Russia has chosen to partner with Anil Ambani-led Pipavav Defence to build frigates for the Indian Navy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" initiative, according to media reports. The project valued at $3-3.5 billion will be the biggest warship project by private sector. Russia has officially informed the defence ministry about the decision. . The ships will be upgraded versions of Talwar-class ships, or the Russian equivalent of Krivak-III. At 12.10 p.m., Pipavav Defence moved up 7 per cent in the stock market. Pipavav, which is currently executing a naval offshore patrol vessel order, has India's largest shipbuilding facility. Pitching Pipavav Shipyard as a one-stop shop for all requirements of the Indian Navy, from frigates to aircraft carrier and submarines, Anil Ambani has said he will invest an "additional Rs 5,000 crore" over the next few years in the project.The Reliance Group chairman emphasised on self-reliance in the defence sector for flexibility to pursue country's foreign policy objectives and called for more transparent and predictable systems and procedures. India stressed on domestic defence production under the “Make in India” programme, an important aspect of which is to get technology transfers and inviting foreign firms to manufacture in India. In March this year, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Systems, along with Reliance Infrastructure, made a big-bang entry into the defence sector by acquiring Pipavav Defence, a private shipyard based in Pipavav in Gujarat, in an all-cash deal. With the acquisition, Reliance Infrastructure joined a growing list of Indian companies entering the defence sector in a big way. The National Democratic Alliance government plans to give defence orders worth $250 billion through the next five years, a big opportunity for these companies. Pipavav Defence has one of the world's largest infrastructure facilities - spread over 841 acres of land on the Gujarat coast. It owns one of the world's largest dry docks, measuring 662 metres in length and 65 metres in width.
Read More
Posco has told Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Corporation that it will vacate its corporate office soon, reports Dhrutikam Mohanty South Korea's Posco is closing down its office in Bhubaneswar, frustrated by a lack of progress on the proposed Rs 52,000 crore plant in Odisha. Posco has written a letter to Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (IDCO), which has provided office space, that it will be vacating its corporate office soon. The Posco saga in Odisha goes back to the days of Biju Patnaik, the late chief minister, who was keen on the South Korean company's participation in the state's industrialisation drive. Posco was invited by Biju to set up a steel plant in the 1990s. The virtual death blow to the project came when the BJP government at the Centre took a policy decision in February this year that all companies must participate in a bidding process to own mining rights. The Odisha government had earlier committed to allot captive mines to Posco as the company insisted on having secure access to raw material from the very beginning. But the state government could not lease out any mines to Posco in time due to local opposition and regulatory roadblocks. Due to a lack of political will and absence of a consistent policy on industrialization, many projects are facing uncertainty in Odisha. Biju Patnaik had tried hard to set up a second steel plant in the state when he became chief minister in 1990. Since he was convinced that it would be difficult to arrange huge investments from domestic sources, he tried to bring in foreign direct investment for the project. In 1990-91, Biju negotiated with Posco to be a partner of his ambitious project Kalinga Steel. Posco had been asked to study the feasibility of a port-based steel plant at Paradeep. But the negotiations couldn't be materialized as the mandarins in the Steel Ministry of India observed that if states were to develop such massive projects with direct foreign participation then there had to be a change in national policy. Posco backed out when the place of the project was shifted from Paradeep to Daitari. Thereafter, Biju Patnaik tried to go with London-based business magnet Swaraj Paul, chairman of Caparo Group, but these efforts also ended in failure. Biju couldn't fulfill his steel plant dream as his party failed to get a mandate to rule Odisha for the next term in 1995. But the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), now headed by his son Naveen Patnaik, has also failed to pursue the project despite being in power for 15 years.
Read More
Townships are becoming a lot more prevalent, since this is becoming the residential option of choice for many city dwellers looking for a better lifestyle, writes Ashwinder Raj Singh Over the past few decades, the urge to ensure a better standard of living for themselves and their families back home has led countless Indians to migrate to countries offering attractive work-pay equations. This income-generating objective is the highest common factor - and though NRIs' ties with their country of birth sometimes erode to a certain extent, the willingness to turn a decent profit on investments back home does not. For a protracted period, investments in India did not offer good returns, causing NRIs to choose to invest in the countries they migrated to - or anywhere else where the markets were attractive. However, with the resurgence of the Indian economy after the arrival of a stable government intent on boosting business in the country, things are changing. Today, the Indian realty market is once again a prime focus area for NRI investors. The Indian realty sector as a whole – namely, across the residential, retail, hospitality and commercial verticals - is slated to grow at 30% over the next decade, attaining a market size of around $180 billion by 2020. However, the investment opportunity lies less in the Indian real estate sector’s speed of growth than in its overall dynamism. As such, it has been time and again vouchsafed that long-term investments into Indian realty pay off very well indeed as long as sound investment decisions have been taken. Advantage NRINRIs today are keenly aware that Indian real estate once again presents them with a very hot investment proposition. That said, they do have their own leanings and predilections when it comes to where to invest. Generally, the NRI community prefers to invest in their states of origin – primarily Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi NCR. However, since residential inventory has piled up in the two major cities of Delhi (the political capital) and Mumbai (the financial capital), investors are currently very well placed to find good bargains in these markets, as most developers there are offering discounts and attractive financial schemes. The advantage that UAE-based NRIs (by far the largest contingent) have is that they earn in Gulf currencies that have traded strongly against the Indian National Rupee. This factor off-sets a part of the house cost already. However, the rupee is bound to strengthen further, and the advantageous difference between the currencies will reduce as the Indian economy grows under a stable government at the centre. Current Indian Real Estate ScenarioIndian developers have had to wake up to certain immutable market realities over the last two years. In many cities, they have misjudged where the actual demand is and how much buyers - including NRIs - are willing to spend on their first or second homes. This has resulted in worrisome levels of supply overhang of larger-configuration apartments. Real estate developers are now becoming quite serious about right-sizing and right-pricing of their products to make them attractive to a larger cross-section of customers. In fact, smaller, better-designed and more efficient homes are very much in evidence when we study the project launches in 2015. Selective corrections are already happening in some of the over-priced pockets of India’s larger cities – as this trend gathers momentum, we will start seeing a faster sales velocity in the stagnated supply of larger configurations. Townships are becoming a lot more prevalent, since this is becoming the residential option of choice for many city dwellers looking for a better lifestyle for their families The supply pipeline for luxury home projects is now slowing down in reaction to the slow demand dynamics for these offerings. Pricing TrendsResidential property prices have plateaued in both Delhi and Mumbai. Good returns can be expected only if one’s investment horizon is of three years or above - in which case, annualized returns of 10% can be expected from the third year on. Sluggish sales, especially in the luxury segment, have led developers to offer several attractive financial schemes. World-class luxury projects are available in Indian cities now, but the market is currently struggling to sell inventory. Advice For NRI Property InvestorsFor NRIs who are on the verge of retiring and planning to do so in India, this is the right time to invest. Social infrastructure in most of the larger Indian cities has improved a lot. Social and civic infrastructure is being ramped up in most of the larger cities, which means that more hospitals, schools and shopping malls as well as improved connectivity and availability of utilities are resulting in higher ease of living – equalling a higher-quality retired life. Once the primary residence is secured, NRIs with surplus funds can invest in rental income-generating apartments, as well. However, they must be aware of all the bylaws and regulations that apply to NRI investors - especially on the taxation front, since rental income is taxable in India. It is also taxable in other nations, except in cases where a treaty exists between the two involved countries with regards to double taxation.Under the best of circumstances, real estate is a capital intensive investment vertical. The best returns on investment are not attained by guesswork, but by decisions arrived at after weighing all the options for their merits and demerits. NRIs are best placed to reach such decisions if they consult professionals with a strong research-driven background. As a rule, NRI investors should we wary of projects by unknown developers who have no existing track record. Untold numbers of buyers are currently falling in trouble because they have plugged their funds in projects which do not have all the mandatory clearances and fall short of even the minimum standards of quality construction. Unless a NRI plans to visit India and personally evaluate projects, he/she should opt only for reputed developers. In all cases, NRIs should strictly follow a check-list of points to verify, such as the track record and brand visibility of a developer, the soundness of the identified location in terms of social and civic infrastructure, the amenities in the project and the timelines for possession in the case of under-construction projects.NRI investors focused on benefiting from discounts can consider booking in projects which are in the pre-launch stage, as prices tend to be competitive. Again - while due diligence is important for end-users, it is even more important for investors who are considering projects in upcoming or peripheral locations of the primary cities. Professional real estate advisors should be consulted to establish for the legitimacy of such projects. Developers have traditionally tried to attract NRIs by gearing marketing campaigns of projects which are ordinary in every respect straight at them. NRIs should be aware that there is nothing about ‘NRI projects’ that is any different from other offerings on the market – there are no ‘exclusive’ features that are otherwise unavailable to other buyers. A project and property should be evaluated solely on the basis of its location, legal legitimacy, amenities and facilities, and the strength of the developer’s brand.The author is CEO - Residential Services at JLL India
Read More
Juniper Networks, network innovation company, announced two key appointments of Susan Lovegren, who has been appointed as a senior vice president of human resources and Bob Worrall appointed as a senior vice president and chief information officer.Lovegren reports to Chief Executive Officer Rami Rahim and Worrall reports to Chief Financial and Operations Officer Robyn Denholm.Rami Rahim, CEO of Juniper Networks, said, “The opportunity we have at Juniper to lead the next wave of innovation and network transformation in our industry is incredible. That is why we are so honored to welcome tech industry veterans Susan and Bob to our leadership team where they will apply their experience and passion developing forward-leaning technology and people programs that inspire our teams, enable us to innovate faster than the market and help us to solve our customers’ toughest challenges".Prior to join Juniper Networks, Lovegren served as senior vice president of human resources at Plantronics, where she was responsible for leading programs that drive people and culture growth. She brings more than 25 years of leadership experience, including seven years at Juniper Networks where she served as a corporate vice president leading the Company's global business-aligned human resources team.Lovegren is responsible for supporting Juniper’s broad business objectives and strategic direction for its people and overall culture with a focus on the needs of today’s diverse workforce. Lovegren also leads the Juniper Networks Foundation Fund.Worrall joined Juniper Networks with more than 25 years of business and IT leadership experience, most recently at NVIDIA Corporation, where he served as senior vice president and CIO and was responsible for deploying innovative technologies to enhance employee productivity.Worrall will be responsible for protecting all of Juniper Networks’ critical information, intellectual property and physical resources as well as ensuring all information technology systems are aligned to support the company’s people and growth agenda.(BW Online Bureau)
Read More
Videocon Telecom, announced that it will offer 1GB free Data for all its female subscribers coming aboard.Encouraging woman empowerment, the telecom service provider declared 1GB free data that will be extended as 100MB per month for 10 months for all female subscribers.Arvind Bali, Director & CEO, Videocon Telecommunications, said, “We are pleased to announce two more initiatives under the honorable Prime Minister’s ‘Digital India’ vision. The first initiative for female subscribers is not only limited to digital connect, but it also supports women empowerment. As per our customer usage analysis, the data penetration among females is slightly less, and this initiative would definitely help take up the data penetration among female users. The other initiative is allowing free and unlimited access to the Indian government website or the National Portal of India which is a single point of information & online services from the Government.”Taking the honourable Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India forward, Videocon Telecom, the versatile, friendly and dynamic telecom brand of the $10 billion worth Videocon Group, today took another big initiative and announced 1GB free Data for all its female subscribers coming aboard. Under this initiative, the telco talked about women empowerment and declared 1GB free data that will be extended as 100MB per month for 10 months for all female subscribers. This benefit will be over and above any other data benefit provided to subscribers at the time of acquisition.As per Videocon Telecom, the percentage of data users among female users is slightly less than males, and this initiative will definitely increase the data penetration among female subscribers. The telco will also be providing a help-line for first time data users on know-how of internet and data usage on mobile phones. The telco also announced free and unlimited access to government’s web portal, the National Portal of India i.e. india.gov.in and india.gov.in/hi for all its subscribers. This will enable each subscriber of the telco to access online services from Govt of India. Both the benefits will be available to subscribers starting July 16, 2015 till further notice .Both the benefits will be available to subscribers starting Thursday (16 July).
Read More
ReGlobe, a re-commerce company that offers an online platform to sell old or used electronic gadgets, has revealed that Samsung and Apple smartphones and tablets dominate buybacks on its platform.Similarly, Dell and HP emerged as the most attractive brands for buybacks in the laptop segment.Mandeep Manocha, CEO & Co-Founder, ReGlobe.in said, “Gadgets and technology have transformed the way we live and work. But all this comes with a price tag and a hefty one at times. With new features and functionality accelerating technology obsolescence, at times you are stuck with an expensive phone, which may just be a year old. That’s where re-commerce plays an interesting role in providing a viable and lucrative option of being able to sell a used gadget that one may no longer wish to use and buy what one really desires”.As per the data observed by ReGlobe of transactions on their platform, Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPads are unmatched in their appeal and have been the best second-hand sellers in their category in 2015.In the smartphone category, Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos, Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 enjoy the highest volumes. Samsung with its great styling, screen quality, battery life, and high-end cameras, has done well both in the first hand and second hand gadgets market.(BW Online Bureau)
Read More
In a partnership with POGO and Cartoon Network, Bollywood actor Salman Khan, will be featuring in new TV shows created especially for kids. Selfie Le Le Re with Kris and Salman will premiere on 18 July, 2015 at 12 pm on Cartoon Network and Bheem aur Bajrangi Bhaijaan will premiere on 19 July 2015 at 12 pm on POGO. Both TV contests will give kids the opportunity to win prizes including a chance to watch the film Bajrangi Bhaijaan before its release.Selfie Le Le Re with Kris and Salman - 18 July 2015 at 12 pmSalman Khan will help Cartoon Network's character Kris realise his dreams of being a superstar one day. Kris has an exciting life in school but would love to learn the tricks of the trade - be it dance, action, comedy or drama. Salman Khan will give him some tips on how to be a superstar? In this 90-minute special, Salman and Kris share insightful anecdotes and feature in the music video of 'Selfie Le Le Re'.Mr Khan said, "Sabse pehle toh zaroori hai accha aur saccha hona.Thodi bohot acting aani chahiye. Bollywood mein comedy, drama aur emotion sab hona chahiye."Kids can also be a part of the promotion activity by participating in the Selfie Le Le Re with Kris and Salman contest on 18 July 2015 on Cartoon Network. They have tune-in to the special and answer the contest question to win a chance to get a selfie with Kris.Bheem aur Bajrangi Bhaijaan - 19 July 2015 at 12 pmThis 90 minute special on POGO will see Salman Khan drawing parallels between his character in the film and TV character Chhota Bheem. Both are heroes to millions in India.Both will also dance in a special music video that will air on POGO.POGO is giving 100 lucky kids a chance to watch Bajrangi Bhaijaan before its release in theatres.Commenting on Bheem and his character in the movie, Salman Khan said, "Jab Bheem hain mere paas, toh darne ki kya hai baat. Bheem aur Bajrangi Bhaijaan mushkil safar bhi lenge kaat, nahin chodenge doston ka saath."
Read More
A labour dispute at Tata Steel UK ended on Wednesday after unions members voted to accept changes to their pension scheme, averting what threatened to be the biggest industrial action in Britain's steel sector in 35 years. The vote by members of British unions Community, Unite, GMB and UCATT means the Tata Steel workers' final salary pension scheme will stay open, following agreed changes. "There is more to do both to resolve the concerns of our members at Tata Steel and to meet the wider challenges faced by the UK steel industry," Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of Community and Chair of the National Trade Union Steel Co-ordinating Committee, said. "All unions have already begun a dialogue with the company to address these issues."
Read More
