The Congress party-led coalition will present its fifth budget on Feb. 29, which is expected to focus on farms, education, healthcare and tax reforms, and unveil medium-term measures to fight food-price inflation.Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, a member of the left-leaning coalition elected in May 2004, is also expected to boost investment in infrastructure, particularly roads, ports and power, in the 2008/09 budget. The fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.
Following are details of pending reforms that economists and the government say are necessary to sustain economic growth of around 9 percent annually for several years and reduce poverty in Asia's third-biggest economy.
PRIVATISATION: Stake sales in state-run firms. The Congress-led coalition has abandoned privatisation, bowing to pressure from its communist allies.
BANKING: The government has said ownership in state-run banks will not fall below 51 percent, which analysts say acts as an obstacle for growth in the sector. Current government holdings in state banks range from 51 percent to total ownership.Private banks can offer up to 74 percent to foreign investors while public sector banks cannot offer more than 20 percent.
RETAIL: India limits foreign, multiple-brand retailers to wholesale or franchise and licence operations. Talk of easing foreign investment rules has cooled, prompting Tesco Plc to shelve plans for India.
AVIATION: Although foreign funds can invest in Indian airlines, India bars overseas carriers from doing so. A move to allow foreign airlines into the local market has been opposed by the government's communist allies.
FARMING: The government wants to double farm incomes by 2010. Initiatives include doubling the rate of growth of public and private investment in agriculture, launching fresh irrigation projects and developing wasteland for productive use.
INFRASTRUCTURE: According to policy makers, India will need investment of about $500 billion to upgrade infrastructure in the world's second-most populous country. Cutting red-tape is seen as necessary to attract investments.
FOREIGN INVESTMENT: The foreign ownership limit in insurancehas been stagnant at 26 percent despite a long-standing policyproposal to raise it to 49 percent.
PENSION FUNDS - A move to allow 26 percent foreign investment in pension fund management companies awaits the approval of parliament.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
BUDGET - India oil cos to save 930 mln rupees/yr on freight cut
State-run oil retailers are expected to save around 930 million rupees a year from 5 percent cuts to petrol and diesel freight rates announced in Tuesday's rail budget.
Leading oil marketing firm Indian Oil Corp is only expected to gain by around 200 million rupees in the next fiscal year from April as it uses its own pipeline network for transporting fuels, a company spokesman said.
Hindustan Petroleum Corp's director of finance, Bhaswar Mukherjee, said his firm would be better off to the tune of 380 million rupees in 2008/09.
"On the basis of estimated numbers for next fiscal we will save 80 million on petrol and 300 million on diesel," he said.
Bharat Petroleum Corp will save around 350 million rupees, its director finance S. K. Joshi said.
Leading oil marketing firm Indian Oil Corp is only expected to gain by around 200 million rupees in the next fiscal year from April as it uses its own pipeline network for transporting fuels, a company spokesman said.
Hindustan Petroleum Corp's director of finance, Bhaswar Mukherjee, said his firm would be better off to the tune of 380 million rupees in 2008/09.
"On the basis of estimated numbers for next fiscal we will save 80 million on petrol and 300 million on diesel," he said.
Bharat Petroleum Corp will save around 350 million rupees, its director finance S. K. Joshi said.
What you want from FM in the Coming Budget?????
This section is meant for expressing your personal feeling regarding coming Budget.........OR put it in this way....If you are FM then what will be your Budget????
Please feel free to write...........
Please feel free to write...........
"NEXT BILLION"
'The next-billion' market is a large, untapped market waiting to consume; the US$ 150 billion that Indian households now spend, will cross US$ 325 billion by 2015, as per The Boston Consulting Group.
European foundry equipment makers - Laempe & Mossner, and Kuka Roboter, among others - are keen on boosting their Indian operations.
Significantly, VTB Group - Russia's second biggest lender - has become the country's first bank to open a branch in India as part of its strategy to establish a global presence, and plans to invest US$ 100 million in 2009.
European foundry equipment makers - Laempe & Mossner, and Kuka Roboter, among others - are keen on boosting their Indian operations.
Significantly, VTB Group - Russia's second biggest lender - has become the country's first bank to open a branch in India as part of its strategy to establish a global presence, and plans to invest US$ 100 million in 2009.
Telecommunication companies can now share their active infrastructure
The department of telecommunications (DoT) has approved industry regulator Trai’s recommendations to allow service providers share active infrastructure. The move will help telcos to lower tariffs and reduce their expenditure by well over 50%.
At present, Indian telecos are permitted to share only passive infrastructure like towers, repeaters, shelters and generators. Sharing of active infrastructure will allow operators to share key electronic components such as antennas, feeder cables, nodes, radio access network, transmission systems and backhaul.
The change in the policy implies that new entrants who are allotted spectrum can completely ride on the infrastructure of existing players and launch services within a short span. The entry of these new players is also likely to trigger a tariff war, which can result in a further reduction of call rates. Subscribers in India already enjoy the lowest cellular tariffs across the world.
Active infrastructure sharing will play a major role in expediting the rollout of mobile network across the country, especially in rural India. Rural rollouts carry a higher operation expenditure. The telecom department has now sought an endorsement from the Telecom Commission, is the apex decision making body, for the proposal. Active infrastructure sharing will become a policy only after clearance from the telecom panel, which is expected soon.
Telcos have been seeking the government’s permission for sharing active infrastructure. During a recent meeting on the scrapping of the access deficit charge, several telcos had pointed out that they would pass on the cost benefits due to active infrastructure sharing to their customers.
Apart from savings on operational costs and capital investment, the move will enable operators provide mobile services to their subscribers wherever their own network signal is not available. It will also help them increase their coverage area and improve quality of service with almost no additional expenditure.
“Based on mutual agreement, service providers may have active infrastructure sharing limited to antenna, feeder cable, Node B, radio access networks and transmission system, but sharing of allocated spectrum is not possible. DoT will be amending the licence conditions of UASL/CMTS (unified access service licence and cellular mobile telephone service.
Details of the active infrastructure sharing will be put on the web by service providers,” DoT wrote to the Telecom Commission on February 14. The note said DoT has accepted Trai’s recommendations on active infrastructure “with a different approach”.
DoT has also accepted Trai’s proposal that there will be no mandated sharing of infrastructure. But the entire process will be transparent and non-discriminatory, it said. The mode of commercial agreement has been left to the telecom service providers.
Trai had recommended for an amendment in the licence conditions to allow service providers to share their backhaul from base trans-receiver station (BTS) to base station controller (BSC). It has noted that such a sharing is permitted on optical fibre as well as radio medium at certain ‘nodes’.
DoT, in its note to the Telecom Commission, has added that no such amendment was required as the licence conditions already allowed operators to share backhaul from BTS and BSC. “For this, there is no need to amend licensing conditions of UASL clause number 33 (ii) and CMTS clause number 34 (ii). However, no sharing of spectrum at access network side is permitted,” the DoT communique said.
At present, Indian telecos are permitted to share only passive infrastructure like towers, repeaters, shelters and generators. Sharing of active infrastructure will allow operators to share key electronic components such as antennas, feeder cables, nodes, radio access network, transmission systems and backhaul.
The change in the policy implies that new entrants who are allotted spectrum can completely ride on the infrastructure of existing players and launch services within a short span. The entry of these new players is also likely to trigger a tariff war, which can result in a further reduction of call rates. Subscribers in India already enjoy the lowest cellular tariffs across the world.
Active infrastructure sharing will play a major role in expediting the rollout of mobile network across the country, especially in rural India. Rural rollouts carry a higher operation expenditure. The telecom department has now sought an endorsement from the Telecom Commission, is the apex decision making body, for the proposal. Active infrastructure sharing will become a policy only after clearance from the telecom panel, which is expected soon.
Telcos have been seeking the government’s permission for sharing active infrastructure. During a recent meeting on the scrapping of the access deficit charge, several telcos had pointed out that they would pass on the cost benefits due to active infrastructure sharing to their customers.
Apart from savings on operational costs and capital investment, the move will enable operators provide mobile services to their subscribers wherever their own network signal is not available. It will also help them increase their coverage area and improve quality of service with almost no additional expenditure.
“Based on mutual agreement, service providers may have active infrastructure sharing limited to antenna, feeder cable, Node B, radio access networks and transmission system, but sharing of allocated spectrum is not possible. DoT will be amending the licence conditions of UASL/CMTS (unified access service licence and cellular mobile telephone service.
Details of the active infrastructure sharing will be put on the web by service providers,” DoT wrote to the Telecom Commission on February 14. The note said DoT has accepted Trai’s recommendations on active infrastructure “with a different approach”.
DoT has also accepted Trai’s proposal that there will be no mandated sharing of infrastructure. But the entire process will be transparent and non-discriminatory, it said. The mode of commercial agreement has been left to the telecom service providers.
Trai had recommended for an amendment in the licence conditions to allow service providers to share their backhaul from base trans-receiver station (BTS) to base station controller (BSC). It has noted that such a sharing is permitted on optical fibre as well as radio medium at certain ‘nodes’.
DoT, in its note to the Telecom Commission, has added that no such amendment was required as the licence conditions already allowed operators to share backhaul from BTS and BSC. “For this, there is no need to amend licensing conditions of UASL clause number 33 (ii) and CMTS clause number 34 (ii). However, no sharing of spectrum at access network side is permitted,” the DoT communique said.
News
SEBI seeks clarifications from proposed IPOs of 25 firms including Reliance Infratel, JSW Energy and Oil India.
Sun Pharma gets USFDA approval to market generic Demadex® Tablets
DLF plans to invest about US$5bn to build more than 25,000 hotel rooms in next 7-8 years.
The Dabur Group is reportedly evaluating a range of options for Dabur Pharma including a sellout.
RIL, ADAG Group among 37 in race for developing 8 airports in Andhra Pradesh.
BSNL has shortlisted six companies – GTL Infra, Quipo, Essar, XL Telecom, TVS and Aster Teleservices – to hire cell towers.
Mahindra Group plans to enter film production.
Sun Pharma gets USFDA approval to market generic Demadex® Tablets
DLF plans to invest about US$5bn to build more than 25,000 hotel rooms in next 7-8 years.
The Dabur Group is reportedly evaluating a range of options for Dabur Pharma including a sellout.
RIL, ADAG Group among 37 in race for developing 8 airports in Andhra Pradesh.
BSNL has shortlisted six companies – GTL Infra, Quipo, Essar, XL Telecom, TVS and Aster Teleservices – to hire cell towers.
Mahindra Group plans to enter film production.
An interim order by the Supreme Court on Wednesday that sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh pay growers Rs 115-123 a quintal led to a fall in shares of companies based in the Northern State
Biggest ever annual plan for Railways announced
The Minister of Railways, Shri Lalu Prasad on Tuesday announced biggest ever annual plan for the Railways. The Ministry of Railways proposes to invest Rs 37,500 crore, which is 21% more than the previous year.
The plan size includes a total budgetary support of Rs 7874 crore including Rs 774 crore to be provided from the Central Road Fund. The annual plan will have Internal and External Budgetary Resources (IEBR) funding of 79%.
Under this plan, priority has been given to enhancement of rail capacity, modernization of the railway, throughput enhancement on High Density Network routes, traffic facility works and expansion and development of the network. Construction of flyovers, bypasses, Intermediate Block System (IBS), upgradation of goods shed etc, traffic facilities works will be completed on priority.
The outlay for doubling works has been increased to Rs 2,500 crore, traffic facility works to Rs 984 crore and an outlay of Rs 1535 crore has been proposed for projects under implementation by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). Provision of Rs 1730 crore for new lines, Rs 2489 crore for gauge conversion, Rs 626 crore for electrification and Rs 650 crore for Metropolitan Transport Projects has been made.
On safety related plan heads, provision has been made for Rs 3600 crore for track renewals, Rs 1520 crore for signal and telecommunication works, Rs 700 crore for Road Over Bridges and Road Under Bridges and Rs 600 crore for manning of unmanned level crossings.
The Railway Minister also sought additional funds to the tune of Rs 1712 crore from Ministry of Finance for national projects of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla, Jiribam-Imphal Road, Dimapur-Kohima, Azra-Byrnihat and Kumarghat-Agartala new line, Bogibeel Rail-cum-Road Bridge and Lumding-Silchar-Jiribam, Rangia-Murkongselek gauge conversion.
During the year 2300 km broad gauge lines are likely to be completed. The target for construction of broad gauge lines in 2008-09 is 3500 km. The construction of new line between Kakapore and Badgam in the Kashmir valley has already been completed and the remaining portion in the valley will be completed in 2008-09.
Expressing gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for deciding the funding of National Projects in the North Eastern region, through 25% funds from Railways Gross Budgetary Support and balance 75% as an additionality, he proposed to create a non-lapsable Northeast Rail Development Fund to expedite track construction process in this region.
The plan size includes a total budgetary support of Rs 7874 crore including Rs 774 crore to be provided from the Central Road Fund. The annual plan will have Internal and External Budgetary Resources (IEBR) funding of 79%.
Under this plan, priority has been given to enhancement of rail capacity, modernization of the railway, throughput enhancement on High Density Network routes, traffic facility works and expansion and development of the network. Construction of flyovers, bypasses, Intermediate Block System (IBS), upgradation of goods shed etc, traffic facilities works will be completed on priority.
The outlay for doubling works has been increased to Rs 2,500 crore, traffic facility works to Rs 984 crore and an outlay of Rs 1535 crore has been proposed for projects under implementation by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). Provision of Rs 1730 crore for new lines, Rs 2489 crore for gauge conversion, Rs 626 crore for electrification and Rs 650 crore for Metropolitan Transport Projects has been made.
On safety related plan heads, provision has been made for Rs 3600 crore for track renewals, Rs 1520 crore for signal and telecommunication works, Rs 700 crore for Road Over Bridges and Road Under Bridges and Rs 600 crore for manning of unmanned level crossings.
The Railway Minister also sought additional funds to the tune of Rs 1712 crore from Ministry of Finance for national projects of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla, Jiribam-Imphal Road, Dimapur-Kohima, Azra-Byrnihat and Kumarghat-Agartala new line, Bogibeel Rail-cum-Road Bridge and Lumding-Silchar-Jiribam, Rangia-Murkongselek gauge conversion.
During the year 2300 km broad gauge lines are likely to be completed. The target for construction of broad gauge lines in 2008-09 is 3500 km. The construction of new line between Kakapore and Badgam in the Kashmir valley has already been completed and the remaining portion in the valley will be completed in 2008-09.
Expressing gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for deciding the funding of National Projects in the North Eastern region, through 25% funds from Railways Gross Budgetary Support and balance 75% as an additionality, he proposed to create a non-lapsable Northeast Rail Development Fund to expedite track construction process in this region.
37 FDI proposals in broadcasting sector cleared
Thirty-seven FDI proposals pertaining to the information and broadcasting sector were approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board during 2007, Mr P.R. Dasmunsi, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The Minister also informed the House that the tax review proposals received by the Ministry included the Multiplex Association of India’s demand to bring down customs duty on imported equipment such as xenon bulbs, cinema digital and analogue sound processors. It has also sought tax relief for small budget films. The Government has been urged to bring the rate of depreciation, currently at 15 per cent for plant machinery and furniture, and 10 per cent for building, at par with the 40 per cent applicable to public transport and tourist taxis.
The Government proposes to set up 93 All India Radio transmitters and 41 Doordarshan transmitters during 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. It has also planned 100 low power transmitters to be up in the North-Eastern States, the Minister informed the House. The estimated cost for the AIR is Rs 182 crore and for Doordarshan is Rs 198.37 crore.
The Minister also informed the House that the tax review proposals received by the Ministry included the Multiplex Association of India’s demand to bring down customs duty on imported equipment such as xenon bulbs, cinema digital and analogue sound processors. It has also sought tax relief for small budget films. The Government has been urged to bring the rate of depreciation, currently at 15 per cent for plant machinery and furniture, and 10 per cent for building, at par with the 40 per cent applicable to public transport and tourist taxis.
The Government proposes to set up 93 All India Radio transmitters and 41 Doordarshan transmitters during 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. It has also planned 100 low power transmitters to be up in the North-Eastern States, the Minister informed the House. The estimated cost for the AIR is Rs 182 crore and for Doordarshan is Rs 198.37 crore.
Indian Pharmaceutical Industry: In the pink of health
R&D is a fast evolving segment of Indian pharmaceutical industry. Innovation, international partnerships, collaborations, inflow of funds, clinical trials partnerships and co-development deals are changing the landscape of R&D. However, the potential is far greater and to aid the harnessing of this potential, the Times Group organised the ET Bio-Pharma Development Summit in Mumbai.
Dr Swati Piramal, director, Nicholas Piramal, was the chairperson of the forum, with the keynote speaker being Dr Ted Bianco, director, Wellcome Trust. The highlight of the event was the special address delivered by Kapil Sibal, union minister for science and technology and earth sciences.
Dr Piramal delivered the opening address to a house full of delegates. She highlighted the need of innovation in R&D and how India can excel in the same. Her address was followed by an interesting speech made by Dr Ted Bianco, director, Wellcome Trust, UK.
He provided an insight into early stage R&D through translational research funding and management of intellectual property arising thereafter. Then, it was time for Mr Sibal’s speech. He termed the new disease pathogens the terrorists of the 21st century and said there was an urgent need to safeguard public health.
He also made a strong case for growth of R&D in case of Indian pharmaceutical industry and how it could be harnessed in India to provide affordable cure. The minister stressed on the need for a forward-looking drug policy and government subsidies to boost innovation in the country.
Malvinder Singh, MD and CEO, Ranbaxy Laboratories, the speaker for the second session, gave a address on the future of generics. He informed that the global bio-generic industry was worth $60 billion today. Indian pharma industry can capitalize on this opportunity and grow to become $100 billion industry in the coming years. He pointed out that having 50 NCEs being produced by 15-20 companies is not economically sustainable.
Industry needn’t duplicate infrastructure as it would be feasible to unite through partnerships and collaborations, he said. He also stressed upon the need for an enabling regulatory framework, which moves away from the price control regime.
He pointed out that at present, R&D done internally by the companies alone qualified for weighted deduction under section 35(2AB) of Income tax act. He urged that the government to facilitate innovation by extending this benefit to outsourced R&D as well. The third session was a panel discussion providing an HR perspective on strategies for human resource management.
Dr Ganesh Shermon, partner & country head, human capital advisory services, KPMG India, Rajorshi Ganguli, director, HR, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Sanjay Muthal, president, HR, Nicholas Piramal and Shiv Raman Dugal, chairman, Instiute of Clinical Research of India, were the distinguished speakers forming the panel. Various strategies needed to drive excellence in research and cross-functional areas were discussed.
The next session emphasising on what's next in Indian bio-pharmaceuticals was moderated by Utkarsh Palnitkar, national head of health and science industry, Ernst & Young, India. One of the speakers - Dr Ramani Aiyer, chief scientific officer, Actis Biologics - highlighted the new trends in bio pharma. He also delved into the concepts of angiogenesis, gene therapy, recombinant proteins and follow-on biologics .
Kavita Khanna, president, Bharat serums & Vaccines, was the next speaker in the session and gave her views on the way forward in public-private partnerships. She presented a case study on 'Kala Azaar' (Leishmaniasis), to explain how public private partnership was being proposed to eradicate the disease by 2010. Adnan Naseemullah, a student of university of California, Berkeley, was one of the invitees to the session. He spoke about the growth and development of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and highlighted the variations in research strategies followed by the industry.
The post lunch session was a two-speaker special session held by Dr S K Gupta, dean and director, Institute of Clinical Research of India (ICRI) and Dr Anand Bidarkar, VP, Siro Clinpharm India. They delved into the various clinical research strategies to maange research and development in India.
Dr Gupta provided the statistical data on the infrastructure which is available for clinical research in India and how can India emerge as a world-class destination for conducting quality clinical research. Dr Bidarkar explained how MNCs were taking advantage of Indian clinical R&D to shorten their drug development timelines.
He also highlighted how Indian companies could look at outsourcing to overcome their competitive disadvantages.
The concluding session of the day was the CEO round table. Presided by Dr Piramal, with Pratibha Pilgaonkar, CEO, Rubicon Research, Dr Naveen Rao, MD, Merck India and Dr Ajit Dangi, president and CEO, Danssen Consulting, being the other participants in the discussion.
Dr Piramal posed various questions to the panel relating to scope of R&D in India, possibility of doing a Nano in pharma and cost of innovation. Dr Naveen Rao, MD, Merck India, expressed the need for big pharma companies to look at India and its cost-effective resources. He also stated that partnerships offered an attractive method of risk and reward sharing.
Ms Pilgaonkar pointed out that SMEs in Indian pharma industry at an early stage need the support and funding from big players in the industry to become agents of research and innovation. Dr Dangi stressed on the need for world class intellectual property (IPR) regime, lowering of transaction costs and a liberal price policy in the country.
Strengthening of the infrastructure of Drug Controller General of India, approval of various protocols for clinical trials, framing of laws on cloning and neutraceuticals were other issues discussed by the panel discussion. Dr Piramal projected that by 2010, India would have discovered at least five new drugs . Her personal bet on the cost of innovation of a new drug in India stood at less than $50 million.
The session concluded after a question and answer session where the audience put forth their questions to the panelists.
Dr Swati Piramal, director, Nicholas Piramal, was the chairperson of the forum, with the keynote speaker being Dr Ted Bianco, director, Wellcome Trust. The highlight of the event was the special address delivered by Kapil Sibal, union minister for science and technology and earth sciences.
Dr Piramal delivered the opening address to a house full of delegates. She highlighted the need of innovation in R&D and how India can excel in the same. Her address was followed by an interesting speech made by Dr Ted Bianco, director, Wellcome Trust, UK.
He provided an insight into early stage R&D through translational research funding and management of intellectual property arising thereafter. Then, it was time for Mr Sibal’s speech. He termed the new disease pathogens the terrorists of the 21st century and said there was an urgent need to safeguard public health.
He also made a strong case for growth of R&D in case of Indian pharmaceutical industry and how it could be harnessed in India to provide affordable cure. The minister stressed on the need for a forward-looking drug policy and government subsidies to boost innovation in the country.
Malvinder Singh, MD and CEO, Ranbaxy Laboratories, the speaker for the second session, gave a address on the future of generics. He informed that the global bio-generic industry was worth $60 billion today. Indian pharma industry can capitalize on this opportunity and grow to become $100 billion industry in the coming years. He pointed out that having 50 NCEs being produced by 15-20 companies is not economically sustainable.
Industry needn’t duplicate infrastructure as it would be feasible to unite through partnerships and collaborations, he said. He also stressed upon the need for an enabling regulatory framework, which moves away from the price control regime.
He pointed out that at present, R&D done internally by the companies alone qualified for weighted deduction under section 35(2AB) of Income tax act. He urged that the government to facilitate innovation by extending this benefit to outsourced R&D as well. The third session was a panel discussion providing an HR perspective on strategies for human resource management.
Dr Ganesh Shermon, partner & country head, human capital advisory services, KPMG India, Rajorshi Ganguli, director, HR, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Sanjay Muthal, president, HR, Nicholas Piramal and Shiv Raman Dugal, chairman, Instiute of Clinical Research of India, were the distinguished speakers forming the panel. Various strategies needed to drive excellence in research and cross-functional areas were discussed.
The next session emphasising on what's next in Indian bio-pharmaceuticals was moderated by Utkarsh Palnitkar, national head of health and science industry, Ernst & Young, India. One of the speakers - Dr Ramani Aiyer, chief scientific officer, Actis Biologics - highlighted the new trends in bio pharma. He also delved into the concepts of angiogenesis, gene therapy, recombinant proteins and follow-on biologics .
Kavita Khanna, president, Bharat serums & Vaccines, was the next speaker in the session and gave her views on the way forward in public-private partnerships. She presented a case study on 'Kala Azaar' (Leishmaniasis), to explain how public private partnership was being proposed to eradicate the disease by 2010. Adnan Naseemullah, a student of university of California, Berkeley, was one of the invitees to the session. He spoke about the growth and development of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and highlighted the variations in research strategies followed by the industry.
The post lunch session was a two-speaker special session held by Dr S K Gupta, dean and director, Institute of Clinical Research of India (ICRI) and Dr Anand Bidarkar, VP, Siro Clinpharm India. They delved into the various clinical research strategies to maange research and development in India.
Dr Gupta provided the statistical data on the infrastructure which is available for clinical research in India and how can India emerge as a world-class destination for conducting quality clinical research. Dr Bidarkar explained how MNCs were taking advantage of Indian clinical R&D to shorten their drug development timelines.
He also highlighted how Indian companies could look at outsourcing to overcome their competitive disadvantages.
The concluding session of the day was the CEO round table. Presided by Dr Piramal, with Pratibha Pilgaonkar, CEO, Rubicon Research, Dr Naveen Rao, MD, Merck India and Dr Ajit Dangi, president and CEO, Danssen Consulting, being the other participants in the discussion.
Dr Piramal posed various questions to the panel relating to scope of R&D in India, possibility of doing a Nano in pharma and cost of innovation. Dr Naveen Rao, MD, Merck India, expressed the need for big pharma companies to look at India and its cost-effective resources. He also stated that partnerships offered an attractive method of risk and reward sharing.
Ms Pilgaonkar pointed out that SMEs in Indian pharma industry at an early stage need the support and funding from big players in the industry to become agents of research and innovation. Dr Dangi stressed on the need for world class intellectual property (IPR) regime, lowering of transaction costs and a liberal price policy in the country.
Strengthening of the infrastructure of Drug Controller General of India, approval of various protocols for clinical trials, framing of laws on cloning and neutraceuticals were other issues discussed by the panel discussion. Dr Piramal projected that by 2010, India would have discovered at least five new drugs . Her personal bet on the cost of innovation of a new drug in India stood at less than $50 million.
The session concluded after a question and answer session where the audience put forth their questions to the panelists.
Corporate Announcements
Listing of equity shares of Gujarat Glass Ltd
Trading Members of the Exchange are hereby informed that effective from February 28, 2008, the equity shares of Gujarat Glass Ltd (Scrip Code: 532949) are listed and admitted to dealings on the Exchange in the list of 'B1' Group Securities.
Listing of equity shares of Manjushree Extrusions Ltd
Trading Members of the Exchange are hereby informed that effective from February 28, 2008, the equity shares of Manjushree Extrusions Ltd (Scrip Code: 532950) are listed and admitted to dealings on the Exchange in the list of 'B1' Group Securities.
Sun Pharma gets USFDA approval to market generic Demadex® Tablets
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has announced that USFDA has granted final approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market its generic version of Hoffman la Roche's Demadex®, torsemide tablets.These generic torsemide tablets are therapeutic equivalents of hoffman La Roche's Demadex® Tablets and include four strengths: 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg and 100 mg. These strengths of torsemide tablets have annual sales of approximately USD 35 million in the US.Torsemide is a diuretic, indicated for the treatment of edema associated with congestive heart failure, renal disease, or hepatic disease. Use of torsemide has been found to be effective for the treatment of edema associated with chronic renal failure. Torsemide is also indicated for the treatment of hypertension alone or in combination with other antihypertensive agents.The Company expects to reach the market shortly with these products.
NTPC - Updates
National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) has informed BSE that the Company has signed a loan Agreement of Euro 68.56 million with the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) on February 15, 2008, a multilateral financial institution owned by the Nordic and Baltic countries, to part finance the capital expenditure of its projects. The loan has a maturity of 12 years including availability period of 3 years. The loan carries a floating rate of interest linked to EURIBOR and is without sovereign guarantee. This is the first loan that NTPC has tied up with NIB.
Bharat Forge to raise Rs 300 Crores through a Preferential offer to the Promoters
Bharat Forge Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on February 27, 2008 approved a Preferential Issue of Convertible Warrants subject to requisite approval by the Shareholders and the applicable guidelines to the Promoters Group.Pricing of the issue will be governed by the Guidelines for Preferential Issue in terms of the applicable SEBI Guidelines.The Company will raise Rs 300 crores through the issue of these convertible warrants. The proceeds will form a part of the corpus that will serve a two-fold purpose of funding the Company's ongoing organic growth programme in the capital goods and non auto space as well as enhancing the Promoters stake in the Company.
Bharat Forge Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on February 27, 2008, subject to the required approvals being obtained, including approval of the Members of the Company and subject to applicable guidelines, has approved the following:1. Issue of convertible warrants, to Promoters Group of an aggregate value of Rs 300 crores; and2. Borrowing by way of External Commercial Borrowing / Rupee Term Loan of upto Rs 400 Crores.
Trading Members of the Exchange are hereby informed that effective from February 28, 2008, the equity shares of Gujarat Glass Ltd (Scrip Code: 532949) are listed and admitted to dealings on the Exchange in the list of 'B1' Group Securities.
Listing of equity shares of Manjushree Extrusions Ltd
Trading Members of the Exchange are hereby informed that effective from February 28, 2008, the equity shares of Manjushree Extrusions Ltd (Scrip Code: 532950) are listed and admitted to dealings on the Exchange in the list of 'B1' Group Securities.
Sun Pharma gets USFDA approval to market generic Demadex® Tablets
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has announced that USFDA has granted final approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market its generic version of Hoffman la Roche's Demadex®, torsemide tablets.These generic torsemide tablets are therapeutic equivalents of hoffman La Roche's Demadex® Tablets and include four strengths: 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg and 100 mg. These strengths of torsemide tablets have annual sales of approximately USD 35 million in the US.Torsemide is a diuretic, indicated for the treatment of edema associated with congestive heart failure, renal disease, or hepatic disease. Use of torsemide has been found to be effective for the treatment of edema associated with chronic renal failure. Torsemide is also indicated for the treatment of hypertension alone or in combination with other antihypertensive agents.The Company expects to reach the market shortly with these products.
NTPC - Updates
National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) has informed BSE that the Company has signed a loan Agreement of Euro 68.56 million with the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) on February 15, 2008, a multilateral financial institution owned by the Nordic and Baltic countries, to part finance the capital expenditure of its projects. The loan has a maturity of 12 years including availability period of 3 years. The loan carries a floating rate of interest linked to EURIBOR and is without sovereign guarantee. This is the first loan that NTPC has tied up with NIB.
Bharat Forge to raise Rs 300 Crores through a Preferential offer to the Promoters
Bharat Forge Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on February 27, 2008 approved a Preferential Issue of Convertible Warrants subject to requisite approval by the Shareholders and the applicable guidelines to the Promoters Group.Pricing of the issue will be governed by the Guidelines for Preferential Issue in terms of the applicable SEBI Guidelines.The Company will raise Rs 300 crores through the issue of these convertible warrants. The proceeds will form a part of the corpus that will serve a two-fold purpose of funding the Company's ongoing organic growth programme in the capital goods and non auto space as well as enhancing the Promoters stake in the Company.
Bharat Forge Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on February 27, 2008, subject to the required approvals being obtained, including approval of the Members of the Company and subject to applicable guidelines, has approved the following:1. Issue of convertible warrants, to Promoters Group of an aggregate value of Rs 300 crores; and2. Borrowing by way of External Commercial Borrowing / Rupee Term Loan of upto Rs 400 Crores.
Market Prediction
GLOBAL MARKET IS MIXED MARKET COULD OPEN IN NEGETIVE NOTE BUT LONG POSITION CAN BE BUILD UP FROM 5220 AND ABOVE WITH FINAL S L 5200 WITH A TARGET OF 5300-5340,SECTOR TO BE WATCH OUT POWER EUIPMENT LIKE SIMENS AND ABB,BHARTI AND ICICIBANK IS HAVING SHORT POSITION SO SHORT COVERING EXPECTED,BUDGET IS ALSO KNOCKING SO BE CAUTIOUS IN ROLL OVER POSITION UPTO 72-75% ROLL OVER IS DONE,15-20% MORE EXPECTED .
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