B S Reporter In Chennai, Bangalore

Stories by B S Reporter In Chennai, Bangalore

India Inc greets govt measures

India Inc greets govt measures

Rediff.com   8 Dec 2008

The infrastructure sector, however, felt the package was insufficient and wanted additional measures. "The government's package is inadequate. We expected at least $20 billion relief package, giving emphasis to the infrastructure sector.

Retail rent dips 40%, realtors work overtime

Retail rent dips 40%, realtors work overtime

Rediff.com   4 Dec 2008

Spencer's Retail, the retail arm of RPG Group, says it has seen a 30-40 per cent decline in the rentals in Tier-II and -III cities. In Tier-I and metropolitan cities, the correction is in the range of 15-20 per cent, and a further correction and its impact is likely to come in the next few months.

Mumbai terror puts IT, BPO firms on high alert

Mumbai terror puts IT, BPO firms on high alert

Rediff.com   3 Dec 2008

The Mumbai terror attacks have once again put Indian IT and business process outsourcing firms on high alert. Over the next four to five weeks, many of these firms plan to meet or video-conference with their clients to update them of the country's security scenario.

Health card for NRIs launched

Health card for NRIs launched

Rediff.com   27 Nov 2008

India Health Card works similar to a debit card. The NRIs are required to load funds onto the card through the Internet and then use it to receive healthcare services from healthcare providers in India. If a patient's health care provider is not a part of the IHC network, IHC will contact the concerned provider and explain the no-fee registration process. The beneficiaries will also receive service at a discounted rate by using the card.

Tax implications for mutual fund investors

Tax implications for mutual fund investors

Rediff.com   17 Nov 2008

The amount of tax will depend on the holding period of the fund. Short-term (less than a year) profit from the fund is added to your income and will be taxed according to your income slab. In case of redemption made after one year, the long-term capital gains tax will be charged.

India must speed up reforms, say WEF, India Inc

India must speed up reforms, say WEF, India Inc

Rediff.com   17 Nov 2008

The four key risk areas India needs to focus on at the moment include economic security, energy security, agriculture and food security and national security, it adds. The WEC-CII report says many issues facing India in these four areas will require considerable long-term investment from both public and private sectors. 'Decision-makers in government and business will be forced to make trade-offs as to where spending and investments are allocated,' it said.

HCL Info eyes double digit share of laptop market

HCL Info eyes double digit share of laptop market

Rediff.com   17 Nov 2008

"The drop in the sales of laptops in India in the last quarter is a temporary phenomenon. We attribute that to the increasing difference in costs between the desktops and laptops, especially due to the rise in dollar value. We are confident of garnering a double digit market share in the laptop segment in India in the next 18 months," George Paul, executive vice president, marketing, HCL Infosystems said.

IT industry will come out stronger: Infy

IT industry will come out stronger: Infy

Rediff.com   17 Nov 2008

"There will be no layoffs in the Indian context and, as said before, we will be recruiting 25,000 people gross. We will make our people prepared for the upturn, which will happen. We are focusing on recruiting people and training them. We are focusing on education as this is a great opportunity to make a positive brand and image for the company. We are still seeing opportunities in the market," said Kris Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Infosys.

Retrenchment shadow falls on HR personnel

Retrenchment shadow falls on HR personnel

Rediff.com   8 Nov 2008

Recruitment-related HR executives are being moved to other HR functions like training and development and other day-to-day HR functions, or being taken on contract. If things worsen, there could also be layoffs. Companies like Wipro, Infosys, TCS and iGate, too, have a mix of contractual employees in their HR team.

India's new-age banks match global peers: Study

India's new-age banks match global peers: Study

Rediff.com   7 Nov 2008

The study contains findings across credits and enterprise risk, operational risk, ALM and market risk. 'Both sets of banks (new-generation and traditional) have highlighted the lack of adequate people capabilities as well as the scope/ mandate of the mid-office as key concern areas,' it said. Both are at par with the surface, treasury scope, trading strategies and instruments; improved financial performance is strongly correlated with superior risk management practices.

Nano project: Farmers cry foul over land price

Nano project: Farmers cry foul over land price

Rediff.com   4 Nov 2008

Farmers say they are paid lesser by Rs 110 per sq meter for road project. A day before the announcement of Nano project at Northcote farm in Chharodi village in Gujarat, the Ahmedabad district collector along with revenue department officials had assured the farmers that they would be duly compensated for the amount of land they given for four lane road project.

Dell plans to up focus on India biz

Dell plans to up focus on India biz

Rediff.com   24 Oct 2008

As a part of this strategy, the company is rolling out its first brand campaign in India roping in real-life business heros and entrepreneurs to endorse its products, especially targeting the small and medium businesses. This is in a slight change in its marketing strategy which was earlier largely focussed on the large enterprises.

Crisis to impact coffee supply

Crisis to impact coffee supply

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2008

'Credit restrictions and the lack of liquidity caused by the crisis could lead to a reduction in supply. While coffee fundamentals remain in a tight balance, the price outlook in the short run is likely to continue to be dominated by the instability of world financial markets,' said Nestor Osorio, executive director, ICO.

AI plans seamless connection to New York

AI plans seamless connection to New York

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2008

Air India has announced that it will be adding to the seamless transfer facility to passengers from Bangalore travelling to international destinations like New York, Newark, London, Frankfurt and Chicago by introduction of a new hub and spoke flight between Bangalore and Mumbai from October 26.

Ranbaxy to strengthen US business

Ranbaxy to strengthen US business

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2008

"We are responding to all queries from US FDA and will emerge as a stronger player in the world's biggest pharmaceutical market," Ranbaxy Chairman and Managing Director Malvinder Singh said. The US, which accounts for 20 per cent of Ranbaxy's $1.5-billion annual turnover, has an import restriction on 30 of its medicines by the US Food and Drugs Authority.

Bharti in tech pact with Infy for DTH rollout

Bharti in tech pact with Infy for DTH rollout

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2008

Infosys already works with a communication services provider major in Western Europe in the digital TV space. The company has a solution called modular content accelerator which serves as an interface between stakeholders of consumer marketing and IT. The solution provides an operator the means to efficiently manage content catalogue, bundled offers and pricing, apart from providing interactive services through multi-media content storefront.

HCL Tech purchases 6.71 mn Axon shares

HCL Tech purchases 6.71 mn Axon shares

Rediff.com   14 Oct 2008

On September 26, HCL Technologies announced the terms of a cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Axon at a price of 650 pence per Axon share. On October 8, HCL EAS, the indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of HCL Technologies, acquired 3,01,623 Axon shares which represent approximately 0.47 per cent of the current issued share capital of Axon.

Do-not-call registry fails to enthuse subscribers

Do-not-call registry fails to enthuse subscribers

Rediff.com   13 Oct 2008

According to the Trai latest report, only around 18 million telephone subscribers out of the total subscriber base of more than 344 million have opted to register in NDNC. Of these, urban areas like Delhi and Mumbai constitute around 40 per cent along with states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.

Boomtime: GSM operators add record 7.7 mill users

Boomtime: GSM operators add record 7.7 mill users

Rediff.com   13 Oct 2008

Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Airtel retained the top rank with a market share of 33.21 per cent and a total user base of 77.48 million. Vodafone-Essar added 1.87 million and maintained a market share of 23.41 per cent. COAI, which does not include Reliance Telecom, estimates RT added at least 370,000 subscribers in the month,

Rs 230k cr investor wealth lost in September

Rs 230k cr investor wealth lost in September

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2008

On the contrary, the fall in the US markets was lower with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones both declining by around 9 per cent and 6 per cent respectively, while emerging markets lost around 18 per cent during the month. Pessimism in the financial markets following the filing for bankruptcy by Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch's sell-off, the AIG bailout and perceived uncertainty around the US bailout package added to investor fears.