MUMBAI: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said that it revised the outlook on the Republic of India to stable from negative. At the same time, the agency affirmed the 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term sovereign credit ratings on India.
The revision in outlook reflects that India's fiscal position could now begin to recover and that its economy will remain on a strong growth path. The government budget targets a general government (including central and state governments) deficit of 8.3% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, from 9.8% in the previous fiscal year.
The government intends to follow the medium-term fiscal consolidation plan outlined by the 13th Finance Commission. The Commission recommended that general government deficit be reduced to 5.4% of GDP and the ratio of general government debt to GDP be lowered to 68% of GDP by the fiscal year ending 2015. The government's decision, in February 2010, to change its fertilizer policy to implement a nutrient-based pricing policy and to raise urea prices by 10% from April 2010 is a step forward for the reduction of subsidies. The budget also announced an average increase in the prices of domestic petroleum and diesel of 6.0% and 7.8% respectively.
"We expect India's GDP growth to be 8.0% in fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, which is higher than many other countries' and exceeds our previous expectation," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Takahira Ogawa. In addition, Standard & Poor's views India's external position as resilient. We expect the country's ratio of gross external financing need to current account receipts plus international reserves to remain stable at 77% in fiscal 2010.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
M&E industry poised to grow at 13% over next five years
The Indian media and entertainment industry is slated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 per cent over the next five years to Rs 1,09,100 crore, according to a report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and research firm KPMG. The gaming and the animation segments are expected to lead among all others with an expected CAGR of 32 per cent and 18.7 per cent respectively over the next five years.
The industry witnessed a tough phase in 2009 recording a marginal growth of 1.4 per cent to Rs 58,700 crore due to the economic slowdown and reduction in advertising spends. However, despite the slowdown, the TV industry grew 6.8 per cent in 2009.
The film industry contracted 14 per cent in 2009. Over the next five years, the industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9 per cent and reach Rs 13,700 crore. Growth drivers for the sector would include expansion of multiplex screens resulting in better realisations, an increase in the number of digital screens facilitating wider releases, higher cable and satellite revenues, improving collections from the overseas markets and ancillary revenue streams like DTH, digital downloads, etc, which are expected to emerge in future.
In the last year, the print media industry showed a very moderate growth of 2 per cent as there was a decline in advertisement revenues, which was partly offset by the growth in circulation revenues. The industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9 per cent and reach around Rs 26,900 crore by 2014.
Radio, like other sectors, was affected by the recession too. However, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent over 2010-14 and reach a size of Rs 1, 640 crore by 2014.
The size of the Indian music industry was estimated at around Rs 830 crore, up from Rs 730 crore in 2008, implying a growth of 14 per cent during the reporting period. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent over 2010-14 to reach Rs 1,720 crore. Gaming is expected to be the fastest growing sector in the M&E industry. While the sector showed a 22 per cent growth in 2009, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 32 per cent in the next five years to reach Rs 3,200 crore by 2014.
Oil Rises After OPEC Says Demand Rising, U.S. Pledges Low Rates
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for a second day after OPEC officials said demand is growing and U.S. Federal Reserve authorities repeated their pledge to keep the main interest rate near zero.
“OPEC says demand is increasing; this is positive for oil,” Roland Stenzel, a crude and carbon trader at E&T Energie Handelsgesellschaft mbH, said from Vienna. “Low interest rates will keep the economy on track.”
Crude for April delivery gained 76 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $82.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 11 a.m. London time. Yesterday, the contract rose 2.4 percent, the biggest one-day gain since Feb. 16. Brent crude for May added 89 cents to $81.42 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, meeting in Vienna, agreed for a fifth time since late 2008 to keep its production limits unchanged, according to Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp.
Prices are “beautiful” and there’s no reason to revisit the group’s output limits, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said today before the start of the meeting. OPEC “should keep things as they are,” he said. Demand may grow by “around 1 million barrels” a day in the second half of the year, he said.
OPEC cut output limits by a record 4.2 million barrels a day at the end of 2008 as global demand collapsed amid the recession. Compliance dropped to 53 percent in February, it said March 10 in its monthly report. Group members were expected to maintain quotas as oil holds above $80 a barrel, according to 42 of 44 analysts and traders surveyed last week by Bloomberg News.
‘Coming Back Slowly’
“The economies of the big consumers are coming back slowly out of a recession,” OPEC President Germanico Pinto said yesterday. “We should continue the policy stated in 2008 for the moment.”
The U.S. Energy Department is scheduled to release its Weekly Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.
U.S. crude oil inventories are expected to have increased last week as refineries stocked up before the summer holiday driving season.
Stockpiles climbed 1.1 million barrels in the week ended March 12, according to the median estimate from 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Supplies previously gained for a sixth week to 343 million barrels, 5.5 percent above the five- year average level. Yesterday, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said inventories rose 403,000 barrels to 344 million, the highest since August.
“OPEC says demand is increasing; this is positive for oil,” Roland Stenzel, a crude and carbon trader at E&T Energie Handelsgesellschaft mbH, said from Vienna. “Low interest rates will keep the economy on track.”
Crude for April delivery gained 76 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $82.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 11 a.m. London time. Yesterday, the contract rose 2.4 percent, the biggest one-day gain since Feb. 16. Brent crude for May added 89 cents to $81.42 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, meeting in Vienna, agreed for a fifth time since late 2008 to keep its production limits unchanged, according to Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp.
Prices are “beautiful” and there’s no reason to revisit the group’s output limits, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said today before the start of the meeting. OPEC “should keep things as they are,” he said. Demand may grow by “around 1 million barrels” a day in the second half of the year, he said.
OPEC cut output limits by a record 4.2 million barrels a day at the end of 2008 as global demand collapsed amid the recession. Compliance dropped to 53 percent in February, it said March 10 in its monthly report. Group members were expected to maintain quotas as oil holds above $80 a barrel, according to 42 of 44 analysts and traders surveyed last week by Bloomberg News.
‘Coming Back Slowly’
“The economies of the big consumers are coming back slowly out of a recession,” OPEC President Germanico Pinto said yesterday. “We should continue the policy stated in 2008 for the moment.”
The U.S. Energy Department is scheduled to release its Weekly Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.
U.S. crude oil inventories are expected to have increased last week as refineries stocked up before the summer holiday driving season.
Stockpiles climbed 1.1 million barrels in the week ended March 12, according to the median estimate from 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Supplies previously gained for a sixth week to 343 million barrels, 5.5 percent above the five- year average level. Yesterday, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said inventories rose 403,000 barrels to 344 million, the highest since August.
U.K. Jobless Claims Fall at Fastest Pace Since 1997
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. jobless claims unexpectedly fell in February at the fastest pace since 1997, suggesting the economic recovery is strengthening as Britons prepare for a general election within weeks.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped 32,300 from January to 1.59 million, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 29 economists was for an increase of 6,000. The pound jumped 0.7 percent against the dollar after the report.
The figures are a boost for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is seeking to persuade voters his Labour Party has the best strategy to cement the economic recovery. The Conservatives’ pledge to cut the record budget deficit faster than Brown is planning has cost the party support, raising the specter of a minority government after the election due by June.
“This is probably a good thing for Labour -- the ruling party can say unemployment is on its way down,” said David Tinsley, an economist at National Australia Bank in London and a former Bank of England official. “It’s a fine line they have to tread between talking up the recovery too much and not wanting to withdraw fiscal support too early.”
A wider survey-based measure of unemployment based on International Labour Organization counting methods fell by 33,000 to 2.45 million in the three months through January, the biggest drop since the fourth quarter of 2007. The 7.8 percent jobless rate on that basis compares with 9.7 percent in the U.S., 9.9 percent in the euro region and 4.9 percent in Japan.
Minority Government
In January, the number of jobless claims rose by 5,300 instead of the 23,500 increase originally reported. In February, the jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent from 5 percent.
A March 15 YouGov Plc poll for the Sun newspaper put the Conservatives 5 points ahead of Labour with 37 percent support, compared with a lead of 12 points at the start of the year.
Speculation that no party will get an outright majority of the seats in Parliament at the election sent the pound to a 10- month low against the dollar this month. Investors are concerned that a minority administration will find it hard to cut the deficit, which is almost as big as Greece’s at more than 12 percent of economic output. The pound was trading at $1.5309 as of 9:41 a.m. in London.
The Bank of England said this week its agents expect businesses to keep staff numbers stable in the coming months. Britain emerged from its deepest recession since World War II in the fourth quarter with growth of 0.3 percent.
SThree Plc, a U.K. recruiter for information technology companies, may increase staff levels by between 10 percent and 20 percent as orders improve, Chief Executive Officer Russell Clements said this month.
The statistics office said today growth in weekly pay including bonuses quickened to 0.9 percent in the three months through January from 0.7 percent. Regular pay rose 1.4 percent and bonus pay fell declined 7.1 percent.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped 32,300 from January to 1.59 million, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 29 economists was for an increase of 6,000. The pound jumped 0.7 percent against the dollar after the report.
The figures are a boost for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is seeking to persuade voters his Labour Party has the best strategy to cement the economic recovery. The Conservatives’ pledge to cut the record budget deficit faster than Brown is planning has cost the party support, raising the specter of a minority government after the election due by June.
“This is probably a good thing for Labour -- the ruling party can say unemployment is on its way down,” said David Tinsley, an economist at National Australia Bank in London and a former Bank of England official. “It’s a fine line they have to tread between talking up the recovery too much and not wanting to withdraw fiscal support too early.”
A wider survey-based measure of unemployment based on International Labour Organization counting methods fell by 33,000 to 2.45 million in the three months through January, the biggest drop since the fourth quarter of 2007. The 7.8 percent jobless rate on that basis compares with 9.7 percent in the U.S., 9.9 percent in the euro region and 4.9 percent in Japan.
Minority Government
In January, the number of jobless claims rose by 5,300 instead of the 23,500 increase originally reported. In February, the jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent from 5 percent.
A March 15 YouGov Plc poll for the Sun newspaper put the Conservatives 5 points ahead of Labour with 37 percent support, compared with a lead of 12 points at the start of the year.
Speculation that no party will get an outright majority of the seats in Parliament at the election sent the pound to a 10- month low against the dollar this month. Investors are concerned that a minority administration will find it hard to cut the deficit, which is almost as big as Greece’s at more than 12 percent of economic output. The pound was trading at $1.5309 as of 9:41 a.m. in London.
The Bank of England said this week its agents expect businesses to keep staff numbers stable in the coming months. Britain emerged from its deepest recession since World War II in the fourth quarter with growth of 0.3 percent.
SThree Plc, a U.K. recruiter for information technology companies, may increase staff levels by between 10 percent and 20 percent as orders improve, Chief Executive Officer Russell Clements said this month.
The statistics office said today growth in weekly pay including bonuses quickened to 0.9 percent in the three months through January from 0.7 percent. Regular pay rose 1.4 percent and bonus pay fell declined 7.1 percent.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Japan’s Economy Grows 3.8%, Less Than First Estimated
March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s economy expanded less than initially estimated in the fourth quarter as companies pared spending and stockpiles as deflation deepened.
Gross domestic product rose at an annual 3.8 percent pace, slower than the 4.6 percent reported in preliminary figures last month, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. The GDP deflator, a gauge of price trends, fell a record 2.8 percent.
The report suggests business spending remains the weak link of an economic recovery that has begun to spread from exporters to households. Renewed demand in Asia is helping Japanese companies such as Canon Inc. and Honda Motor Co., which may minimize an economic slowdown in the coming months as government stimulus measures fade.
“A rebound in capital investment is key for Japan’s economy to regain momentum,” said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. in Tokyo. “While declines in investment are coming to a halt, it’s hard to tell when companies will start to beef up spending again.”
The yen traded at 90.46 per dollar at 9:47 a.m. in Tokyo from 90.40 before the report. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.7 percent.
The median estimate of 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for 4 percent growth on an annualized basis. The economy grew 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, slower than the 1.1 percent first reported.
‘Receded Slightly’
“Concerns about a double-dip recession have receded slightly,” Keisuke Tsumura, a parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office, told reporters in Tokyo. “There are budding signs for self-sustained recovery.”
Private inventory shaved 0.1 percentage point from growth, after the initial report showed it added to GDP, the main reason for today’s revision. Automakers may have responded to higher demand by paring stockpiles, Tsumura said. Capital spending rose 0.9 percent in the three months through December from the previous quarter, compared with a 1 percent increase estimated last month.
About a third of factory capacity is sitting idle and falling prices are squeezing profit margins, prompting companies such as Sony Corp. to cut costs to protect their earnings. Sony last month narrowed its forecast for a net loss, saying it is approaching its target of trimming 330 billion yen ($3.7 billion) in costs by eliminating jobs and shutting factories.
Providing Incentives
The government has been providing incentives to buy energy- efficient cars and home appliances. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama unveiled a 7.2 trillion yen stimulus package in December. Consumer spending, which makes up about 60 percent of the economy, climbed 0.7 percent, unchanged from the initial report, the government said today.
An increase in household outlays may not last as government stimulus measures fade and a shortfall in demand keeps suppressing prices, said Hiroshi Watanabe, a senior economist at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo. “The stimulus program gives a one-shot boost to the economy, but it won’t substantially increase consumer spending,” he said.
Finance Minister Naoto Kan last week renewed calls for the Bank of Japan to help arrest deflation, saying he hopes prices will rise this year. Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi said last month that prices may not be improving as quickly as he had expected.
The drop in the GDP deflator, the broadest measure of prices in the economy, was the largest since comparable data were made available in 1955. The government initially reported a 3 percent decline in the gauge.
‘Worst-Case Scenario’
“The deflator number really is terrible at the moment,” said Richard Jerram, chief economist at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. “The worst-case scenario is that if you never get out of deflation, you’re running an economy with interest rates that are persistently too high, which damages growth and also makes it impossible to stabilize public finances.”
The government’s options to combat falling prices have been limited by its swelling debt burden, the largest in the industrialized world. Kan said yesterday maintaining fiscal discipline is a significant challenge for policy makers. The central bank has kept the benchmark interest rate at 0.1 percent since December 2008.
Still, some companies are benefiting from rebounding demand in Asia, particularly China, the world’s fastest-growing major economy and Japan’s biggest overseas market. Canon, the world’s biggest camera maker, forecasts sales volume will rise 10 percent in China this year, Masaya Maeda, director of the company, said this week. Honda Motor’s sales in China rose 40 percent in February from a year earlier.
Exports increased 5 percent from the previous quarter, unchanged from the preliminary figures. Net exports, or shipments minus imports, added 0.5 percentage point to growth, the same as last month’s reading.
Some reports for January indicate the export revival is filtering to workers. The unemployment rate dropped to a 10- month low of 4.9 percent and wages climbed for the first time in 20 months.
Gross domestic product rose at an annual 3.8 percent pace, slower than the 4.6 percent reported in preliminary figures last month, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. The GDP deflator, a gauge of price trends, fell a record 2.8 percent.
The report suggests business spending remains the weak link of an economic recovery that has begun to spread from exporters to households. Renewed demand in Asia is helping Japanese companies such as Canon Inc. and Honda Motor Co., which may minimize an economic slowdown in the coming months as government stimulus measures fade.
“A rebound in capital investment is key for Japan’s economy to regain momentum,” said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. in Tokyo. “While declines in investment are coming to a halt, it’s hard to tell when companies will start to beef up spending again.”
The yen traded at 90.46 per dollar at 9:47 a.m. in Tokyo from 90.40 before the report. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.7 percent.
The median estimate of 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for 4 percent growth on an annualized basis. The economy grew 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, slower than the 1.1 percent first reported.
‘Receded Slightly’
“Concerns about a double-dip recession have receded slightly,” Keisuke Tsumura, a parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office, told reporters in Tokyo. “There are budding signs for self-sustained recovery.”
Private inventory shaved 0.1 percentage point from growth, after the initial report showed it added to GDP, the main reason for today’s revision. Automakers may have responded to higher demand by paring stockpiles, Tsumura said. Capital spending rose 0.9 percent in the three months through December from the previous quarter, compared with a 1 percent increase estimated last month.
About a third of factory capacity is sitting idle and falling prices are squeezing profit margins, prompting companies such as Sony Corp. to cut costs to protect their earnings. Sony last month narrowed its forecast for a net loss, saying it is approaching its target of trimming 330 billion yen ($3.7 billion) in costs by eliminating jobs and shutting factories.
Providing Incentives
The government has been providing incentives to buy energy- efficient cars and home appliances. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama unveiled a 7.2 trillion yen stimulus package in December. Consumer spending, which makes up about 60 percent of the economy, climbed 0.7 percent, unchanged from the initial report, the government said today.
An increase in household outlays may not last as government stimulus measures fade and a shortfall in demand keeps suppressing prices, said Hiroshi Watanabe, a senior economist at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo. “The stimulus program gives a one-shot boost to the economy, but it won’t substantially increase consumer spending,” he said.
Finance Minister Naoto Kan last week renewed calls for the Bank of Japan to help arrest deflation, saying he hopes prices will rise this year. Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi said last month that prices may not be improving as quickly as he had expected.
The drop in the GDP deflator, the broadest measure of prices in the economy, was the largest since comparable data were made available in 1955. The government initially reported a 3 percent decline in the gauge.
‘Worst-Case Scenario’
“The deflator number really is terrible at the moment,” said Richard Jerram, chief economist at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. “The worst-case scenario is that if you never get out of deflation, you’re running an economy with interest rates that are persistently too high, which damages growth and also makes it impossible to stabilize public finances.”
The government’s options to combat falling prices have been limited by its swelling debt burden, the largest in the industrialized world. Kan said yesterday maintaining fiscal discipline is a significant challenge for policy makers. The central bank has kept the benchmark interest rate at 0.1 percent since December 2008.
Still, some companies are benefiting from rebounding demand in Asia, particularly China, the world’s fastest-growing major economy and Japan’s biggest overseas market. Canon, the world’s biggest camera maker, forecasts sales volume will rise 10 percent in China this year, Masaya Maeda, director of the company, said this week. Honda Motor’s sales in China rose 40 percent in February from a year earlier.
Exports increased 5 percent from the previous quarter, unchanged from the preliminary figures. Net exports, or shipments minus imports, added 0.5 percentage point to growth, the same as last month’s reading.
Some reports for January indicate the export revival is filtering to workers. The unemployment rate dropped to a 10- month low of 4.9 percent and wages climbed for the first time in 20 months.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
India okays Copenhagen Accord, with riders
India and China on Wednesday formally backed the Climate change Accord hammered out in Copenhagen last year calling for voluntary cut in greenhouse gas emissions.
Both the countries submitted official letters to the UN Climate Change Secretariat saying that they agreed to being listed in the preamble of the Accord subject to certain conditions.
"It may be recalled that India actively participated in the discussions on the Copenhagen Accord. India stands by the contents of the Accord," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh wrote to the UN Climate Chief Yvo de Boer.
"The Accord is only an input into the two-track negotiations. The Accord is not a new track of negotiations or a template for outcomes," he said.
In a one-sentence note, China's chief climate negotiator, Su Wei said, "I am writing to confirm that the Secretariat can proceed to include China in the list of parties included in the chapeau of the Copenhagen Accord."
India has made it clear that the Accord is a political document and not a legally binding one.
"The Accord could have value if the areas of convergence reflected in it are used to help the parties reach agreed outcomes under the UN multilateral negotiations in the two tracks - the Ad-hoc working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action and the Ad-hoc Working Group on Kyoto Protocol," Ramesh wrote.
The agreement calls for limiting warming to two degree Celsius and commits rich countries to provide $100 billion long term finance to developing countries besides $30 billion to the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the next three years to fight climate change.
There is still no clear mechanism for the actual collection and disbursement of this aid but the next round of formal negotiations is scheduled for May in Bonn in Germany.
The next UN climate change conference or 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) is slated to be held in Mexico later this year.
Both the countries submitted official letters to the UN Climate Change Secretariat saying that they agreed to being listed in the preamble of the Accord subject to certain conditions.
"It may be recalled that India actively participated in the discussions on the Copenhagen Accord. India stands by the contents of the Accord," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh wrote to the UN Climate Chief Yvo de Boer.
"The Accord is only an input into the two-track negotiations. The Accord is not a new track of negotiations or a template for outcomes," he said.
In a one-sentence note, China's chief climate negotiator, Su Wei said, "I am writing to confirm that the Secretariat can proceed to include China in the list of parties included in the chapeau of the Copenhagen Accord."
India has made it clear that the Accord is a political document and not a legally binding one.
"The Accord could have value if the areas of convergence reflected in it are used to help the parties reach agreed outcomes under the UN multilateral negotiations in the two tracks - the Ad-hoc working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action and the Ad-hoc Working Group on Kyoto Protocol," Ramesh wrote.
The agreement calls for limiting warming to two degree Celsius and commits rich countries to provide $100 billion long term finance to developing countries besides $30 billion to the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the next three years to fight climate change.
There is still no clear mechanism for the actual collection and disbursement of this aid but the next round of formal negotiations is scheduled for May in Bonn in Germany.
The next UN climate change conference or 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) is slated to be held in Mexico later this year.
Tata Sons buys Daimler's Tata Motors shares worth Rs 300 cr
Tata Motors’ largest promoter, Tata Sons, bought four million shares of the former from Daimler for Rs 300 crore, thus raising its stake in the commercial and passenger vehicle giant by nearly one per cent.
From the limited data released by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Daimler AG, owner of the luxury brand, Mercedes, and also the world’s largest truck maker, today completed the sale of its entire stake in Tata Motors, India’s biggest automobile company, for Rs 1,924 crore (¤300 million).
The sale of all the 25.59 million shares held by it was done by the German company to ‘various group of investors’ through the BSE, at an average price of Rs 751.67. Tata Motors was consulted by Daimler before the transaction, according to a statement sent by the latter.
Apart from Tata Sons, which bought the shares at Rs 750, Citigroup Global Markets (Mauritius) Private Ltd bought a little over 4.65 million shares for Rs 350 crore.
The senior management at Tata Motors had clarified yesterday that the company promoters did not wish to participate in buying any shares from Daimler. Despite the positive move by the promoters, Tata Motors’ scrip plunged to an intra-day low of Rs 750 per share on the BSE, a fall of 5.86 per cent from the previous day’s close.
The stock closed 3.24 per cent lower as against yesterday’s closing price.
The promoters’ holding in Tata Motors had shrunk to 38.08 per cent prior to today’s buy-out of 0.83 per cent, well below the majority mark of 51 per cent which would help ward off any hostile takeover bids.
The primary idea behind Daimler selling its four-decade stake in Tata Motors was to raise capital and thereby boost its commercial vehicle plans in India, for which a manufacturing facility at Chennai is under development. Both companies are already competing against each other in the area of luxury cars. While Tata Motors imports and sells the Jaguar range of high-end cars, Daimler retails the Mercedes-Benz range of luxury cars, a majority of which are now made in the country.
“Daimler is today in an excellent position to capitalise on the growth potential of the Indian passenger and commercial vehicle markets and continues to intensify its own activities there. An equity participation of Daimler in Tata is no longer necessary. This has been done in full consultation with Tata Motors,” stated a release from Daimler.
Last year, Daimler Trucks founded its own production company, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, which is building the new plant in Chennai. Starting in 2012, this will initially produce light, medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles for the Indian market under a new brand name.
The production of trucks for export to other emerging markets will follow at a later date. Daimler launched its (Mitsubishi) Fuso CV in India at the beginning of this year. The first Fuso vehicle was sold in January.
From the limited data released by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Daimler AG, owner of the luxury brand, Mercedes, and also the world’s largest truck maker, today completed the sale of its entire stake in Tata Motors, India’s biggest automobile company, for Rs 1,924 crore (¤300 million).
The sale of all the 25.59 million shares held by it was done by the German company to ‘various group of investors’ through the BSE, at an average price of Rs 751.67. Tata Motors was consulted by Daimler before the transaction, according to a statement sent by the latter.
Apart from Tata Sons, which bought the shares at Rs 750, Citigroup Global Markets (Mauritius) Private Ltd bought a little over 4.65 million shares for Rs 350 crore.
The senior management at Tata Motors had clarified yesterday that the company promoters did not wish to participate in buying any shares from Daimler. Despite the positive move by the promoters, Tata Motors’ scrip plunged to an intra-day low of Rs 750 per share on the BSE, a fall of 5.86 per cent from the previous day’s close.
The stock closed 3.24 per cent lower as against yesterday’s closing price.
The promoters’ holding in Tata Motors had shrunk to 38.08 per cent prior to today’s buy-out of 0.83 per cent, well below the majority mark of 51 per cent which would help ward off any hostile takeover bids.
The primary idea behind Daimler selling its four-decade stake in Tata Motors was to raise capital and thereby boost its commercial vehicle plans in India, for which a manufacturing facility at Chennai is under development. Both companies are already competing against each other in the area of luxury cars. While Tata Motors imports and sells the Jaguar range of high-end cars, Daimler retails the Mercedes-Benz range of luxury cars, a majority of which are now made in the country.
“Daimler is today in an excellent position to capitalise on the growth potential of the Indian passenger and commercial vehicle markets and continues to intensify its own activities there. An equity participation of Daimler in Tata is no longer necessary. This has been done in full consultation with Tata Motors,” stated a release from Daimler.
Last year, Daimler Trucks founded its own production company, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, which is building the new plant in Chennai. Starting in 2012, this will initially produce light, medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles for the Indian market under a new brand name.
The production of trucks for export to other emerging markets will follow at a later date. Daimler launched its (Mitsubishi) Fuso CV in India at the beginning of this year. The first Fuso vehicle was sold in January.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
एक बोध कथा
जीवन में जब सब कुछ एक साथ और जल्दी - जल्दी करने की इच्छा होती है , सब कुछ तेजी से पा लेने की इच्छा होती है , और हमें लगने लगता है कि दिन के चौबीस घंटे भी कम पड़ते हैं , उस समय ये बोध कथा , " काँच की बरनी और दो कप चाय " हमें याद आती है ।
दर्शनशास्त्र के एक प्रोफ़ेसर कक्षा में आये और उन्होंने छात्रों से कहा कि वे आज जीवन का एक महत्वपूर्ण पाठ पढाने वाले हैं ...
उन्होंने अपने साथ लाई एक काँच की बडी़ बरनी ( जार ) टेबल पर रखा और उसमें टेबल टेनिस की गेंदें डालने लगे और तब तक डालते रहे जब तक कि उसमें एक भी गेंद समाने की जगह नहीं बची ... उन्होंने छात्रों से पूछा - क्या बरनी पूरी भर गई ? हाँ ... आवाज आई ... फ़िर प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने छोटे - छोटे कंकर उसमें भरने शुरु किये h धीरे - धीरे बरनी को हिलाया तो काफ़ी सारे कंकर उसमें जहाँ जगह खाली थी , समा गये , फ़िर से प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने पूछा , क्या अब बरनी भर गई है , छात्रों ने एक बार फ़िर हाँ ... कहा अब प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने रेत की थैली से हौले - हौले उस बरनी में रेत डालना शुरु किया , वह रेत भी उस जार में जहाँ संभव था बैठ गई , अब छात्र अपनी नादानी पर हँसे ... फ़िर प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने पूछा , क्यों अब तो यह बरनी पूरी भर गई ना ? हाँ .. अब तो पूरी भर गई है .. सभी ने एक स्वर में कहा .. सर ने टेबल के नीचे से चाय के दो कप निकालकर उसमें की चाय जार में डाली , चाय भी रेत के बीच स्थित थोडी़ सी जगह में सोख ली गई ...
प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने गंभीर आवाज में समझाना शुरु किया –
इस काँच की बरनी को तुम लोग अपना जीवन समझो ....
टेबल टेनिस की गेंदें सबसे महत्वपूर्ण भाग अर्थात भगवान , परिवार , बच्चे , मित्र , स्वास्थ्य और शौक हैं ,
छोटे कंकर मतलब तुम्हारी नौकरी , कार , बडा़ मकान आदि हैं , और
रेत का मतलब और भी छोटी - छोटी बेकार सी बातें , मनमुटाव , झगडे़ है ..
अब यदि तुमने काँच की बरनी में सबसे पहले रेत भरी होती तो टेबल टेनिस की गेंदों और कंकरों के लिये जगह ही नहीं बचती , या कंकर भर दिये होते तो गेंदें नहीं भर पाते , रेत जरूर आ सकती थी ...
ठीक यही बात जीवन पर लागू होती है ... यदि तुम छोटी - छोटी बातों के पीछे पडे़ रहोगे और अपनी ऊर्जा उसमें नष्ट करोगे तो तुम्हारे पास मुख्य बातों के लिये अधिक समय नहीं रहेगा ... मन के सुख के लिये क्या जरूरी है ये तुम्हें तय करना है । अपने बच्चों के साथ खेलो , बगीचे में पानी डालो , सुबह पत्नी के साथ घूमने निकल जाओ , घर के बेकार सामान को बाहर निकाल फ़ेंको , मेडिकल चेक - अप करवाओ ... टेबल टेनिस गेंदों की फ़िक्र पहले करो , वही महत्वपूर्ण है ...... पहले तय करो कि क्या जरूरी है ... बाकी सब तो रेत है ..
छात्र बडे़ ध्यान से सुन रहे थे .. अचानक एक ने पूछा , सर लेकिन आपने यह नहीं बताया कि " चाय के दो कप " क्या हैं ? प्रोफ़ेसर मुस्कुराये , बोले .. मैं सोच ही रहा था कि अभी तक ये सवाल किसी ने क्यों नहीं किया ...
इसका उत्तर यह है कि , जीवन हमें कितना ही परिपूर्ण और संतुष्ट लगे , लेकिन अपने खास मित्र के साथ दो कप चाय पीने की जगह हमेशा होनी चाहिये ।
( अपने खास मित्रों और निकट के व्यक्तियों को यह विचार तत्काल बाँट दो .... मैंने अभी - अभी यही किया है )
आपका मित्र Vinod Rai !!
दर्शनशास्त्र के एक प्रोफ़ेसर कक्षा में आये और उन्होंने छात्रों से कहा कि वे आज जीवन का एक महत्वपूर्ण पाठ पढाने वाले हैं ...
उन्होंने अपने साथ लाई एक काँच की बडी़ बरनी ( जार ) टेबल पर रखा और उसमें टेबल टेनिस की गेंदें डालने लगे और तब तक डालते रहे जब तक कि उसमें एक भी गेंद समाने की जगह नहीं बची ... उन्होंने छात्रों से पूछा - क्या बरनी पूरी भर गई ? हाँ ... आवाज आई ... फ़िर प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने छोटे - छोटे कंकर उसमें भरने शुरु किये h धीरे - धीरे बरनी को हिलाया तो काफ़ी सारे कंकर उसमें जहाँ जगह खाली थी , समा गये , फ़िर से प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने पूछा , क्या अब बरनी भर गई है , छात्रों ने एक बार फ़िर हाँ ... कहा अब प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने रेत की थैली से हौले - हौले उस बरनी में रेत डालना शुरु किया , वह रेत भी उस जार में जहाँ संभव था बैठ गई , अब छात्र अपनी नादानी पर हँसे ... फ़िर प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने पूछा , क्यों अब तो यह बरनी पूरी भर गई ना ? हाँ .. अब तो पूरी भर गई है .. सभी ने एक स्वर में कहा .. सर ने टेबल के नीचे से चाय के दो कप निकालकर उसमें की चाय जार में डाली , चाय भी रेत के बीच स्थित थोडी़ सी जगह में सोख ली गई ...
प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने गंभीर आवाज में समझाना शुरु किया –
इस काँच की बरनी को तुम लोग अपना जीवन समझो ....
टेबल टेनिस की गेंदें सबसे महत्वपूर्ण भाग अर्थात भगवान , परिवार , बच्चे , मित्र , स्वास्थ्य और शौक हैं ,
छोटे कंकर मतलब तुम्हारी नौकरी , कार , बडा़ मकान आदि हैं , और
रेत का मतलब और भी छोटी - छोटी बेकार सी बातें , मनमुटाव , झगडे़ है ..
अब यदि तुमने काँच की बरनी में सबसे पहले रेत भरी होती तो टेबल टेनिस की गेंदों और कंकरों के लिये जगह ही नहीं बचती , या कंकर भर दिये होते तो गेंदें नहीं भर पाते , रेत जरूर आ सकती थी ...
ठीक यही बात जीवन पर लागू होती है ... यदि तुम छोटी - छोटी बातों के पीछे पडे़ रहोगे और अपनी ऊर्जा उसमें नष्ट करोगे तो तुम्हारे पास मुख्य बातों के लिये अधिक समय नहीं रहेगा ... मन के सुख के लिये क्या जरूरी है ये तुम्हें तय करना है । अपने बच्चों के साथ खेलो , बगीचे में पानी डालो , सुबह पत्नी के साथ घूमने निकल जाओ , घर के बेकार सामान को बाहर निकाल फ़ेंको , मेडिकल चेक - अप करवाओ ... टेबल टेनिस गेंदों की फ़िक्र पहले करो , वही महत्वपूर्ण है ...... पहले तय करो कि क्या जरूरी है ... बाकी सब तो रेत है ..
छात्र बडे़ ध्यान से सुन रहे थे .. अचानक एक ने पूछा , सर लेकिन आपने यह नहीं बताया कि " चाय के दो कप " क्या हैं ? प्रोफ़ेसर मुस्कुराये , बोले .. मैं सोच ही रहा था कि अभी तक ये सवाल किसी ने क्यों नहीं किया ...
इसका उत्तर यह है कि , जीवन हमें कितना ही परिपूर्ण और संतुष्ट लगे , लेकिन अपने खास मित्र के साथ दो कप चाय पीने की जगह हमेशा होनी चाहिये ।
( अपने खास मित्रों और निकट के व्यक्तियों को यह विचार तत्काल बाँट दो .... मैंने अभी - अभी यही किया है )
आपका मित्र Vinod Rai !!
Monday, March 08, 2010
Oscars 2010: full list of Academy Award winners
The independent Iraq war drama "The Hurt Locker" has emerged as the big winner at the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony. Following is a complete list of Oscar winners:
BEST PICTURE
"The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight)
BEST ACTRESS
Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side" (Warner Bros.)
DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Secret in Their Eyes" (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) - Argentina (Sony Pictures Classics)
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique for "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal for "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Geoffrey Fletcher for "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)
ANIMATED FEATURE
"Up" by Pete Docter (Disney/Pixar)
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"Logorama" by Nicolas Schmerkin (Autour de Minuit)
ART DIRECTION
Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg for art direction and Kim Sinclair for set decoration on "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
COSTUME DESIGN
Sandy Powell for "The Young Victoria" (Apparition)
MAKEUP
Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow for "Star Trek" (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mauro Fiore for "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"The New Tenants" by Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson (A Park Pictures and M & M Production)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"The Cove" by Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens for (Roadside Attractions)
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
"Music by Prudence" by Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett (iThemba Production)
VISUAL EFFECTS
Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones for "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
SOUND EDITING
Paul N.J. Ottosson for "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
SOUND MIXING
Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett for "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
FILM EDITING
Bob Murawski and Chris Innis for "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
ORIGINAL SCORE
Michael Giacchino for "Up" (Disney/Pixar)
ORIGINAL SONG
"The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight), music and lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
International Women's डे
Every year, 8 March is celebrated around the world as International Women's Day. We have planned a program of information and fun for your classroom to celebrate International Women's Day with a focus on women, peace and politics. Have a great learning experience!
Why dedicate a day exclusively to the celebration of the world's women?
The United Nations General Assembly, composed of delegates from every Member State, celebrates International Women's Day to recognize that peace and social progress require the active participation and equality of women, and to acknowledge the contribution of women to international peace and security.
For the women of the world, the Day is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development.
You might think that women's equality benefits mostly women, but every one-percentile growth in female secondary schooling results in a 0.3 percent growth in the economy. Yet girls are often kept from receiving education in the poorest countries that would best benefit from the economic growth.
Until the men and women work together to secure the rights and full potential of women, lasting solutions to the world's most serious social, economic and political problems are unlikely to be found.
In recent decades, much progress has been made. On a worldwide level, women's access to education and proper health care has increased; their participation in the paid labor force has grown; and legislation that promises equal opportunities for women and respect for their human rights has been adopted in many countries. The world now has an ever- growing number of women participating in society as policy-makers.
However, nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men.
The majority of the world's 1.3 billion absolute poor are women.
On average, women receive between 30 and 40 per cent less pay than men earn for the same work.
And everywhere, women continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women of reproductive age worldwide.
How It Happened
A Brief History of International Women's Day
The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies.
On 8 March 1857, women working in clothing and textile factories (called 'garment workers') in New York City, in the United States, staged a protest. They were fighting against inhumane working conditions and low wages. The police attacked the protestors and dispersed them. Two years later, again in March, these women formed their first labour union to try and protect themselves and gain some basic rights in the workplace.
On 8 March 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter work hours, better pay, voting rights and an end to child labour. They adopted the slogan "Bread and Roses", with bread symbolizing economic security and roses a better quality of life. In May, the Socialist Party of America designated the last Sunday in February for the observance of National Women's Day.
Following the declaration of the Socialist Party of America, the first ever National Woman's Day was celebrated in the United States on 28 February 1909. Women continued to celebrate it on the last Sunday of that month through 1913.
An international conference, held by socialist organizations from around the world, met in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1910. The conference of the Socialist International proposed a Women's Day which was designed to be international in character. The proposal initially came from Clara Zetkin, a German socialist, who suggested an International Day to mark the strike of garment workers in the United States. The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, including the first three women elected to the parliament of Finland. The Day was established to honour the movement for women's rights, including the right to vote (known as 'suffrage'). At that time no fixed date was selected for the observance.
The declaration of the Socialist International had an impact. The following year, 1911, International Women's Day was marked for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The date was March 19 and over a million men and women took to the streets in a series of rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded the right to work and an end to discrimination on the job.
Less than a week later, on 25 March, the tragic Triangle Fire in New York City took place. Over 140 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrant girls working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, lost their lives because of the lack of safety measures. The Women's Trade Union League and the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union led many of the protests against this avoidable tragedy, including the silent funeral march which brought together a crowd of over 100,000 people. The Triangle Fire had a significant impact on labour legislation and the horrible working conditions leading up to the disaster were invoked during subsequent observances of International Women's Day.
As part of the peace movement brewing on the eve of World War I, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with their sisters.
With 2 million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women again chose the last Sunday in February 1917 to strike for "bread and peace". Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went on anyway.
The rest is history: Four days later the Czar of Russia was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. That historic Sunday fell on 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia, but coincided with 8 March on the Gregorian calendar used by people elsewhere.
Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike.
In December 1977 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace. Four global United Nations women's conferences have helped make the demand for women's rights and participation in the political and economic process a growing reality.
In 1975 the UN drew global attention to women's concerns by calling for an International Women's year and convening the first conference on women in Mexico City. Another convention was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1980.
In 1985, the UN convened a third conference on women in Nairobi, Kenya, to look at what had been achieved at the end of the decade.
In 1995, Beijing hosted the Fourth World Conference on Women. Representatives from 189 different countries agreed that inequalities between women and men has serious consequences for the well-being of all people. The conference declared a set of goals for progress of women in various areas including politics, health, and education. The final document issued by the conference (called the "Platform for Action") had this to say: "The advancement of women and the achievement of equality between women and men are a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice and should not be seen in isolation as a women's issue."
Five years later, in a 23rd special session of the United Nations General Assembly, "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century" reviewed the progress the world has made towards achieving the goals set out by the Beijing conference. This conference has come to be known as the "Beijing +5" conference. Delegates found both progress and perservering obstacles. The delegates made further agreements to continue carrying out the initiatives of the 1995 women's conference.
The Vocabulary of Inequality
To discriminate is to treat people unequally or unfairly because of some reason which they cannot help, or which is not relevant to the matter in hand. For instance, to pay two people differently for doing the same job simply because one is a woman, or black, or a Muslim, or speaks with a different accent. There are other sorts of unfair discrimination - because of your religion, disability, age, because you speak a different language, or because of your political opinions.
Discrimination because of race or skin color or where ancestry originates is called racism.
Discrimination because you are male or female (your gender) is called sexism.
Discrimination often happens because people make decisions about other people which are not based on genuine reasons, ie they are prejudiced. Usually they think the other person is automatically inferior because of their race, religion or gender etc. Stereotyping is to assume that all people from a certain group or societal segment possess the same characteristics. If you hear someone say, "All (group X people) are lazy" (or noisy, or untrustworthy), that's a stereotype.
The aim of the United Nations is to help all people, individually and as groups, to be valued equally and treated fairly. The UN has produced many declarations and conventions which set people's rights .
Article 1.3 of the UN Charter provides ". . . fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion".
All of the countries which are UN members must let their citizens know these rights and how to obtain them. Knowing your rights is one step towards overcoming discrimination.
Why dedicate a day exclusively to the celebration of the world's women?
The United Nations General Assembly, composed of delegates from every Member State, celebrates International Women's Day to recognize that peace and social progress require the active participation and equality of women, and to acknowledge the contribution of women to international peace and security.
For the women of the world, the Day is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development.
You might think that women's equality benefits mostly women, but every one-percentile growth in female secondary schooling results in a 0.3 percent growth in the economy. Yet girls are often kept from receiving education in the poorest countries that would best benefit from the economic growth.
Until the men and women work together to secure the rights and full potential of women, lasting solutions to the world's most serious social, economic and political problems are unlikely to be found.
In recent decades, much progress has been made. On a worldwide level, women's access to education and proper health care has increased; their participation in the paid labor force has grown; and legislation that promises equal opportunities for women and respect for their human rights has been adopted in many countries. The world now has an ever- growing number of women participating in society as policy-makers.
However, nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men.
The majority of the world's 1.3 billion absolute poor are women.
On average, women receive between 30 and 40 per cent less pay than men earn for the same work.
And everywhere, women continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women of reproductive age worldwide.
How It Happened
A Brief History of International Women's Day
The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies.
On 8 March 1857, women working in clothing and textile factories (called 'garment workers') in New York City, in the United States, staged a protest. They were fighting against inhumane working conditions and low wages. The police attacked the protestors and dispersed them. Two years later, again in March, these women formed their first labour union to try and protect themselves and gain some basic rights in the workplace.
On 8 March 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter work hours, better pay, voting rights and an end to child labour. They adopted the slogan "Bread and Roses", with bread symbolizing economic security and roses a better quality of life. In May, the Socialist Party of America designated the last Sunday in February for the observance of National Women's Day.
Following the declaration of the Socialist Party of America, the first ever National Woman's Day was celebrated in the United States on 28 February 1909. Women continued to celebrate it on the last Sunday of that month through 1913.
An international conference, held by socialist organizations from around the world, met in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1910. The conference of the Socialist International proposed a Women's Day which was designed to be international in character. The proposal initially came from Clara Zetkin, a German socialist, who suggested an International Day to mark the strike of garment workers in the United States. The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, including the first three women elected to the parliament of Finland. The Day was established to honour the movement for women's rights, including the right to vote (known as 'suffrage'). At that time no fixed date was selected for the observance.
The declaration of the Socialist International had an impact. The following year, 1911, International Women's Day was marked for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The date was March 19 and over a million men and women took to the streets in a series of rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded the right to work and an end to discrimination on the job.
Less than a week later, on 25 March, the tragic Triangle Fire in New York City took place. Over 140 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrant girls working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, lost their lives because of the lack of safety measures. The Women's Trade Union League and the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union led many of the protests against this avoidable tragedy, including the silent funeral march which brought together a crowd of over 100,000 people. The Triangle Fire had a significant impact on labour legislation and the horrible working conditions leading up to the disaster were invoked during subsequent observances of International Women's Day.
As part of the peace movement brewing on the eve of World War I, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with their sisters.
With 2 million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women again chose the last Sunday in February 1917 to strike for "bread and peace". Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went on anyway.
The rest is history: Four days later the Czar of Russia was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. That historic Sunday fell on 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia, but coincided with 8 March on the Gregorian calendar used by people elsewhere.
Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike.
In December 1977 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace. Four global United Nations women's conferences have helped make the demand for women's rights and participation in the political and economic process a growing reality.
In 1975 the UN drew global attention to women's concerns by calling for an International Women's year and convening the first conference on women in Mexico City. Another convention was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1980.
In 1985, the UN convened a third conference on women in Nairobi, Kenya, to look at what had been achieved at the end of the decade.
In 1995, Beijing hosted the Fourth World Conference on Women. Representatives from 189 different countries agreed that inequalities between women and men has serious consequences for the well-being of all people. The conference declared a set of goals for progress of women in various areas including politics, health, and education. The final document issued by the conference (called the "Platform for Action") had this to say: "The advancement of women and the achievement of equality between women and men are a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice and should not be seen in isolation as a women's issue."
Five years later, in a 23rd special session of the United Nations General Assembly, "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century" reviewed the progress the world has made towards achieving the goals set out by the Beijing conference. This conference has come to be known as the "Beijing +5" conference. Delegates found both progress and perservering obstacles. The delegates made further agreements to continue carrying out the initiatives of the 1995 women's conference.
The Vocabulary of Inequality
To discriminate is to treat people unequally or unfairly because of some reason which they cannot help, or which is not relevant to the matter in hand. For instance, to pay two people differently for doing the same job simply because one is a woman, or black, or a Muslim, or speaks with a different accent. There are other sorts of unfair discrimination - because of your religion, disability, age, because you speak a different language, or because of your political opinions.
Discrimination because of race or skin color or where ancestry originates is called racism.
Discrimination because you are male or female (your gender) is called sexism.
Discrimination often happens because people make decisions about other people which are not based on genuine reasons, ie they are prejudiced. Usually they think the other person is automatically inferior because of their race, religion or gender etc. Stereotyping is to assume that all people from a certain group or societal segment possess the same characteristics. If you hear someone say, "All (group X people) are lazy" (or noisy, or untrustworthy), that's a stereotype.
The aim of the United Nations is to help all people, individually and as groups, to be valued equally and treated fairly. The UN has produced many declarations and conventions which set people's rights .
Article 1.3 of the UN Charter provides ". . . fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion".
All of the countries which are UN members must let their citizens know these rights and how to obtain them. Knowing your rights is one step towards overcoming discrimination.
Friday, March 05, 2010
Quotes on MANAGEMENT
"If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings—and put compensation as a carrier behind it—you almost don't have to manage them."
"Make your top managers rich and they will make you rich."
"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it."
"Catch someone doing something right."
"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."
"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out."
"Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end."
"Management by objectives works if you first think through your objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven't."
"Don't equate activity with efficiency. You are paying your key people to see the big picture. Don't let them get bogged down in a lot of meaningless meetings and paper shuffling. Announce a Friday afternoon off once in a while. Cancel a Monday morning meeting or two. Tell the cast of characters you'd like them to spend the amount of time normally spent preparing for attending the meeting at their desks, simply thinking about an original idea."
"Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish."
"We cling to hierarchies because our place in a hierarchy is, rightly or wrongly, a major indicator of our social worth."
"Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall."
"Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it . . . ; Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine."
"When hiring key employees, there are only two qualities to look for: judgement and taste. Almost everything else can be bought by the yard."
"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."
"A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world."
"Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them."
"I believe the real difference between success and failure in a corporation can be very often traced to the question of how well the organization brings out the great energies and talents of its people."
"Focus on a few key objectives ... I only have three things to do. I have to choose the right people, allocate the right number of dollars, and transmit ideas from one division to another with the speed of light. So I'm really in the business of being the gatekeeper and the transmitter of ideas."
"So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work."
"Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet."
"If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf."
"The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work."
"Make your top managers rich and they will make you rich."
"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it."
"Catch someone doing something right."
"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."
"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out."
"Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end."
"Management by objectives works if you first think through your objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven't."
"Don't equate activity with efficiency. You are paying your key people to see the big picture. Don't let them get bogged down in a lot of meaningless meetings and paper shuffling. Announce a Friday afternoon off once in a while. Cancel a Monday morning meeting or two. Tell the cast of characters you'd like them to spend the amount of time normally spent preparing for attending the meeting at their desks, simply thinking about an original idea."
"Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish."
"We cling to hierarchies because our place in a hierarchy is, rightly or wrongly, a major indicator of our social worth."
"Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall."
"Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it . . . ; Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine."
"When hiring key employees, there are only two qualities to look for: judgement and taste. Almost everything else can be bought by the yard."
"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."
"A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world."
"Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them."
"I believe the real difference between success and failure in a corporation can be very often traced to the question of how well the organization brings out the great energies and talents of its people."
"Focus on a few key objectives ... I only have three things to do. I have to choose the right people, allocate the right number of dollars, and transmit ideas from one division to another with the speed of light. So I'm really in the business of being the gatekeeper and the transmitter of ideas."
"So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work."
"Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet."
"If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf."
"The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work."
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Steel firms up on excise hike in budget
NEW DELHI: Steel prices have increased by 2-3% after hike in central excise duty in the budget. While the net impact of excise duty hike, from 8% to
10%, comes to around Rs 600 per tonne, a few producers have also factored in hike in input cost and raised prices by up to Rs 1,000 per tonne.
With the increase, the benchmark hot rolled coil (the most produced steel item that is used by a cross-section of the industry) prices have firmed up to a level of Rs 34,000-Rs 36,000 per tonne, depending on the grade.
“There is a price increase of about Rs 500 to Rs 600 a tonne due to the excise duty hike. The price increase is effective from March 1,” SAIL chairman S K Roongta said on sidelines of function here.
Private sector steel companies Essar Steel and JSW have also raised prices between Rs 500-800 per tonne. Tata Steel has moderately increased prices of select steel products while sparing galvanised corrugated sheets from any hike to give relief to consumers in the rural market, a spokesperson for the company said.
An Ispat Industries spokesperson said the steel prices have increased as raw material prices have also increased in the past few weeks. “We have increased steel prices between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per tonne from this month,” the spokesperson said.
The move has also created ground for increase in prices by user industries or secondary steel producers that source bulk of their products from large integrated primary steel producers. “The hike will definitely impact cold rolled coil producers who will have no option but to pass the increase to consumers,” said an official of cold rolled manufacturers association. Cold rolled coils is primarily used by FMCG companies and automobile sector.
The government, however, feels that the increase in prices will not adversely impact the user industries and not result in higher inflation. “If we see steel prices in the last 30 months, the current scenario is not alarming,” steel secretary Atul Chaturvedi said. “You have to distinguish between inflation and recession. Companies have to earn money and this could be done only if either raw material prices go down or their steel prices go up,” he added.
Steel prices have remained firm in most part of fiscal 2009-10, rising almost 40% from close to Rs 25,000 a tonne at the beginning of the year to nearly Rs 35,000 a tonne now. The prices have moved up between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per month in most part of the fiscal, with some price reduction in select product categories in November and December.
10%, comes to around Rs 600 per tonne, a few producers have also factored in hike in input cost and raised prices by up to Rs 1,000 per tonne.
With the increase, the benchmark hot rolled coil (the most produced steel item that is used by a cross-section of the industry) prices have firmed up to a level of Rs 34,000-Rs 36,000 per tonne, depending on the grade.
“There is a price increase of about Rs 500 to Rs 600 a tonne due to the excise duty hike. The price increase is effective from March 1,” SAIL chairman S K Roongta said on sidelines of function here.
Private sector steel companies Essar Steel and JSW have also raised prices between Rs 500-800 per tonne. Tata Steel has moderately increased prices of select steel products while sparing galvanised corrugated sheets from any hike to give relief to consumers in the rural market, a spokesperson for the company said.
An Ispat Industries spokesperson said the steel prices have increased as raw material prices have also increased in the past few weeks. “We have increased steel prices between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per tonne from this month,” the spokesperson said.
The move has also created ground for increase in prices by user industries or secondary steel producers that source bulk of their products from large integrated primary steel producers. “The hike will definitely impact cold rolled coil producers who will have no option but to pass the increase to consumers,” said an official of cold rolled manufacturers association. Cold rolled coils is primarily used by FMCG companies and automobile sector.
The government, however, feels that the increase in prices will not adversely impact the user industries and not result in higher inflation. “If we see steel prices in the last 30 months, the current scenario is not alarming,” steel secretary Atul Chaturvedi said. “You have to distinguish between inflation and recession. Companies have to earn money and this could be done only if either raw material prices go down or their steel prices go up,” he added.
Steel prices have remained firm in most part of fiscal 2009-10, rising almost 40% from close to Rs 25,000 a tonne at the beginning of the year to nearly Rs 35,000 a tonne now. The prices have moved up between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per month in most part of the fiscal, with some price reduction in select product categories in November and December.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Govt Offers NPS Gift
The expansion of tax slabs and the new infrastructure tax break offered in the Budget are some of the most beneficial steps from a savings perspective.
But one of the more interesting moves made by the Budget is the attempt to jumpstart the New Pension System (NPS). The NPS is the best way for small savers to build up some financial security for retirement. However, the scheme has proven difficult to market. In the absence of commission-earning agents, there’s no one to sell the NPS. Now, the finance minister has unveiled a truly innovative way of attracting lower-income
unorganized workers into the NPS. Instead of spending money on something like an ad campaign that will not reach the intended audience, the government has decided to give what amounts to a joining gift to this category of potential savers.
In what must be a first of its kind step, the government will basically give a gift of Rs 1,000 per year for three years to a certain category of NPS members. This scheme is open only to those who deposit less than Rs 12,000 per year and start their account in 2010-11. This is a brilliant instance of paying direct subsidy in a way that is designed to encourage people to save. Since this is a pension system, the money is not available till it’s usable as a pension on attaining retirement age. For a young person, this Rs 3,000 welcoming gift from the NPS would grow manifold till the time retirement comes. This scheme could well be the impetus that the NPS needs to do its job.
According to the finance minister’s Budget speech, this scheme is expected to pull in 10 lakh members into the NPS. That’s an expense of Rs 100 crore a year. If it creates a viral, word of mouth buzz about the NPS, then that would be money well-spent.
Of course, even with this joining bonus, NPS membership will still need some sort of a pull. Of course, it may still turn out that the only people who will join the NPS voluntarily will be those who are part of this scheme. It really may not be possible to get people into a financial scheme without either intense marketing or a mandatory framework. My hunch is that the NPS story is just beginning and this scheme will be one of the many things that will be tried before a satisfactory solution emerges.
But one of the more interesting moves made by the Budget is the attempt to jumpstart the New Pension System (NPS). The NPS is the best way for small savers to build up some financial security for retirement. However, the scheme has proven difficult to market. In the absence of commission-earning agents, there’s no one to sell the NPS. Now, the finance minister has unveiled a truly innovative way of attracting lower-income
unorganized workers into the NPS. Instead of spending money on something like an ad campaign that will not reach the intended audience, the government has decided to give what amounts to a joining gift to this category of potential savers.
In what must be a first of its kind step, the government will basically give a gift of Rs 1,000 per year for three years to a certain category of NPS members. This scheme is open only to those who deposit less than Rs 12,000 per year and start their account in 2010-11. This is a brilliant instance of paying direct subsidy in a way that is designed to encourage people to save. Since this is a pension system, the money is not available till it’s usable as a pension on attaining retirement age. For a young person, this Rs 3,000 welcoming gift from the NPS would grow manifold till the time retirement comes. This scheme could well be the impetus that the NPS needs to do its job.
According to the finance minister’s Budget speech, this scheme is expected to pull in 10 lakh members into the NPS. That’s an expense of Rs 100 crore a year. If it creates a viral, word of mouth buzz about the NPS, then that would be money well-spent.
Of course, even with this joining bonus, NPS membership will still need some sort of a pull. Of course, it may still turn out that the only people who will join the NPS voluntarily will be those who are part of this scheme. It really may not be possible to get people into a financial scheme without either intense marketing or a mandatory framework. My hunch is that the NPS story is just beginning and this scheme will be one of the many things that will be tried before a satisfactory solution emerges.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Mukherjee Pledges to Shrink Budget Gap as India Growth Quickens
Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- India’s government pledged to shrink its budget deficit by more than one percentage point of gross domestic product this year from the highest level since 1994, spurring a rally in the nation’s stocks and bonds.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, presenting the annual budget to parliament, said he plans to narrow the gap to 5.5 percent of GDP in the year starting April 1 from 6.9 percent the previous year. He also said economic growth may reach 10 percent in “not-too-distant future.” Government figures earlier showed GDP rose 6 percent in the fourth quarter from a year before.
The effort may help bolster investor confidence in India, which has the lowest sovereign-debt rating among the BRIC nations that include Brazil, Russia and China. India and China, the world’s fastest-growing major economies, are both taking steps to rein in stimulus measures as the global economy emerges from recession and inflation pressures escalate.
“India and China have bounced back strongly and the challenge now is to check excessive demand and inflation,” D. H. Pai Panandiker, president of New Delhi-based RPG Foundation, an economic research group, said before the budget announcement. “Slashing the deficit will send the right signal to investors about the government’s seriousness to cut debt.”
India’s Sensitive stocks index jumped 1.5 percent as of 12:16 p.m. in Mumbai, helping pare its losses since the start of the year that were spurred in part by global investor concern about sovereign debt quality. Yields on benchmark 10-year government notes fell to 7.78 percent, from 7.82 percent earlier, according to the central bank’s trading system.
Inflation Battle
The reduction in fiscal stimulus also comes as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government is battling to restrain inflation that threatens to erode the purchasing power of the nation’s consumers and worsen poverty rates.
Prices paid by industrial workers in India rose almost 15 percent in December from a year earlier, the most in 11 years. Industrial production grew 16.8 percent in December, the quickest pace since at least 1994, prompting the central bank to say manufacturers are nearing capacity.
Rising prices prompted lawmakers yesterday to debate the issue in parliament and blamed Singh for failing to keep his promise of taming inflation within 100 days of his reelection. Singh was voted back for a five-year term in May last year.
China, which saw an expansion of 10.7 percent last quarter from a year before, the fastest pace among major economies, is battling to slow property prices that surged 9.5 percent in January, the most in 21 months.
Central Bank
Central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said last month that India needs to cut its budget deficit to help check inflation and that it was a “bigger risk” to the economy than any other factor.
Even so, the annual Economic Survey, prepared by officials advising Mukherjee, said yesterday that expansion in gross capital fixed formation, a proxy for investment growth, is at 5.2 percent, below the economic growth rate. That makes it necessary to watch the growth recovery in private investment in the fiscal third and fourth quarters while scaling back fiscal stimulus, according to the report.
“It is important to maintain the policy framework in order not to throttle the spontaneous growth momentum that the economy is demonstrating currently,” said Amit Mitra, secretary general of the New Delhi-based Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Corporate Earnings
Company performance has been mixed. Larsen & Toubro Ltd., India’s biggest engineering company, reported a 50 percent decline in profit last quarter after some orders were deferred. Car sales by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and other companies gained in January to a record, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said Feb. 9.
Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley expect Mukherjee to increase excise tax by 2 percentage points in the budget. Goldman Sachs economist Tushar Poddar said service tax may also be raised to 12 percent from 10 percent, helping boost total tax revenues by 17 percent next year after a 2 percent gain in the current year.
“Improved growth outlook suggests the government has greater scope to wind back fiscal stimulus and make real structural improvements to the deficit,” said Brian Jackson, the Hong Kong-based emerging-market strategist at Royal Bank of Canada. Jackson expects the government to accelerate asset sales.
Morgan Stanley Research Managing Director Chetan Ahya said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government may target 250 billion rupees ($5.4 billion) from sale of stakes in state-run companies and another 300 billion rupees from auction of licenses for third-generation mobile-phone services.
Wireless Licenses
As many as 13 wireless operators, including Vodafone Group Plc and Bharti Airtel Ltd. may compete for the licenses. The companies in which equity stakes will be sold include Coal India Ltd., India’s monopoly coal producer, and Steel Authority of India Ltd., the nation’s second-largest steelmaker.
The additional revenue may help Mukherjee allocate more money for the government’s rural jobs program after poor monsoon rains last year hurt farm production and reduced incomes of the country’s 700 million people who live in the countryside.
The drop in agriculture output slowed economic growth to 6 percent in the quarter ended Dec. 31 after a 7.9 percent gain in the previous quarter, the nation’s statistics office said in a separate statement in New Delhi today.
Investment Need
“India needs to use its budget to achieve more investment in agriculture and infrastructure,” Gerard Lyons, the chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank said in an interview in New Delhi on Feb. 11. “Fiscal consolidation is important.”
Subsidies for food and fertilizer now consume 10 percent of the budget. With another 14 percent of the budget devoted to defense, 19 percent to pay interest on the national debt and another 25 percent given to states as their share of the federal government’s revenue, there’s little left to pay for schools, power plants and other investments that can boost growth.
As a result, debt sales may rise 2 percent in the 12 months starting April 1 to a record 4.6 trillion rupees, according to the median forecast in a survey of 13 economists and investors.
With a debt level almost quadruple China’s -- at an estimated 86 percent of GDP this year according to the IMF -- fiscal restraint may also aid a sovereign-debt rating that’s the lowest among the BRIC nations, which include Brazil, Russia and China.
“If the exit path is well articulated and well executed, the local-currency rating could be upgraded,” Moody’s Investors Service sovereign analyst Aninda Mitra said in a Feb. 19 interview. Moody’s ranks India’s rupee-denominated debt at Ba2, two levels below investment grade.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, presenting the annual budget to parliament, said he plans to narrow the gap to 5.5 percent of GDP in the year starting April 1 from 6.9 percent the previous year. He also said economic growth may reach 10 percent in “not-too-distant future.” Government figures earlier showed GDP rose 6 percent in the fourth quarter from a year before.
The effort may help bolster investor confidence in India, which has the lowest sovereign-debt rating among the BRIC nations that include Brazil, Russia and China. India and China, the world’s fastest-growing major economies, are both taking steps to rein in stimulus measures as the global economy emerges from recession and inflation pressures escalate.
“India and China have bounced back strongly and the challenge now is to check excessive demand and inflation,” D. H. Pai Panandiker, president of New Delhi-based RPG Foundation, an economic research group, said before the budget announcement. “Slashing the deficit will send the right signal to investors about the government’s seriousness to cut debt.”
India’s Sensitive stocks index jumped 1.5 percent as of 12:16 p.m. in Mumbai, helping pare its losses since the start of the year that were spurred in part by global investor concern about sovereign debt quality. Yields on benchmark 10-year government notes fell to 7.78 percent, from 7.82 percent earlier, according to the central bank’s trading system.
Inflation Battle
The reduction in fiscal stimulus also comes as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government is battling to restrain inflation that threatens to erode the purchasing power of the nation’s consumers and worsen poverty rates.
Prices paid by industrial workers in India rose almost 15 percent in December from a year earlier, the most in 11 years. Industrial production grew 16.8 percent in December, the quickest pace since at least 1994, prompting the central bank to say manufacturers are nearing capacity.
Rising prices prompted lawmakers yesterday to debate the issue in parliament and blamed Singh for failing to keep his promise of taming inflation within 100 days of his reelection. Singh was voted back for a five-year term in May last year.
China, which saw an expansion of 10.7 percent last quarter from a year before, the fastest pace among major economies, is battling to slow property prices that surged 9.5 percent in January, the most in 21 months.
Central Bank
Central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said last month that India needs to cut its budget deficit to help check inflation and that it was a “bigger risk” to the economy than any other factor.
Even so, the annual Economic Survey, prepared by officials advising Mukherjee, said yesterday that expansion in gross capital fixed formation, a proxy for investment growth, is at 5.2 percent, below the economic growth rate. That makes it necessary to watch the growth recovery in private investment in the fiscal third and fourth quarters while scaling back fiscal stimulus, according to the report.
“It is important to maintain the policy framework in order not to throttle the spontaneous growth momentum that the economy is demonstrating currently,” said Amit Mitra, secretary general of the New Delhi-based Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Corporate Earnings
Company performance has been mixed. Larsen & Toubro Ltd., India’s biggest engineering company, reported a 50 percent decline in profit last quarter after some orders were deferred. Car sales by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and other companies gained in January to a record, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said Feb. 9.
Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley expect Mukherjee to increase excise tax by 2 percentage points in the budget. Goldman Sachs economist Tushar Poddar said service tax may also be raised to 12 percent from 10 percent, helping boost total tax revenues by 17 percent next year after a 2 percent gain in the current year.
“Improved growth outlook suggests the government has greater scope to wind back fiscal stimulus and make real structural improvements to the deficit,” said Brian Jackson, the Hong Kong-based emerging-market strategist at Royal Bank of Canada. Jackson expects the government to accelerate asset sales.
Morgan Stanley Research Managing Director Chetan Ahya said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government may target 250 billion rupees ($5.4 billion) from sale of stakes in state-run companies and another 300 billion rupees from auction of licenses for third-generation mobile-phone services.
Wireless Licenses
As many as 13 wireless operators, including Vodafone Group Plc and Bharti Airtel Ltd. may compete for the licenses. The companies in which equity stakes will be sold include Coal India Ltd., India’s monopoly coal producer, and Steel Authority of India Ltd., the nation’s second-largest steelmaker.
The additional revenue may help Mukherjee allocate more money for the government’s rural jobs program after poor monsoon rains last year hurt farm production and reduced incomes of the country’s 700 million people who live in the countryside.
The drop in agriculture output slowed economic growth to 6 percent in the quarter ended Dec. 31 after a 7.9 percent gain in the previous quarter, the nation’s statistics office said in a separate statement in New Delhi today.
Investment Need
“India needs to use its budget to achieve more investment in agriculture and infrastructure,” Gerard Lyons, the chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank said in an interview in New Delhi on Feb. 11. “Fiscal consolidation is important.”
Subsidies for food and fertilizer now consume 10 percent of the budget. With another 14 percent of the budget devoted to defense, 19 percent to pay interest on the national debt and another 25 percent given to states as their share of the federal government’s revenue, there’s little left to pay for schools, power plants and other investments that can boost growth.
As a result, debt sales may rise 2 percent in the 12 months starting April 1 to a record 4.6 trillion rupees, according to the median forecast in a survey of 13 economists and investors.
With a debt level almost quadruple China’s -- at an estimated 86 percent of GDP this year according to the IMF -- fiscal restraint may also aid a sovereign-debt rating that’s the lowest among the BRIC nations, which include Brazil, Russia and China.
“If the exit path is well articulated and well executed, the local-currency rating could be upgraded,” Moody’s Investors Service sovereign analyst Aninda Mitra said in a Feb. 19 interview. Moody’s ranks India’s rupee-denominated debt at Ba2, two levels below investment grade.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Highlights of the Economic Survey
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday tabled the Economic Survey for 2009-10 that says that economic recovery is weak and the high double-digit food inflation in 2009-10 is a matter of great concern.
The survey warned that high food prices would rise further over next few months and criticised the food management policies that have led to 'unacceptably' high prices of items like sugar.
However, it says that full economic recovery and return to 9 per cent growth rate is likely in 2011-12.
Following are the highlights of Economic Survey 2009-10:
Economy likely to grow by up to 8.75 per cent in 2010-11.
Full recovery; return to 9 per cent growth in 2011-12.
Broad recovery gives scope for gradual stimulus roll back.
High double-digit food inflation in 2009-10 major concern.
Signs of food inflation spreading to other sectors.
Farm & allied sector production falls 0.2% in 2009-10.
Need serious policy initiatives for 4% agriculture growth.
Moots direct food subsidy via food coupons to households.
Favours making available food in open mkt.
Favours monthly ration coupons usable anywhere for poor.
Gross fiscal deficit pegged at 6.5 pc of GDP in 2009-10.
India 10th largest gold holding nation at 557.7 tonnes.
Exports in April-December 2009 down 20.3 per cent.
Imports in April-December 2009 down 23.6 per cent.
Trade gap narrowed to USD 76.24 bn in April-December.
32.5% savings & 34.9% investment (of GDP in 2008-09) put India in league of world's fastest growing nations.
Government initiates steps to boost private investment in agri.
Wants credit available at reasonable rates on time for private sector to invest in agriculture.
Slowdown in infrastructure that began in 2007, arrested.
Domestic oil production to rise 11 per cent in 2009-10.
Gas output up 52.8 per cent to 50.2 billion cubic meters with RIL [ Get Quote ] starting production.
India world's 2nd largest wireless network with 525.1 million mobile users.
Virtually every second Indian has access to phone.
Auction for 3G spectrum to provide existing and foreign players to bring in new technology and innovations.
The survey warned that high food prices would rise further over next few months and criticised the food management policies that have led to 'unacceptably' high prices of items like sugar.
However, it says that full economic recovery and return to 9 per cent growth rate is likely in 2011-12.
Following are the highlights of Economic Survey 2009-10:
Economy likely to grow by up to 8.75 per cent in 2010-11.
Full recovery; return to 9 per cent growth in 2011-12.
Broad recovery gives scope for gradual stimulus roll back.
High double-digit food inflation in 2009-10 major concern.
Signs of food inflation spreading to other sectors.
Farm & allied sector production falls 0.2% in 2009-10.
Need serious policy initiatives for 4% agriculture growth.
Moots direct food subsidy via food coupons to households.
Favours making available food in open mkt.
Favours monthly ration coupons usable anywhere for poor.
Gross fiscal deficit pegged at 6.5 pc of GDP in 2009-10.
India 10th largest gold holding nation at 557.7 tonnes.
Exports in April-December 2009 down 20.3 per cent.
Imports in April-December 2009 down 23.6 per cent.
Trade gap narrowed to USD 76.24 bn in April-December.
32.5% savings & 34.9% investment (of GDP in 2008-09) put India in league of world's fastest growing nations.
Government initiates steps to boost private investment in agri.
Wants credit available at reasonable rates on time for private sector to invest in agriculture.
Slowdown in infrastructure that began in 2007, arrested.
Domestic oil production to rise 11 per cent in 2009-10.
Gas output up 52.8 per cent to 50.2 billion cubic meters with RIL [ Get Quote ] starting production.
India world's 2nd largest wireless network with 525.1 million mobile users.
Virtually every second Indian has access to phone.
Auction for 3G spectrum to provide existing and foreign players to bring in new technology and innovations.
Sachin creates history
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman ever to score 200 runs in the history of the 50-over game. As Sachin broke the record of the highest One-Day International score of 194 runs held jointly by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry during his knock of 46th ODI hundred, we take a look at the centuries he has scored so far in his career.
British media praise 'mighty' Sachin Tendulkar
London, Feb 25 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar's stupendous feat of becoming the first cricketer to score a double century in one-dayer was today hailed by the British media, which described the little master as the "finest batsman" ever.
"Tendulkar underlined his sensational class with a double century in Gwalior. To have reached such a landmark, with a single in the final over, only serves to underline his class and add to the legacy that already surrounds arguably the finest batsman to have played the game," BBC Sports said.
"His innings, the 46th one-day century of his career, was typified by wristy strokes, trademark boundary shots and, above all, stamina as he batted through the entire innings," the report read.
Meanwhile, The Times tried to anticipate whether the Indian can complete a century of centuries in international cricket by the end of this year.
"Tendulkar underlined his sensational class with a double century in Gwalior. To have reached such a landmark, with a single in the final over, only serves to underline his class and add to the legacy that already surrounds arguably the finest batsman to have played the game," BBC Sports said.
"His innings, the 46th one-day century of his career, was typified by wristy strokes, trademark boundary shots and, above all, stamina as he batted through the entire innings," the report read.
Meanwhile, The Times tried to anticipate whether the Indian can complete a century of centuries in international cricket by the end of this year.
Monday, February 22, 2010
US fund houses launch five India-specific ETFs
Mumbai: American fund houses have launched five more India-specific exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to tap the growth potential of Asia’s third-largest economy that defied the global recession to post an impressive growth rate of 6.7% last financial year.
These funds are BGI S&P India Nifty 50, Direxion India Bull 3x Shares, Direxion India Bear 3x Shares, SPDR S&P India and WisdomTree India Total Dividend. The fund houses have filed their papers with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), said a person familiar with the matter, requesting anonymity.
ETFs are open-ended funds that are designed to track specific indices and trade just like any other stock. They are priced continuously and can be acquired by placing an order with a stock broker during trading hours.
Direxion Shares and Direxion Funds, managed by Rafferty Asset Management, offer leveraged index funds that buy more shares than you can with cash, ETFs and alternative-class fund products for investment advisors and sophisticated investors who seek to effectively manage risk and return in both bull and bear markets.
SPDR ETF, managed by the Boston-based SSgA Funds Management, are index funds that track the S&P 500 Index. Barclays Global Investors or BGI has filed papers for a new ETF linked to the S&P India Nifty Index.
Currently, there are just two India ETFs, from PowerShares and WisdomTree. However, many other providers are looking to capitalise on the country’s growth. As on July 30, WisdomTree India Earnings (EPI) was up 63.7% year-to-date, while PowerShares India (PIN) was up 52.7% year-to-date.
The two India ETFs have more than $560 million in assets. As one of the few economies that grew in a year that saw most of the world in recession, India has a growing acceptance among global investors, said Ashu Suyash, India head of Fidelity International.
“A possible reason for the surge in ETFs investing in India is that risk appetite has returned sufficiently for investors to look at emerging markets again... As allocations grow, investors will begin to look for the alpha and follow a more actively-managed investment strategy,” she said.
California-based ETF expert Tom Lydon said investors increasingly recognise that ETFs make it easier to access markets that have certain restrictions (such as limits on foreign investment) or liquidity issues.
ETFs have become big investors in India, basically because the US retail investor has accepted India as part of his global equity portfolio, said Samir Arora of the Singapore-based Helios Capital Management. “That money cannot be easily raised by other intermediaries,” he said.
Over 25% of secondary market inflows were through this route in recent months, according to Credit Suisse. “ETFs are perhaps securitising emerging markets like India in the current global liquidity wave, the way previous liquidity waves saw securitisation of internet or developed world real estate,” said Nilesh Jasani and Arya Sen of Credit Suisse.
While there will be occasional outflow cycles in coming years, the overall influence wielded by ETFs is expected to grow larger. FII buying in India from April 1, 2009 is close to $9 billion.
A recent study by Novarica, a research and advisory firm serving insurers and wealth management companies, says globally the number of ETFs will shoot up from 728 in 2008 to 2,618 by 2015, while ETF assets will increase from $500 billion to $1.15 trillion.
These funds are BGI S&P India Nifty 50, Direxion India Bull 3x Shares, Direxion India Bear 3x Shares, SPDR S&P India and WisdomTree India Total Dividend. The fund houses have filed their papers with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), said a person familiar with the matter, requesting anonymity.
ETFs are open-ended funds that are designed to track specific indices and trade just like any other stock. They are priced continuously and can be acquired by placing an order with a stock broker during trading hours.
Direxion Shares and Direxion Funds, managed by Rafferty Asset Management, offer leveraged index funds that buy more shares than you can with cash, ETFs and alternative-class fund products for investment advisors and sophisticated investors who seek to effectively manage risk and return in both bull and bear markets.
SPDR ETF, managed by the Boston-based SSgA Funds Management, are index funds that track the S&P 500 Index. Barclays Global Investors or BGI has filed papers for a new ETF linked to the S&P India Nifty Index.
Currently, there are just two India ETFs, from PowerShares and WisdomTree. However, many other providers are looking to capitalise on the country’s growth. As on July 30, WisdomTree India Earnings (EPI) was up 63.7% year-to-date, while PowerShares India (PIN) was up 52.7% year-to-date.
The two India ETFs have more than $560 million in assets. As one of the few economies that grew in a year that saw most of the world in recession, India has a growing acceptance among global investors, said Ashu Suyash, India head of Fidelity International.
“A possible reason for the surge in ETFs investing in India is that risk appetite has returned sufficiently for investors to look at emerging markets again... As allocations grow, investors will begin to look for the alpha and follow a more actively-managed investment strategy,” she said.
California-based ETF expert Tom Lydon said investors increasingly recognise that ETFs make it easier to access markets that have certain restrictions (such as limits on foreign investment) or liquidity issues.
ETFs have become big investors in India, basically because the US retail investor has accepted India as part of his global equity portfolio, said Samir Arora of the Singapore-based Helios Capital Management. “That money cannot be easily raised by other intermediaries,” he said.
Over 25% of secondary market inflows were through this route in recent months, according to Credit Suisse. “ETFs are perhaps securitising emerging markets like India in the current global liquidity wave, the way previous liquidity waves saw securitisation of internet or developed world real estate,” said Nilesh Jasani and Arya Sen of Credit Suisse.
While there will be occasional outflow cycles in coming years, the overall influence wielded by ETFs is expected to grow larger. FII buying in India from April 1, 2009 is close to $9 billion.
A recent study by Novarica, a research and advisory firm serving insurers and wealth management companies, says globally the number of ETFs will shoot up from 728 in 2008 to 2,618 by 2015, while ETF assets will increase from $500 billion to $1.15 trillion.
Friday, February 19, 2010
India Must Cut Deficit Starting Next Year, Panel Says
Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- India must cut its 16-year high budget deficit starting next financial year to make monetary policy effective in damping inflation, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council said.
“The government cannot continue with the kind of large revenue and fiscal deficits recorded in the last two years and will have to initiate fiscal consolidation in the coming fiscal year itself,” the panel said in a report in New Delhi before Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s federal budget on Feb. 26.
Central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao last month said monetary policy alone won’t be effective in containing inflation unless Mukherjee withdraws fiscal stimulus measures and narrows the difference between spending and revenue. The Reserve Bank of India needs to move to “a neutral monetary policy as quickly as possible” as the economy recovers, Chakravarthy Rangarajan, chairman of the panel, told reporters today.
“It is necessary to initiate measures towards fiscal consolidation in the forthcoming budget to ensure fiscal sustainability and enable greater flexibility in monetary policy calibration,” he said.
India’s 10-year bonds headed for a fourth weekly decline, the longest losing streak since October, on speculation the government will increase its debt sales from a record. The yield on the 6.35 percent note due January 2020 rose two basis points this week to 7.89 percent as of 2:34 p.m. in Mumbai.
‘Bigger Risk’
Mukherjee may propose to borrow as much as 4.60 trillion rupees ($99 billion) in the next fiscal year, said Sanjay Arya, treasurer at state-owned Bank of Maharashtra in Mumbai. Gross borrowing next year may be “slightly lower,” said Rangarajan, who served as a central bank governor between 1992 and 1997.
Central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao on Jan. 29 called the budget deficit a “bigger risk” to India’s economy than any other factor. The government can shrink the gap by reducing expenditure and subsidies, Rangarajan said.
The central bank last month raised India’s growth forecast to 7.5 percent in the year ending March 31, and its end-March inflation forecast to 8.5 percent from an earlier 6.5 percent. Subbarao also increased the proportion of deposits lenders need to maintain as cash reserves to 5.75 percent from 5 percent.
The prime minister’s advisory panel today forecast a 7.2 percent economic expansion in the year ending March 31. It expects growth to accelerate to 8.2 percent next year and 9 percent the following year. Low farm and power output are constraining growth, according to the report.
Mukherjee has undertaken to trim the budget deficit to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product in the year ending March 31, 2011, from an estimated 6.8 percent this year.
“The government cannot continue with the kind of large revenue and fiscal deficits recorded in the last two years and will have to initiate fiscal consolidation in the coming fiscal year itself,” the panel said in a report in New Delhi before Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s federal budget on Feb. 26.
Central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao last month said monetary policy alone won’t be effective in containing inflation unless Mukherjee withdraws fiscal stimulus measures and narrows the difference between spending and revenue. The Reserve Bank of India needs to move to “a neutral monetary policy as quickly as possible” as the economy recovers, Chakravarthy Rangarajan, chairman of the panel, told reporters today.
“It is necessary to initiate measures towards fiscal consolidation in the forthcoming budget to ensure fiscal sustainability and enable greater flexibility in monetary policy calibration,” he said.
India’s 10-year bonds headed for a fourth weekly decline, the longest losing streak since October, on speculation the government will increase its debt sales from a record. The yield on the 6.35 percent note due January 2020 rose two basis points this week to 7.89 percent as of 2:34 p.m. in Mumbai.
‘Bigger Risk’
Mukherjee may propose to borrow as much as 4.60 trillion rupees ($99 billion) in the next fiscal year, said Sanjay Arya, treasurer at state-owned Bank of Maharashtra in Mumbai. Gross borrowing next year may be “slightly lower,” said Rangarajan, who served as a central bank governor between 1992 and 1997.
Central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao on Jan. 29 called the budget deficit a “bigger risk” to India’s economy than any other factor. The government can shrink the gap by reducing expenditure and subsidies, Rangarajan said.
The central bank last month raised India’s growth forecast to 7.5 percent in the year ending March 31, and its end-March inflation forecast to 8.5 percent from an earlier 6.5 percent. Subbarao also increased the proportion of deposits lenders need to maintain as cash reserves to 5.75 percent from 5 percent.
The prime minister’s advisory panel today forecast a 7.2 percent economic expansion in the year ending March 31. It expects growth to accelerate to 8.2 percent next year and 9 percent the following year. Low farm and power output are constraining growth, according to the report.
Mukherjee has undertaken to trim the budget deficit to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product in the year ending March 31, 2011, from an estimated 6.8 percent this year.
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