Jab We Met: 'A lot can happen over coffee'

Here, Swati Roplekar tells us how she first met her partner and they eventually fell in love.

I joined this company where MD (that's what I and his close friends call him) was working as a Team Leader.

On the day I joined the organisation he was on leave as he was unwell. But I had heard about him through other people in my team.

We met for the first time when he returned to work. Our first meeting was not so impressive. I started disliking him as I felt he was being too bossy (he being the TL). 

We were a group of four friends in the same company and MD later joined our group through a common friend. I didn't even like him joining our group.

After work, the entire group would spend some time at a nearby restaurant and have fun. Slowly, as I started talking to him things got better. Thereafter MD and I started chatting over the internet for at least two to three hours every day.

That's when I got to know him better and soon we became the best of friends. This continued for a long period of time. We enjoyed each other's company and we knew almost everything about each other.

We liked each other because both of us were simple at heart and cared for each other a lot.

He also liked the fact that I did not indulge in gossips.

Meanwhile our common friend's marriage got fixed and all of us went to Delhi to attend her marriage.

MD tried to propose his love to me on airplane about 10,000 metres above ground but did not have the courage to say those three words. After returning from the trip, MD proposed to me over the phone. Although I liked him, I rejected his proposal.

I knew that my family would never approve our relationship because we belonged to different states and castes.

However, despite the rejection, MD regularly invited me for a coffee in order to spend some time together. Every time we met at Cafe Coffee Day, he'd always tell me "A lot can happen over coffee".

After six months I accepted his proposal because somewhere deep down I loved him too and couldn't stay away from him (and yeah, MD's coffee magic worked too... :)).

After a few months, we shared our feelings to our respective families. His family approved our relationship while my parents, as expected, didn't approve.

They were against the relation because they felt inter caste marriage would not be successful. They said there was no cultural compatibility between us -- because I'm a maharashtrian and he, a north Indian. 

At this juncture, our friends who'd supported us through advised us to take a strong decision. So we decided to continue our relationship and somehow managed to convince my parents.

Gradually the matter was brought up at my home and after a year, I told them that my decision is final. I would marry only him and nobody else. 

My family met MD and his parents and now they have approved our relationship and soon we are going to tie the knot. We are happy as we have successfully convinced my family and are now going to spend the rest of our lives together.

Today, I would like to thank MD for being so patient and supportive and also to all our friends who supporting us through our tough times.

Yeh ishq nahi aasan
Bas itna samaj lijiye
Ek aag ka dariya hai
Aur dubke jana hai..!!

All's well that ends well...!!

India’s army chief warns over defence-Letter Leaked

India’s top military chief has warned that the country’s tanks have run out of ammunition and its air defences are obsolete despite increases in budget defence spending, leaving it vulnerable to any external threats. The warning was made earlier this month in a leaked letter, published by a national newspaper, from General VK Singh, the chief of army staff to prime minister Manmohan Singh. The leak will come as an embarrassment to Delhi as it prepares to welcome heads of state for a summit of Brics countries starting on Thursday. In the letter, the general said the country’s tank fleet was “devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks” and warned that air defence was “97 per cent obsolete”. He also outlined “woefully” ill-equipped special forces and “large scale voids” in surveillance in a region where India faces two “inimical neighbours” and a potent terror threat. These warnings, on the eve of the arrival of Chinese president Hu Jintao in the Indian capital, reinforce views held by some former national security advisers and other senior commanders that India is not preparing sufficiently for the rising military might of a more assertive China. The letter surfaced only days after India was declared by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute as the world’s biggest importer of arms, surpassing neighbouring China. The think-tank estimates that India accounted for 10 per cent of global arms imports between 2007 and 2011. India, the world’s largest democracy, has an annual defence budget of $40bn, and is in negotiation with France’s Dassault for the supply of 123 jet fighters, worth about $20bn. A.K. Antony, the defence minister, confirmed the existence of the letter in parliament on Wednesday amid calls from the government’s allies for the army chief to be sacked. “The government is determined to do all that is needed to continue to assure the safety and security of India,” said Mr Antony, a trusted ally of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. The parliamentary opposition, which has drubbed Mr Singh’s government for high-profile corruption scandals over the past two years, described the letter as “extremely disturbing concerning defence preparedness”. Gen Singh has become a highly controversial figure in recent weeks, and is widely viewed as an antagonist to the ruling party after a bitter row over his retirement. Gen Singh took the defence ministry to the Supreme Court in February after claiming he was a year younger than military records showed. He lost the case. This week, Gen Singh said Mr Antony had failed to follow up on the general’s earlier disclosure that he had been offered a $2.8m bribe to buy faulty trucks for the army. “Fiscal allocations [for the military] by themselves tell a partial story,” said Uday Bhaskar, a Delhi-based defence analyst. “Creating appropriate military capacity requires a certain degree of political commitment and institutional integrity that appear elusive in the Indian context.” “Decision-making remains paralysed since the major political parties have chosen to attack one another over corruption and transgression issues. As a result, India’s military capacity has glaring gaps.” Maroof Raza, a defence analyst, said India’s defence forces were falling victim to a confrontation with the nation’s bureaucracy. “The growing trust deficit between the army chief and the ministry of defence has led to a situation where the government and bureaucracy have decided to not let anything move,” he said. “Ours is a shocking state of affairs.”

German effort to save euro zone comes at a cost

In the course of Europe’s economic crisis, Germany has pushed its neighbors into a new fiscal treaty, demanded that other governments take tough austerity measures, forced losses on private investors who hold Greek bonds and helped shove uncooperative politicians out of office. For demanding that other nations accept that painful medicine, Berlin has paid a price of its own: potentially $600 billion in loans, guarantees and other payments to help keep the euro zone intact. Germany is Europe’s economic engine and the political power at the heart of the 17-member euro region. Without its checkbook, the experiment in a common currency would be doomed, but Germany has too much riding on it to see it fail. The single currency has provided Germany with a ready export market free of shifting exchange rates and other risks. Much of what Germany has offered is in the form of loan guarantees that may never cost the country a nickel and that so far have had little effect on its government budget or credit rating. But if the guarantees ever come due, they could turn Germany into one of Europe’s biggest debtors — and compromise the region’s economic health. The cost could approach perhaps 20 percent of Germany’s annual economic output. German central bank head Jens Weidmann spoke of the risks on Wednesday, saying that efforts to stop the crisis with a “wall of money” were akin to the biblical Tower of Babel. It “will never reach heaven. If we continue to make it higher and higher, we will, in fact, run into more worldly constraints — both financial and political ones,” he said in a speech in London. The final tally of Germany’s commitments should become clear in the next few days when euro-area finance ministers meet to increase the size of the region’s bailout fund. Most euro-zone nations contribute to the fund. But the biggest burden rests squarely on Germany, whose annual economic output of roughly $3 trillion represents about a quarter of the euro region’s total. At the meeting, regional leaders are likely to complete the establishment of the crisis-fighting system that they began in the spring of 2010. They are likely to increase the size of the fund by a minimum of around $250 billion, to more than $1 trillion. Throughout the crisis, Germany has been resistant to bailouts and subsidies. Its opposition repeatedly pushed the region to the brink of disaster — including what Greek officials say was a near default in May 2010 before Germany agreed to an initial bailout. “It has not been cheap to get the consent of Germany,” said Carlo Bastasin, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. He said the price included the ouster of Greek and Italian leaders who had not taken strong enough action to tackle their nations’ debts and harsh austerity measures, such as deep cuts in public spending, in several countries. “The brinksmanship was a precise strategy — and it worked pretty well in terms of results,” he said. In the debate over the size of the bailout fund, Germany argued for months that no increase was needed — and that it might even be counterproductive if it eased the pressure on governments to improve their finances.

Apple Brand Value at $153 Billion Overtakes Google for Top Spot

Apple Inc. (AAPL), maker of the iPhone, iPad and iMac, overtook search-engine giant Google Inc. (GOOG) to become the world’s most valuable brand, WPP Plc said in a report today.

Apple’s brand value climbed 84 percent in the past year to $153.3 billion, WPP’s Millward Brown unit said. Google’s brand lost 2 percent to $111.5 billion, ending four years atop the rankings, while International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) climbed 17 percent to be the No. 3, ahead of McDonald’s Corp. (MCD)

New versions of the iPhone and iMac, and the introduction of the iPad tablet, helped Cupertino, California-based Apple almost double sales and profit for the latest quarter. Apple, which overtook Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), as the most-valuable technology company by market value in May 2010, boosted its share of the global phone market and is the leading seller of tablet computers.

“It’s clear that every single Apple employee, from Steve Jobs and Tim Cook to the summer interns, see protecting and nurturing that brand as a top priority,” Millward Brown Chief Executive Officer Eileen Campbell wrote in the report. “Tablet computing also drove value growth not just for Apple, but also for the providers who support yet another networked device.”

Facebook Inc., operator of the world’s largest social- networking site, had a 246 percent climb in brand value, the fastest, to become the No. 35 brand at $19.1 billion, according to the report. Baidu Inc., Google’s Chinese rival, posted the second-fastest climb at 141 percent, to be the No. 29 brand at $22.6 billion.

Twelve of the top 100 global brands were from China, led by China Mobile Ltd. (941) at No. 9 and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. at No. 11. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), which ranked 14th, overtook Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), which ranked 15th, to become the most-valuable retail brand.

Real life: I ran my first marathon at 53

Standing at the start line surrounded by thousands of runners I wondered what on earth I was letting myself in for. I had never run a race before in my life let alone a marathon and, until five weeks before, never imagined I would.

But here I was about to take part in one of the biggest and most popular marathons in the world, The London Marathon. It all started when two of my brothers told me they wanted to run, but were struggling to find a charity to let them take part on their behalf.

I sprang into action and, soon enough found a fantastic charity which helps people with learning difficulties – Norwood – which would let them run. But there was a catch. They said they would only let my brothers run under their name if I ran too!

Laughing at the idea I was shocked when I realised they were being completely serious.

I told them I was 53 and had never run before in my life. But they wouldn’t give up, leaving me no other option than to agree to take part. Then came the next hurdle. Unlike most of the people taking part who got their places a year before the event, I had just five weeks to train and raise £2,000.

I booked an appointment with my doctor and the response I got still makes me chuckle – he said I was mad! But, with no time to lose, I started jogging round the block. But I’m a busy woman and I found it difficult to fit in anywhere near enough training.

I contacted my family and friends and asked them to sponsor me. The response I got was very mixed. Some thought it was incredible and wished me luck, but some were shocked.

One friend even offered me double if I didn’t run because he was worried I’d injure myself.

But I won everyone round and I was overwhelmed with the amount of money I was able to raise in such a short amount of time.

Before I knew it, I was stood at the starting line about to run 26 miles.

The day was incredible.

Surrounded by people of all ages, shapes, sizes and circumstances, I began the race on a real buzz and it was that amazing atmosphere that got me through. I chatted to everyone I passed, and many people commented on the fact that I ran in a long skirt and white hat.

Half way around I noticed a TV crew filming runners and so I stopped for a chat. They looked surprised, no one ever stops mid race, but I had something I wanted to tell them.

I told them my name was Flora, and I was running the Flora London Marathon. And before I knew it I was live on TV!

Crossing the finish line I felt a real mix of emotions, from happiness to pride and relief. I finished with a time of five hours, 49 minutes and 29 seconds. The next day I received phone calls of congratulations but nothing compared to being able to give the charity a cheque for £4,000.

From that moment on running marathons became a huge part of my life. I realised how much money can be raised for amazing causes. Since that first race in 1997 I have run the London Marathon every year without fail.

But I wanted to do more. So in 2000 I travelled to America and took part in my first New York marathon. It was incredible, and I got a real buzz.

Every time I ran I raised more money, starting at £4,000 and going up by nearly £2,000 each time. I thought to myself, why stop at just two marathons a year? Why not do more?

So in January 2001 I packed my bags and boarded a place to Israel to run the International Tiberias Marathon.

The weather was a lot warmer, the wind was extremely powerful. I passed a man who was really struggling.

Unlike other marathons, the Tiberias closes its finish line at six hours, so if you miss this you don’t get a medal. I ran with him, spurred him on, and we finished in the nick of time.

I’m 68 now, a great-grandmother, and I’m about to run my 23rd marathon in April this year, taking part in the Virgin London Marathon.

In total I’ve raised over £180,000 for the Norwood charity, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Running marathons keeps me feeling fresh and I plan to carry on running as long as the good Lord lets me.

Complete List Of Oscar 2011 Winners

1. Best Picture: “The King’s Speech.”

2. Actor: Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech.”

3. Actress: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan.”

4. Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, “The Fighter.”

5. Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, “The Fighter.”

6. Directing: Tom Hooper, “The King’s Speech.”

7. Foreign Language Film: “In a Better World,” Denmark.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, “The Social Network.”

9. Original Screenplay: David Seidler, “The King’s Speech.”

10. Animated Feature Film: “Toy Story 3.”

11. Art Direction: “Alice in Wonderland.”

12. Cinematography: “Inception.”

13. Sound Mixing: “Inception.”

14. Sound Editing: “Inception.”

15. Original Score: “The Social Network,” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

16. Original Song: “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3,” Randy Newman.

17. Costume Design: “Alice in Wonderland.”

18. Documentary Feature: “Inside Job.”

19. Documentary (short subject): “Strangers No More.”

20. Film Editing: “The Social Network.”

21. Makeup: “The Wolfman.”

22. Animated Short Film: “The Lost Thing.”

23. Live Action Short Film: “God of Love.”

24. Visual Effects: “Inception.”

Pranab's budget spares the axe, reliefs in taxes are mild

The Union Budget for 2011-12 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Parliament on Monday is widely seen as taxpayer- and market-friendly. While it provides tax relief to individual taxpayers and corporate assessees, it has also sought to avoid any across-the-board increases in excise and service taxes – as was widely expected following suggestions from the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. The Council had said recently that the time was ripe to withdraw the fiscal stimulus of 2008-10.

But the Finance Minister apparently disagrees. He said: "In my last Budget, I had started rolling back the fiscal stimulus implemented over 2008-09 and 2009-10 to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis on the economic slowdown in India. In the course of the year, I have moved further on that path. I believe that a part of the current recovery must be stored away to build future resilience. Indeed, a counter-cyclical fiscal policy is our best insurance against external shocks and localised domestic factors."

So, Mukherjee is obviously not sure that growth will remain robust if he tightens the screws just now. The main highlights of his budget proposals are the scattering of reliefs here and there, with the big sting being left for later. The following are the main budget proposals, and their possible impact.

* The surcharge on corporate tax on domestic companies will be cut from 7.5% to 5%. However, the Minimum Alternate Tax goes up to 18.5% from 18% to keep the effective level of taxation for MAT companies the same. Companies will welcome the relief.

* Individual taxpayers get a higher basic deduction of Rs 1.8 lakh; every taxpayers get minor relief of Rs 2,000. It’s a minor drop in the bucket given the ravages of inflation.

* Senior citizens get a bonanza. Apart from an increase in the exemption limit to Rs 2.5 lakh, the entitlement age for senior citizens is now 60, not 65. A new class of super senior citizens aged above 80 gets an even higher IT exemption limit of Rs 5 lakh. For a young country, Pranab, 76, is obviously rooting for senior citizens.

* Service tax stays at the same level as before at 10%, but several new services have been brought within its ambit. Among them: hotels with tariffs above Rs 1,000 (5% service tax), restaurants with bar and A/C (3%), hospitals with more than 25 beds and with A/C (5%), and air travel (Rs 50 more for domestic, Rs 250 for international). Business class air travel will attract a full 10% service tax. Hotels, five-star restaurants and airlines will scream.

* The base excise rate stays at 10%, but exemptions on some 130 items are being withdrawn. A basic rate of 1% is being levied. Another 240 items that are still exempt will be attracting tax when the goods and services tax is introduced next year. One can expect inflation to get a nudge up.

* Inflation, reforms and black money generation got some mention, but nothing substantive. The amnesty scheme for bringing back black money was missing in the budget. The government is obviously not keen to be seen as reactive to public criticism of corruption.

* Subsidies on fertiliser, kerosene and cooking gas (LPG) will be cash-based by March, 2012. No measures on fuel deregulation were, however, announced. The urea subsidy will soon become nutrient-based. Good in intent, a lot will depend on political will. One can expect the Left to be critical of the proposal.

* The public sector disinvestment target has been upped to Rs 40,000 crore in 2011-12; the current fiscal’s target was reduced to 22,144 crore due to higher realisations from other sources. But it could be because of the government’s inability to reform oil prices. While Indian Oil was forced to review its further public offer due to losses, ONGC’s plans appear to have been delayed. A lot will depend on how the market fares after the budget.

* Foreign institutional and non-institutional investors get more options for investment. While the total ceiling on debt is raised to US$40 billion, individual investors who are KYC (know-your-customer) complaint can invest in Indian mutual funds. This could indirectly give a fillip to market sentiment. Positive for market sentiment, but don’t expect a flood of foreign funds to come into equity.

* Many sops for infrastructure have been announced. While Rs 30,000 crore worth of tax-free bonds will be on offer next year, the Rs 20,000 additional tax deduction available for investing in infra bonds will be retained for another year. Nothing earth-shattering in all this.

* Small sops have been offered to housing, especially low-cost housing. The 1% interest rebate will be applicable for loans upto Rs 15 lakh on houses costing upto Rs 25 lakh. Loans upto Rs 25 lakh will qualify as priority sector loans (against Rs 20 lakh now). One cannot expect any major fillip to housing with this. Realty is already beyond reach in most metros even for the middle class.

Overall, the centre’s direct tax reliefs will cost Pranab Mukherjee Rs 11,500 crore, while his indirect tax levies will bring in Rs 11,300 crore. The fiscal deficit will be contained at 4.6% next year against 5.1% this year, with the 2013-14 target being 3.5%.

Seven big Indian corruption scandals

India has been rocked this year by a series of corruption scandals that have embarrassed the ruling Congress party, rattled markets and delayed reform bills as the opposition stalls parliament.

The country, 87th in Transparency International's rankings based on perceived levels of corruption, is no stranger to scandals.

Here are some of the biggest in the last two decades:

2010—Loan bribery case

The case broke after a year of investigation on November 24 when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested eight people, accusing them of bribery for corporate loans.

The arrests included the chief executive of state-run mortgage lender LIC Housing Finance and senior officials at state-run Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of India.

While the size of the scandal is not yet known, local media have reported it could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

The CBI is probing 21 companies involved in India's booming infrastructure sector for links, but has not named them.

The bribes were allegedly paid by private finance firm Money Matters Financial Services, which acted as a "mediator and facilitator" for the loan beneficiaries, the CBI said.

Companies whose officials have been arrested have all denied any wrongdoing. Individuals arrested have not yet commented.

Government officials, including ministers, have said this is a case of individual wrongdoing and not a widespread scam.

2010—Telecoms licence row

Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja was sacked after a report by India's state auditor said his ministry sold licences and spectrum below market prices, depriving the government of up to USD 39 billion in revenues.

The scandal swept up as high as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had to explain to the Supreme Court why he sat on a request for permission to charge Raja with corruption.

In its report, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) also said rules were flouted when the licences were given in 2007-08 which led to many ineligible firms getting them.

The CBI has launched an investigation into alleged corruption at the ministry. Nobody has been charged yet and Raja has denied any wrongdoing.

The CAG said Unitech units got licences despite having inadequate capital, Swan Telecom got a licence even though there were monopoly issues and Reliance Communications got undue benefits as it sought permission to offer services under the more popular GSM technology.

Revenue authorities have questioned Nira Radia, a top lobbyist, as part of an investigation into whether money laundering and forex laws were broken when the licences were purchased. Radia has denied any wrongdoing and has said she is cooperating with the probe.

2010—Commonwealth Games

Allegations of corruption over the international sporting event that took place in Delhi in October are being investigated by several bodies including the anti-corruption watchdog, the state auditor, the CBI and a special committee set up by Prime Minister Singh.

The Congress-party led coalition government came under fierce criticism for mismanagement and ineptitude over the sporting extravaganza which cost up to USD 6 billion.

Allegations of corruption spanned a broad spectrum including issuing of contracts and purchase of equipment -- from treadmills to toilet rolls.

India's anti-corruption watchdog has identified more than 16 projects with possible irregularities.

The Congress party eventually sacked Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the organising committee, as secretary of the party's parliamentary wing.

Aides have been arrested and local media has said Kalmadi could be arrested once he returns back from a foreign trip.

2010—Housing scam

Congress party politicians, bureaucrats and military officials have been accused of taking over land meant for building apartments for war widows. The CBI has begun investigating the case.

Local media say apartments with a value of USD 1.8 million were sold for as little as USD 130,000 each in the apartment block, which faces the Arabian Sea in one of the world's most expensive stretches of real estate in Mumbai.

The government has sacked the chief minister of western Maharashtra state, Ashok Chavan, who is a member of Congress.

The apartment block is also being investigated for several violations of norms, including environmental laws and land-use rules.

The government has now effectively taken back permissions allowing owners to occupy the apartments, which are required for water and power supplies, leading to the disconnection of these services.

2009—Satyam

The founder of Satyam Computer Services, one of India's top software firms, resigned in January 2009 after admitting profits were falsely inflated for years.

The fraud, estimated at USD 1 billion, was India's largest corporate scandal and was dubbed "India's Enron".

With clients abandoning it, shares were hammered down to near-penny-stock levels.

The government stepped in to save the firm by appointing a new board of directors and midwifed its sale to Tech Mahindra. The firm is now called Mahindra Satyam.

The founder chairman of Satyam, Ramalinga Raju, and other officials including the then chief executive officer and chief financial officer, were arrested under several charges including fraud. The cases continue in court. The defendants have said they were not involved in the fraud.

1992—Securities scam

Several Indian stockbrokers were accused of siphoning off over Rs 3,500 crore (USD 778 million) of funds, mostly from inter-bank transactions, to fuel a rise in the Mumbai stock market in 1992. It involved top officers of state-run and foreign banks and financial institutions, bureaucrats and politicians.

News of the scam led to an over 40% fall in shares over two months, wiping millions of dollars from market value.

Harshad Mehta, the main accused, died in 2002, convicted in only one of the many cases filed against him, for misappropriation of funds in a case involving the use of money from the bank account of carmaker Maruti Suzuki for trading in stocks.

Several bank executives were convicted for fraud in allowing bank funds to be used for trading stocks.

1986—Bofors gun deal

India's purchase of artillery guns from Swedish firm Bofors in 1986 was rocked by allegations that Rs 64 crore (USD 14.2 million) -- a huge sum then -- was paid as bribes to people close to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to swing the deal.

The scandal caused an uproar in parliament, led to a split in the ruling Congress party and the defeat of Gandhi in federal elections in 1989.

Its fallout has stymied India's defence expansion, with officials for years unwilling to take decisions on purchases that could later be probed for corruption.

Amongst the people probed were the London-based Indian business family of the Hindujas, who were later acquitted by a court of any involvement.

The case has dragged on for years without any result.

A Comeback in Sight for Satyam?

Satyam Computer Services – normally the black sheep of Indian IT – was having a field day in India’s stock market on Tuesday, at a time of market volatility for the country’s IT industry .

On Tuesday Satyam’s stocks held steady- while its bigger IT competitors Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Technologies kept swaying in the Bombay stock market.

In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Satyam’s president of business development and customer relationships Atul Kunwar said he expects revenue from the U.S., its biggest market, to show growth from the second half of next year as it starts cashing in on increased spending in technology outsourcing .

Mr. Kunwar said the company is working on closing several deals. He said that before Thanksgiving, the company saw “a lot of action in the U.S.,” in terms of deal proposals, which the clients are likely to consider in the next month.

He added the company is also chasing large contracts worth more than $50 million over three to five years, and several smaller deals worth $30 million or less. If Satyam bags these deals in the US - which analysts agree is the biggest market for India’s IT industry - this is likely to give a big boost to the company’s revenues.

Satyam stock closed up 2.3% at 62.25 rupees ($1.35) in a Mumbai market where the benchmark Sensex was up 0.6%.

Investors were busy booking profits on larger outsourcing firms Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. which closed marginally up 0.9% at 1,076.70 rupees, while Infosys Technologies closed down 0.5% at 3,049.45 rupees.

Until recently, things were not looking so rosy for Satyam. Satyam – once India’s fourth largest software exporter by sales – plunged into turmoil in January 2009, when its founder and then chairman, B. Ramalinga Raju confessed the company had been overstating profits for years. This delayed earnings reports from the July-September period of 2008 . Last September, the company reported its first ever results after the scandal, posting net losses for the last two fiscal years. The company is still in the process of restating accounts for the previous six to seven years.

Shares of the software outsourcer had been suffering losses ever since the company posted its first quarterly earnings in November , the first since the balance-sheet scandal. The Hyderabad-based company posted a 76% drop in its July-September net profit from the preceding three months, hurt mainly by salary hikes and foreign-exchange losses as it struggled to add new clients.

With the latest quarter results, the company has become current with is financials. The makes the outsourcer eligible to bid for several contracts which it was previously barred from doing.

Investors will be keeping a close eye to see if the stock will sustain this positive sentiment in the longer term.

India's Economy Grows 8.9%

NEW DELHI – India's economy grew 8.9% in the quarter ended Sept. 30, maintaining its dramatic expansion when many western economies are struggling to resuscitate growth.

The rise in Gross Domestic Product, following on from an 8.9% on-year rise in the previous quarter, marks India as one of the world's fastest growing economies and will likely allow the Reserve Bank of India to raise interest rates again soon, seeking to tame inflation, without fear of a major hit to growth.

It also prompted Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to revise higher his growth forecast for the year ending next March 31, to 8.75% from a previous estimate of 8.5%.

The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex rose following the strong GDP data, ending up 0.6% at 19,521.25. Government bonds fell as investors saw a greater chance of interest rate hikes by the RBI. The benchmark 7.80% bond due 2020 ended at 98.25 rupees, compared to the previous close at 98.59 rupees.
[IECON]

"Inflation is still the number one policy focus, and we continue to expect more rate hikes in the months ahead, perhaps as soon as the next meeting in December," said Brian Jackson, senior emerging markets strategist at Royal Bank of Canada. The central bank has raised its key interest rates six times since March as it tries to control inflation. It last raised rates by 0.25 percentage point Nov. 2.

The growth was confirmation that India, which is less reliant on exports for growth than many smaller Asian nations, has been able not only to shrug off the global downturn but accelerate growth while other nations are struggling to emerge from the downturn.

That's thanks to robust domestic demand. In the three months ended Sept. 30, farm output, which constitutes about 16% of GDP, rose 4.4%, quicker than the 2.5% rise in the previous quarter. Services like trade, hotels and transport grew 12.1%, while manufacturing output rose 9.8%.

The government hopes to return to its pre-crisis growth rate of 9% in the year beginning April 1, 2011. Ultimately it hopes to achieve double-digit growth and outpace its larger northern neighbor, China, the only major economy growing more quickly than India's.

The rapid expansion is expected to continue to attract a hefty inflow of foreign funds into India's stock market, which has risen sharply this year as investors worldwide seek fast-growing markets.

But some analysts say growth may be curtailed in the next year. Robert Prior-Wandesforde, a Credit Suisse economist, predicted that growth will remain strong through March but then "a combination of higher oil prices, a strengthening real exchange rate and, most importantly, the lagged impact of higher interest rates is likely to take its toll on economic activity."

He predicts GDP growth of 7.7% in the year ending March 31, 2012.

For now, however, the GDP growth will come as a fillip for the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which has faced tough times in recent weeks. A government auditor found that an allotment of second-generation mobile telephone spectrum sold in 2008 deprived the government of as much as $40 billion in potential revenue because the spectrum was sold to a few favored companies, vastly underpriced.

The government's legislative agenda has been stalled in Parliament amid opposition protests and demands for a wider probe into the scandal, which forced the telecommunications minister to resign.

Strides Arcolab Q3 PAT clocks 85% growth; revenue up 35%

Strides Arcolab has announced its second quarter results. It has reported a consolidated net profit at Rs 40 crore which is an 85% growth over the previous year. The company saw its revenues at Rs 430 crore, a quantum jump of 35%.

Arun Kumar, group CEO & vice chairman, Strides Arcolab, in an interview with CNBC-TV18’s Latha Venkatesh and Reema Tendulkar spoke about the results and his outlook for the company.

Below is a verbatim transcript. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: Can you take us through the highlights of this quarter because we only have your topline and bottomline numbers. How did the margins pan out and the Rs 19 crore that you are referring to year ago, deducts an extraordinary inflow, because the reported PAT was Rs 44 crore?

A: There is a mix up between the standalone and the consolidated numbers. Consolidated sales were Rs 430 crore, that’s a 35% growth compared to last year. EBITDA grew at 108% to Rs 88 crore and a profit after tax is Rs 40 crore which is an 85% growth over the previous year. EPS accretion is over 60% and that’s on the consolidated basis.

Q: Can you give us the standalone as well?

A: The standalone revenues for India were Rs 135 crore and PAT was at Rs 10 crore. The standalone is not comparable as we did a restructuring of our businesses to specialties in sterile. The standalone is from a boarding standpoint. The consolidated numbers will truly reflect the performance of the company.

Q: Could you walk us through how the specialties division and the pharma division have done in terms of revenue and margin picture?

A: Specialties continue to have a very solid growth. In the quarter we had a significant growth where that growth has increased from Rs 81 crore in the last year to Rs 126 crore. That is a 55% growth in specialty. Pharmaceuticals grew from Rs 237 crore to Rs 303 crore, that’s a 28% growth.

Combined both these divisions grew on an average of 35%. EBITDA growth in specialties far out beats our guidance. We continue to have a year-to-date EBITDA in our specialties business and 36% was our EBITDA for the quarter.

Q: Earlier, you had indicated a guidance of about 35% to 37% growth in terms of your revenue for the entire calendar year. Would you like to up that given the numbers are looking good for the first three quarters?

A: We would like to stay with our revenue guidance because obviously the exchange rate has a dampening impact. When we issued our guidance, on the dollar terms definitely we will reach the high end of our guidance.

What is more satisfying for Strides is that our EBITDA margins are far superior than the high-end of our guidance. We believe there is merit to up our EBITDA guidance but on the revenue considering the dollar scenario we would like to retain those numbers.

Q: What did you report in Q3 and what would your EBITDA margin guidance be?

A: For the first three quarters EBITDA is Rs 304-305 crore against the guidance of Rs 370 crore for the whole year. We are already a little ahead of that from a run rate standpoint. For the fourth quarter, traditionally, it is a very strong quarter for Strides so that should be good. On a dollar term that’s very strong. We are at about 3 percentage points more than our guidance in terms of EBITDA which is what the company’s key focus is.

Q: By way of margins, I think you had guided something around 20%, are you likely to keep the margins at 20%?

A: Yes, in fact currently our YTD is a lot more than 20%, its 23%.

Q: So you would be able to operate for the full year as well?

A: Yes.

Q: Can you give us an update in your partnership with Pfizer?

A: Our press release today reports a total licensing income from all partners including Pfizer. We have already received about Rs 265 crore of licensing income from various partners.

What is more heartening is that we would have product launches in the fourth quarter. So we have a first product going to Pfizer in Q4 which is very important for Strides. We expect the new sites to be inspected and approved soon when the ramp up happens. From our existing sites we have three product launches in Q4 for the US market to Pfizer.

UK's BT Planning To Sell Part Or Full Stake In Tech Mahindra - Sources

MUMBAI (Dow Jones)--U.K. telecommunications company BT Group PLC (BT) is planning to sell a part or all of its stake in India's Tech Mahindra Ltd. (532755.BY) and has mandated investment banker Credit Suisse Group (CS) for the deal, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

"The firm [BT Group] is looking at various options to exit its current holding of Tech Mahindra," one of the people familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires, without elaborating. Both people didn't want to be named.

At least two private-equity investors are keen to purchase at least a part of BT's stake in Tech Mahindra, the second person said, but didn't name the interested buyers.

BT Group spokesman Dan Thomas said the company doesn't comment on rumours and speculation.

"BT has operations and investments worldwide which we regularly review. India remains a critical market both for BT and our customers," Thomas said via email.

The U.K. company owns a 30.9% stake in the Indian outsourcing firm, he added.

India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (500520.BY) holds 42.77% of Tech Mahindra, stock exchange data showed.

Tech Mahindra spokesman Prasenjit Roy said in response to an emailed query that the company doesn't comment on market speculation.

Russian tycoon offers coal mines to NMDC

India's largest iron ore miner NMDC has been offered to buy coal mines in Russia's Siberian region for $400 million by Intergeo, which is owned by tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, a media report said.

Intergeo, a mining subsidiary of billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Group private equity fund is in talks with India's largest iron miner National Mineral [ Get Quote ] Development Corporation (NMDC) to sell the Yakutia-based Kolmar coal company, leading business daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday.

"NMDC, Asia's third iron ore producer, is currently conducting due diligence of Kolmar, and will formulate its offer by December 1," Intergeo CEO Maxim Finsky was quoted as saying by the daily.

The Kolmar will hold IPO to attract investors if NMDC refuses to acquire it, it added. Intergeo expects to raise the amount of $400 million through Kolmar sale, USD 100 million more than the company paid for the asset, Kommersant writes.

NMDC had earlier said it was in talks to buy coking coal mines from Kolmar in Russia to feed its proposed steel plants in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka [ Images ]. However, when contacted, a top NMDC official said, "We have nothing to offer at this moment."

NMDC CMD Rana Som had earlier confirmed that talks are on, but said that Kolmar's coal mines were one of the many coal assets NMDC is looking at and nothing has yet been finalised.

The PSU has been trying to acquire mining assets overseas for the last few years to secure raw material supplies for its steel making business.

NMDC along with two other companies had submitted a $230-million non-binding bid to buy 70 per cent stake in an Australian mine owned by Perth-based Atlas Iron.

Also, the company is looking for acquiring coal assets through International Coal Ventures Ltd--the consortium of five leading PSUs, including SAIL [ Get Quote ], NTPC and RINL. The firm is also looking at developing iron ore mines in Africa in joint venture with world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal.

It is also in partnership talks with Japan's [ Images ] Nippon Steel for a Rs 10,000-crore (Rs 100 billion) project in Karnataka, and with Kobe Steel for another project in Andhra Pradesh. The company has proposed to set up a 2-million tonne per annum (mtpa) plant in Karnataka. Besides these JVs, NMDC plans to commission its 3-mtpa integrated steel plant in Chhattisgarh by 2014.

The miner is investing Rs 3,400 crore (Rs 34 billion) to augment its annual iron ore production to about 41 million tonnes from around 22 million tonnes at present.

Rice Climbs for a Sixth Day on Speculation About Smaller Crops

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Rice gained for a sixth day in Chicago on speculation that adverse weather may curb production in the U.S., the world’s third-biggest exporter of the grain, and the Philippines, the largest importer.

No rain has fallen in parts of Arkansas, the biggest U.S. rice producer, in the past 60 days, National Weather Service data show. Plants in the Philippines may have been “severely affected” by Typhoon Megi, the strongest to hit the country this year, the Department of Agriculture said today.

“The big story in rice is the extremely poor field yields in” U.S. growing regions, said Dennis DeLaughter, owner of Progressive Farm Marketing and a rice grower based in Edna, Texas. “We are now hearing 20 percent loss and going up.”

Rice futures for January delivery advanced 9 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $14.07 per hundred pounds at 11:21 a.m. London time on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices have climbed 12 percent this month. A higher close today would mark the contract’s longest winning streak in more than two months.

The Philippines may lose 600,000 metric tons from its rice crop, Agriculture Undersecretary Antonio Fleta said yesterday. Potential crop losses may boost the island archipelago’s import needs by 500,000 tons, pushing prices higher in Chicago and Thailand, Chookiat Ophaswongse, former president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said yesterday.

Thai rice prices may rise by as much as $20 a metric ton, Chookiat said.

Crop losses may widen in areas affected by the typhoon, potentially increasing import needs and pushing global prices higher, said Kiattisak Kanlayasirivat, a director at Novel Commodities SA’s Thai office, which trades about $600 million worth of rice every year.

Why People Distribute Apta Tree Leaves on Dussehra and Vijayadasami day?

In North and Western parts of India people distribute leaves of Apta, or Apati, tree leaves on Dussehra and Vijayadasami day. In this ritual, Apta tree leaves symbolically represents gold or sona. People present Apta tree leaves to friends, relatives and neighbors and wish happy Dasara. There is an interesting story on why Apati tree leaves are presented on Dussehra.




Legend has it that a young man named Kautsa in Ayodhya once after attaining education from Guru Varatantu asked his Guru to accept a Guru Daskhina – a present offered by students to Guru after completing their studies.




Guru Varatantu at first said he did not want any Dakshina. But young Kautsa insisted that He should take a Dakshina.




Guru Varatantu to get rid of Kautsa asked him for 14 crore (140 million) gold coins. One hundred million for each subject taught.




The student then went to Lord Ram who was ruling Ayodhya and asked for the gold coins needed to pay his Guru Dakshina. Lord Ram promised to help Kautsa and asked him to wait near the Shanu and Apta Tree in his village




In three days time, Lord Ram with the help of Lord Kuber, the God wealth, showered gold coins from the leaves of Shanu and Apati Tree. The leaves of the trees became gold coins.




Kautsa collected the coins and gave 140 million gold coins to Guru Varatantu. The rest of coins were distributed to the needy by Kautsa. This happened on a Dussehra day. To commemorate this event even today people collect leaves of Apta tree and present it as sona or gold.

Alstom's India Growth May Outpace Economy on Rail Buildup

Alstom SA, the world’s second- largest trainmaker, said Indian sales growth may surpass local economic expansion as the government works on a 14 trillion rupee ($317 billion) plan to expand and modernize railroads.

The company has to be prepared for India growth “which is equal to if not higher than GDP,” Sunand Sharma, 61, Alstom’s local head, said in an Oct. 15 interview at his office in Noida, near New Delhi. He declined to give specific sales numbers.

Alstom, which also makes power-plant systems, expects to eventually get a third of India sales from transportation as the government expands the railroads 10 percent a year to support economic growth. The Paris-based company has been shortlisted with General Electric Co., Bombardier Inc. and Siemens AG as a possible partner in an Indian trainmaking venture and is considering building a rail-car plant in the country.

“India is an opportunity but not without hiccups,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, chief strategist at SMC Global Securities Ltd., which manages $100 million in assets in New Delhi. “For companies, it may be better to sacrifice profit margin for scale because whoever comes in now will have first- mover advantage.”

The planned trainmaking venture will produce about 120 electric locomotives a year, according to the rail ministry. Bids have to be submitted by Oct. 25, A.K. Saxena, a ministry spokesman, said by phone Oct. 15 in New Delhi. He declined to say when a decision will be made.

Railway Expansion

Indian Railways, the state-owned rail operator, has proposed to add 25,000 kilometers (15,534 miles) of new lines by 2020, compared with the 10,000 kilometers added in the past six decades, according to the rail ministry. The nation’s economy, Asia’s third-largest, will probably expand at a 9 percent annual pace by the year ending March 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in June.

Alstom may build an Indian rail-car factory after last month winning a 14.7 billion-rupee contract from Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. to supply 168 carriages, Sharma said. He declined to say where the factory may be built or when a decision will be made.

Alstom’s India operations have mainly focused on the power sector to date. Alstom Projects India Ltd., a subsidiary, generated 97 percent of its 20.4 billion rupees of sales in the year ended March from its power division and the rest from transportation, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Alstom has other ventures and businesses in India. Sharma declined to comment on local sales numbers.

Alstom’s power operations may boost India sales to more than 1 billion euros a year from several hundred million euros, Denis Cochet, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Alstom’s power division, said Oct. 12.

The company is building two factories with Pune, India- based Bharat Forge Ltd. that will make equipment for so-called super-critical power plants, which use less energy and generate higher pressure for greater efficiency than traditional plants. The factories will start operations in phases from April 2012, Bharat Forge said in its annual report for the year ended March.

Indian Exchanges to Start Pre-Open Session, Express Says

Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange will start a 15-minute pre-trading session from Oct. 18, the Indian Express reported, citing Ravi Narain, managing director of the National Stock Exchange.

The session will be a call auction, where participants place orders before the opening of trade and will run from 9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., the newspaper said.

The two bourses will introduce the session on a “pilot” basis, and only stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index and S&P CNX Nifty Index will be available for trading, the newspaper said.

Billionaire Jhunjhunwala-Backed Delta Plans Casinos in Sri Lanka

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala- backed Delta Corp. plans to open casinos in Sri Lanka in the next six months to tap a surge in tourist arrivals to the island nation after the end of a 26-year civil war.

Casino operator-Delta, which also develops property and runs an aircraft charter service, will spend 10 billion rupees ($225 million) in the next three years in opening casinos in the region as well as at home in Sikkim, Daman, and Goa, Chief Financial Officer Hardik Dhebar said in an interview in Mumbai. Gambling is not allowed in most Indian states.

Delta wants to benefit from a revival in Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals, which surged 47 percent in the first eight months of the year, according to the nation’s tourism agency. Shares of companies including John Keells Holdings Plc and Aitken Spence & Co. have more than doubled as tourist incomes boosts earnings at their hotels and resorts.

“We have not even scratched the surface yet” for casino opportunities in the region, Dhebar said. “Sri Lanka is in a hurry to start speed up the process of development and is taking steps to ensure investment flows into the country.”

Delta shares, which have risen 84 percent this year, rose 2 percent to a record 83.8 rupees in Mumbai at 11:08 a.m.

Faster economic growth in India and Sri Lanka is helping boost salaries in the region increasing demand for leisure spending, Dhebar said.

India’s economy grew 8.8 percent in the quarter ended June 30, the fastest pace in two-and-a-half years. Sri Lanka’s $42 billion economy may grow as much as 8 percent in 2010, the central bank said on Sept. 21. The nation’s troops defeated the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May last year, ending their 26-year quest for a separate homeland helping attract tourists and investors to the nation.

Billionaire Jhunjhunwala and investor Radhakrishna Damani bought an 11 percent stake in the company last month. Jhunjhunwala, with $1.15 billion in assets is India’s 57th richest man, according to Forbes magazine.

RIL's crude reservoirs not performing as per predictions

NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries has seen crude oil production falling by more than 31 per cent from its MA oilfield in the predominantly gas-rich KG-D6 block off the east coast.

"The reservoir is not performing as per its predictions," a source in know of the development said. "Production has dropped from about 32,000 barrels per day achieved in May to around 22,000 bpd currently."

A company spokesperson declined to comment on the issue. Currently six wells are on production in MA field in the eastern offshore KG-DWN-98/3 (or KG-D6) block. RIL, which commenced commercial oil production from MA field in September 2008, had in its field development plan (FDP) envisaged a plateau oil output of 34,041 bpd in the 2nd year of production and 28,684 bpd in the 3rd year.

So far, the maximum production level of about 32,000 bpd was achieved for few days only during May 2010, thereafter oil production has declined gradually.

Besides crude oil, the MA oilfield produces 7-8 million standard cubic meters per day of natural gas. This output together with Dhirubhai-1 and 3 gas fields, take natural gas production from the KG-D6 block to around 60 mmscmd.

Even D1 and D3 fields have seen a two-year delay in reaching plateau output of 80 mmscmd. The fields are now estimated to hit the peak production towards end of 2012.

The source said RIL has been forced to cut output at MA oilfields because of sudden rise in water and gas production from the wells meant to produce crude oil.

Increase in gas production means the natural pressure of the reservoir, which helps push oil up to shore, is dropping. If gas comes out too quickly, crude oil, even though lying in the well pit, cannot be produced.

RIL, he said, has informed the oil regulator DGH that it will not recklessly produce oil at the cost of reservoir. It will judiciously produce from existing wells and look at raising output only by drilling at least two additional wells.

Sources said RIL and its minority partner, Canada's Niko Resources , had installed a floating production system (FPSO) to produce oil from MA fields. The FPSO, designed to process 60,000 bpd of oil, is also grossly underutilised due to the lower level of oil production.

RIL was studying the pressure at the oil and gas reservoir, he said adding the company plans to drill 2-3 more wells on D1 and D3 fields. These will be besides what the company was doing in MA field.