Outsourcing (21Dec ‘06- 5 Jan ‘07)

IT Service’s, BPO Set To Log 26% Growth in 2007:

Riding high on a bullish outlook, IT services and business process outsourcing (BPO) exports from India are expected to witness about 26% growth to log $33.4 billion in 2007 as against $26.5 billion in 2006. This includes revenues from captive operations, MNC’s & Indian pure play third party service providers. According to estimates by consulting firm NeoIT, the software and related services exports are likely to post $20.8 billion in 2007 against $17.1 billion in 2006, a growth of 21.6%. The BPO space is predicted to grow at a faster rate of 34% to gross $12.6 billion in 2007 compared to $9.4 billion last year. In the next 12- 18 months the industry will continue to grow between 25-28%, even as the growth will be skewed towards larger players. The top 3 players will grow between 32-35%, and the industry will continue to see marginalisation of the mid-tier and smaller companies.
Source: Economic times, dated January 5, 2007

India’s Firstsource Acquires U.S. Outsourcer:

Indian outsourcer Firstsource Solutions Ltd. has acquired BPM Inc., a health care claims outsourcing company in Delaware, and its two wholly owned operating subsidiaries, MedPlans 2000 Inc. and MedPlans Partners Inc. Firstsource paid about $40 million for BPM and its subsidiaries, according to informed sources. The company has not disclosed the acquisition price. The acquisition of BPM is in line with Firstsource’s strategy to expand in the health care market. The company already offers database management, policy administration and claims processing, and it will now be able to extend its services to include complex claims adjudication. Firstsource said it will not move any of the jobs to India. The company’s strategy is to offer its clients in the U.S. a choice of having their work done onshore or offshore from India.
Source: www.idg.net, January 4, 2007.

Church’s Chicken Expands Outsourcing To India’s Sonata:

Fast-food chain Church’s Chicken is planning to outsource more IT functions to Sonata Software Ltd. in Bangalore, India, including application development and IT consulting. The decision is a result of cost savings and the high quality of service that the company has already received from Sonata. Church’s Chicken moved its IT infrastructure management about a year ago from IBM to Sonata, a midsize outsourcing company. The deal was worth $5 million over five years. The company has saved about 40% of its IT infrastructure management costs by offshoring to Sonata. The savings that Sonata is generating has freed up cash for Church’s Chicken to open 20 new restaurants that will generate about $20 million of sales annually.
Source: www.idg.net, January 2, 2007.

Tech Mahindra Wins The Largest Indian Outsourcing deal From British Telecom:

India’s Tech Mahindra has received the largest outsourcing contract awarded to a single offshore services company to date, securing a five-year, $1 billion deal to provide technical support to British Telecom and its business customers. Under the agreement, Tech Mahindra will provide British Telecom with internal IT support and will also act as a third-party contractor on some of British Telecom’s managed services accounts with business customers. Tech Mahindra said it plans to hire 3,000 to 4,000 employees over the life of the contract to help with the work. The deal is the latest indication that Western businesses now view India’s low-cost outsourcers as viable alternatives to global giants like IBM and EDS for comprehensive services engagements. In July, European financial services firm Skandia handed India’s HCL Technologies a deal worth $780 million, and last year ABN Amro tapped a five-vendor team of outsourcers that included India’s TCS, Patni, and Infosys for a $2.2 billion contract.
Source: www.informationweek.com, December 21, 2006.

brand story(11-16th dec)

Hindustan Lever Limited (also called HLL), headquartered in Mumbai, is India’s largest consumer products company, formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited. Its 41,000 employees are headed by Mr.Harish Manwani, the non-executive chariman of the board. HLL is the market leader in Indian products such as tea, soaps, detergents, as its products have become daily household name in India. The Anglo-Dutch company Unilever owns a majority stake in Hindustan Lever Limited.what helped HLL to capture such major share in FMCG market is its diversification into new market and market segments and also segments created for every product it manufactures.
Brands
 
Wheel Detergent ad in rural Nepal area.Some of its brands include Kwality Wall’s ice cream, Lifebuoy, Lux, Breeze, Liril, Rexona, Hamam, Moti soaps, Lipton tea, Brooke Bond coffee, Pepsodent and Close Up toothpaste and brushes, and Surf, Rin and Wheel laundry detergents, Kissan squashes and jams, Annapurna salt and atta, Pond’s talcs and creams, Vaseline lotions, Fair & Lovely creams, Lakmé beauty products, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, Sunsilk and Lux shampoos, Vim dishwash, Ala bleach and Domex disinfectant.

 Marketing
In February 2003 Hindustan Lever Limited has launched a new division called Hindustan Lever Network. This division markets a wide range of Fast Moving Consumer Goods through Network Marketing.This operates by recruiting individuals as consultants. These consultants are paid a commission on the purchases made by them and on the purchases made by those recruited by them.

OUTSOURCING

Unisys, Wipro Tie Up For IT Outsourcing 

Unisys and Wipro Technologies have formed  a global alliance to establish an intergrated means to execute go-to-market and delivery activities for managed services. The two companies will seek opportunities to provide IT services like deskside and hardware support services and multilingual service desk services. Both the IT giants have signed an initial outsourcing engagement for a fortune 500 company in US with Unisys share of total contract value estimated at $ 27.5 million spread over a [eriod of 5 years. Under the contract Unisys will be a sub-contractor to Wipro in providing managed services to support more than 20000 employees in US, Canada and
UK.

Source: The Economic Times, 8 December 2006.

 

BPOs Shed Vanilla Pricing, Go For The Kill. 

Call centers and process back offices are now increasingly getting paid on the success of each call or transaction rather than the minutes spend on each. The BPO industry has moved a few notches up in the value chain. It evolved from being projected as a fun place to a work place. Today BPO companies have emerged as business partners rather than plain vendors. In line with this, the whole matrix of pricing is that it is witnessing dynamism with new models emerging depending on the complexity of process outsourced.

Source: The Economic Times, 8 December 2006.

 

 

Wipro Pushes Beyond Global Delivery Infrastructure Management. 

Of all the Indian vendors, Wipro today maintains the strongest European client base for offshore infrastructure services. The company is actively pushing beyond pure remote infrastructure management and has recently begun to successfully compete head to head against traditional on-site outsourcers for larger end-to-end infrastructure outsourcing deals. As a result of its strategic commitment to growing the infrastructure management business, Wipro continues to invest in European resources for deeper local market penetration.

Source: www.forrester.com , 5 December 2006.

cover story..(2nd dec to 8th)

Investors move away from small savings 

• Gross small savings collections in post offices and banks declined.
• This for the first time that savings comes down in the last ten years.
• Gross small savings declined to Rs 73,456 crores as compared to Rs 82,800 crores to last year.
• This is due to increasing inflation, investor’s preference for alternative investment avenues, interest rate offered on competing investments like bank deposits etc.

                                                                              Business line (6th December) 

Buddhadev rules out stopping work on Tata Motors project 

• 
  West Bengal chief  minister  said he is ready for talk with anybody even with Trinamool congress
• He denied to stop work on preparation for the Tata motors plant at Hoogly district
• Trinamool congress leader Ms. Mamta Banarjee began a hunger strike against the acquisition of land for the project.

                                                                  The Economic Times          (  5/12/2006) 

Cisco to locate unit in Chennai

With plans to make India its global hub, US-based networking major Cisco Systems on Wednesday announced a slew of initiatives including setting up a manufacturing unit in Chennai and tripling its manpower in the country from 2,000 at present to 6,000 over the next 3-4 years.

·       
India key to its global growth strategy; plan to triple manpower to 6,000.·        Twenty per cent of top executives will move to
India.·        Chennai unit will export hi-tech products to global markets.Chinese bikes to hit Indian roads soon; 3 cos look for distributors“Roadworthiness under Indian conditions doubtful” 

·        Three Chinese bike makers are planning to hit the Indian roads.

·        Cixi Kingring Motor cycle Company, Xindayang Group Company Ltd and Huzhou Jiajieshi Machine & Electric Company are exhibiting their products at the fourth
China products (Mumbai) Exhibition.

                                                            Business Line( 8^th December)

Retail Financing (Nov 24 - Dec 1)

                  

Mutual banking-an emerging trend in retail banking 

Business line 24 november,2006

A new concept — mutual banking — has emerged offering new product and service innovations for the customers who avail of mutual fund products through banks.  One MF launching a co-branded debit card for withdrawal up to specified limits of investments in MF schemes through bank accounts. Maximization of comfort for the customer, bank and the MF is the basic premise on which these marriages are happening. A scientifically structured business implementation model will reap benefits for all concern. 

UTI Dividend Yield Fund declares 8% dividend 

Moneycontrol.com

UTI mutual fund has declared a of 8% (Re.0.80  per unit on face value of Rs.10) in its open-ended equity scheme - UTI Dividend Yield Fund. Pursuant to the payment of dividend, the NAV of the dividend option of the scheme would fall to the extent of payout and statutory levy if any. All unitholders registered under the dividend option of UTI Dividend Yield Fund as on December 1, 2006 will be eligible for this dividend. Also investors who join the dividend option of the scheme on or before the record date will be eligible for the dividend. The NAV per unit as on November 27, 2006 was Rs.13.07 under the dividend option. During this calendar year, UTI Dividend Yield Fund has declared dividend totaling to 21% (Rs.2.10  per unit on face value of Rs.10). the last dividend declare by the scheme was 6% in August 2006. “UTI Dividend Yield Fund is positioned as a conservatively managed diversified equity scheme that invests primarily in stocks with high dividend yield. Over the last one year, UTI-Dividend Yield Fund has yielded 28.2% as compared to 47.2% given by its benchmark BSE 100 as on November 27, 2006.

Finacle from Infosys emerges as a leader in retail banking   

 

Moneycontrol.com

In the recently released Forrester Wave report – Retail Banking Platforms Q4 2006 (November 2006), Finacle from Infosys emerged as a leader. Finacle stood out for its convincing strategy and a very sound current offering. In this study, the first of its kind, comparing the retail banking platform market, Forrester evaluated five global retail banking platform vendors. These vendors were short-listed through a rigorous multi-criteria selection process that included an in-depth appraisal of their coverage of the Forrester banking functions map, forward-looking. Infosys Finacle ranked number 1 in overall strategy with a score of 3.95 (on a scale of 0 to 5) and also earned the top score in the areas of Multichannel Enablement, Architecture & Development and Systems integrators. Infosys is one of the two banking platform vendors that score highest for platform agility. 

 

OUTSOURCING(20-29TH NOVEMBER)

US Airways, Delta Merger Could Cost IBM Millions in Lost Outsourcing Revenue: 

The proposed merger between US Airways and Delta Airlines could result in the termination of the seven year outsourcing deal signed between Delta and IBM in August, the value of which was not disclosed, and is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars. US Airways CEO Douglas Parker said in a letter to Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein that Delta’s outsourcing contracts are appropriate for a standalone plan, but it would be different if Delta is merging. US Airways CEO said if Delta continued with its IT outsourcing deals and any other contracts, the potential merger would be significantly devalued.
US Airways is attempting an $ 8 Billion hostile take over of its bankrupt rival.

Source: www.informationweek.com, 20th November 2006.

 

TCS To Hike Outsourcing Prices: 

Tata Consultancy Services will increase the price of its services by as much as 10% on new contracts. It will hike prices on new contracts from 5% to 10% and will push for an increase of 3% to 5% on existing contracts that are up for renewal. Rising salaries in
India, combined with TCS’s move into higher value services are the reasons for the increases. Offshore service providers charge customers between $20- $25 per hour for programming services considerably less than the prevailing rates in the
United States.

Source: www.informationweek.com, 27th November 2006.

 

Indiana May Turn Over Welfare System To IBM Under $1.6 Billion Outsourcing Deal: 

IBM would provide
Indiana with intake processing services and set up an automated welfare eligibility application system that will be accessible online 24hours a day. In exchange for the work, IBM has agreed to create 1,000 new jobs in
Indiana over the next four years. Many of those will be located at a new customer service center that IBM has pledged to open in the state at a location yet to be determined. 

Source:- www.informationweek.com, 29th November 2006.

 

Carlyle Group Plans Bid For
Taiwan’s ASE: 

A private equity consortium led by The Carlyle Group is planning to make a $5.5 billion bid for the world’s biggest microchip packaging firm, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering. By this ASE would be in a position to better take advantage of accelerating global outsourcing trends for semiconductor assembly and testing services.

Source:- http://news.techrepublic.com, 25th November 2006.

 

Helion Ventures In Outsourcing: 

Helion Ventures are in investing nearly $150million in outsourcing, internet, mobile and technology products and about $4.4billion will flow to
India. Nearly $2.2million will be in the mobile sector.Two deals will be made in the legal processing outsourcing.

Source : The Economic Times, 25th November 2006.

 

Brand Story

AMUL  (Nov20-Nov27) by Group3 15-A

Amul was formally registered on December 14, 1946. The brand name Amul, sourced from the Sanskrit word Amoolya, means priceless. It was suggested by a quality control expert in Anand. Some cite the origin as an acronym to (Anand Milk Union Limited).The Amul revolution was started as awareness among the farmers. It grew and matured into a protest movement that was channeled towards economic prosperity. Over five decades ago, the life of an average farmer in Kheda District was very much like that ofhis/her counterpart anywhere else in
India. His/her income was derived almost entirely from seasonal crops. The income from milk buffaloes was undependable. Private traders and middlemen controlled the marketing and distribution system for the milk. As milk is perishable, farmers were compelled to sell it for whatever they were offered. Often, they had to sell cream and ghee at throw-away prices. In this situation, the private trader made a killing. Gradually, the realization dawned on the farmers that the exploitation by the trader could be checked only if they marketed their milk themselves. Amul wasthe result of the realization that they could pool up their milk and work as a cooperative.The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited began pasteurizing milk for the Bombay Milk Scheme in June 1948. By the end of 1948, more than 400 farmers joined in more Village Society, and the quantity of milk handled by one
Union increased from 250 to 5,000 liters a day. The success of Amul was instrumental in launching the White Revolution that resulted in increased milk production in
India. It is officially termed as Operation Flood by Amul. The breakthrough technology of spray-dryingand processing buffalo milk, developed by Mr. H.M. Dalaya, was one of the key factors that contributed to the Revolution .Success of Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited and setting up of District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Unions, needed a state-level organization for entire Gujarat. That lead to creation of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).GCMMF is
India’s largest food products marketing organization. It is a state level apex body of milk cooperatives in

Gujarat, which aims to provide remunerative returns to the farmers and also serve the interest of consumers by providing quality products, which are good value for money. GCMMF markets and manages the Amul brand. From mid-1990’s Amul has entered areas not related directly to its core business. Its entry into ice cream was regarded as successful due to the large market share it was able to capture within a short period of time - primarily due to the price differential and the brand name. It also entered the Pizza business, where the base and the recipes were made available to restaurant owners who could price it as low as 30 rupees per pizza when the other players were charging upwards of 100 rupees .Since 1967 Amul products’ mascot has been the very recognizable “Amul baby” (a chubby butter girl usually dressed in polka dotted dress) showing up on hoardings and product wrappers with the equally recognizable tagline Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul. The mascot was first used for Amul butter. But in recent years in a second wave of ad campaign for Amul products, she has also been used for other product like ghee and milk. She is probably one of the most enduring mascots in the world. Amul has been able to withstand the onslaught of private and foreign players in the dairy industry and has also been able to export products in limited quantities. The success of Amul resulted in similar organizations being setup by state governments throughout
India, most of which had reasonable success. Examples are Vijaya in Andhra Pradesh, Aavin in Tamil Nadu and others.Other co-operative rivals of Amul include National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) (with its Mother Dairy and Sugam brands). With Amul entering the sports drink market, its rivals now include Coca Cola and PepsiCo.

Brand Story(Nov20-Nov27)

AMUL 

 

Amul was formally registered on December 14, 1946. The brand name Amul, sourced from the Sanskrit word Amoolya, means priceless. It was suggested by a quality control expert in Anand. Some cite the origin as an acronym to (Anand Milk Union Limited).The Amul revolution was started as awareness among the farmers. It grew and matured into a protest movement that was channeled towards economic prosperity. Over five decades ago, the life of an average farmer in Kheda District was very much like that ofhis/her counterpart anywhere else in
India. His/her income was derived almost entirely from seasonal crops. The income from milk buffaloes was undependable. Private traders and middlemen controlled the marketing and distribution system for the milk. As milk is perishable, farmers were compelled to sell it for whatever they were offered. Often, they had to sell cream and ghee at throw-away prices. In this situation, the private trader made a killing. Gradually, the realization dawned on the farmers that the exploitation by the trader could be checked only if they marketed their milk themselves. Amul wasthe result of the realization that they could pool up their milk and work as a cooperative.The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited began pasteurizing milk for the Bombay Milk Scheme in June 1948. By the end of 1948, more than 400 farmers joined in more Village Society, and the quantity of milk handled by one
Union increased from 250 to 5,000 liters a day. The success of Amul was instrumental in launching the White Revolution that resulted in increased milk production in
India. It is officially termed as Operation Flood by Amul. The breakthrough technology of spray-dryingand processing buffalo milk, developed by Mr. H.M. Dalaya, was one of the key factors that contributed to the Revolution .Success of Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited and setting up of District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Unions, needed a state-level organization for entire Gujarat. That lead to creation of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).GCMMF is
India’s largest food products marketing organization. It is a state level apex body of milk cooperatives in
Gujarat, which aims to provide remunerative returns to the farmers and also serve the interest of consumers by providing quality products, which are good value for money. GCMMF markets and manages the Amul brand. From mid-1990’s Amul has entered areas not related directly to its core business. Its entry into ice cream was regarded as successful due to the large market share it was able to capture within a short period of time - primarily due to the price differential and the brand name. It also entered the Pizza business, where the base and the recipes were made available to restaurant owners who could price it as low as 30 rupees per pizza when the other players were charging upwards of 100 rupees .Since 1967 Amul products’ mascot has been the very recognizable “Amul baby” (a chubby butter girl usually dressed in polka dotted dress) showing up on hoardings and product wrappers with the equally recognizable tagline Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul. The mascot was first used for Amul butter. But in recent years in a second wave of ad campaign for Amul products, she has also been used for other product like ghee and milk. She is probably one of the most enduring mascots in the world. Amul has been able to withstand the onslaught of private and foreign players in the dairy industry and has also been able to export products in limited quantities. The success of Amul resulted in similar organizations being setup by state governments throughout
India, most of which had reasonable success. Examples are Vijaya in Andhra Pradesh, Aavin in Tamil Nadu and others.Other co-operative rivals of Amul include National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) (with its Mother Dairy and Sugam brands). With Amul entering the sports drink market, its rivals now include Coca Cola and PepsiCo.

OUTSOURCING(10-19TH NOV)

Tenet Healthcare Corp. Has Struck a 10 Year Outsourcing Deal With Perot Systems 

Perot systems which was managing the IT systems in 25 Tenet hospitals under an existing contract has broadened and extended it to 66 hospitals for a period of 10 years for an undisclosed amount. Perot will also help Tenet in implementing and maintaining a system-wide IT backbone that will help Tenet tie all their computing resources and healthcare applications.

Source: www.informationweek.com , November 17 2006

CSC won a $ 180 Million Outsourcing Deal From  Newmont Mining Corporation 

One of the worlds largest gold mining corporation, Newmont has outsourced the management of their global shared service operations and regional mining facilities. The contract also include responsibilities of server support and maintenance application for a period of 7 years at a cost of $ 180 Million.

Source: www.informationweek.com ,  November 14 2006.

Qantas And Indian Software Firms Sign Outsourcing Deals 

Qantas Airways of Australia has signed outsourcing deals with two major Indian software companies, Satyam Computer and Tata Consutancy Services, for a total of US$ 144 million.. Satyam Computer said it will maintain IT services and develop software for more than 150 applications of Qantas and Tata Consultancy Services it will provide software services to upgrade airport operations and commercial services for the next 7 years.

Source: www.crmbuyer.com ,  November 10 2006.

CCAI Condemns Unions In BPO and Gives Alternative 

The Call Centre Association of India, condemned unions in the BPO industry as it would hamper the industrial efficiency and prosperity. The attrition rate had also grown over the past years hampering the growth again, but in the recent years it has decreased from 48% to 35% and is estimated to below that in the current fiscal year. The CCAI president said instead of unions it is better to have Business proecess industry human asset maintenance forum.

Source: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com , November 19 2006.

Brand Story Raymonds

RAYMONDS

Years ago, when the Singhania family was building, consolidating and expanding its various businesses in Kanpur, one Mr. Wadia was in a similar manner setting up a small woollen mill in the area around Thane creek, 40 kms away from Bombay. The Sassoons, a well-known industrialist family of
Bombay, soon acquired this mill and renamed it as The Raymond Woollen Mills.

Around the same time, the Singhanias aimed to broaden their business horizons. The family’s sharp business foresight led to the acquisition of The Raymond Wollen Mills.

When the grandson of Lala Juggilal, Lala Kailashpat Singhania took over Raymond in 1944, the mill primarily made cheap and coarse woollen blankets, and modest quantities of low priced woollen Fabrics.The vision and foresight of Mr. Kailashpat Singhania greatly helped in establishing the J.K. Group’s presence in the western region. Under his able stewardship, Raymond embarked upon a gradual phase of technological upgradation and modernization; producing woollen Fabrics of a far superior quality.

Under Mr. Gopalakrishna Singhania, the mill became a world-class factory and the Raymond brand became synonymous with fine quality woollen Fabrics

When Dr. Vijaypat Singhania took over the reins of the company in 1980, he injected fresh vigour into Raymond, transforming it into a modern, industrial conglomerate. His son Mr. Gautam Hari Singhania, the present chairman and managing director has been instrumental in restructuring the group. With the divestment of its non-core businesses, the group has emerged stronger, with a more focused approach.

Today, with a 28 million-meter capacity in wool & wool-blended fabrics, Raymond commands an over 60% market share in worsted suiting in
India and ranks amongst the first three fully integrated manufacturers of worsted suiting in the world. Raymond is  perhaps the only company in the world to have a diverse product range of nearly 20,000 design and colours of suiting fabric to suit every age, occasion and style. Raymonds export these to over 50 countries, including USA, Canada, Europe, Japan and the
Middle East.

A 100% subsidiary of Raymond Ltd., Raymond Apparel Ltd. (RAL) ranks amongst
India’s largest and most respected apparel companies. Raymonds provides its customers the best of fabric and style through some of the country’s most prestigious brands- Manzoni, Park Avenue, ColorPlus, Parx, Be: and Zapp. Even as the brand keeps evolving through its cuts, styles, apparels and collections, one thing has remained unchanged over time is the unrelenting pursuit of excellence!

Financial News

Emergency LPG import ordered
After a fire at the Reliance Industries Ltd refinery, the government has decided to order emergency imports of LPG in order to avoid shortfall in cooking gas supplies. Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18 Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan said: “For the next few days the LPG availability maybe difficult but we have already initiated alternate arrangements, the expected shortfall in LPG is tune of 100,000 ton, which will be made up by us through imports.”Earlier in the day, the fire broke out at Reliance Industries Ltd’s Jamnagar refinery in
Gujarat. The refinery has been shut after the fire and is expected to be closed for at least 10 days, an official at the petroleum ministry said.

CEO Nooyi to diversify PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc’s new chief executive, Indra Nooyi, said on Tuesday that the snack Food and Beverage Company’s diverse portfolio would enable it to extend its growth and that she did not see a need for any drastic shift in strategy.She told the audience not to expect drastic changes in strategy as she had been closely involved in formulating the plans over the past five years. PepsiCo includes the Frito-Lay snacks business and Pepsi beverages, the second biggest
US soft drink maker after the Coca-Cola Co.She said over time the company would adjust as circumstances demanded it. The strength of PepsiCo’s portfolio, she said, is built on developing more products for increasingly health-conscious consumers, and introducing more non-cola beverages.The company has diversified beyond its flagship cola products, which have been declining slightly, toward non-carbonated beverages such as Gatorade, Lipton ready-to-drink teas, Aquafina bottled water and its recently acquired Izze sparkling juice drinks.

Videocon to takeover S Korea’s Daewoo
A consortium led by India’s Videocon Industries Ltd has signed an initial contract to buy South Korean consumer electrical goods maker Daewoo Electronics Corp for about $700 million, Daewoo Electronics spokesman Kwon Dae-hoon said. The announcement confirmed a statement made to Dow Jones Newswires by an official at Woori Bank, Daewoo’s creditor bank, that the two sides signed an initial agreement last week and that a formal one would be signed in December after due diligence is conducted.Videocon, along with consortium partner RHJ International SA, a Belgium-based holding company ofUS equity fund Ripplewood Holdings LLC, emerged as the preferred buyer for Daewoo Electronics in September.Creditors, including Woori Bank and Korea Asset Management Corp., who collectively own 97.6 per cent of Daewoo, have been seeking to sell the controlling stake since November of 2005

Tea exports surge as Egypt cuts duty
India’s tea exports to Egypt have surged after the later slashed import duties recently, according to Tea Board Chairman Basudeb Banerjee. India exported one million kg of tea to Egypt in the first six months of 2006 as against 70,000 kg last year, Banerjee said.For the current year till December, the Tea Board is targeting around 3 million kg of exports to
Egypt. The exports to Egypt are expected to increase to 10 million kg in a couple of years, the Tea Board Chairman said.Egypt’s recent duty cut to five per cent for imports from countries outside Africa after lobbying by countries like India largely leveled the competition with major producer
Kenya.

Hello to bright future after Tata bid
Anglo-Dutch company Corus faces a “much brighter future” after the agreed £4.1 billion takeover bid from Tata Steel, a report said on Sunday even as Brazilian steel group CSN appointed top-flight investment bank Lazards to advise on its options for challenging the bid.Also circling is Thyssen Krupp, the German steel giant, which has a market value of £9.4 billion.Severstal, the Russian steel group tipped last week as a predator, is thought to be less likely to intervene because it is busy with its flotation in
London.According to a report in The Sunday Times, Tata is almost certain to withdraw if a bidding war develops. The Indian company is offering 455 pence (nearly Rs 161) a share for Corus. Once Corus’s debt is included, the deal is worth £5.1 billion. Any rival bid will face a tough obstacle in the shape of Corus’s pension trustees.

Commodities

OILSEEDS OUTPUT TO GO ON A DOWNWARD SPIRAL

With a massive one million hectare shrinkage in the total acreage under oilseeds cultivation during the Kharif season, both the edible oil industry and the union agriculture ministry believe that oil seeds output will fall compared to last years

VANILLA RUSTLES UP A NEW COCKTAIL
After ice creams Vanilla is planning to promote cocktail of vanilla ice cream vanilla syrup and a white run to encourage the use of naturall vanilla . Promoting the cocktail will not only encourage the use of natural vanilla but will also help to cut down hard driking.

KERC ANNOUNCES POWER TARRIF TO RURAL AREAS

Extending power tariff to consumers to rural areas Karnataka Electricity Commission has announced that power tariff for consumers in Bangalore remain unchanged. In view of the mixed reactions from consumers Kerc has decided to delay the introduction of company wise tarrifs till next year

Financial News

OUTSOURCING(10-19TH OCT)

HTMT Looks To Tap Tier-II Cities For BPO Operations: 

HTMT part of Hinduja group, sensing the opportunities they, within next 18 months planning to give employment to 3000 people. In future, 40% of India’s total india’s work force is from the tier-II cities. A demerger was being announced with IT/ITeS sector in  US.

Source: The Economics Times   10^th October 2006.

BPO, Lift Wipro Q2 Net to 46%:

A 37% growth in global IT business, 46%net profit rice, giving the company maximum profit. Their BPO  status is considerably improved and customer reinforcing especially when its  moving in the right direction of delivery giving high growth. Resulting the value chain.

Source: The Economic Times 19^th October, 2006.

BPOs Use Web to Stay Nible:

The value chain is moved to increase margins. IBM Daksh have changed its business model to ensure the stability. This increased their revenue to 100%. Dell have launched its Dell Connect  which aim to help and fix customer’s problem.

Source: The Economic Times 16^th October 2006

Bell Canada Outsources Job to Sitel: 

Bell Canada, a telecommunication company have outsourced to Sitel India- third vendor after IBM- Daksh and Sutherland providing 300 employment opportunities.

Source: Business Line 17^th October, 2006.

BRAND STORY- CADBURY

BRAND STORYCADBURY 

The Cadbury story is, covering well over a century and a half. A  small family business developed into an international company combining the most sophisticated technology with the highest standards of quality,  one-man business, opened in 1824 by a young Quaker, John Cadbury, in Bull Street Birmingham, was to be the foundation of Cadbury Limited, now one of the world’s largest chocolate producers. By 1831 the business had changed from a grocery shop and John Cadbury had become a manufacturer of drinking chocolate and cocoa, the start of the Cadbury manufacturing business as it is known today,technical skills and innovation. 

The leader in the
UK confectionery market , Cadbury Limited is the confectionery division of Cadbury Schweppes plc, a major force in the confectionery and soft drinks international market. Quality has been the focus of the Cadbury business from the very beginning, as generations have worked to produce chocolate with the taste, smoothness and snap characteristic of Cadbury chocolate.

Cadbury Limited had a humble growth from scratch in 1824 to a market leader in the
UK confectionery market today.  

CADBURY DIARY MILK
When Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate was first introduced in the early 1900s it made an immediate impact quickly becoming the market leader. The success story has continued. It is still the top selling chocolate brand in the country and the Cadbury Mega Brand’s broad family of products today has an international retail value approaching US$1billion.As an international brand Cadbury Dairy Milk carries the same distinctive image all over the world. Wherever you buy a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk the pack design will be exactly the same, only the language will be different.

The famous slogan “glass and a half of full cream milk in every half pound” with the picture of milk pouring into the chocolate bar, is one of the all-time greats of British advertising.

The first two additions to the Cadbury Megabrand family were Fruit & Nut in 1928 followed by WholeNut in 1933. The family has since been extended and there are now 10 varieties of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars in the rangeIn addition to Cadbury Dairy Milk, Fruit & Nut and WholeNut are two of the best loved varieties of the Cadbury Megabrand.
Australia, for example, offers 23 varieties including Snack, Caramello and Breakaway.

Cadbury Dairy Milk is enjoyed in over 30 countries.

BRAND STORYCADBURY 

 

The Cadbury story is, covering well over a century and a half. A  small family business developed into an international company combining the most sophisticated technology with the highest standards of quality,  one-man business, opened in 1824 by a young Quaker, John Cadbury, in Bull Street Birmingham, was to be the foundation of Cadbury Limited, now one of the world’s largest chocolate producers. By 1831 the business had changed from a grocery shop and John Cadbury had become a manufacturer of drinking chocolate and cocoa, the start of the Cadbury manufacturing business as it is known today,technical skills and innovation. 

The leader in the
UK confectionery market , Cadbury Limited is the confectionery division of Cadbury Schweppes plc, a major force in the confectionery and soft drinks international market. Quality has been the focus of the Cadbury business from the very beginning, as generations have worked to produce chocolate with the taste, smoothness and snap characteristic of Cadbury chocolate.
Cadbury Limited had a humble growth from scratch in 1824 to a market leader in the
UK confectionery market today.  

CADBURY DAIRY MILK
When Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate was first introduced in the early 1900s it made an immediate impact quickly becoming the market leader. The success story has continued. It is still the top selling chocolate brand in the country and the Cadbury Mega Brand’s broad family of products today has an international retail value approaching US$1billion.As an international brand Cadbury Dairy Milk carries the same distinctive image all over the world. Wherever you buy a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk the pack design will be exactly the same, only the language will be different.

The famous slogan “glass and a half of full cream milk in every half pound” with the picture of milk pouring into the chocolate bar, is one of the all-time greats of British advertising.The first two additions to the Cadbury Megabrand family were Fruit & Nut in 1928 followed by WholeNut in 1933. The family has since been extended and there are now 10 varieties of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars in the rangeIn addition to Cadbury Dairy Milk, Fruit & Nut and WholeNut are two of the best loved varieties of the Cadbury Megabrand.
Australia, for example, offers 23 varieties including Snack, Caramello and Breakaway.

Cadbury Dairy Milk is enjoyed in over 30 countries.

www.google-cadburys

Financial News ( Oct 13- 20th , 2004 )

OUTSOURCING (OCT 8-13TH)

 

HCL Squeezing Their Employees:

HCL Technologies is planning to  work  with its Indian software engineers at the same rate as employees in its call centres, and systems integration and technical support divisions. By this the work load is increased to a considerable extent to the employees. The workload conditions recently have become a sensational news as an article  working hours policy came in The Register wchich will  effect the fortunes of the outsourcing industry.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/11/hcl_hours ,11^th October 2006

 

Symantec and Accenture  on ‘Secured’ Outsourcing:

Symantec have announced about hook-up they are planning with outsourcer ,Accenture to capitalise on a lack of security expertise. They believe that with this the networks  in the IT departments will be more secure .Security Transformation Services will dispatch consultants from both firms to customers

Source: http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/10/11/symantec_accenture/  ,11^th October 2006

 

Outsourcing Companies Likely to Increase Their Salaries: 

The outsoucing companies are forced to increase the salaries to prevent the erosion of skilled labour’s. Even though the profits of these companies have increased by 30% their margins are squeezed as they fork out higher salaries to to keep ambitious employees.

 

SOURCE: http://www.informationweek.com/story- Oct 9th .

 

Major Outsourcing Companies in
Bangalore Affected: 

The 12-hour strike, on oct 4^th  caused by political strife led to the shutdown of outsourcing giants in the heart of business community,
Bangalore. Public transportation, schools and most schools were closed, but the outsourcing business continued as most of the work was shifted either to other locales or by telecommuting.

 

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/action - Oct 10th

 

COMPANY NEWS ( Sept 29- Oct 06 )

LENOVO PLANS PLANS TO START LAPTOP MANUFACTURING BASE IN
INDIA. 

The Chinese major is planning to start planning to start laptop manufacturing operation in
India. The manufacturing will begin soon from the IBM’s
Pondicherry plant where the firm already makes desktops, said sources.Lenovo is making sure that it establishes itself well in the Indian market. With the manufacturing of laptop taking place in
India, there will be no effect on prices. Focus was to push for Lenovo’s consumer range of products like PCs and
India emerged as an ideal test market. 

ASHOK
LEYLANDS BUS ASSEMBLY UNIT IN UAE 

Hinduja group flagship Ashok Leyland inked an agreement with Ras Alkhaima

Investment authority (Rakia) based in Ras Alkhaima in UAE for setting up bus assembly unit in the first phase.

 

NISSAN MAY SOURCE COMPONETS FROM
INDIA NEXT YEAR ONWARDS 

Japanese auto major Nissan has chalked out huge sourcing plans from India before taking the plunge in the Indian manufacturing sector .Nissan is planning to source parts like crankshaft, clutch, and various engine and transmission components from
India.

 

TATA STEEL INTENTS TO BUY CORUS GROUP 

Tata Steel is in talks with Corus Group, the Anglo Dutch steel giant, of deal size $8billion-$9 billion.Corus, a public listed company, is the world’s ninth largest steel producer with an annual turnover of 10.1 billion.. There has been a huge buzz around the deal even in international circles.Corus  has manufacturing units in various countries including UK, Netherland,Germany,France ,Norway& Belgium. Earlier known as British steel, the company privatized in late eighties & a decade later it merged with Dutch Steel maker koniklijke Hoogovens to form Corus group. 

NeST TO BUY RPG ESTATE KALIYAR FOR Rs.53 CRORE 

NeST , the Kochi based software to plantation group has entered into an agreement to buy RPG group’s1400-acre Kaliyar Rubber Plantation ,part of Harisons Malayalam for Rs 53 crore.This is seen single largest rubber plantation divestment by the Rs150-crore HML India’s biggest producer. The deal was a direct transaction between the Sanjeev Goenka –headed HML & NeST & no investment banker was involved.

 

 

Source : Economic Times

MERGERS ,ACQUISITIONS AND NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES (Sept 29 - Oct 06 )

TATA STEEL LIKELY TO BUY CORUS

Tata steel, The steel giant in India is about to be in
Indias biggest overseas deal.Tata steel in talks to acquire Anglo Dutch steel giant Crus group. The deal size being in the region of $8billion-$billion.Corus a public listed  company is the worlds ninth largest steel producer with an annual turnover of $10.1million.There has been speculation surrounding consolidation among other steel companies including corus after the merger of Arcelor and Mittal.But Tatasteel has been  expanding through acquisitions .

Corus is the producer of 18 million steel in 2005 which represented approximately 10% of the total European production and positioned company as the ninth largest in the world and the 2nd largest in
Europe. Business engagement in steel and aluminium operates through four divisions. They are strip products, long products, distribution and building systems and aluminium.It has manufacturing divisions in many countries like UK, Netherlands, Germany, France, Norway and
Belgium

Earlier the company was known as British steel and it was privatized in the 80s and after a decade it merged with a Dutch steel maker Koninklijke Hoogovens to form Corus group. It has divested its down stream aluminium business to Aleris international.Tata steel has been to two acquisitions last year and this is going to be a big deal for Tata steel. The earlier acquisitions were in the Asian region. It has acquired the Singapore based Natsteel in 2004 in a cash deal of 1313 crore.Another one was made in Thailand by acquiring
Thailand’s millennium steel.

TATAS BUYING RITZ CARLTON HOTEL

The Indian hotels company (IHCL) which runs hotels and resorts under the Taj brand is buying the
Boston based hotel for $170 million. The deal will be done through its
US subsidiary company International hotel management service. The Ritz Carlton hotel is the oldest continuously operated hotel in the US and is 79 years old and is currently owned by millennium partners. The hotel opened for business in 1927 and was bought by the millennium partners in the year 1999 for $122million.

 Indian hotels owns 75 hotels and and the Tata group had acquired the management of Pierre hotel in Manhattan in July 2005.IHCL is currently in the midst of  boosting it through the acquisitions in markets like the US and Europe and exploring business relationships in the emerging markets.

 Tata group has recently entered into a joint venture with the realty and hospitality   group Sino to tap opportunities in the Far East.Taj and Sino will develop 3 star and 4 star hotels in India, Vietnam and
China.

CINGULAR LAUNCHES SONY ERICSSON W810i Cingular has finally launched the
cellphone Sony Ericcson w810i.

Features of the Sony Ericsson W810i are Quad-band GSM plus EDGE, 176×220 pixel screen with 262k colors, 20MB memory plus Memory Stick Pro Duo card slot (128MB card included) Bluetooth 2.0, Infrared, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0, Infrared, USB 2.0,2 megapixel camera with autofocus .                    SuperX Foundry Networks has launched a new switch family to its 10 Gigabit Ethernet network infrastructure products, the SuperX family of Layer 2/3 compact modular switches. D-link claims the new family of switches offers high Gigabit Ethernet and 10-GbE density per rack, low GbE and 10-GbE price-per-port in a modular switch, wire-speed throughput and forwarding on every port, and a compact form factor that allows installation of up to eight systems per 7-foot rack. The SuperX family has features such as a hot-swappable, standards-based Power over Ethernet upgrade module, and Foundry’s Ironware package of reliability and security features. Preethi, the largest selling mixer-grinder brand in
India, today launched its new range that would lead the company’s pan-India market expansion and was planning to enter into the wet grinder market in the next 12 months.

The first piece of the new product, ‘Preethi Blue Leaf’, was handed over to noted businessman and Vasanth and Company chain of stores owner H V Vasanth Kumar by Mr Vijay Srinivasan, Director, Marketing, Maya Appliances Private Limited, which owns the Preeti Brand.

The new range comes in two models — the Blue Leaf Platinum priced at Rs 3,970 and the Blue Leaf Gold at Rs 3691, and would hit the market during the Deepavali season.                  The SuperX family comprises of hardware-based switching packet processor and switch fabric, Layer 2 features and upgradeability to full Layer 3, a non-blocking architecture, redundant and hot swappable AC/DC power supplies, bandwidth management, traffic monitoring, and security, resiliency and accounting features. The 6 RU-high SuperX family supports up to 128 wire-speed 10-GbE ports, 1632 wire-speed GbE or 10/100/1000 ports, and 1536 wire-speed 10/100/1000 PoE ports per rack. SOURCE– ECONOMIC TIMES, BUSINESS LINE

PERSONALITY QUOTES (Sept 29 -Oct 6)

“Why can’t we make software more robust, more predictable…ummm….like a machine part ..I mean look at an ipod….or …a car- a

Toyota car. it works every time you buy it and it runs.”

Mr.Ramadurai (TCS, CEO) On TCS being the Company of the year

(Economic Times, October-6, 2006)“

 

Bangalore is the largest market form of IT and well diversified in terms of the capability. There is a lot of depth coming in the hardware and chip design areas also.”

Mr. Mohandas Pai (HR Director, INFOSYS)

, On Bangalore still being a destination for IT companies”

(Economic Times, October-6, 2006)

 

“The proposed unit will allow local value addition, close to a growing market for Ashok Leyland, Customers stand to benefit through better finish and timely delivery as we can avoid shipping of finished products. As a strategic window to GCC and other countries, we plan to scale up operations of the unit in phases and envisage its development into a full-fledged assembly unit for complete trucks and buses”

Mr. Seshasayee (MD Ashok Leyland)

,On Ashok Leyland’s bus assembly unit in U.A.E

(Economic Times, October-6, 2006)

 

“Airbus has communicated that they are delaying the deliveries of the aircraft and the first aircraft will now only be delivered only by 2011”

Mr. Vijay Mallya (Chairman, Kingfisher)

On Airbus paying Rs 100 cr to Kingfisher for delivery delay

(Economic Times, October-6, 2006)

Retail finance (oct 2 – 9/2006)

HSBC rolls out loans for low-salaried class Source: Rediff.com 05/10/06 

HSBC, a leading global banking and financial services organization on 4^th October entered the business of small personal loans in
India, charging interest rates of 32-48 % per annum.

                                   HSBC pragati finance the new loan products which aims at people who earned upto Rs. 4000-8000 per month.this scheme is attractively designed with low interest rates aiming at  people who are at the lower end of the spectrum.this product is aimed at taking the competition from players like citifinancial and GE money.

 

Liquidity back as Asian funds fancy equity Source: Business Line

03/10/06

BONDS firmed slightly last week as liquidity returned to the market and on the back of an optimistic outlook on inflation. Anticipating the strengthening of rupee Most of the oil companies stayed away and resorted to leaving some of their foreign exchange positions. This is mainly due to the large scale entry of East Asian portfolio funds into the domestic equity markets.  This had a severe impact on the domestic liquidity. This was in addition to the large interest payouts on special deposit schemes of the government. 

Aviva Life to infuse more capital as per IRDA norms  Source:Economic Times

04/10/2006

AVIVA Life Insurance Company Ltd is expected to bring in more capital over the next few weeks to sustain its high premium growth rate. Dabur group is a 74 per cent stakeholder in the life insurance joint venture. Aviva holds the remaining 26 per cent stake. Aviva’s capital requirements also currently stem from high growth rates it has seen since the beginning of this year. This was because along with premiums, insurable liabilities also tend to rise. Andhra Bank to launch `mobile ATM’  Source: Businessline

05/10/2006

ANDHRA Bank will launch a mobile ATM bus, which will also open its window to customer banking soon, its Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), Mr K. Ramakrishnan has said.A Volvo bus has been acquired for the purpose.the front portion of the bus will have an ATM, while the back portion will be used for customer services, he told newspersons.Stating that this two-in-one facility could be the first by any bank to be launched, Mr Ramakrishnan said, the bus would be parked at different points in the city at defined time. GROUP 8-15A

The Daily Top Stories (oct 3rd to 7th)

 

v    
India  offers
Qatar stake in Petronetü     
India and
Qatar are about  to sign a deal wherein the LNG Gas  flow into
India would increase.ü      The deal Bought a surge in the Petronet LNG Ltd. stock by 20%ü     
Qatar was also invited by ONGC to visit its LNG terminal at Mangalore.ü      Apart from the deal in LNG,
Qatar is looking at investing in energy- related project.

[Source: BusinessLine, Oct. 6, 2006]

                                                v     Oil Companies make profit on petrol sales

ü      Oil companies making a profit of Rs. 1.5 per litre on petrol and are crossing the break even ondiesel.

ü      This profit has come up due to softening of international crude prices.

ü      As on Oct. 3 the Indian crude basket is at $57.02 a barrel

ü      The Finance Minister made it clear that the oil prices will not reduce.

ü      Oil bonds worth Rs.14150cr to be issued to oil marketing companies to clear their loses.

[Source: BusinessLine, Oct. 5, 2006]

 

v     New drug policy in place

ü      From Oct.2 drug companies were to print on the packs detail of MRP inclusive all taxes as per a central ordinance.

ü      Pharma industry is still discussing the proposed changes with the government.

ü      The price of the branded generics like Ciplox are unlikely to drop.

[Source: BusinessLine, Oct. 4, 2006]

 

 

 

v     Tata Retail arm ties up with Wool worths                                            ü      Tata sons set up a wholly owned subsidiary,Infiniti retail ltd,to run croma-it  national,multi brand retail chain. 

ü      Infiniti enters into sourcing agreement with Australian retail company, woolworths ltd 

ü      First store to be launched on oct 9, Mumbai 

ü      Tata sons to invest Rs 400 crore in the venture.

[Source: BusinessLine, Oct. 4, 2006]

 

 

 

 

Hot properties/new inventions (Sep 29-Oct 6)

MUMBAI SALT PAN LAND WILL SOON HIT LAND:(THE ECONOMIC TIMES:05.10.2006)

Huge tracts of privately-owned salt pan land will be made available for redevelopment in mumbai, which is currently facing an acute shortage of land for real estate development, if last week’s Bombay high court order is an indication. Over the 175 acres of saltpan land in Turbhe in Navi Mumbai, which was sold by Mr. thanawala to Lok Housing.

PENTAGON’S ROBOT RACE IS BACK:(THE ECONOMIC TIMES:06.10.2006)

The winners of last year’s Pentagon-sponsored Robot race are back to take on another challenge-this time to develop a vehicle that can drive through congested city traffic al by itself.

NEST TO BUY RPG ESTATE FROM KALIYAR FOR 53 CRORES:(THE ECONOMICS TIMES:05.10.2006)

NeST, the Kochi based software-to-plantation group, has entered into an agreement to buy RPG Group’s 1400 acre Kaliyar Rubber Plantation, part of Harrison’s Malayalam, for Rs. 53 crores. This is seen as the single largest rubber plantation diversement by the Rs. 150-crere HML, India’s biggest producer.

NEW INVENTIONS:(Www.inventors.about.com) ADIDAS-1: The thinking shoes with a built in microprocessor that decides how soft or firm support the wearer needs.

INTEL EXPRESS CHIPSETS: Grantsdale and Alderwood are the code names of Intel’s newest chips that will provide superior and inexpensive built-in sound and video capacities for the pc including the ability to do high definition video editing without additional computer cards.

OUTSOURCING (sept 28th – oct 5th )

ENGINEERING OUTSOURCING THE NEXT SIZZLER

 After tweaking codes, testing software, answering calls and processing documents it’s probably time for India Inc to look at engineering services outsourcing (ESO).

India needs to build a significant manufacturing capability to tap the ESO space. To support the engineering services market

 

India will need about a quarter million engineers by 2020. Despite the hiccups, companies like GM, Intel, Texas Instruments, Daimler Chrysler, are sourcing engineering services from India via captive units or third party providers like Satyam, Wipro and Infosys.

 

SOURCE: Economic Times, 5th October 2006

 

BPO COS NOW FOCUS ON HONING MID-LEVEL SKILLS

 The two words- BPO and training have become almost synonymous with each other in the Indian context. Companies are now beginning to focus on training their mid-level staff in the intricacies of operations. To enhance skill sets, especially in leadership and operations, BPO firms are sending their senior staff to training and certification companies like On Trac and QAI India.

 

SOURCE: Economic Times, 5th October 2006

 

PRUDENTIAL BPO PLANS NEW UNIT

 PPMS, a captive of the UK-based insurance and financial services company prudential, is expanding its India presence and opening new facility in Vikhroli with a capacity of 600 seats. The company will invest around 6 million pound in the new facility, which will be operational by early 2007. As of today, voice contributes only 30% to the total PPMS

India business while the rest comes from the non-voice segment.

 

SOURCE: Economic Times, 5th October 2006

 

VOICE-BASED BPOs MOVE UP THE VALUE CHAIN

 The first step for a call center is to explore other voice-based service activities and this often involves going up the chain. Secondly, businesses across the world have become more comfortable with off shoring. The third driver is competition- both among the clients and the call centers themselves.

 

SOURCE: Economic Times, 5th October 2006

 
BANK-OUTSOURCING

Australia’s St.Gerorge Bank opted for outsourcing their jobs to India.Qantas, National Australia Bank are some of the Aussie jobs that are outsourced.

SOURCE:- BUSINESS LINE ,3rd October 2006

Business Personality(October 6th, 2006 )

Nagawara Ramarao Narayana Murthy Mr. Narayana Murthy is undoubtedly one of the most famous persons in India. He is known not just for building the biggest IT empire in India but also for his simplicity.Mr. Narayana Murthy was born on August 20, 1946 in Karnataka, India. He obtained his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (B.E.) fromUniversity of Mysore in 1967 and his Master of Technology (M.Tech.) from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur in 1969. While working in France in the 1970s, Murthy was strongly influenced by socialism. The bubble was pricked, however, when he was arrested in Bulgaria on espionage charges. Today, he says: “I’m a capitalist in mind, a socialist at heart.” It was this belief in the distribution of wealth that made Infosys one of the first Indian companies to offer employees stock-option plans. Infosys now has 400 employees who are dollar millionaires He founded Infosys in 1981 along with six software professionals. He was the Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor Officer of Infosys. He was a member of the operating system team that designed real time operating system for handling air cargo for Charles de Gaulle airport,Paris. He was the President of National Association of Software and Service Companies from 1992 to 1994. In a poll conducted by Asiaweek, the quiet, soft-spoken man was selected one of the 50 most powerful people in Asia for 2000. And 50 per cent of the respondents in an online poll conducted by The Economic Times voted him the best CEO of India.Mr. Murthy has received several honors and awards:
The ET Businessperson Of The Year Award [2000-2001]
He has been featured in the Asia week Power 50 (June 2000) - a list of
Asia’s Most Powerful People .He has been named by Business Week as one of the Top Entrepreneurs of the Year 1999.
He was chosen as the Business India’s “Businessman of the Year 1999″, the Indian corporate world’s most coveted award.Business Week chose him as one of “The Stars of Asia” for three successive years, in 1998, 1999 and 2000
He has been awarded the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award for 1996-97
He has been conferred with the Distinguished Alumni Award for the year 1998 by the Indian Institute of Technology,Kanpur   He is the Co-Chairman of the Indo-British Partnership.He is a member of the Asia Society’s International Council and Board of Councilors of the University Of Southern California School Of Engineering. He is also on theWharton Business School’s Asian Executive Board.

On Aug 20, 2006 his illustrious corporate career came to an end, IT major Infosys Chairman N R Narayana Murthy retired from the service of the company, which he had launched as a small firm in the city in 1981 and took it to enviable heights in the last two and a half decades. However he would continue as its non executive Chairman.
Murthy, and with him Infosys’ success has inspired a whole new generation to dream big and then work towards attaining those dreams. He and his fellow executives at Infosys have made millions of young Indians believe that they can be as good as any body in the world. In fact today, India has clearly emerged as the best destination for IT outsourcing. Not only that, even businessmen in other sectors have taken a leaf or two out of Murthy’s book, and have catapulted their companies as well as India into the top league of the world’s fastest growing economies Mr. Narayana Murthy will go down in history as the most admired and highly respected icon for many aspiring executives.

REFERENCES:
ECONOMIC TIMES
INDIANINFOLINE.COM

Business Quotes-What they say

October 6th, 2006 by 15c10
What they say – Business Quotes. 1. This is the largest outbound acquisition in the Indian auto component sector.Forus, it is partnering with a well managed group that will help us to stamp our mark in the
US,
Germany and
India.Mr Hemant LuthraPresident, Mahindra systems and technologies sectors.
2. We are excited about the R&D collaboration with clinTec International, as itwill bring a very exciting cancer drug to the market and is step forward in ourefforts to transform ourselves in to a discovery – led global pharmaceuticalcompany.Mr G.V.Prasad, chief operating officer, Dr. Reddy’s 3. Factory outlets have become distinct shopping destination with distinctaudiences. Brand factory will offer brands at discounts and also provide thetreatment and shopping experience that customer deserves.Mr Vishnu Prasad
4. Our retail venture will be a joint venture between either a domestic or anInternational company. The retail venture will not be on a cash-and-carry basis,But a franchisee.Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal - Chairman, Bharti enterprise. 5. Our endeavour has been to build sustainable scale in
India, with a focus ona growing our retail base and garnering quality assets. We try to have a healthymix of equity and debt assets.Mr Vivek Kudwa – President,
Franklin temleton investment (
India)
6. A mature age profile is not wholly negative. Experience is a great assetand the organization doesnot face problems of attrition through resignations.Mr M V Nair – CMD, Union Bank Of
India. 7. One of the first things we decided to leave our egos at home when we go toOffice everyday. When in office, do what is in the best interest of the company.Mr Vikram Shriram – MD, DSCL.
8. Energy activity being a high risk- capital intensive business, we see increasedpotential for tailor made insurance policies. They require large reinsurancecapacity, which GIC is in position to provide.Mr R Chandrasekaran – GM, GIC of
India. 9. Not in terms of APIs but in terms of dosage, we could have some challengefrom
China. But we are far ahead of them in quality.The competion may start10 years or so later.Mr Shailesh Desai – ED, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries.
10.Our founders are people who left other companies to found this one. So wecant have differential rules.T V Mohandas pai, Infosys, HR Chief 11. Being a woman, being a foreign born you’ve got to be smarter than anyoneelse.Indra Nooyi CEO of PepsiCo 12.
India has established beyond argument, through its economic and politicalsuccess, its right to a seat at the top table.David Cameron, British conservative leader13. The world is going to need (software alternative) to
India. Only
China hasenough capital to be able to make a difference.Leonard Liu, CEO, Augmentum

Human Resource Fundas

Human Resource Fundas

Chennai based ECHC Management services pvt: ltd: sings MoU with IRJ Inc Japan

As per the MoU, EHSC would identify Indian talent for Japanese corporations in the field It, bio technology, pharmaceuticals and entry level as well as middle and senior management levels. The first assignment will be recruiting software engineers. The company are also looking at the possibility of setting up a training institute jointly whereby students from Japan could come to
India to imbibe expertise in IT here.(Source: Business Line, Chennai, Sept 20)

Adecco, Tata Institute sign pact

The joint programme is to analyse and understand growth trajectories in the Indian economy, the character of labour force and to bring out the labour market research annual report and quarterly updates. ATLMRI will collect, analyse and disseminate information on trends in labour market continuously, the nature of the skill in demand and the nature of skill set stock and training available. (Source: Business Line, Bangalore, Sept 18)

Be globally competitive, students urged.

In a course of business line club lecture to the management graduates of Sathyabama deemed university Mr. R. Shekar executive VP, Polaris told that most of the Indian workers are not disciplined and not hard working compared to Koreans and Chinese people. He also added that “your boss understands only one thing – results. Sweat in peace today so that you don’t bleed in war tomorrow”. (Source: Business Line, Chennai, Sept 18)

UK prospects waning for Indian nurses

Doors seem to be closing for Indian nurses seeking greener careers in
UK as placement agencies have stopped recruitment. There is a global shortage of nurses. ( Source: Business Line , Mumbai, Sept 18 )

ERA meet on job opportunities

Executive recruiters association has come with a major event here on Sep 15^th and the focus of the conference would be on “BRIC countries and Europe-employment scenario”. The TCS and IEG are the lead sponsors for the conference.( Source: Business Line Hyderabad, Sept 18)

SumTotal software chosen as trend setting

SumTotal system, a learning software technology provider has designated its

Suite 7.2

as a trend setting product. The software enhances the performance management process and integrates learning activities. It also helps managers to spend less time in writing appraisals and more time in pin pointing how to bulk up employee skill. (Source: Business Line  Hyderabad, Sept 07)

Demand for Indian knowledge workers in Netherlands

There is a huge demand for knowledge workers from India to work in Netherlands in industries such as IT, communication, biotech etc. Netherlands offer an easy gateway for Indian exports. Netherlands also relaxed its regulations to attract knowledge workers from India since then about 160 visas has been issued.

( Source: Business Line Chennai, Sept 07)

Politics Global Review

CHAVEZ CALLS BUSH A DEVIL

Few days before venenuzulean president made an interesting remark about bush by mentioning us president qs a devil, a liar, a tyrant apart from that the most intriguing comment about the us president is evident from the following quote
“Yesterday the devil came here and this place still smells of sulphur’’
“He came here talking as if he were the owner of the world.
In a warmly applaude speech he often attributed bush to us intellectual wall Noam chamsy, Greek Philosopher Aristotle and filmmaker Alfred hitch cock
In view of this Washington considers Mr Chavez a close ally of ciommunist cuba, but the most surprising thing is that us is a major consumer of venezuelion soil.
Source- The Hindu Septembr-21

We wont hesitate to send troops to Pakistan for osama Bush

Us president George bush told that he would never hesitate to send its troops to hunt for osama if there was sustainable information about his location .Contrary to this pervez made it clear that he would not allow the sovernity of his country to be breached by the us . Inorder to substantiate this statement he made a quote by saying “We will do it ourselves, we are able to do everything Wherever we locate anybody there have been many occasions where we have located al queda or Taliban activity and we have struck with full force very successful,,Now the big question is that whether the us pak meeting will be successful or not.Source The Hindu September-22
Regardless of who comes to power in the white house
There will be a breakdown in us Russian relations over the coming years as if Washington will try to prompted a change in Russia , weaken Russians energy poor and undermine its positions in the former soviet union.
Source-hindu September-23

Politics Global Review

CHAVEZ CALLS BUSH A DEVIL

Few days before venenuzulean president made an interesting remark about bush by mentioning us president qs a devil, a liar, a tyrant apart from that the most intriguing comment about the us president is evident from the following quote
“Yesterday the devil came here and this place still smells of sulphur’’
“He came here talking as if he were the owner of the world.
In a warmly applaude speech he often attributed bush to us intellectual wall Noam chamsy, Greek Philosopher Aristotle and filmmaker Alfred hitch cock
In view of this Washington considers Mr Chavez a close ally of ciommunist cuba, but the most surprising thing is that us is a major consumer of venezuelion soil.
Source- The Hindu Septembr-21

We wont hesitate to send troops to Pakistan for osama Bush

Us president George bush told that he would never hesitate to send its troops to hunt for osama if there was sustainable information about his location .Contrary to this pervez made it clear that he would not allow the sovernity of his country to be breached by the us . Inorder to substantiate this statement he made a quote by saying “We will do it ourselves, we are able to do everything Wherever we locate anybody there have been many occasions where we have located al queda or Taliban activity and we have struck with full force very successful,,Now the big question is that whether the us pak meeting will be successful or not.Source The Hindu September-22
Regardless of who comes to power in the white house
There will be a breakdown in us Russian relations over the coming years as if Washington will try to prompted a change in Russia , weaken Russians energy poor and undermine its positions in the former soviet union.
Source-hindu September-23