dollars over the next three years. DDI already has a signifi-cant presence in India in areas like retail stock broking, portfo-lio management services, and wealth management.

Credit Suisse plans to set up its asset management compa-ny in India over the next six months, but it has yet to decidewhether it would opt for a joint venture, or go it alone. SouthKorea's Mirae already has an exposure of $800 million toIndian equities, and plans to raise another $200 million fromKorean investors to enhance its Indian portfolio.

THE Sensex, the benchmark index on the Bombay StockExchange (BSE), closed above the 13,000-mark for the firsttime in its history on October 30, on the back of excellent per-formance by leading Indian corporates in the first-half of thecurrent fiscal.

The index, which tracks 30 top scrips on the BSE, closed at13,024.26 points, gaining nearly 70 per cent over the past 52weeks. During 2006, the Sensex has climbed 38.5 per cent,as against a 42 per cent gain in 2005. In October alone it hasexpanded by 4.58 per cent, as Indian companies came outwith astounding quarterly performances.

The Indian economy has been growing at over 8 per centper annum over the past three years. Gross domestic product(GDP) has leapt by 8.9 per cent in the first quarter of the cur-rent fiscal (April-June). Analysts expect the economy to growby over 8 per cent in 2006-07, making it the fastest growingmajor economy after China.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been bullish aboutthe prospects for growth. They have so far invested almost$6.5 billion in the country's capital markets, on the back of a$10.7 billion investment last year.

The Sensex, which took 135 days to move from 12,000 to13,000, has a base value of 100, which was fixed on April 1,1979. It crossed the 1,000 mark on July 25, 1990, the 5,000mark on October 11, 1999, and the 10,000 mark on February7 this year. While it took 15 years to reach 7,000 (on June21, 2005), the index has expanded by 6,000 in just about 16months.

Information technology giants might come out with fancyquarterly results, but investors in the Indian stock markets areenamoured of banking stocks. The Bankex index, which tracks18 banking stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange, has out-performed all other indices (including the Sensex), gainingalmost 25 per cent over the past six months.

Sensex tops 13,000 mark

INDIA is gradually heading in the direction of full capitalaccount convertibility of its currency. Following the submis-sion of a report laying down the roadmap for full convertibili-ty of the rupee the central bank has announced several meas-ures relaxing foreign exchange controls.

Resident individuals are now allowed to remit up to$50,000 every year for any current or capital account trans-action, or a combination of both. This is a doubling of theearlier limit of $25,000.

Foreign exchange earners have also been allowed to retainup to 100 per cent of their earnings in their ExchangeEarners' Foreign Currency accounts. Firm that are eligible toraise funds through External Commercial Borrowings can nowborrow up to $750 million annually, up from $500 million.

Such borrowers can also prepay ECBs up to $300 million

without the RBI's approval, upfrom the previous limit of $200million. Liberal rules have alsobeen extended to capital marketplayers. Mutual funds can invest up to $3 billion overseas, asagainst the existing overseas investment limit of $2 billion.Foreign institutional investors can invest up to $3.2 billion ingovernment securities, up from the present $2 billion.

Authorised dealer banks can issue guarantees or letters ofcredit for import of services up to $100,000 for securing adirect contractual liability arising out of a contract between aresident and a non-resident. The central bank has also elimi-nated the lock-in period for sale proceeds of immovable prop-erty credited to the NRO account, subject to an annual remit-tance ceiling of $1 million.

India relaxes foreign exchange rules

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INDIA Inc continues to amaze investors by reporting fascinatingtop-line and bottom-line growth figures for the second quarterof the current fiscal. A study of the second quarter results of435 companies by a business daily indicates a scorching 32.4per cent rise in net profits, whilesales expanded by a hefty 31.4 percent.

The companies included energyheavyweights like ONGC andReliance Industries, financial majorsICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, metalsmajor Hindalco, engineering giantLarsen & Toubro, IT leaders TCS,Infosys and Wipro, and auto giantBajaj Auto.

Industries that saw massivegrowth in net sales included alu-minium (73.1 per cent), shipping(59.9 per cent), tea (58.3 percent), steel (48.3 per cent) andcement (48 per cent). Fifteen industry groups saw a more than50 per cent growth in net profit during the July-Septemberquarter of the fiscal. They included cement, electronics, hotel,media, textiles, IT, aluminium, pharmaceuticals and tea.

The 19 banks that were part of the study saw a breezy42.4 per cent growth in net profit, and a 37.7 per cent expan-

sion in income. They included both public sector banks and pri-vate ones. The nearly two-dozen pharmaceutical companiesthat were monitored reported a 54.7 per cent growth in netprofits, but a more modest 21.3 per cent expansion in sales.

A similar study, undertaken byanother business daily, of 284companies, found a 31.23 percent rise in net profit. The studyfound the software, cement, phar-maceuticals and steel sectors tobe the drivers of growth. Thesame set of companies hadreported a 25.2 per cent growthin net profit and 33.2 per centgrowth in sales during the firstquarter of the fiscal (ending June 30).

Interestingly, net profits soareddespite an over 25 per cent risein interest cost for these compa-

nies, the study noted. Eight cement companies in the groupreported a 480 per cent expansion in net profit, and a 51 percent growth in sales. Pharmaceutical firms saw a 75.17 percent rise in net profit, software firms of 53.97 per cent, steelcompanies a 123 per cent growth in net profit, and textileunits, a 58.22 per cent growth.

UPDATE

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Inland waterway routes to be developed at a cost of $2.3 billionTHE Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has drawn upambitious plans to link Mumbai and its various suburbs andeven neighbouring towns, providing an alternative - and eco-friendly - transport mode for commuters.

The IWAI has identified 15 projects under the NationalMaritime Development Programme, which will need an invest-ment of $2.3 billion, with about $500 million coming from pri-vate players.

Alternative water routes for the movement of cargo andpassengers would link up south Mumbai to suburbs like Vasai,Kalyan, Thane, Vashi, Belapur and Panvel, and even to neigh-bouring towns like Nagothane.

The IWAI is holding talks with the Maharashtra MaritimeBoard and the Mumbai Port Trust with the aim of setting upinland waterway routes.

The IWAI also has plans to develop links in Kochi in thesouthern state of Kerala, where a new international containerterminal is coming up. Seven existing terminals on the riverroute from Kochi may also be converted into container freightstations to facilitate international trade.

Other ambitious plans include linking Kolkata port to citiesin Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and ports in Gujarat to cities inMadhya Pradesh.

IBM to set up IT solution centre in PuneIBM, the world’s largest computer services company, hasannounced the setting up of two new IT solutions centres, onein Pune in India, and the other in Beijing in China. The newcentres will employ about 500 people each.

The American IT giant has made India a global delivery hubfor software needs and client services. The company, whichstarted operations in India in 1992, has operations in 14 Indiancities, while its network of 2,500 business partners cover 40cities in the country.

IBM is focussing on services-oriented architecture (SOA),making it easier for businesses to find information stored indifferent formats. The SOA market is expected to touch $160billion by 2008. The new centre at Pune will focus on develop-ing solutions for the insurance and healthcare industries.

Resources from IBM labs in Hyderabad will also supportdevelopment activity in Pune.

The new SOA solutions centres are integrated with the IBMGlobal Business Solutions centre located in Bangalore, whichcombines its strengths in business consulting, research, soft-ware, systems, engineering and emerging technologies to cre-ate business solutions in more than 50 key business areas.

Earlier in the year IBM had announced plans to invest near-ly $6 billion in India over three years.

India Inc astounds with Q2 performance

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THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's central bank, raised itskey short-term repurchase rate by a quarter of a percentage point to7.25 per cent, in its half-yearly of monetary policy announced on thelast day of October.

This was the fourth time this year that the overnight lending rate -through which it lends overnight funds to banks — has been raised,with the RBI aiming to raise the cost of loans for housing and retail, torestrain inflation and prevent overheating of the economy. Consumerlending by banks has expanded by 50 per cent over the past year. TheRBI expects the $775 billion Indian economy to grow by around eightper cent in the current fiscal, slightly higher than its earlier estimate.India's GDP has expanded by an average 8.2 per cent over the pastthree years. The central bank, however, left both the bank rate - whichsignals its long-term lending rate — and the reverse repurchase rate (atwhich it borrows overnight) unchanged at six per cent.

"While there is no conclusive evidence of overheating in the Indianeconomy at the current juncture, the criticality of monitoring all availableindications that point to excess aggregate demand is perhaps more rele-vant now than ever before,'' declared the RBI.

The RBI emphasised the need to carefully monitor inflation and keepit within the estimated 5.0 to 5.5 per cent range. Wholesale price infla-tion touched a four-month high of 5.26 per cent in October. Wholesaleand consumer prices warrant "continued special focus despite a declinein crude oil prices," said central bank governor Y V Reddy. "It is desir-able to watch for incipient pressures building up on prices of manufac-tures with the quickening of domestic industrial activity and the elevatedlevels of international commodity prices."

RBI raises short-term rate

INDIAN mobile operators, who will be rollingout third-generation (3G) services to con-sumers from next year, will be spending near-ly $6 billion in upgrading their existing servic-es, besides investing large sums for spectrum fees.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) recently recommended the auctioningof 3G spectrum to telecom companies. TheTRAI has recommended a maximum baseprice of $17.5 million for allocation of 3Gspectrum in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, andhalf that for Chennai and Kolkata. An all-India3G spread would cost about $230 million.

Telecom operators will have to bid foradditional spectrum that the government willauction. The TRAI has also suggested the set-ting up of a National Frequency ManagementBoard to manage spectrum allocation.

Operators plan to set up nearly 80 million3G-enabled connections in India over the nextthree years. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)plans to set up 30 million lines, while other

operators will add another 50 million lines. India has emerged as the fastest growing

cellular market in the world, having overtak-en even China in terms of the new userswho have signed up for mobile services. InAugust, nearly six million new subscriberswere enrolled in India.

There are 165 million telephone sub-scribers in India at present, including over a100 million mobile phone users.

The government expects total telephonesubscribers to expand to 250 million by2007 and 500 million by 2010. India's tele-density is currently placed at 14.8. This isexpected to rise to 22 by next year and 30by 2010.

While 3G services are expected to beintroduced by the second half of 2007, thegovernment wants to roll out 2G services tocover all villages with a population of over5,000 this year, and to cover all villageswith over 1,000 residents by next year.

Tax collections surge by 32 per cent in H1 of 2006-07WITH the Indian economy on a roll, the taxman isamongst the happiest of the lot. Total tax collectionshave surged during the first half (April-September) ofthe current fiscal by a whopping 32 per cent overthe corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Total tax collections have touched $26.11 billion,up from $19.8 billion in the first half of 2005-06.Direct tax collections have shot up to $19.24 billionfrom $13.36 billion, of which corporate tax collec-tion has contributed the major chunk of $11.89 bil-lion, a rise of 52 per cent. Customs duty collectionshave risen 30 per cent, while service tax saw a 60per cent growth.

Income-tax collections have grown by 33 percent, so too have other components, including secu-rities transaction tax (which nearly doubled) andfringe benefit tax (a growth of 37 per cent).

The Finance Ministry hopes to mop up an addi-tional $2 billion in taxes over the budget estimatesfor the current fiscal. According to budget estimates,the government is to raise $46.53 billion in totaltaxes during financial year 2006-07.

India to rollout 3G services by next year

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Credit Suisse to set up support unitCREDIT Suisse, a leading Swiss bank, is settingup a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Pune to pro-vide technology support and analytics. The newunit will support the bank’s businesses in 50countries and will eventually support 1,500 staff.

The bank has set up similar CoEs in Singaporeand in the US. “This is an important milestonefor Credit Suisse and its ongoing efforts todeploy our resources effectively and efficiently,”said Paul Calello, chief executive officer, for theAsia-Pacific region. “It also demonstrates ourcommitment to India and is a major endorsementof Credit Suisse's belief in the country's potentialand reflects the success of our integrated globalbank model.”

TCS launches innovation labTATA Consultancy Services has launched itsTCS Innovation Lab in Chennai, dedicated to thetravel and hospitality industry. The new lab will provide “a unique experiencefor airlines, hotels, resorts and travel companieswhere new domain solutions can be developedincubated and piloted using the latest technolo-gies in a cost-effective environment before enter-prise-wide deployment,” says the company.

According to N. Chandrasekaran, executive vice-president and global head, sales and operations,TCS, “The focus of the Innovation Lab for Traveland Hospitality will go beyond technology inno-vation and develop solutions that result in higherproductivity and business innovation.”

Cognizant to invest $200 million Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporationplans to invest over $200 million to developstate-of-the-art techno-complexes and expand itsinfrastructure in Chennai, Coimbatore,Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.

Construction is expected to begin in the firstquarter of 2007 and continue through the end of2008. Cognizant will continue to lease additionalnew facilities throughout India as required tomeet its headcount growth requirements.

"Cognizant has grown faster than our competi-tion over the last several years, and our strongpipeline reinforces our confidence in our futuregrowth plans," said Gordon Coburn, chief finan-cial officer of the company.

India has 83,000 high networth individualsTHERE are an estimated 83,000 high networth individuals (HNIs) in India,according to the first Asia-Pacific Wealth Report brought out recently by MerrillLynch and Capgemini.

According to the report India saw a 9.3 per cent rise in the number of HNIs- defined as those with financial assets of at least $1 million, excluding theirprimary residence and consumables - last year, which was the second highestgrowth rate globally.

Total assets of Indian HNIs amounted to $290 billion, representing 3.8 percent of the total Asia-Pacific HNI wealth. In terms of average net worth, Indianmillionaires ranked fourth in Asia. The average net worth of Hong Kong million-aires was the highest at $5.3 million, followed by China ($5 million), Singapore($4.7 million), and India and South Korea ($3.5 million).

But another report estimates an even higher number of Indian millionaires.The 'India Luxury Trends 2006' report from KSA Technopak, estimates thereare over a million consumers in the 'luxury' segment, and their number isexpected to treble by 2010. According to the study, the luxury segment has apotential of about $450 million, represented by 1.6 million high-income house-holds with an annual earning capacity of $1 million and above.

These high networth households - they spend an average of about $9,000annually on luxury goods - are growing by 14 per cent annually.

An A.T. Kearney study revealed that the luxury segment is growing rapidlyin India. The luxury car market is expanding by 30 per cent, luxury watch andbranded jewellery by 40 per cent each, international travel by 35 per cent, andwine by 30 per cent.

BriefsTHE growing popularity of cruisetourism in India has led theMaharashtra government to thinkin terms of building a dedicatedpassenger terminal for cruiseoperators in south Mumbai.

The Mumbai Port Trust (MPT)is expected to build the $2.2 bil-lion cruise terminal.

The new passenger terminalwould be able to handle two

cruise liners simultaneously. Last year, for the first time an international opera-tor - Star Cruises - decided to homeport its cruise liner in India. It choseMumbai, from where it operated services to Goa and Lakshadweep.

According to Chong Chee Tut, chief operating officer, Star Cruise, the com-pany plans to aggressively market its leisure-cum-business packages in India.The company, which also operates several cruises in South East Asia, attractsa number of Indian tourists. In fact, Indians rank among the top three nationali-ties opting for its cruises. Given the growing popularity of cruise tourism, itdecided to start operations in India.

Following the success of last year's run, Star Cruises decided to homeportits SuperStar Libra in Mumbai again this year.

The Maharashtra government is keen for a tie-up between Star Cruises andthe Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), which operatesthe 'Deccan Odyssey,' luxury train in the state.

Mumbai to get dedicated cruise terminal

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Hindalco partners America’s Almex Indian aluminium major Hindalco announced ajoint venture partnership with Almex USA Inc.,for the manufacture of high strength aluminiumalloys for applications in the aerospace, sportinggoods and surface transport industries.

The joint venture is to be named Hindalco-AlmexAerospace Limited. Hindalco has 70 per centequity participation, with Almex holding the bal-ance 30 per cent.

“In line with our growth aspirations, we areaggressively ramping up our portfolio of value-added products,” said Kumar Mangalam Birla,chairman, Hindalco. “Getting into high-strengthalloys is a part of our strategic growth initiative.Today, 60 per cent of our products are value-added and we expect to scale this up, going for-ward”, he said.

Bharti awards contract to Nokia BHARTI AIRTEL has awarded Nokia an estimat-ed $400 million contract to expand its managedGSM/GPRS/EDGE networks in eight Airtel circlesand deploy a pan-Indian WAP solution across itsnetworks.

Under the three-year contract, Nokia will providemanaged services and expand Airtel networks tocover all towns and cities in the eight telecomcircles of Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Gujarat,Bihar (including Jharkhand), Orissa, Kolkata,West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh (includingChattisgarh). The network monitoring operationswill be carried out from Nokia's state-of-the-artGlobal Networks Solutions Center in Chennai.

New auto models in South Africa Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile compa-ny, is introducing more commercial and passen-ger vehicle models in the South African market.

Tata Motors is introducing new trucks besideslaunching the Safari Dicor, which will be avail-able in early 2007. The company currently mar-kets the Indica hatchback, Indigo sedan andIndigo Station Wagon.

The company also displayed two concept cars— Tata Crossover, a ‘crossover’ vehicle con-cept, and Tata Cliffrider, a ‘Multi-Utility LifestyleVehicle’ concept, at the Auto Africa ’06 expoheld in Johannesburg in October.

Briefs

AFTER dedicated petro ports and naphtha ports, it is now time for automobileports in India. With growing auto exports from India, manufacturers are nowvying for a dedicated car terminal, especially along the western coast, to speedup exports to Europe.

Maruti Suzuki and Nissan Motors,who plan to manufacture small cars inIndia for export to Europe, are report-edly toying with the idea of investingabout $700 million in a car terminal inGujarat. Another Japanese auto major,Mitsubishi Motors, is also looking at asimilar project for a car-handling termi-nal in Gujarat.

The auto majors are in talks withthe Shipping Ministry and with the managements of ports along the westerncoast, including the new private ones that have come up in Gujarat. Most auto-mobiles are exported through Mumbai or Chennai ports, but automobile manu-facturers are looking for dedicated terminals to ensure quick movement.

Dedicated car terminals to come up along west coast

Auto sales to cross 10 million in current fiscalTHE automobile industry in India is on overdrive, with sales having increased by17.12 per cent during the first half of the current fiscal. Automobile makerssold 4.86 million vehicles - including cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles- between April and September.

The Society of Indian AutomobileManufacturers (SIAM) expects sales tocross the 10 million-mark during thefiscal, a 20 per cent growth over theprevious year's figures. Automobileindustry analysts point out that thecut in excise duty for small cars,announced in the union budget, is theprimary reason driving sales of vehi-cles.

India is today the fourth largestautomobile market in Asia, and is rapidly emerging as a global small-car andtwo-wheeler hub. Automobile exports are growing furiously, and estimates arethat auto exports would fetch about $25 billion annually in about 10 years.

All the leading automobile manufacturers have ambitious expansion plans.South Korea's Hyundai, which put up a $1 billion plant (to produce 300,000cars) near Chennai, is injecting another billion dollars. Japanese automakerSuzuki is also investing large sums, and increasingly selling its vehicles inEurope and other parts of the world. Maruti Suzuki will be exporting 400,000vehicles a year from India. Domestic automobile majors, including Mahindra &Mahindra, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors are also reporting brisk off-take in foreign sales. According to SIAM, auto exports grew by 24 per cent inSeptember, with about 90,000 vehicles being sold internationally.

Bajaj Auto's overseas sales in September crossed 37,000 - up 60 per centover the same month in 2005 - and even Mahindra & Mahindra doubled itssale. Hyundai exported over 10,000 cars in September, and Tata Motors,Maruti and Ford India together another 10,000 cars.

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