Looking beyond hydel Power

With the scope of establishing more hydel projects in the state turning remote and  the power needs soaring day by day, the State Government is finally looking towards other avenues, which remained hitherto undertapped. On top of it is a proposal to generate 1000 MW of wind power, from 17 potential locations identified through data from Wind Monitoring Stations.
Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed told the Assembly that the government was adopting a comprehensive policy to address the power needs of the state from a futuristic perspective, inclusive of promoting private entrepreneurs in the non-conventional energy field. Elaborate studies have been conducted with the help of Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET), functioning under Union Non-Conventional Energy Ministry. Based on the analysis of data collected for three years from the Wind Monitoring Stations, it has been found that there is immense scope for tapping wind power, especially in Idukki and eastern Palakkad. Stations functioning at Kanjikode in Palakkad and Vandiperiyar in Idukki are collecting data from a height of 80 metres, he said and added that plans to establish more stations at various locations were under consideration.
Aryadan said that the government had inked an MoU last year with the NTPC for starting wind power-based projects aimed at generating 200 MW power, out of which, 80 MW will come from windmills in the Ramakkalmedu belt in Idukki. For a start, a project for 10 MW generation is nearing completion. To enlist private participation in the initiative, detailed guidelines have been issued, he said. The Minister also said that tapping solar power was also important for a state like Kerala against the backdrop of proven results that solar panels with a one kilowatt installed capacity can deliver five units of electricity.
Setting a replicable model for the state, solar panelling will be taken up in the state Secretariat and Legislative Assembly complex. In the second phase, important district-level offices will also be brought under solar power, he said. The government is also pursuing LNG-based thermal power plants, which have been mooted. A proposal is also there for a coal-based thermal power plant, with expected allocation of coal from Bytharani coal fields in Odisha. Accepting the pointer raised by his predecessor A K Balan that a vicious campaign had been unleashed by some quarters against GAIL's proposed 1,250 kilometre-long Kochi-Koottanadu-Bangalore LNG line, Aryadan said that the stance might cripple the development hopes of Kerala as a whole.
"'3,500 cr has been set apart for the project by the Centre. With the adverse campaign, the future of the state will turn bleak,'' Aryadan feared. The Minister reminded that the state had been able to generate only 100 MW of power during the whole of 11th Five year Plan period, when the country generated 55,000 MW of energy from various sources during that period.

Politics: The National Game

The country needs fresh faces at the top of government if it is to run its economy better.

CHEERS! Pranab Mukherjee is appointed  as the India's new president. As finance minister until recently, the veteran leader of the Congress party presided over a wretched deterioration in the country's economic prospects. Now there is a chance that those left behind may redirect a government that has badly lost its way.
Poll victories have become rare indeed for the increasingly unpopular ruling party. Yet an electoral college of nearly 5,000 national and state legislators was all but certain, on July 19th, to give Mr Mukherjee a five-year presidency that is largely ceremonial. That was thanks, in part, to mercenary motives: leaders of two crucial, populous, swing states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, fell behind Mr Mukherjee as the central government promised aid worth some $12 billion.Congress has been beset by scandal, is led by oldies and has grown generally clumsy of late. But for this election at least, it showed a flash of its once-deft self. 
By contrast, twinkly-eyed and veterian Mr Mukherjee, who has spent four decades at the summit of Indian politics, has influence that extends, across Delhi and beyond. On rare occasions, the presidency has moments of great power. A hung parliament is almost certain after the next general election in 2014, when the president may pick which party tries first to form a coalition. Those tentacles could prove handy for a diminished Congress.
More important, with Mr Mukherjee booted upstairs Congress could try getting government to function again. The 76-year-old's three-year spell as finance minister was ignominious. He oversaw GDP growth that fell to 5.3% in the first three months of this year, from over 8% just over a year before; high inflation; a collapsing rupee; surging deficits and a fiscal mess. Plans for vague and retrospective taxes dismayed investors, foreign and local. Worse, he bungled urgent reforms, notably over opening foreign investment in the retailing industry, and failing to push through a goods and services tax and to cut costly subsidies.
It was not all his fault, however. A cabinet minister, Salman Kurshid, bravely admitted the obvious this month, calling the government directionless. He did not need to spell out that Manmohan Singh, the elderly prime minister, cannot impose his will, nor that populists like West Bengal's Ms Banerjee block reform. Meanwhile there is administrative paralysis in the face of corruption scandals.
With Mr Mukherjee's ascent, a reshuffle will follow. Mr Singh, as a stand-in finance minister, has made welcome noises about getting the economy's “animal spirit” moving again. He could next bring back P. Chidambaram, the 66-year-old home minister, who presided over finance for most of Congress's first term (2004-09), when the economy roared. Or he could call on Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the brainy head of planning.
Either would be an improvement. Less likely, but more daring, would be to skip a generation and let younger leaders take bigger jobs—elevating Jairam Ramesh who languishes at rural affairs, Anand Sharma at trade, or possibly a real youngster, such as Sachin Pilot or RPN Singh. A dream political change would signal that new leaders, less tainted by graft, would try to restore public finances, push through reform and promote growth.
India's mood is waiting to be lifted. Local firms wallow in cash, hungry for a chance to invest, but they need predictability about policy and decision-making. The 100 biggest by market share are hesitating, having doubled their cash holdings since 2009 to some 104 billion rupees (around $1.8 billion). Foreign firms, even in infrastructure and consumer goods, also hold back, unsure of the politics.
Yet expecting decisive change from Congress's behemoth is probably a fantasy. The instincts of Sonia Gandhi, the party's president, are to seek votes from villagers (who still make up two-thirds of the population), with promises of welfare, make-work schemes and food rations. It would take skilful manoeuvring to do that and also promote bold, liberalising reforms, such as cutting fuel subsidies. More troubling, sycophancy to the Gandhi dynasty dictates that no young figure can outshine the bashful 42-year-old heir apparent, Rahul Gandhi, who had largely been absent from high-profile politics since a thumping defeat in important state polls in Uttar Pradesh in March.
Some in Congress say he will be back to take a big political role. On July 19th, after casting his vote in the presidential election, he confirmed this, saying he is ready to play a “more active role in party and government.” That is striking, given an earlier refusal to join Mr Singh's administration. It will immediately raise expectations that he is preparing to lead Congress for the vote in 2014. 

advt

Sanofi India Q2 net dips 18.51% to Rs 40.5 cr

Total income of the company, however, rose to Rs 383 cr from 322 cr in the same period last yearDrug firm Sanofi India today said its net profit dipped by 18.51% to Rs 40.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 mainly on account of amortisation costs. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 49.7 crore for the same period previous fiscal, Sanofi India said in a filing to BSE.Total income of the company, however, rose to Rs 392.6 crore for the reported quarter from Rs 322.3 crore for the same period year ago.
"The profit for the quarter and half year ended June 30, 2012 has been impacted due to the amortization costs relating to brands and the technical know-how required in 2011 from Universal Medicare Private Ltd and lower interest income as a result of the above investment," the company said. In another filing to BSE, the company said its board of directors has declared an interim dividend of Rs 4 per equity share of Rs 10 for the financial year ending December 31, 2012. The interim dividend will be paid on August 16, 2012.

Nokia appoints P Balaji as the new managing director

Handset maker, Nokia India has hired P Balaji managing director of Sony Mobile Communications India as the new MD. After losing the top slot in the Indian market during last two years, Nokia is working on a major comeback by launching new models with some attractive offers. The company had seen erosion in its market share from about 75% a few years ago to about 39% now, according to some estimates. The company is investing in high-decibel advertising such as Kolkata Knight Riders to Channel V's Nokia India fest, and social media campaign . It is also betting on operating systems-the Windows phone, officials said. The Finnish handset giant Nokia announced its global turnaround strategy last year that included exploiting the rapidly shifting market in smartphones, to profit from its new partnership with Microsoft and to develop services based on its own assets. 

Bajaj Electricals Q1 net up 8% at Rs 12 cr

Bajaj Electricals today reported 8.32% increase in net profit for the quarter ended June 30 at Rs 11.98 crore. The company had posted net profit of Rs 11.06 crore in the corresponding period last year, Bajaj Electricals said in a filing to the BSE.The net income during the first quarter of the fiscal also went up by 22.38% to Rs 666.19 crore from Rs 544.36 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Jyothy Laboratories Q1 net up 26% at Rs 18 cr

FMCG firm Jyothy Laboratories said its net profit rose by 25.67% to Rs 17.62 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2012. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 14.02 crore during the same period of previous fiscal, Jyothy Laboratories Ltd (JLL) said in a statement.Net sales of the company rose by 70.63% to Rs 209.86 crore for the first quarter as compared to Rs 122.99 crore reported in the corresponding period of last fiscal.
Commenting on the results, JLL Chairman and Managing Director M P Ramachandran said: "We are on the right path of growth and the merger of Henkel India Limited with Jyothy is one such step. The integration of Henkel with Jyothy is being completed". Jyothy Laboratories markets various brands, including Ujala, Maxo, Exo and Henko.

Tata Tele Maharashtra's Q1 net loss widens at Rs 163 cr

Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) said its net loss has widened at Rs 162.66 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2012. The company had reported net loss of Rs 119.32 crore for in the year-ago period."The Company has considered Rs 154.86 crore, being the LF (Licence Fee) on profit on sale of investment and bad debts written off during the earlier year, as contingent liability and has also made payment of the same to Department of Telecommunications under protest," TTML said in a statement.
However, revenue of the company rose by 11.78% at Rs 659.48 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 584.98 crore it reported in the corresponding period last year fiscal. "The company maintained a strong focus on wireless broadband services. Its VAS (value added services) and data revenues accounted for 35% of total wireless revenues in Q1 FY13," the statement said.

Sterlite Industries Q1 net dips 27% to Rs 1,202 cr

Sterlite Industries (India) today reported nearly 27% dip in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,202 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, due to losses from forex, associate firm and higher interest outgo. SIL had clocked Rs 1,640 crore net profit in April-June quarter of the last fiscal."During Q1, profits were impacted by mark to market loss of Rs 217 crore on foreign currency loans and higher interest costs of Rs 78 crore," SIL said in a statement. It has lost Rs 167 crore incurred by an associate company during the quarter. It has lost Rs 167 crore incurred by an associate company during the quarter.
Net sales of the company during the reporting quarter were up by eight% at Rs 10,591 crore, primarily due to rise in volume of lead, silver and zinc in India, commercial power and copper as compared to Rs 9,863 crore in the year- ago period. However, its EBITDA was down by 15% to Rs 2,337 crore, due to lower metal prices, lower sales at Balco and higher production cost. Total expenses of the company, including the cost of raw material consumed, was higher at Rs 9,076 crore compared to Rs 7,532 crore a year ago.

Mobile banking deals increases to Rs 286 cr in May

Banking transactions through mobile phones have more than trebled to Rs 286 crore during May on account of a higher number of users with hand-held devices. The value of such transactions stood at Rs 91 crore in May 2011, according to the Reserve Bank.The number of bank transactions through mobiles also grew over two-and-half times to 3.34 million in May, 2012 from 1.28 million in May, 2011.
As number of mobile phone subscribers are growing rapidly, banks in collaboration with telecom companies are seeking to develop an alternate channel for the delivery of banking services as a part of the financial inclusion programme. As on May 31, 2012, the RBI has permitted 69 banks to provide mobile banking services to their customers.
However, the central bank feels the growth rate is low when compared with the number of bank accounts and the number of mobile subscribers. "Even though the value and volume are increasing on month on month basis, the growth rate is low when compared with the number of bank accounts and the vast mobile subscriber base of more than 900 million," said Harun R Khan, Deputy Governor, RBI in a speech on Financial Inclusion recently. 
This indicates that banks are yet to fully exploit this technology even for their existing customers, he said adding that RBI has provided policy framework for a collaborative relationship between banks and mobile network operators. Banks allow fund transfers both for personal remittances and purchase of goods and services without any ceiling as per mobile banking guidelines of the RBI. The rapid growth in users and wider coverage of mobile phone networks have made this channel an important platform for extending banking services to customers.
Banks also offer information based services like balance enquiry, stop payment instructions of cheques, transactions enquiry, location of the nearest ATM and branch through mobile banking. Some banks offer services like acceptance of transfer of funds instruction for credit to beneficiaries of same or another bank in favour of pre-registered beneficiaries. However, there are technology and security related challenges to deliver financial services through information and communication technology (ICT) based models.

Lupin looks to acquire brands in the US

Drug major Lupin is looking to acquire brands and technology firms to increase reach in the US market as the company aims to grow sales by over 20 per cent in the world's most lucrative drug market over the next two years. "We are looking to acquire brands in the US market and and also eyeing companies that are based on technology platform," Lupin Ltd Managing Director Kamal K Sharma told Press Trust of India.
He said the company would grow over 20 per cent in the US aided by enhancement of speciality business, including oral contraceptives portfolio. "We should grow at 20 per cent year-on-year for the next two years. We are following a three pronged strategy which includes addition of more value added products, increasing reach and acquisitions," Sharma said.
He, however, did not share details on the brands or companies which the company plans to acquire in the US market. Lupin's US formulations revenue grew 22 per cent to Rs 2,530.3 crore during FY2012 as compared to Rs 2,079.8 crore in FY2011.
During 2011-2012 fiscal, the company also entered the US oral contraceptives space and has already launched three products in the segment. The company, which seeks to evolve into a speciality pharma company has gone beyond generics and has started filing for approvals for niche speciality segments like high-end dermatological products.
The company is also looking to target the anti-asthama and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) therapy segments. On the Latin American and north American market, Kamal k. Sharma said: "We are trying to get deeper into the continent." Lupin had entered Latin American market over a year ago by setting up a subsidiary, Lupin Mexico SA de CV, which has started filing products for the market. The company would be addressing the branded and the generic pharmaceutical space within the Mexican market, the company had said earlier.

49 hydro electric projects to generate 13,000 MW of power

There are 49 hydro-electric power projects under execution or at a planning stage in the country with a capacity of 13,000 MW costing about Rs 80,000 crore, Hydro Project Monitoring Division of Ministry of Power has said. Replying to the queries raised by an RTI, the Ministry said that there was only one project planned in Maharashtra that of Koyna Left Bank which would be taken up in the 13th five year plan to generate 80 MW of power and would cost Rs 245 crore. The ministry informed that there were 16 projects underway in the Central sector that would generate 7,773 MW of power and would cost Rs 47,770 crore and another 16 projects in the State sector which would generate 1,688 MW of power and would cost Rs 11,295 crore. In the private sector, a total of 17 projects are under way and they would generate 3570 MW of power and would cost Rs 21,201 crore, according to the ministry. Of the total planned projects, the lion share has gone to Himachal Pradesh with 12 plants which are expected to generate 3,282 MW of power and cost Rs 20,123 crore followed by Sikkim with 10 plants to generate 2421 mws of power and cost Rs 13802 crore. 

Indian Overseas Bank seeks Rs 1,500 cr capital

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) said it would require around Rs 1,500 crore recapitalisation support from the government in the current fiscal. "We find a gap of around Rs 1,500 crore apart from ploughing back of profits for the current year and we expect the government will continue support like the previous year," IOB Chairman and Managing Director M Narendra said here today on the sidelines of banking conclave 2012 organised by FICCI. 
He added that there is no concrete plan on alternate methods of raising capital in case the government did not fulfil the Rs 1,500 crore demand. The bank has taken shareholders approval to raise a little over Rs 401 crore. It has various options, including Qualified Institutional Placement ( QIP), to raise the money. Speaking about the proposed $500 million issue of MTN, Narendra said, "We will do it shortly and will initiate it after State Bank does in it August." MTN are medium term notes or loans in foreign currency deployed to Indian firms for overseas investment activities. The bank is aiming at Rs 4,00,000 crore business with growth target of 18-20 per cent in advances and deposits. IOB would continue to pursue overseas expansion and is planning presence in Vietnam along with Bank of India.

Jaideep Bhattacharya appointed as MD Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Company

Jaideep Bhattacharya has been appointed as MD Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Company. Jaideep was formerly group president and chief marketing officer at UTI Mutual Fund.He was part of the core management team,driving the overall sales and marketing strategy for the fund house.Prior to UTI, he was with ICICI Bank as country head,products,channels & marketing of the SME group. "BPAMC continues to see its assets grow - over the last quarter the business saw a 31.5% increase in AUM, moving up its overall ranking from 25th place to 20th place. With Jaideep now on board, we are confident that the BPAMC business which has great potential, is ideally placed to become one of the top players in the market," said M D Mallya, Chairman & Managing Director, Bank of Baroda in a press statement.

Shyamal Bhattacharya takes over as the Director (Operations), at ONGC Videsh

Shyamal Bhattacharya has taken over as the Director (Operations), at ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). Bhattacharya, a geoscientist, has held various key positions during his postings at different locations across the country in ONGC, the company said in a statement. "A graduate in Petroleum Engineering from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Bhattacharya has more than three decades of diversified experience in reservoir engineering, reservoir simulation, water flooding, increased oil recovery (IOR) & enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques and reservoir operations," it said.  In his previous role as the Head of Institute of Reservoir Studies, Ahmedabad he was instrumental in leading a team of around 250 geoscientists, facilitating formulation of development schemes of oil and gas fields of ONGC across the country. 

Ambit appoints Premal Doshi to head markets division

The Ambit group said it has strengthened its corporate finance team by inducting Premal Doshi as the head of its equity markets team. Premal will report into Ambit chief executive Sanjay Sakhuja, the company said in a release. Premal, a chartered accountant and a cost accountant by qualification, has over 20 years of experience, and joins Ambit from Antique Capital Markets. Prior to Antique he was with Motilal Oswal, Anand Rathi Securities, Lazard and JP Morgan. 

Rajeev Tewari appointed director Canon India

Printing and imaging solutions provider Canon India announced the appointment of Rajeev Tewari as Director of its CSP group. The Canon System Products (CSP) group comprises of inkjet product division, laser product division and system integrators division. 
He replaces VP Sajeevan, who led the CSP group for over five years. Prior to the new role, Tewari headed the wide format imaging division. "Rajeev's decade long association with Canon has been that of exceptional understanding of technology and customers. We are confident that under his leadership, the CSP group will benefit greatly," Canon India Senior Vice President Alok Bharadwaj said.

Sebi appoints Murlidhar Rao as Executive Director

Market regulator Sebi has appointed S V Murlidhar Rao as its new Executive Director to fill a vacancy created by the recent exit of Usha Narayanan. Rao was a Chief General Manager in Sebi's Markets Regulations Department till recently, but his portfolio as an Executive Director could not be immediately ascertained. 
A post of Executive Director fell vacant at Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) after the recent exit of Usha Narayanan, who was heading the regulatory authority's corporation finance department. Narayanan left Sebi late last month, prior to which she has held various senior positions in a number of departments including those dealing with FIIs, investigations, primary markets and intermediaries.

Anand Trivedi appointed as Director of MMTC

State-owned trading company MMTC said Anand Trivedi has been appointed as Director, Marketing. He took charge on July 3, after the incumbent H S Mann retired in July last year. "Anand Trivedi, ex-Chief General Manager, in MMTC has assumed the charge of Director (Marketing), w.e.f. July 3, 2012," the company said in a BSE filing. In July last year, Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Vijay Laxmi Joshi had taken over as CMD of the company, replacing Mann. She assumed the new responsibility as an additional charge till a regular CMD is appointed or until further orders, whichever is earlier. 

Bhattacharya appointed as director, UBI

The government has appointed A Bhattacharya as the Director of the Union Bank of India with immediate effect. "Union Bank of India has informed BSE that the central government...has nominated A Bhattacharya, joint secretary, Department of Financial Services, as Director of Union Bank of India in place of Rajesh Khullar, with immediate effect and until further order," the bank said in a BSE filing.

Nagendra Murthy appointed MD of TMB

TMB has promoted one of its general managers as managing director and CEO effective July 3, the first time in many years that the 90-year-old private sector bank has elevated an existing employee to the top post.  Nagendra Murthy, GM (Credit) of the bank, has been named the new MD. The vacancy was left open after AK Jagannathan quit in February, ending a one-and-a-half-year stint. Three outsiders were in race for the post. Murthy started his career as a probationary officer in Indian Bank, Mumbai, in 1973. The bank, headquartered in Tamil Nadu's coastal town of Tuticorin, is a stronghold of the Nadar community who have a fierce sense of ownership of the bank. It has been in the news often for a longstanding ownership tussle. 

K N Srivastava TO BE APPOINTED NEW SECRETARY CIVIL AVIATION

Senior IAS officer K N Srivastava will be the new secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation after incumbent S N A Zaidi retires this month-end.  Srivastava, a 1978 batch officer of Karnataka cadre, is currently Special Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of External Affairs. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has also approved the appointment of Arvind Mayaram, a 1978 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, presently Special Secretary, and Financial Adviser, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development as Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. 

Dr. Arvind Lal, CMD, Dr. Lal Pathlab

TE: Tell us something about your business: 
DR. ARVIND LAL: This pathology laboratory was started by my late father, Dr. (Major) S. K. Lal in 1949. I took over the lab after he died in 1977, till then I was a Lecturer in Pathology & Microbiology, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. At that time we were testing about 30 patients every day. Now the number of patients has risen to 22,000 per day! This has been made possible due to the fact that we are running about 100 laboratories and about 1,000 collection centres all over India. We have also recently operationalised Asia's biggest lab at Rohini, New Delhi. We employ about 2,500 people including 110 pathologists. This rapid advancement in our testing facilities has been made possible due to the fact that modern medicine is absolutely evidence based and that lab tests are responsible for 70% of all medical decisions. 
TE: Being a successful entrepreneur, what does the term achievement mean to you?
DR. ARVIND LAL: Achievement means that hard work begets success. At the same time it means that there is a lot more to be achieved given the fact that majority of our countrymen do not have access to quality clinical testing facilities. As 'Life Style' diseases like Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Obesity, Cancer, Kidney and Liver diseases are going to be rampant and will account for majority of deaths in the future, my work has just begun. I consider it my divine duty to save as many lives as possible by carrying out preventive health testing. Any abnormality detected at our level has a very high degree of possibility of complete reversal. In other words, timely testing and altering of bad life styles will make a much healthier and of course, prosperous India. 
TE: Who has been your inspiration in reaching such heights in your career? Do you have a role model? 
DR. ARVIND LAL: I have greatly been influenced by my late Guru  Baba Hairakhan also known as the Mahavatar Baba or the Immortal Baba. He taught me that the fastest path to godliness in Kalayuga was by practicing 'Karmayoga and Japayoga'. This means doing one's duty and constantly chanting the gods' name. My role model would be late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who reunited India after the departure of the British. 
TE: What is your special message for the youth of today who wish to be successful entrepreneurs like you?
DR. ARVIND LAL: My special message to the youth would be to dream high and aim higher. Also, to have a laser focus on your goals and to use only the highest ethics and morality in achieving your goals. 
TE: Your marketing strategy and intended goal?
DR. ARVIND LAL: My marketing strategy would be to give the patient best possible service in addition to giving him the most accurate report possible. He should always have a pleasant experience whenever he visits any of our labs or collection centres. 
TE: They say that success is a combination of inspiration, perspiration and an element of luck. What is your take on that? 
DR. ARVIND LAL: It is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration and luck. To learn from your mistakes. 
TE: How do you see yourself two years down the line?
DR. ARVIND LAL: I see myself slightly older, hopefully wiser and a better human being!

ON PERSONAL FRONT:

What do you do for relaxation from your hectic schedule?
Half and hour of morning prayers followed by one hour of brisk walking in the Deer Park, Hauz Khaz with my wife, Dr. Vandana Lal.
Tell us about your hobbies/interest and how you manage your time to pursue them.
My interest is in security matters that confront our country. I am fairly knowledgeable about strategic matters and have a good knowledge of modern weapons systems. I can tell about the missiles and nuclear warheads that will be used in case of the World War III. Also, I am an ardent photographer and love to shoot people and landscapes. I can shoot pictures and read whenever I go on holiday.
Which city would you choose to visit for a leisure trip?
I am most happy when I visit Ranikhet! It is so close to snow clad mountains and is 'Dev Bhumi'  a natural place to meditate. 
One thing that you wish to do for the betterment of the society.
Banishing illness and making a healthier and a happier society. 
Do you think that every citizen needs to show his concern for the country in whichever way he/she can? Do small contributions like this go a long way?
Yes, I do believe that a contribution, however small, can make a significant change in the outcome of events. A case in point would be the movement led by Anna Hazare. If all the people of India said NO to corruption, then India would truly get rid of corruption one day. 

We regard employees as the most important asset

Mr. S.P. SINGH, DIRECTOR (HUMAN RESOURCE) of NTPC  has performed a very vital role in the success of the company as a true leader. His HR policies has been always conducive to the growth of employees as well as the Company. In an interview with Today's Economics, he says HRM is a relevant term for NTPC, as it has helped the company to conduct business and achieve the organizational goals by adopting better HR practices. Excerpts from an interview:-

TE: How important is an employee to your organization?
NTPC: An employee to our organization is the most important asset. We value both our employees and their family,  and strive to keep them happy by catering to their professional and personal needs.
TE: What is your HR strategy to integrate HR practices with organization's vision and synchronize its efforts with organisational goals?
NTPC: Our HR policies have always aimed at facilitating the vision and goals of the organization. HR today is moving from the role of a facilitator to a Strategic Business Partner. 
Our HR policies and practices have a sharp focus on productivity improvement. At the beginning of our journey we operated with PLF of about 80% and now we have graduated to above 90% at all locations. This has been possible through various innovative skill development practices in Operation and maintenance. From a Man-megawatt ratio of above 1 we have brought it down to less than 0.71 and in the coming years we are looking at meeting the international benchmark of less than 0.3 Man-megawatt Ratio. Such development is a result of the policies and practices that evolved with the changing market scenario and the integration of our HR  policies with the vision of the company to be the world's best and the largest power producer.
TE: Retention and Attrition both now a days has become a crucial part of HR management. What are your policies to retain employees?
NTPC: Although the rate of Attrition at NTPC is less than 1% which may not be taken as alarming. However, we are putting best efforts to make are locations more attractive as a place of posting by providing urban facilities at such location. We have been taking regular feedback from our employees through the system of annual surveys on various policies and practices of the company to closely monitor the employee satisfaction with the same. Recently our CMD has also announced introduction of certain urban facilities such as wifi, DTH and e-book readers  at projects to make them more attractive as a place of posting . The requirement for this urban facility addition was also collected through survey of the employees who have joined NTPC in the last 4-5 years to cater to the requirement of Gen Y! 
Through initiatives such as QC, PC and NOCET we have involved employees in decision making process for further improvement in productivity and planning the future course of the company. Through different participative forums we have built a culture of participative management. Our welfare measures and other HR policies are the best ranked amongst PSUs and it is the result of this that we have been able to continuously attract the right kind of talent to meet our Human Resource requirement. We provide ample opportunities to our employees to learn and grow in the organization through our Sponsorship programmes for M. Tech and MBA, facility for study leave and Financial Incentive for higher education. Our compensation structure is best in class while the Medical Facility both while in service and the Post Retirement Medical Scheme(PRMS) has proved to be our USP.
TE: How does better HR policies helps in achieving efficiency and better results?        
We have an exhaustive Reward and Recognition Policy to identify and suitably reward the exemplary performance of employees on various occasions by the Business Unit  Heads. Even at the time of training of fresh recruits the Executive Trainees are rewarded for their outstanding performance in the training period. 
Employees who are awarded at national level forums such as Prime Minister's Shram Awards are felicitated personally by the CMD and the same is telecast live through cable TV and circulated through our electronic house journal e-varta at all projects giving their achievements wider recognition.  At projects the BUH felicitate the achievers and exceptional performers on occasions such as Republic Day and Independence Day celebration applauding their achievements in public.
Our compensation package is amongst the best in industry . We have the practice of completing at least 7 mandays of training  per employee per year as per his TNA( Training Need Analysis). Platforms such as HRD Meets, QC, PC and NOCET are provided to employees for sharing of best practices in various areas, both within and outside the company. Our Policy on transfer and job-rotation also aims at placing the right man at the right time on the right job by mutually looking at both the company's requirement and the employee's interests and career growth plans. All these policies and practices significantly motivate our employees to raise their efficiency and put in more than 100% effort in the interest of the company.
TE: What are the general HR policies of NTPC?
In the last three decades and a half we have formulated policies for every aspect of Human Resource management, from compensation to welfare and from Employee relation to Employee Development. We have a comprehensive performance appraisal system on the ERP platform that also takes care of the timely communication of score and performance. 
Our welfare policies aim at gainfully engaging not only the employee but also their children and spouses. We have a well developed Communication matrix to ensure timely communication both from Top- to- bottom and Bottom- to- top. Through our participative foras we try to involve the employees in the decision making process which also inculcates in them a feeling of belongingness to the organization. We have policies to engage our employees in creative and innovative thinking through programmes like NOCET, Business Minds, Suggestion Scheme, Professional Circles and Quality Circles.The reward and recognition system of NTPC is designed to identify and suitably reward special achievements and extraordinary efforts.
TE: What is your company's approach towards people's Management?
NTPC: As I said earlier, employees are our most important assets and their needs & interests are a matter of top priority for us. Our approach from the very beginning has been that of “People before PLF”.
TE: You have wide experience as head (HR) of Government company (NTPC). What is your experience?
NTPC: As Head of the HR function in an organization of the stature of NTPC, where the company has a diversified portfolio and ambitious expansion plans, one has to handle issues in the most sensitive manner. There are over 2500 employees spread across the country coming from varied background and it is a huge responsibility to cater to their needs and aspirations.
TE: How much do HR policies enhances the employee's confidence?
The attrition rate of less than 1% speaks volumes about our employees' confidence in the company and HR policies have a vital role in maintaining that position of the company in the employee's mind.  As a fresher what one perceives of a company is mostly due to what he has heard of the company in the market and through interactions he may have had  with the various stakeholders at various occasions; what holds him back and motivates him to plan his career growth within the company is the policy of the company. 
HR policies play a vital role in keeping the employee engaged and motivate. Our HR policies and practices aim at making the employee feel valued, cared for and recognized for their efforts and initiatives. All this tremendously enhance the employees' confidence in the organization.. 
TE: What are the challenges of HR Management in the era of globalization and how do you plan to face them?
With the kind of changes taking place in the areas of Fuel costs and logistics, introduction of Tariff bidding in the power sector the aspirations of our stakeholders have also increased. Our challenge today is to keep our remote location projects as Attractive as any urban city and prepare leaders for the future. We are in the constant process of succession planning to build a strong and continuous leadership pipeline.  We have also put in a lot of effort to increase the welfare activities both for the employees and their families. We are looking at avenues to gainfully engage the spouses of the employees in our welfare activities. Sports and cultural meets to involve the wards of the employees are being undertaken. Social Security Benefits are being improved by charting out our own Pension scheme. The health of  our employees is also of utmost important for us and providing best medical facilities near our project location is also an issue that has attracted our attention time and again. We are in various stages of talks with consulting agencies to bring up super specialty medical facilities in alliance with the experts in healthcare. The road ahead is indeed challenging but let me assure you that my HR team is well prepared to face these challenges.

Banking sector works best in stable economic environment

Our share in International Finance is negligible and hybrid instruments that lead the Financial Crisis in Developed World never entered our Banking Sector. However, recession in Developed Countries may impact Banking Sector through reversals in capital inflows and adverse market expectations causing sharp correction in asset prices and exchange rate pressures, says, Field General Manager (Northern Zone), D.S. Tripathi in an interview with Tarun Bhardwaj

TE: What is your assessment of the current situation?
There are increasing concerns about the recovery in the advanced economies losing momentum, High energy and commodity prices appears to be feeding into a negative cycle of persistent unemployment and depressed housing prices in US, while the prospect of sovereign default and its real and financial consequences dominates the European policy discussion. The situation can be identified with lack of decisiveness on the part of the Developed World and dearth of initiatives from Emerging Economies to play a larger role in world Economy.
It may also be observed that in the rapidly globalizing world, decoupling is not working. Hence, Emerging Markets can not remain Unscathed from the downturn in Developed world because of better macroeconomic policies, robust foreign exchange reserves and resilient financial flows. Therefore, it is necessary that global imbalances are redressed through global coordination for the sake of Global stability.
TE:  Is the Developed World staring at a lost decade?
The last decade about rise of Chindia or more widely emerging markets in the world of Trade & Finance. It was a period of great convergence between Developed and Emerging Economies. The  IMF forecast that Emerging Economies will continue to expand and growth will be four percentage points more than Developed World in next two years. The economic power is moving from West and rich world has to share their privileges with us. I believe that re-balancing of World Economy in natural course of event is a win-win for everyone.
TE:  Has the crisis arisen because we did not deal with the 2008 crisis well?
I feel that except the liquidity bottlenecks for short duration, India remain insulated from 2008 financial crisis. The 2008 crisis started from the rich world Financial Sector, which was protected by Public Sector through huge debt adversely affecting the country's own repayment capacity by 2011. The volatility and recessionary momentum in Developed countries is creating negativity in the ability of the Emerging Economies to sustain growth momentum, which is affecting one and all. However, Reserve Bank is doing excellent work of managing the Indian Financial Sector to lessen the pains of Global Slowdown.
TE: Did the quick rebound in the financial market led to this complacency with regards to reforms?
The financial market rebound was on high investor and business confidence based on the strength of Indian Economy. The fundamentals of the economy are still good but rising prices of commodities and energy along with inflationary pressures has evoked some concerns about sustainability of growth. RBI through pro- active management is introducing fresh reforms in Indian Financial Market at regular interval. One  among many reforms initiated by RBI includes introduction of Bank Holding Company Structure, Convergence of Indian Accounting Standards with International Financial Reporting Standards, Licensing of New Banks in the Private Sector, Presence of Foreign Banks in India, Financial Inclusion etc.
TE: What could be the impact of this crisis on emerging economies like India?
Banking Sector is concerned about the macroeconomic, price and financial stability of Indian Market being jeopardized by the Global Crisis. With growth stalled in the advanced economies, external demand is slowing and affecting the exports of country. The crisis is permeating to our country through risk aversion and volatility in capital stoking inflationary pressures in the country and complicating macroeconomic management in the face of slowing growth. The area  of concern for banks is increase in credit risks due to deterioration in asset quality and resultant impairment of capital. 
TE:  What are the areas that India needs to act upon to bolster growth?
Any policy and strategy for sustainable growth have to be welfare-oriented placing the well-being of quality of life of the key stakeholders - individuals of households at the centre of strategic thinking. For sustainable growth, we have to improve quality and affordability of education along with inculcation of ethics in our human capital, improve agriculture productivity, storage and distribution network to have self sufficiency in food, remove bottlenecks in infrastructure development and support Financial Sector for all-inclusive intermediation. Further, we need the developed world, the emerging markets along with multilateral institutions to make all- out efforts to do what it takes to pull back the Global Economy from the brink of collapse and set it on the path of recovery.

TE

 

advt

Dr Lalpathlab

 

S.P. Singh- Director (HR), NTPC

 

ADVERTISEMENT

advertisement

advertisement

advertisement

advertisement

HDIL makes Rs 800 cr land sale to clear debt

Realty developer Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) is learnt to have sold 10 million sq ft of land for approximately Rs 800 crore in Virar to repay a debt of Rs 3,300 crore. It owns about 70 million sq ft at Virar. Approximately 5 million sq ft was snapped up by three developers for about Rs 450 crore. Ashok Mohanani-led Ekta Housing Pvt Ltd purchased 2million sq ft (built-up area 18 lakh sq ft) for approximately Rs 200 crore, Vinay Unique bought 1.5 million sq ft for nearly Rs 150 crore while Bhoomi acquired a million sq ft for approximately Rs 100 crore. The rest has been picked up by three to four other developers for Rs 350 crore. 
HDIL managing director Sarang Wadhawan and vicepresident (finance) Hari Prakash Pandey refused to comment on the sale. The developer is close to selling a two-acre land parcel at Andheri for an estimated Rs 300 crore, sources said. This plot of land is part of a large parcel on which HDIL is constructing a residential project, Metropolis. 

Unitech demands $150 million from Telenor

Realty firm Unitech has sought about $150 million from Norway's Telenor to sell its 32.7% stake in their telecom joint venture and end the bitter dispute between two partners, an executive with direct knowledge of the development told. Unitech is learnt to have made this proposal to the Company Law Board. The realty firm's offer takes into account that it invested about $125 million as equity into its Unitech Wireless and spent another $25 million in the initial phase before divesting a majority stake in its mobile phone arm to Telenor. 
“Both parties have been asked by the CLB not to comment on the proceedings that took place within closed chambers. On our part, we will respect the directions of the CLB. What we have earlier stated it is that the partnership with Unitech is over, and it is our intention to form a new company to which Uninor's assets can be transferred. This company will form the platform with which we will approach the upcoming auction,” the Telenor spokesperson said in his reply to an query. 
Last month, Telenor's CEO told that the Norwegian telecom major was not interested in buying out the minority stake held by its estranged partner and wanted to make a fresh start with a new partner. He had also dismissed any possible deal with Unitech and said: “Without spectrum, there is nothing to buy. Everyone will be willing to be bought out if the price is sufficient. But after the licences were revoked, the JV no longer exists.” 
Telenor's Indian operation, with about 40 million customers, was one of the worst affected by the Supreme Court's February 2 orders to cancel 122 mobile licences issued in 2008. Following the apex court's decision, the ongoing differences between both partners over raising funds for their JV took a new twist, with Telenor serving Unitech a divorce notice and also seeking compensation from its Indian partner for damages. The Norwegian telecom major also announced that was forming a new company in India and plans to migrate its existing business, including customers and employees, to this entity. 
Executives aware of the development said that Unitech's latest offer was subject to several conditions. First, the realty firm will have to be exempted from any liability that Unitech Wireless faces in the future. Telenor must also bear total responsibility for the Rs 8,500-crore debt on the books of their JV and must withdraw legal proceedings seeking compensation from Unitech for all its investments, guarantees and damages caused by the apex court's decision. In return, Unitech will drop its objections to Telenor shifting its businesses and customers to a new company, executives aware of the development added.

Realty: MNC’s now prefer Noida over NCR

Noida has been seeing an increase in the number of multinationals setting up base here. This has resulted in a large-scale migration of skilled and unskilled workers to this place. Infrastructure has developed in tandem-wide roads, big commercial centres, and institutions-which have lifted the stock of this place among developers, end users and investors. Noida has obviously benefited from the urban stress being faced by Delhi, which is under pressure from a lack of space, sky-high property prices, and a large population . The prominent developers who have helped in the growth story of Noida include Amrapali, Prateek Group, TGB Infra Developers, ATS Developers, JM Housing Ltd, Earth Infrastructures Ltd, Ajnara India Ltd, etc. 
Noida excels in many features which the neighboring areas in Delhi lack. Some of these factors include planned townships , wide roads, congestion free connectivity with Delhi. These features have attracted MNCs, IT and ITeS companies, as well as big media houses to set up base in Noida. Anil Sharma, the Chairman & managing director of Amrapali Group, says: “Noida has been the high point in the last decade. Apart from its infrastructure and easy connectivity with Delhi, availability of land has also been a major factor that has helped in its rapid development. 
Gitamber Anand, the Managing Director of ATS Group, says that Noida's affordable to mid-segment and luxury residential projects, with high technology and world-class facilities within the premises, have encouraged people to move here. “Infrastructure has been a major boon in Noida . While big shopping malls and commercial centres have made it a business hub, flyovers, the DND Expressway and the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, along with wide city roads, have made travelling and living better in Noida,” he says. 
Today, the boundaries of Noida have extended to new places. Noida Extension is a case in point, which has world-class projects lined up with most of the developers being the ones who have been active in Noida. Companies have started operations in Sector 137 and 143 in Yamuna Expressway . The connectivity of Noida and the expressway is encouraging for them. 

Cheques, drafts now will be valid for 3 months

From April 1 and cheques and bank drafts will be valid only for 3 months, a development that RBI thinks will help mitigate frauds related to such instruments.  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed that with effect from April 1, 2012, banks should not make payments against cheques, drafts, pay orders or banker's cheques if they are presented after the period of three months from date of issue. 
It has been brought to its notice by the government that some persons were taking undue advantage of the six month validity of cheques, drafts, pay orders, banker's cheques by circulating them like cash for this period, RBI had said in a notification earlier. According to a senior banker, the three-month validity period is a good enough time period for instrument conciliation. It was reported to Central Economic Intelligence Bureau that some persons are taking undue advantage of the practice of banks of making payment of cheques or draft presented within a period of six months from the date of the instrument as these instruments are being circulated in the market like cash for six months. 

PFC to raise Rs 40K cr in 2012-13

Power Finance Corporation (PFC) plans to raise about Rs 40K crore in the next financial year. It aims to raise about Rs 3,000 crore through domestic corporate bonds. CMD Satnam Singh said, “We aim to raise a minimum of Rs 150 crore through this issue. However, we have kept a greenshoe option and should be able to garner up to Rs 3,000 crore. The response to the issue would decide whether or not we bring out more bond issuances this financial year.”
The company has raised about Rs 32,000 crore in the financial year 2011-12. The funds raised in the next financial year would help fund various power projects across the country. PFC is one of the biggest fund raisers in the country. It is likely to be allowed to issue tax-free bonds in the next financial year.
“The Budget has broadly said the power sector would be given an issuance limit of Rs 10,000 crore for tax-free bonds, and we are hopeful we would also get a substantial share of this limit,” Singh said. Corporate bond yields are expected to remain high in the coming months, and tax-free bonds may be able to provide some cost benefit to issuers.
PFC has also been planning its $1-billion medium term note issue. Singh said, “We had been waiting for the Budget to be announced, for the uncertainty to be over. Now that the Budget is out, we have revived our talks with merchant bankers.” However, with the financial year drawing to a close, the medium-term note issue may spill over to 2012-13, he added.

Allow 100% FDI in defence sector: Assocham

The government should allow 100 per cent FDI in defence sector so that the country can become self-reliant in production and encourage technology transfers, industry body Assocham has said. At present, India imports about 70 per cent of its defence requirements. “We must recognise that defence production is a capital and technology intensive-sector. To develop a strong industrial base in the country, we need foreign capital and technology,” Assocham said. 
Currently, 26 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed in the sector. India can acquire self-reliance in defence production with raising FDI ceiling to 100 per cent, the chamber said. “The present cap on FDI in the sector has kept away both investments and technology transfer. There is no reason why we should not allow 100 per cent foreign investment in defence sector,” Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat. FDI along with usage of advanced technology is a better option for manufacturing defence equipment domestically rather than importing them from abroad, he added. 

Govt. clears guidelines for private participation in Defence sector

THE government has cleared guidelines for defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) to set up joint ventures (JVs) with private companies. The guidelines were necessitated after a venture between government's Mumbai-based shipyard Mazgaon Dock Limited (MDL) and Pipavav, a private ship building entity, was put on hold following allegations of irregularities by rival firms.
The Union Cabinet has approved the new codes, which would drive the joint venture policy from now onwards. Even the MDL-Pipavav deal will have to be reviewed to see if it fulfilled requirements as per the new rules. The need to look for private partners in the defence sector was felt as the industry is expanding rapidly. Government companies did not have the capacity to absorb the growth and private base has been non-existent in the country.
The basic principle of a JV in the sensitive would be national security. It called for maintaining fairness and transparency in selecting the partner and ensuring a well-defined nature and scope. The affirmative right would be retained by the public sector undertaking for approving key JV decisions. The DPSUs would also have the exit provisions and there would be regular reporting and monitoring of the functioning of the JV company.
The DPSUs were allowed to look for private partners only last year to achieve self-reliance in defence production. India meets its defence requirements through substantial assistance from abroad. The Policy of 2011 called for greater stress on indigenous production.

China’s bank lending down 28%

Chinese bank lending fell 28 percent in January from a year earlier, official data showed, suggesting Beijing is reluctant to open the credit valves too quickly for fear of reigniting inflation. State-owned lenders issued 738.1 billion yuan ($117.26 billion) in new loans in January, down 288.2 billion yuan from the same month last year and well short of analyst forecasts for one trillion yuan, the central bank. Chinese banks typically ramp up lending at the beginning of the year to avoid losing quotas issued by regulators and the effects of changes in monetary policy. Analysts said the weaker-than-expected data partly reflected the earlier than usual Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in January, and the government's still tight restrictions on credit. 
Mark Williams, an economist at Capital Economics in London, said it was the lowest December to January increase since 2007. “It is hard to escape the feeling that the weakness of lending was at least partly a reflection of the slow pace at which policy is being eased,” he said. Late last year the central bank eased lending restrictions on banks and analysts expect similar moves this year as authorities try to spur economic activity and prevent a collapse in the property market.  There is growing evidence that the world's second largest economy is slowing as turmoil in eurozone countries and weakness in the US hurts demand for Chinese exports, a key driver of the Asian giant.  The IMF last week warned that an escalation of Europe's fiscal woes could slash China's economic growth by half this year, and it urged Beijing to prepare stimulus measures in response. But Chinese leaders, worried about reigniting politically sensitive inflation, have signalled their intention to move cautiously and fine-tune policy as needed. 

Powergrid CMD receives award for leadership

RN Nayak, chairman and managing director (CMD), Powergrid, has been conferred award for HR Leadership & Innovation at the Global HR Excellence Awards, 2012 for his outstanding contribution as a role model, believer in change and an iconic position in the change and an iconic position in the fraternity. The award marks his leadership. The award was presented at World HRD Congress 2012 held in Mumbai, recently.

BSE’s CEO Madhu Kannan to join Tata Sons

Madhu Kannan, MD and CEO of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is joining Tata Group's holding company, Tata Sons, to head the group's business development. Kannan, who has earlier worked with Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA ML) and the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE), will report to Cyrus P Mistry, currently the group's deputy chairman. 
In a statement, BSE said that Kannan had expressed his intention not to seek a new term at the expiry of his current term, which is ending in May 2012. “Kannan will work with the BSE board to ensure that there is a seamless succession process,” the BSE statement added. 

Deepak Brara is Air India’s new commercial director

Deepak Brara, the head of Corporate Headquarters Department of Air India, has been appointed as the commercial director of the national carrier. Brara would look after the operations of the airline's Commercial Department and the Cargo Strategic Business Unit in his current assignment, an airline spokesperson said. 
He had joined the Commercial department of the erstwhile Indian Airlines in 1976.  Brara had served as the head of Commercial Department in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and also served as the Managing Director of Alliance Air from 2005 to 2007. At the time of the merger of erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines, he was heading the Public Relations department. After the merger, he was appointed as Air India's Executive Director of the Americas- in charge of USA and Canada. 

Debabrata Sarkar takes charge as CMD of Union Bank of India

Debabrata Sarkar has assumed charge as the Chairman & Managing Director of the Union Bank of India. Sarkar has more than 30 years of banking experience. He started his banking career with Bank of Baroda and was later elevated as Executive Director of Allahabad Bank. 
He takes charge as Chairman of Union Bank of India, a bank statement said here. He has worked in various capacities with a specialisation in credit and was also served as an in-charge of specialised integrated treasury branch at Mumbai. Sarkar has also been director on the Board of Central Securities Depository Ltd and Bank of Baroda (Botswana) Ltd.

PepsiCo India appoints new CEOs for foods businesses

PepsiCo India, reeling under several senior- to mid-level exits, named two top officials within the company, to head its foods and beverages divisions. Praveen Someshwar, currently CEO beverages, will succeed Varun Berry who quit late last month in a sudden and unexpected move. 
Gautham Mukkavilli, senior VP (global nutrition group) for PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and Africa based in Dubai, has been named as CEO beverages, filling the position Someshwar is vacating. The changes will be effective June 1, '12. Both will report to company chairman Manu Anand. A statement issued by PepsiCo said Someshwar will also lead the India power of one (PO1) council which aims to collaborate the food and beverage businesses. While Someshwar has been with PepsiCo since 1994, Mukkavilli has been associated with the company for two decades.
Both Praveen and Gautham will be based out of PepsiCo India's Gurgaon headquarters and report directly to PepsiCo India Region Chairman Manu Anand, it added.

Govt may raise retirement age for sick PSUs’ employees

The Department of Public Sector Enterprises (DPE)  said it is formulating a policy to raise retirement age to 60 years for employees of sick units whose revival packages have been approved by the government. The Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) had recommended to the department for increasing the retirement age of employees of loss-making Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). 
“...DPE is formulating a policy for enhancement of superannuation age from 58 years to 60 years for employees of sick CPSEs whose revival packages have been approved by the government,” Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.  Besides, he said, these PSUs would continue to be in public sector after implementation of the revival package. 

India world’s largest importer of arms

India is the world's largest recipient of arms while South Korea is second and Pakistan and China are tied in third place, says a report. The volume of worldwide arms transfers in 2007-11 was 24 percent higher than in 2002-06 and the five largest arms importers in 2007-11 were all Asian states, said a press communique. 
The data revealed that Asia and Oceania accounted for a whopping 44 percent of global arms imports, followed by Europe 19 percent, the Middle East 17 percent, the Americas 11 percent. Africa was the lowest with 9 percent. India was the world's largest recipient of arms, accounting for 10 percent of global arms imports. The other large recipients of arms in 2007-11 were South Korea (6 percent of arms transfers), Pakistan (5 percent), China (5 percent) and Singapore (4 percent).  “A large share of arms deliveries is due to licensed production.”
India's neighbour China was the largest recipient of arms exports in 2002-06, but it fell to fourth place in 2007-11. Between 2002-06 and 2007-11, the volume of Chinese arms exports increased by 95 percent and now China ranks as the sixth largest supplier of arms in the world. “While the volume of China's arms exports is increasing, this is largely a result of Pakistan importing more arms from China.” 
“China has not yet achieved a major breakthrough in any other significant market.” The study said that major suppliers continued to deliver weapons to countries affected by the events of the Arab Spring. Despite a review in 2011 of its arms transfer policies towards the region, the US remains a major supplier to both Tunisia and Egypt. In 2011, the US delivered 45 M-1A1 tanks to Egypt and agreed to deliver 125 more, the communique said.
“The transfer of arms to states affected by the Arab Spring has provoked public and parliamentary debate in a number of supplier states. However, the impact of these debates on states' arms export policies has, up to now, been limited,” said Mark Bromley, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme. The think-tank also noted that in 2011 Saudi Arabia placed an order with the US for 154 F-15SA combat aircraft, which was not only the most significant order placed by any state in 2011 but also the largest arms deal for at least two decades. 

BALLOONING OF TIGHT VALVES OF HEART

The heart has four valves. The function of these valves is to ensure that blood flows only in one direction i.e. forward and not backward. Diseases involving these valves are common and can be congenital (i.e. by birth) or acquired in origin. Commonly, diseases which involve heart valves lead to narrowing or tightening of these valves so that there is obstruction to smooth flow of blood across them. As a result pressure builds up in the heart chamber just before the affected valve which can lead to symptoms such as breathing difficulty, accumulation of flud (water) in different parts of the body such as lungs, abdomen and fact, blood in sputum, pain in abdomen, weakness, jaundice etc.
Till about 1980s, the only treatment of these tight valves was surgery wherein surgeon, at the time of open heart surgery, splits the narrow valve with a knife or, if the valve is too much distorted, replaces them with artificial valves. However, over last 15 years or so, these tight valves can be treated by heart specialists without surgery, a technique commonly called 'ballooning' of tight valves of heart. In this technique an appropriate sized balloon is positioned across the narrow valve. After making sure that the balloon is in adequate and correct position, it is inflated with the help of a syringe held in the hands of the operator. The balloon then inflated is kept across the tight valve for 5-10 seconds and is rapidly deflated followed by its removal. The inflated balloon causes splitting of the tight and narrow edges of affected valve thereby leading to its relaxation and opening; the latter then causes smoother blood flow across them with consequent fall in pressure in the chamber before the affected valve. For the ballooning procedure, the patient is admitted in the hospital for 2-3 days. A careful echocardiography (ultrasound) examination of the heart is mandatory before the procedure. Important point to be excluded is that there should be no significant leakage of the valve along with its narrowing, a common association with a tight valve; if more than moderate (or significant) leakage of the valve is associated with tightening, ballooning treatment is not advisable because in such situations leakage of valve may increase after ballooning. Other points to be looked for before taking a patient for ballooning are detail anatomy (or structure) of the affected valve including its movement, deposition of calcium, if any on the affected valve etc.
The ballooning technique, as described above, is performed in fully equipped catheterization laboratory which is a costly set-up and not readily available. In addition, equipments used for ballooning of tight valves are imported and hence costly. Unfortunately, diseases of these valve affect individuals belonging to lower and middle economic groups who can not afford these costly procedures easily. Efforts are being made to bring down the cost of the procedure without catheterization laboratory thus bringing down the cost of the procedure.

Taxing the Rich

The Indian rich class isn't paying its fair share of taxes. The time has now come to surprise them. 

Rich in India are  so wealthy that the moniker  'filthy rich' would happily apply here. They are also in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Mallya's floundering Kingfisher Airlines will most probably fly for some time longer thanks to bailouts funded from tax payers' money. A Liquor mafia Ponti Chadha's enormous wealth comes from cornering the liquor distribution in Uttar Pradesh. A recent 'surprise' I-T raid on him yielded a piffling Rs 10 crore or so (Chadha reportedly has mock 'raids' regularly conducted on his residences to see how fast evidence can be removed).
So shouldn't these two gentlemen pay higher taxes than, say, the senior executives in their vast business empires? At a broader level, isn't it time that India's super-rich contribute a fair share to tax revenues (just last week finance minister Pranab Mukherjee admitted they needed to grow faster)? Two decades after liberalisation, this question is being asked with increasing frequency, within government, by economists, tax experts and social commentators. Many are convinced wealthy people and corporations need to be taxed more, plus several say they should also lose the big tax breaks.
Last year, former FM P. Chidambaram suggested that the wealthy be asked to shell out more. Some of our leading tax economists have made a case for reintroducing an estate tax. There's increasing talk of stepping up surveillance on goods and services consumed by the wealthy. These demands are backed by strong arguments, political, economic and moral ones. It's no coincidence that this sentiment comes after a wave of public anger at corruption driven by some large companies and, obviously, very wealthy people.
“Yes, there is a need for governments to tax the rich more than they do,” says Deepak Nayyar, economist and former chief economic advisor to the government. “Typically, tax rates on the super-rich are low. It's just as true in India as in the US. The growing wealth and power of India's richest is more than apparent. The top one per cent—a mere 12 million people or so—accounted for 5 per cent of the national income in 1980. In '05, this share went up to 12.5 per cent; and was pegged at about 15 per cent in 2010.
It's clear that a very small number of people have really enjoyed the fruits of economic reforms. The poor, meanwhile, climb over the poverty line at a snail's pace of one per cent a year. Prof Arun Kumar, an expert on India's 'black' or tax-free market, says “India's wealthy have grown both in size and prosperity. They can afford higher rates and do without exemptions”.
India's situation mirrors a similar rise in inequalities in many countries, from the US, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, China and so on. Many major economies—notably the US, France, and Spain—are looking at ways to tax the super-rich. Americans, for instance, are growing increasingly frustrated with their tax system. The increase in inequality the US and other countries have experienced during the last few decades spurs concern about fairness in taxation.” US President Barack Obama wants to raise taxes on those making more than $2,50,000 a year by letting the tax cuts instituted for them by George W. Bush expire. He opposes eliminating the estate tax, but would like to increase the exemption level to $5 million and lower the top rate to 35 per cent. And he wants to put in place the 'Buffett tax' to ensure that those who make more than $1 million pay their fair share.
But by what yardstick should India's elite class be taxed? Should it be a higher slab of income tax (say 40 per cent) for the super-rich? Or is there a case for an estate tax, which was discontinued in pre-liberalisation 1985 due to poor collections and loopholes? Some experts have also pointed at increasing the scope of the wealth tax (today's one per cent earned a measly Rs 635 crore in 2010) and the obvious issue of fewer tax exemptions to the wealthy and corporations.
It's not like there's a consensus on the prescriptions. In fact, taxes on the wealthy are so highly contested that debating points are added up even to identify just who the rich are. Besides, there's an implicit threat: what if you tax too much and entrepreneurs shut shop? Or what if a loophole—like charitable trusts, for instance—are employed to evade taxation? And then, of course, there's the fear of increasing black money in an economy that already has so much of it. Any change in the taxation policy would have to take all these concerns to mind. Increasing the rates would also run contrary to the core tenet of Manmohanomics: increase 'base' or number of taxpayers, reduce tax rates. This is what India has been doing since the '90s. Is it now time to relook this taxation tenet?
“So far, there's no evidence to show this (approach) hasn't worked,” says Dr Arvind Virmani, executive director, India, IMF, and ex-chief economic advisor in the finance ministry. “Often, there are demands for higher taxes on a section of people or industry, when really what you need is a policy intervention to sort out a more fundamental problem.” The argument here is that as the economy grows, the value of many things may increase, but if the value of some things (like land) spiral out of control, something must be wrong. But is tax the answer? “A tax in such situations will penalise people who did nothing to elevate the value of, say, the only home they own. That's not the way to go. The answer is to supply more land so that prices come down—a policy response, not a tax one,” Virmani says.
But experts find plenty on this front to fault with in India's taxation policies. Like many Indians pay a much higher average rate of tax on earned income than on unearned income. Several experts Outlook spoke to—including Thermax's Anu Aga, Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar and journalist P. Sainath—acknowledge that this must change. “For instance, why should capital gains on investments in equity, or dividend income, get a tax break at all? This is the government's way of encouraging speculation among the wealthy,” says Sainath.
The finance ministry's statement of 'revenue foregone', published with the budget since 2007, details all tax concessions. Last budget, it said corporate income-tax breaks were roughly Rs 88,000 crore. These should be tackled. Personal income-tax breaks were huge too—33 per cent of the said proceeds. Despite these exemptions, all the experts agree that a higher percentage of tax within the economy is the only way to wind up with a surplus down the line. 
The problem is those who don't pay (income) tax are everywhere. Only 3 per cent actually do, and that includes the self-employed, professionals and businessmen. Income from agriculture is constitutionally tax-free. Worse, there's no denying the system is unfair. Those who earn more than Rs 8 lakh a year are taxed at the highest rate—roughly 30 per cent—same as an ultra-rich Ambani. There are numerous opportunities to evade paying taxes. Businessmen can conceal income as 'cost' of doing business, cutting their personal tax liability. The salaried have no such luck. Their tax is deducted before the paycheck arrives.
One way, perhaps, to effectively tax the rich is to consider an estate tax, a topic that has been coming up among India's taxation experts in recent months. This tax-on the value of a person's estate, subject to a threshold limit—is present in many major economies the world over. In an interview to Outlook last year, leading tax economist Vijay Kelkar had advocated Rs 50 crore as a threshold limit—others feel even Rs 20 crore would be a good staring point. Dr Ajit Ranade, chief economist and head of research, Birla Group, agrees that estate tax is the “big one” India doesn't have.
But the worry, of course, is that any new tax means a new tax administration to track each transaction. And there are the potential 'loopholes'. “Now you're entering the zone where we ride into the cloak-and-dagger 1970s era,” cautions Surjit Singh Bhalla, managing director, Oxus Research and Investments. He says there is scope to raise tax revenue, but largely through indirect, professional and service taxes. On another front, factor in the massive exemptions—Rs 5.3 lakh crore last year—and the effective tax rate on wealthy companies distills to something like 22.2 per cent. Corporate watchers admit that concessions, though time-bound when introduced, tend to stick around forever. So, finally, if very few pay taxes, evasion is relatively easy and exemptions linger on, how can India tax the wealthy more? Well, whether the super-rich like it or not, the search for answers has begun.

Economy: Unfinished journey

Stalled reforms, slower growth, and a crop of aged, dithering politicians all bode ill for India's fortunes.

The Indians travelling on board, who are well- off enough for a long-distance train fare but  not rich enough to fly, are full of hope. They cheerfully point to signs of rising fortunes in the passing landscape: concrete houses in remote corners of West Bengal have new iron roofs and trail electricity wires; mobile-phone towers sprout near the rail track and give uninterrupted coverage; every other home seems to sport a dazzlingly garish mural that advertises lessons in English or computer use to legions of the aspirational.
On board, too, there is plenty of evidence of a rising middle class: college students who crowd around laptops to watch screechy Bollywood films; invalids paying to ride from northern Assam for treatment at a good hospital far south in Tamil Nadu; a soldier on leave texting eager messages home to Kerala on a new phone; an entrepreneur from Manipur who predicts his business running the train's kitchen will flourish, and India with it.
Long may their hopes be met. For many Indians, a decade-long boom has brought obvious gains. Some are physical: a study in the National Medical Journal of India last year, looking at children among India's wealthier population, found that at the age of 18 boys are 4.5cm taller and 4kg heavier than they were in 1992, when economic reforms had just got going. That seems to be down to better food and less disease.
The good that's been done: Poorer Indians are apparently doing better too. An official study published on March 19th assesses the desperately needy, defined as rural-dwellers who earn a pitifully low 22 rupees ($0.44) or less each day (29 rupees for those in cities). Their number fell by 52m over five years, from 407m in 2004 to 355m in 2009; that's a number lifted out of poverty equivalent to the entire population of South Africa (though still a fraction of China's achievement). Critics are right to say that for almost a third of the population to remain in such penury is a terrible thing, and to note that if the measure of poverty is raised to $1.25 day, the total swells by tens of millions. But on that measure, too, there have been gains.
Figures just released from last year's census give further cause for hope. The country's 247m households, two-thirds of them rural, have seen literacy rates rise to 74% from 65% in 2001; 63% now have phones, up from just 9%; nearly 60% have a bank account; 93% of those in towns and cities have at least some access to electricity, two-thirds cook on gas, and so on.
But for such progress to continue, and for India to achieve its ambition to become a great power, two things are necessary: a government that keeps its finances in order and consistently fast economic growth. Worryingly, both of these are now in serious doubt.
The ruling Congress party recently suffered in state elections. Its fortunes were mixed in four smaller states, losing in Goa and Punjab, but winning in Manipur and Uttarakhand. But in the most important of all, Uttar Pradesh (UP), which has a population of 200m, the size of Brazil, Congress came an ignominious fourth. Its haul of only 28 seats, out of 403 contested, was a particular defeat for Rahul Gandhi, the Congress scion who had campaigned hard there. Long touted as Congress's next leader, he risks becoming India's answer to Britain's Prince Charles: stuck in a dynastic holding pattern behind his powerful mother, Sonia.
The result in UP leaves Congress worried about its prospects in the national elections due in 2014—and many of its leaders desperate to buy popularity. It is supplementing an existing “right to work” scheme concentrated on rural areas with a new “right to food” scheme aimed especially at helping the two-fifths of infants still stunted by hunger.
The good that is left undone: Next may come the roll-out of direct cash transfers into the bank accounts of welfare recipients. This will be made a lot easier by a “unique identity” biometric scheme which aims to enroll 200m Indians by the end of the year. It looks like a more efficient way to get benefits to the needy, bypassing crooked officials; that is welcome. But giving politicians an easy way to funnel cash to voters could also be an invitation for the welfare bill to surge.
Welfare is not the only area where spending is climbing beyond the country's means. The military budget rose by more than 10% last year and is budgeted for a rise of 17% this year (see article). There is a $1 trillion plan for new infrastructure in the next five years, and much more besides.
But the growth to pay for all this is faltering. Over the five years to 2008, the economy raced forward by an average of 9% a year. By contrast the year just ending looks likely to notch up between 6% and 7%. Global difficulties, especially high oil prices, play a part. But the main causes are disappointing industrial investment, high inflation and interest rates, excessive public borrowing that crowds out the private sector and investors who have lost their faith that India's politicians can bring about economic reform. The fall in investment is especially stark (see chart).
Growth above 6% may not sound bad, but for big, poor India losing momentum is costly. Less investment now reduces the capacity to grow later. A lower growth trajectory means many millions stuck in poverty for years longer than otherwise. Though the census figures showed much progress, they also revealed how far India still has to go. Half of all Indians have no choice but to defecate in the open. Two-thirds still cook on open fires.
And even when it was at its raciest, India's economy struggled to create jobs. Low-paying casual jobs are all that are available for four-fifths of urban workers—a level hardly changed in years. A slowdown could easily reverse the gains that have been made.
Slower growth could be grim in the short term, too: if Indian farmers suffer a bad monsoon this year, expansion may dip under 6%. At that level the heavily indebted Indian government will struggle to pay its way, hard put to draw enough foreign funds to cover the 3.6% current-account deficit.
India's rulers predict that growth should recover to 7.5% or so next year. But some at least appear to understand the brooding risks that will persist even if that figure is met. In his budget on March 16th the finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, offered a decent diagnosis of what is wrong. He fretted over wasteful and costly government spending (earlier he had said that soaring subsidies for fuel and fertilisers keep him awake at night), weaker industry and the lack of private, notably foreign, investment in recent years.
Speaking in his office on March 20th, he was more explicit. As he talks up the “resilience” of domestic demand he is preoccupied with getting the central fiscal deficit down to 5.1% of GDP. The government currently puts the deficit at 5.9%; include state deficits and off-balance-sheet items and you get a yet more daunting 8.5%, according to Chetan Ahya of Morgan Stanley (see chart 2).
The key to reducing the deficit is slashing a subsidy bill that gobbles 2.4% of GDP. Mr Mukherjee rules out any cuts in food subsidies as morally (not to mention politically) impossible, “but in other areas, including the oil sector, we have to reduce.”
Yet that, too, looks unlikely. The clearest way to save funds would be to end a subsidy on diesel fuel used for both transport and generators. In 2010 Congress said it wanted to do this. According to Morgan Stanley, overall fuel subsidies cost 0.8% of India's GDP over the past financial year. But Mr Mukherjee's budget failed to give any details on how cuts would be applied. In any case, the government struggled to impose its will. On March 20th it barely defeated a budget amendment that would in effect have been a no-confidence vote.
Mr Mukherjee's inability to cut spending undermines his hopes of persuading sceptics that India can “come back to the path of fiscal consolidation”. It reinforces the fears of many—including, it seems, the country's central bank— that India's period of fast growth is over. In the years running up to the economic crisis in the West, India had comparatively tight public finances, high and rising investment and a steady drip of reforms. Today the central bank all but admits that none of those conditions applies. Inflation has risen and remains high; the bank is loth to cut interest rates sharply until the government borrows less. So high interest rates will continue to squeeze industry, and growth will continue to be slow.
Mr Mukherjee talks bravely, but not convincingly, of fostering a cross-party consensus: “if a mandate is fractured you must carry other parties with you”. They must be persuaded of the benefits of reform, he warns, because otherwise slower growth and rotten public finances could provoke “long-term suffering…like what is happening in the euro zone and many countries.”
Leaders needed: Mr Mukherjee is not alone in feeling this way. The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, told parliament on March 19th that India could still get back to happy days of 9% growth, but only if “we can agree on a number of difficult decisions”. By that he means rolling out a goods and services tax, cutting subsidies, easing conditions for investors and more.
Yet the appetite for such reforms is meagre at best. India's politicians are keen on sharing out the benefits of growth, but scared of putting in place policies that would allow that growth to continue. Getting any economic reform or legislation passed has been beyond the wit of Congress since its re-election in 2009, when it managed to increase its number of seats but still fell short of getting a majority. Instead, in the years since, corruption scandals such as the one that blew up this week over coal allocations and a nastily divisive political climate have distracted everyone.
Deferential Mr Singh, who might once have been expected to spearhead any reform efforts, turns 80 this year. His authority, already limited, is waning further. He is so soft-spoken that a common joke at meetings is to ask for mobile phones to be put on “Manmohan Singh mode”—which is to say, rendered inaudible. Populist rivals increasingly push him around.
On March 18th his reformist minister for railways, Dinesh Trivedi, was forced to resign by a junior coalition ally. The minister's sin: raising passenger fares on India's vast railways for the first time in nine years. For a passenger riding 2nd class on the Vivek Express for the length of the country the rise would have added 212 rupees ($4) to the current fare of 673 rupees. Even the unions agreed to this, and Mr Singh praised the fare rise as “forward looking”. But he feebly acquiesced as Mr Trivedi was hounded out.
Nor does the 76-year-old Mr Mukherjee, though sprightly, make a convincing leader. India's stockmarkets slid in the days after his budget speech. Investors who were supposed to be cheered by talk of getting private capital back to India were instead puzzled by a plan for retrospectively levying tax on big firms. That seems aimed at Vodafone, a telecoms company. The Supreme Court recently rejected a tax case against the company.
But at least the finance minister talks of balancing books and reforms. Few others among India's increasingly gerontocratic political class bother even to try. Congress is divided. The cabinet surprisingly agreed, late in 2011, to let foreigners like Walmart and Tesco invest in Indian retailing—an opening-up that carried a lot of symbolic freight. Yet 71-year-old A.K. Antony (a leading Congress figure who sits in the cabinet as defence minister) let it be known he had in fact opposed it, and Sonia Gandhi, Congress's chief, gave only tepid, tardy support; her son Rahul was yet more timid. The decision has now been put on hold.
That was a victory for Congress's main coalition ally, the Trinamool Congress. The party's tough and ambitious leader, Mamata Banerjee, braved beatings and attempted murder by political rivals in West Bengal during her rise to political power. She has been chief minister of that state for nearly a year, and makes a sport of blocking any reforms she considers bad for the poor. “She is very clear, she does not want to tax the people,” says Mr Mukherjee.
In December she had Mr Singh “freeze” the decision on foreign investment in retail. Earlier she threatened to quit over rising petrol prices (though she backed down). It was she who elbowed Mr Trivedi—a member of her own party—out of the railways ministry. In the past few months alone she has also blocked a water-sharing deal with Bangladesh; Delhi's efforts to oversee anti-terrorism work; and a government anti-corruption bill.
If not now, when?: With Ms Banerjee as an ally, Congress looks stymied. Known familiarly as Didi, she is clearly campaigning for the next poll, when she may decide to dump Congress. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) occasionally stirs things up by suggesting that national polls could somehow be triggered early.
Whether or not that happens, important elections are looming. They always are, in India. Coming next, in late March, is a partial election for the upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, where Congress is weak. After that, probably in July, is a vote among state and national assemblymen to elect a new president. Congress is anxious to get another compliant figure into the head of state's post. The haggling expected in these elections is likely to prove as contentious—and distracting—as any popular, public poll.
While the politicians are in election mode there is almost no chance of any consensus for reform. Nor would elections that turfed Congress out necessarily change things for the better. If the BJP were a more compelling alternative to the current government, more voters (and politicians) might be inclined to welcome an early election. But the BJP, too, is divided, and would be hard put to return to a liberal, coherent set of policies directed at growth. Once a liberalising champion, the party has taken against letting foreigners into Indian retailing, reversing a 2004 manifesto pledge in order to court urban traders afraid of Walmart. A leading BJP figure explained late last year that as a “nation first” party, “we don't succumb to the pressures of the West” in such matters.
BJP leaders of some individual states, such as Narendra Modi in Gujarat could make a credible pitch as business-minded economic reformers. Relatively young, with decent economic records in their states, they could stand as “pro-development” candidates if India's economy slows more. An opinion poll in January suggested Mr Modi, with 24%, is the country's most popular candidate to be prime minister. But he is also divisive, even within the BJP, and risks putting off Muslim and moderate Hindu voters furious over his handling of anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujarat ten years ago, when police failed to stop the murder of over 1,000 people. Divisions on both sides leave little chance for Mr Mukherjee to build cross-party agreement. And what chance there may be is dwindling; if politicians are unlikely to back reforms now, they will become ever more so as a general election comes closer. For reform to happen, someone needs to persuade the hope-filled voters on the Vivek Express that surging economic growth is not something India enjoys by right. It is something which depends on policies that encourage investment. Getting such a message across requires energetic, active leaders, plus politicians who are ready to compromise. Given the state of the parties, and elections that always seem to be looming, that seems too much to hope for.