ASBM Business
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ASIAN
BUSINESS
Business leaders from Asian countries met here Wednesday and resolved to promote new, and buttress
existing, Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and Free Trade Agreements
(FTAs) within the region towards creating a Free Trade Area for the Asia Pacific (FTAAP).
Industry leaders from countries including India,
China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea and the Phillipines met over two
days for the fourth edition of the Asian Business Summit (ABS), hosted here by
the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
"We discussed how to increase economic
integration. The EPAs and FTAs would bind the Asian economies together for
expanded trade in goods and services and greater investment flows," Wang
Jinzhen, vice chairman, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade
(CCPIT), told reporters at the end of the summit.
Wang added that in a context where the WTO Doha
Round of negotiations had not made much progress on FTAs, he saw no
contradictions between regional agreements of the kind Asia was looking for and
multilateral arrangements.
The ABS deliberates on key issues facing Asian
economies, identify new cross-border partnership opportunities and prepare a
roadmap for the region's economic progress.
The summit also called for deeper regional fiscal
and monetary cooperation. "We discussed ways to go towards Asia-Pacific
economic integration by 2020," said Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of
Keidanren and Sumitomo Chemicals, Japan.
For the Asian region with a combined GDP of $20
trillion and population of 3.4 billion, the continent's energy demand as well
as environmental consequences figured as a key issue.
"We discussed where the energy is going to come
from and how we can save on energy," said Vikram Kirloskar, vice chairman,
Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
The next ABS meeting is to take place in the
Phillipines.
Asian
stocks rose on Tuesday after China's central bank injected funds into money markets for
the first time since February, while the dollar index edged up from a five-week low as investors
positioned for the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.
MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan erased early losses and
eked out a slight gain. A weaker yen helped Tokyo's Nikkei share average push into positive territory, and a
spate of mixed Japanese economic data also contained some bright spots.
China's
central bank injected funds into money markets via its open market operations,
helping alleviate fears of another cash crunch ahead of the month end after a
severe cash squeeze in late June that caused market panic and knocked shares
lower.
The
Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose
0.7%.
"The PBOC (People's Bank of China) cash injection was a positive
today, but I don't think it will be anything more than a short-term lift for
the Chinese banking sector," said Linus Yip, a strategist at First
Shanghai Securities.
BANKING
Some banks are in discussion to introduce voice
biometrics as an option for authenticating phone banking. For banks, the
main attraction of voice authentication is that this does not require
deployment of infrastructure — unlike in the case of fingerprint or iris recognition
— as mobile phones are widely available.
Banks are in talks with Nuance, a US company specializing in voice recognition and whose technology powers Apple and BlackBerry phones. While phones use speech recognition which is still evolving, voice recognition is a different technology altogether and more reliable than using PIN, according to Advait Deshpande, senior product manager (biometrics and security), Nuance Communications.
"A voiceprint is a hashed string of numbers and characters that represent how specific an individual's voice rates on a host of characteristics being measured. As such, a compromised voiceprint has no value to a hacker. It cannot be used to authenticate a system, nor can it be used to reverse-engineer someone's voice," said Deshpande.
"Globally, Nuance has several customers that have deployed voice biometrics commercially. In India, we are in talks with leading financial institutions and telecom companies for deploying voice biometrics."
Banks are in talks with Nuance, a US company specializing in voice recognition and whose technology powers Apple and BlackBerry phones. While phones use speech recognition which is still evolving, voice recognition is a different technology altogether and more reliable than using PIN, according to Advait Deshpande, senior product manager (biometrics and security), Nuance Communications.
"A voiceprint is a hashed string of numbers and characters that represent how specific an individual's voice rates on a host of characteristics being measured. As such, a compromised voiceprint has no value to a hacker. It cannot be used to authenticate a system, nor can it be used to reverse-engineer someone's voice," said Deshpande.
"Globally, Nuance has several customers that have deployed voice biometrics commercially. In India, we are in talks with leading financial institutions and telecom companies for deploying voice biometrics."
With nearly twice of the all-India average in credit
penetration, the four southern States are presently leading the financial
inclusion drive in the country.
A new index on financial inclusion released by
ratings firm CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services of India
Limited) reveals that the number of loan accounts per lakh of population
in the southern States stands at 17,142. However, this healthy figure can be
easily offset by the under-penetration of formal banking facilities in most
parts of the country just one in two Indians has a savings account, and only
one in seven Indians have access to banking credit!
Moreover, the bottom 50 scoring districts have just
two per cent of the country’s bank branches.
The index measures financial inclusion on a scale of
1 to 100, with 100 signalling that an entire population has access to banking
services. The report states that developed states like Gujarat and
Maharashtra lag behind the national average of 40.1 when it comes to financial
inclusion; ultimately resulting in a loss to the Indian GDP of nearly one per
cent due to lack of financial inclusion.
The southern region has raced ahead across all three
dimensions of financial inclusion — branch penetration, deposit penetration,
and credit penetration
“The governments of the southern States ensured
financial inclusion through adopting e-governance and electronic transfer of
welfare payments. Higher levels of literacy in these States have also led to
easier adoption and better awareness about banking services. Higher number of
bank branches has played its role in increasing the reach,”
explains Mujahid Ahsan, Vice President (Products), FINO PayTech
Limited.
FINO PayTech is an implementing agency that works
with banking and microfinance institutions to provide the last-mile
connectivity through Banking Correspondents (BC).
BUSINESS
The e-filing of income tax returns has crossed the
one crore mark with the maximum of such filings done by the salaried class of
taxpayers. In a latest data released by the Central Processing Centre (CPC) of
the I-T department based in Bangalore, a total of 1,03,21,775 e-returns were
filed by taxpayers till July 31, which is quite less than the over 2 crore
e-filing numbers filed during the financial year 2012-13.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the
administrative authority of the Income Tax department, has recently enhanced
the last date for filing of I-T returns, both manual and e-filed, to August 5
for the 2013-14 fiscal. A total of 57,81,252 people under the salaried class
filed their e-returns till July 31 through the Internet which is also less than
the over 64 lakh figure filed by salaried taxpayers during the same period last
year. "The Income Tax department and the CBDT are aiming to encourage more
and more taxpayers to file online returns.
India's fourth largest software services exporter
HCL Technologies today reported 41.6 per cent rise in consolidated net profit
at Rs 1,209.6 crore for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2013.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 854.1
crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing. Its consolidated
revenues rose by 17.3 per cent to Rs 6,944.2 crore in the April-June period as
against Rs 5,919.1 is the same period of previous year.
The firm follows July-June as the fiscal year.
Commenting on the performance, HCL Technologies
Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer Shiv Nadar said: "FY'13 results have
demonstrated significant business momentum, non-linearity and record customer
satisfaction."
For the full year ended June 30, 2013, its net
profit was up by 62.3 per cent at Rs 4,098.9 crore against Rs 2,526 crore in
previous fiscal. While revenues rose by 22.4 per cent to Rs 25,733.7 crore
against Rs 21,031.2 crore.
"An exceptional growth of 22 per cent during
the Financial Year has propelled HCL's revenue past the Rs 25,000 crore
milestone. HCL continues to lead the industry in profitable growth, with seven
successive quarters of Net Income Margin expansion, having reported 62 per cent
growth in Net Income this year," HCL Technologies President & CEO
Anant Gupta said.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
An advanced laser system offering incredibly faster
data speeds to link with spacecraft beyond the Earth has successfully passed a
crucial ground test, scientists say.
European Space Agency ESA's observatory in Spain will use the laser to communicate with a NASA Moon orbiter later this year.
The laboratory testing paves the way for a live space demonstration in October, once NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) begins orbiting the Moon.
LADEE carries a terminal that can transmit and receive pulses of laser light. ESA's Optical Ground Station on Tenerife will relay data at unprecedented rates using infrared light beams at a wavelength similar to that used in fiber-optic cables on Earth.
"The testing went as planned, and while we identified a number of issues, we'll be ready for LADEE's mid-September launch," said Zoran Sodnik, manager for ESA's Lunar Optical Communication Link project.
"Our ground station will join two NASA stations communicating with the LADEE Moon mission, and we aim to demonstrate the readiness of optical communication for future missions to Mars or anywhere else in the Solar System," Sodnik said.
The testing took place in July at a Zurich, Switzerland, facility owned by ESA's industrial partner RUAG and made use of a new detector and decoding system, a ranging system and a transmitter.
A NASA team brought over their laser terminal simulator, while ESA together with RUAG and Axcon of Denmark set up the European equipment to test compatibility between the two sets of hardware.
"This interagency optical compatibility test was the first of its kind, and it established the uplink, downlink and the ranging measurement," said ESA's Klaus-Juergen Schulz, responsible for ground station systems at the European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt.
Laser communications at near-infrared wavelengths may be the way of the future when it comes to downloading massive amounts of data from spacecraft orbiting Earth, Mars or even more distant planets, researchers said.
European Space Agency ESA's observatory in Spain will use the laser to communicate with a NASA Moon orbiter later this year.
The laboratory testing paves the way for a live space demonstration in October, once NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) begins orbiting the Moon.
LADEE carries a terminal that can transmit and receive pulses of laser light. ESA's Optical Ground Station on Tenerife will relay data at unprecedented rates using infrared light beams at a wavelength similar to that used in fiber-optic cables on Earth.
"The testing went as planned, and while we identified a number of issues, we'll be ready for LADEE's mid-September launch," said Zoran Sodnik, manager for ESA's Lunar Optical Communication Link project.
"Our ground station will join two NASA stations communicating with the LADEE Moon mission, and we aim to demonstrate the readiness of optical communication for future missions to Mars or anywhere else in the Solar System," Sodnik said.
The testing took place in July at a Zurich, Switzerland, facility owned by ESA's industrial partner RUAG and made use of a new detector and decoding system, a ranging system and a transmitter.
A NASA team brought over their laser terminal simulator, while ESA together with RUAG and Axcon of Denmark set up the European equipment to test compatibility between the two sets of hardware.
"This interagency optical compatibility test was the first of its kind, and it established the uplink, downlink and the ranging measurement," said ESA's Klaus-Juergen Schulz, responsible for ground station systems at the European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt.
Laser communications at near-infrared wavelengths may be the way of the future when it comes to downloading massive amounts of data from spacecraft orbiting Earth, Mars or even more distant planets, researchers said.
BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
The broadcaster expects its advertising revenues to
jump by 20 per cent year on year next month as BT tries to lure customers away
from Sky with the promise of English Premiership football matches.
Comparisons will also be flattered by last year’s
Olympics Games, when spending on advertising dried up as the BBC mopped up
viewers due to wall-to-wall sports coverage.
News of the expected boost to advertising came as
ITV yesterday unveiled a 16 per cent rise in half-year profits to £270 million,
on the back of a 2 per cent rise in turnover to £1.3 billion.
Investec Securities analyst Steve Liechti said that
the half-year figures were “fine or slightly above forecast”.
ITV has continued to diversify in an attempt to
reduce its reliance on advertising.
The FTSE 100 group has bought a string of production
companies, including last week snapping up Big Talk, the maker of films such as
Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End and
television series including Black Books, Friday Night Dinner
and Rev.
Meanwhile, BT has unveiled plans to split its retail
division into BT Consumer and BT Business as part of a shake-up that will
follow the retirement in September of Scots-born chief executive Ian
Livingston.
FINANCE
The finance
ministry wants to use its bank capitalisation plan to buy beaten- down
shares of state-run banks, shunning the idea of asking banks to come out with
rights issue to leverage
this capital more.
Subsequently, when the market picks up, the
government could divest the excess stake or allow banks to raise capital from
the market. The government has budgeted Rs 14,000 crore towards bank
captilisation programme in the current year. The finance ministry had earlier
directed banks to submit their capital requirements along with plans to raise
money through alternate resources.
A senior finance ministry official told ET that the
government will capitalise state-run banks through preference share allotment
which will be done by this month end.
"Banking stocks are at an
all-time low. Our holding will increase if we directly infuse capital through
preferential allotment of shares. Banks can explore other routes when
conditions are conducive and the government will also get better return on its
stake dilution," the official explained. Already some banks like Bank of
Maharashtra have indicated to the finance ministry that they are not in a
position to go ahead with their fund-raising plans through the qualified
institutional placement route.
In the last one month, the NSE's banking index CNX Bank has
fallen 13.4%, against a 2.9% fall in the Nifty over the same
period, because of the liquidity tightening measures taken by the RBI to curb
speculation in the Indian currency.
"We believe once these temporary measures by
RBI to rein in currency fluctuation are rolled back and there is some easing of
monetary policy, it will make more sense for banks to tap the markets,"
the official said, adding that the five banks where the government hold more
than 75% stake will be asked to evaluate their options.
The finance ministry has proposed that up to 49 per
cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail be allowed by the
automatic route.
Last September, the government permitted foreign
supermarkets in India by allowing up to 51 per cent FDI, subject to government
approval. The cabinet is set to review FDI norms in multi-brand retail on
Thursday.
On July 24, commenting on the cabinet note moved by
the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), the finance
ministry proposed that "FDI up to 49 per cent is allowed on automatic
route".
The DIPP has declined to tweak the cabinet proposal
saying this was not on the agenda of the July 16 meeting chaired by the Prime
Minister, at which fresh FDI limits were decided. It was also not part of the
suggestions put forward by the Arvind Mayaram committee.
Sources, however, said the panel headed by Economic
Affairs Secretary Mayaram had recommended that the FDI limit be raised to 49
per cent in almost all sectors through the automatic route, with 74 per cent
FDI in multi-brand retail trading by the government approval route.
"The finance min'stry's proposal could get
support from the Planning Commission," an official said. The planning
commission is yet to submit its response to the DIPP proposal. The departments
of commerce, consumer affairs and agriculture & cooperation too haven't
given their responses. They have been asked to put forward their views at the
cabinet meeting.
INDIA BUSINESS
At least two dozen American companies and industry
groups are lobbying hard with the US lawmakers on issues related to
their Indian business interests and bilateral trade issues between the two
countries, even as retail giant Walmart has halted such activities.
According to latest lobbying disclosure reports filed with the US Senate and the House of Representatives, Pfizer, IBM, Boeing, Dow Chemicals, Yum Brands and Colgate Palmolive are among the major companies that lobbied with the US lawmakers in the second quarter on issues related to India.
Besides, a host of business chambers and industry bodies including those representing US companies in sectors like pharma, telecom, information technology and dairy, have also disclosed having lobbied on India-related issues.
The lobbying issues for these companies and groups in the last quarter included issues related to intellectual property, patent, market access, trade and investment issues related to their individual businesses, as also the bilateral treaties and trade issues between the US and India.
While many of these entities have been lobbying for many quarters on Indian issues to seek the support of the US lawmakers on their business interests in India, the world's largest supermarket chain operator Walmart surprisingly halted its lobbying on India-focussed issues in the last quarter.
A probe was earlier ordered by Indian government into Walmart's US lobbying for its India entry and the probe report is likely to be presented before the Parliament next month.
According to latest lobbying disclosure reports filed with the US Senate and the House of Representatives, Pfizer, IBM, Boeing, Dow Chemicals, Yum Brands and Colgate Palmolive are among the major companies that lobbied with the US lawmakers in the second quarter on issues related to India.
Besides, a host of business chambers and industry bodies including those representing US companies in sectors like pharma, telecom, information technology and dairy, have also disclosed having lobbied on India-related issues.
The lobbying issues for these companies and groups in the last quarter included issues related to intellectual property, patent, market access, trade and investment issues related to their individual businesses, as also the bilateral treaties and trade issues between the US and India.
While many of these entities have been lobbying for many quarters on Indian issues to seek the support of the US lawmakers on their business interests in India, the world's largest supermarket chain operator Walmart surprisingly halted its lobbying on India-focussed issues in the last quarter.
A probe was earlier ordered by Indian government into Walmart's US lobbying for its India entry and the probe report is likely to be presented before the Parliament next month.
Multinational buildings material producer Holcim has
released plans to simplify its structure in India by merging Holcim India with
its subsidiary Ambuja Cements. Both Holcim's Indian subsidiaries, Ambuja and
ACC, have seen net profits fall in the second quarter of 2013.
Holcim intends to increase its shares in Ambuja to
61.39% and Ambuja will acquire Holcim's 50.01% stake in ACC. Both Ambuja and
ACC will continue to operate as separately with their own brands. However, the
restructuring will allow for closer back-end cooperation between the companies
as well as simplifying the group structure.
"This transaction further improves Holcim's
holding structure in India, strengthens the platform for future growth and is
expected to generate synergy benefits of US$150m/yr. These benefits, which will
be realised in a phased manner over two years, will be shared by both companies
equally through supply chain, shared services and fixed costs optimisation. The
transaction is expected to be neutral on Holcim's EPS in the first full year
following the completion of the transaction and accretive thereafter,"
said Holcim CEO Bernard Fontana.
In a two stage deal, Ambuja will first acquire,
through a purchase, a 24% stake in Holcim India for a cash consideration of
around US$600m, followed by a stock merger between Holcim India and Ambuja. As
part of the merger, Holcim will receive 584 million new equity shares in Ambuja
resulting in an increase of its ownership in Ambuja from the current 50.55% to
61.39%.
The transaction is subject to Ambuja's shareholder
and regulatory approvals in India.
INSURANCE
Private non-life insurer Reliance General Insurance Company Thursday launched a new health insurance
plan, Reliance HealthGain, to meet the healthcare needs of women.
"Our assessment indicates that about 20 per
cent of workforce in India is women and out of which only 10 per cent (2 per
cent) end up having healthcare protection on their own. We have made an effort
to encourage them to take health coverage by incentivising their inclusion in
our new plan," said Rakesh Jain, CEO.
The first-of-its-kind health insurance plan provides
special pricing benefits to single women, widows and divorcees.
The product comes with wide range of sum insured.
The policy can be renewed till the customer desires with no exit age.
"We are extending pricing benefits on the total
family premium in case a family decides to add a girl child in the policy. This
is our small effort to welcome a girl child in the family," said Jain.
According to a company statement, the policy
automatically gets extended for one year without charging any premium in the
event of insured policyholder getting diagnosed with a specified critical
illness like cancer, stroke and others.
"HealthGain plan brings unique policy service
guarantee that will entitle the customer additional monetary/coverage benefits
if for some reason the company is unable to fulfill its commitments on policy
and claims servicing within the agreed time" said Jain.
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
With the
hottest weather and highest power demand on record in Shanghai, BrightSource
Energy, Inc., a leading concentrating solar thermal power technology (CSP)
company, announced that it has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with
the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) and the China Renewable Energy
Engineering Institute (CREEI). Additionally, BrightSource will amend an
existing MOU with CPI’s subsidiary, Huanghe Hydropower Development Co, to guide
its cooperation with CPI and Huanghe. The MOUs were signed at the U.S.-China
Renewable Energy Industry Forum in Shanghai, which is hosted by the US
Department of Energy (DOE) and the Chinese National Energy Administration
(NEA). The Forum is held annually under the U.S.-China Framework for the
Ten-Year Cooperation on Energy and Environment.
“The
global market for CSP is expanding at a rapid pace and that is especially true
in China,” said David Ramm, BrightSource Executive Chairman. “BrightSource
looks forward to working with our partners in China to execute these MOU’s. In
doing so, we will work to help establish industry best practices and grow a
vibrant market for CSP.”
Under the
MOU with CPI, BrightSource will be the technology supplier for the first
commercial scale CSP project as part of the U.S.-China Framework. The company
was selected based on its experience with the development of the Ivanpah Solar
Energy Generating System in California. The project with CPI will be configured
to meet local conditions and requirements of China’s grid for stable and
dispatchable output. Huanghe will be the leader for development, construction
and operation of the project. BrightSource and Huanghe will collaborate to
complete the project in accordance with their amended MOU.
LOGISTICS
India's logistics sector is likely to cross the USD
200 billion by 2020, Minister
of State for Road Transport Sarvey Sathyanarayana said today.
"The connectivity and the convenience in operations
is the key for sustaining the global trade
growth. Currently India's logistics sector is valued at around USD 125 billion
and is likely to cross the USD 200 billion by 2020," he said at a CII
conference today.
He added that the government's increased spending on
infrastructural development and encouraging involvements of private players in
key projects through public-private partnership (PPP) are catalysing growth.
The Logistics sector is projected to grow at 10 to
12 per cent for the next 3 years. Generating skilled manpower, technology
implementation and improving the infrastructure are the most needed support to
the sector.
"I am sure collectively we should be able to
address all the needs," the minister said.
The two-day logistics conference is aimed at
exploring the changing supply
chain management (SCM) landscape and the changes needed to meet the
evolving requirements of the future.
MARKETING
Los Angeles Internet marketing company, Avital Web, is
offering comprehensive online marketing and advertising solutions for business
owners, websites and individuals. The right Internet marketing campaign will
address a number of on- and off-site aspects that are designed to enhance
visibility and draw highly targeted traffic.
Website design can play a major role in Internet
marketing. Avital Web, skilled Internet marketing company, offers website and
mobile web design services that are geared towards creating an attractive and
easy-to-use website. Online marketing is about far more than visually appealing
graphics and well-presented content, however. Link-building campaigns that
focus on quality can build a site's authority with both readers and search
engines while search engine optimization can help create a site that is easy to
search for and rises to the top of the search results.
Blog writing, e-newsletters and email campaigns can
give site owners an opportunity to connect more personally with their readers
and provide special deals and opportunities, which can stimulate interest and
increase traffic. Social media marketing works similarly and helps site owners
build relationships with current and potential clients and can provide them
with another platform to share information about company news, sales and
exciting promotions.
ODISHA BUSINESS
Though 2,700 acres were acquired for the proposed
mega steel plant by Posco near here, resentment seems to be brewing among
locals who felt the administration had adopted a dilly-dally approach on issues
of compensation, rehabilitation and peripheral development.
Alleging neglect by the district administration of Jagatsinghpur, irate people had damaged a machine meant for preliminary construction work and detained one person recently. A case has been registered in local Bijayachandrapur police station, police said today.
Jagatsinghpur district collector S K Mallick had recently announced that land acquisition had been completed with government taking possession of 2,700 acres. Altogether 1,116 betel vines were dismantled and Rs 16 crore paid as compensation for betel vines, Rs 1.15 crore for farm land, Rs 1.10 crore and Rs 3.50 crore for tree felling respectively.
Denying any use of force during the exercise, the district collector said today, "We have acquired land from the people who were willing."
Besides, it was assured that those who lost their betel vines and labourers working there would be paid Rs 4,500 and Rs 2,250 per month respectively till permanent solution for their rehabilitation was made.
However, after land acquisition there is no sight of any senior district official in the area nor any concrete effort to address the problems facing people, project protagonist Jeebanlal Behera of Gadakujanga alleged.
Alleging neglect by the district administration of Jagatsinghpur, irate people had damaged a machine meant for preliminary construction work and detained one person recently. A case has been registered in local Bijayachandrapur police station, police said today.
Jagatsinghpur district collector S K Mallick had recently announced that land acquisition had been completed with government taking possession of 2,700 acres. Altogether 1,116 betel vines were dismantled and Rs 16 crore paid as compensation for betel vines, Rs 1.15 crore for farm land, Rs 1.10 crore and Rs 3.50 crore for tree felling respectively.
Denying any use of force during the exercise, the district collector said today, "We have acquired land from the people who were willing."
Besides, it was assured that those who lost their betel vines and labourers working there would be paid Rs 4,500 and Rs 2,250 per month respectively till permanent solution for their rehabilitation was made.
However, after land acquisition there is no sight of any senior district official in the area nor any concrete effort to address the problems facing people, project protagonist Jeebanlal Behera of Gadakujanga alleged.
Decks have been cleared for commencement of
construction of Odisha's first geo-synthetic-tube seawall project to tame
the marauding sea, officials said.
The Rs 33 crore project will arrest sea erosion along Pentha coast in Kendrapara district.
Geo-tubes made up of high grade rexin and filled with sand would be put in place at the erosion-hit Pentha embankment. The sand filled rexin bags would act as protective barrier against tidal waves. It would absorb the tidal ingress and salinity contents in sea water and stop the erosion of embankment, Executive Engineer, saline embankment division, Jugal Kishore Tripathy said.
Pune-based Garware Wall Ropes Ltd has been awarded a contract for the project. Work would start shortly and would be completed by October 2014, they said.
The much-delayed project being implemented under World Bank-funded Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) would protect vulnerable villages from sea erosion in Rajnagar block of Kendrapara district.
The foundation of the project worth Rs 15 crore had been laid down by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in 2008. However, technical modification of the plan and delay in floating the global tender led to delay in the project leading to cost escalation, said officials.
IIT, Chennai has already given go-ahead to the project after scientific and morphological study of the sea coast.
"The project has got delayed due to unavoidable reasons. The technical findings of IIT Chennai were re-examined by the state water resources department. After that contract was given to the Pune based firm, work would start within a fortnight," Tripathy said.
The Rs 33 crore project will arrest sea erosion along Pentha coast in Kendrapara district.
Geo-tubes made up of high grade rexin and filled with sand would be put in place at the erosion-hit Pentha embankment. The sand filled rexin bags would act as protective barrier against tidal waves. It would absorb the tidal ingress and salinity contents in sea water and stop the erosion of embankment, Executive Engineer, saline embankment division, Jugal Kishore Tripathy said.
Pune-based Garware Wall Ropes Ltd has been awarded a contract for the project. Work would start shortly and would be completed by October 2014, they said.
The much-delayed project being implemented under World Bank-funded Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) would protect vulnerable villages from sea erosion in Rajnagar block of Kendrapara district.
The foundation of the project worth Rs 15 crore had been laid down by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in 2008. However, technical modification of the plan and delay in floating the global tender led to delay in the project leading to cost escalation, said officials.
IIT, Chennai has already given go-ahead to the project after scientific and morphological study of the sea coast.
"The project has got delayed due to unavoidable reasons. The technical findings of IIT Chennai were re-examined by the state water resources department. After that contract was given to the Pune based firm, work would start within a fortnight," Tripathy said.
RETAIL
India relaxed sourcing and investment rules for the
retail sector on Thursday in a renewed attempt to attract foreign supermarket
chains such as Wal-Mart Stores and Tesco.
Foreign companies have been keen to enter India's $500 billion retail market since the country allowed foreign investment in its supermarket sector in September 2012 but ambiguity around entry rules has kept them away.
The issue remains politically controversial because of worries that millions of small shopkeepers could go out of business and India has so far not received a single application from any global retailer.
A previously announced rule that foreign chains must source 30 per cent of their products locally when they enter had been a major sticking point.
In the new announcement, the government retained the 30 per cent sourcing requirement but said it can be met over a period of five years initially and after that it has to be met on an annual basis.
It also said that global chains will only have to invest 50 per cent of an "initial" mandatory investment of $100 million in setting up cold storages and warehouses as against the earlier policy, which said half of the entire investment by foreign chains in India had to be in building back-end infrastructure.
"The new rules have removed some major stumbling blocks and should encourage foreign retailers to enter India," said Devangshu Dutta, who heads retail consultancy Third Eyesight.
"Although most retailers are still likely to wait for the outcome of the elections next year before they make a decision," he added.
Foreign companies have been keen to enter India's $500 billion retail market since the country allowed foreign investment in its supermarket sector in September 2012 but ambiguity around entry rules has kept them away.
The issue remains politically controversial because of worries that millions of small shopkeepers could go out of business and India has so far not received a single application from any global retailer.
A previously announced rule that foreign chains must source 30 per cent of their products locally when they enter had been a major sticking point.
In the new announcement, the government retained the 30 per cent sourcing requirement but said it can be met over a period of five years initially and after that it has to be met on an annual basis.
It also said that global chains will only have to invest 50 per cent of an "initial" mandatory investment of $100 million in setting up cold storages and warehouses as against the earlier policy, which said half of the entire investment by foreign chains in India had to be in building back-end infrastructure.
"The new rules have removed some major stumbling blocks and should encourage foreign retailers to enter India," said Devangshu Dutta, who heads retail consultancy Third Eyesight.
"Although most retailers are still likely to wait for the outcome of the elections next year before they make a decision," he added.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Supply
Chain Services, LLC today announced an agreement with Giardino Enterprises
(“GE”), owner of the Giardino Gourmet Salad restaurant chain in South Florida,
to provide supply chain management services for all Giardino Gourmet Salad
restaurants.
Giardino
is an up-and-coming brand in the U.S. that was recognized by the Fast Casual
magazine in May 2013, as one of the top fast casual concepts this year. SCS
will develop a customized supply chain strategy for the Giardino brand, as well
as provide day-to-day management of the chain’s food, packaging and smallwares
purchasing and distribution activities.
SCS
General Manager Steve Pattison said, “We are excited to partner with Giardino
Gourmet Salads, a pioneer in the fast casual salad and healthy food segment.
Our shared savings model is a compelling option for our clients. As their
purchasing agency of record, we provide professional supply chain management
and our fee is a share of the savings we generate. Clients do not have to pay
out-of-pocket for our services. It’s a win-win situation.”
As Kenny
Lugo of Giardino explains, “Our partnership with SCS will help us improve the
unit economics of our restaurant concept; driving lower food costs and helping
us deliver higher profitability for our operators.”
_______________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 5th, 6th and 9th Aug 2013
We welcome your suggestions in improving this information updating service.
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Compilation
Sabita Sahu
Sabita Sahu
Junior Librarian
Concept, Layout and
Editing
Syamaghana Mohanty
Chief Librarian
Chief Librarian
Information and
Documentation Division, Chanakya Central Library
Asian School of
Business Management
Shiksha Vihar Bhola,
Barang Khurda Road,
Chandaka
Bhubaneswar-754012
Tel:0674-2374832, 2374833
E-mail:library@asbm.ac.in, chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in
Sabita Sahu :Junior Librarian and Syamaghana Mohanty : Chief Librarian, Knowledge and Information Services Unit, Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar. chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in ; www.asbm.ac.in
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