Nevin John, Shivani Shinde &Amp; P B Jayakumar

Stories by Nevin John, Shivani Shinde &Amp; P B Jayakumar

Reliance Infrastructure looks at domestic banks

Reliance Infrastructure looks at domestic banks

Rediff.com   19 Jun 2009

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group company hasn't yet got the contract for executing the second phase of the Mumbai Metro, but Jalan's team has already started negotiating with domestic banks to tie up funds for the estimated Rs 11,000-crore (Rs 110-billion) project.

Cheaper gas: fillip to R-Power's Dadri project

Cheaper gas: fillip to R-Power's Dadri project

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2009

Reliance Power's plans are to set up a 7,480-Mw project, which will be the largest gas-fired power project at a single location in the world.

Ambani brothers directed to take mother's help

Ambani brothers directed to take mother's help

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2009

The Bombay high court, while pronouncing the verdict on the gas dispute on Monday, advised the Ambani brothers for the second time to settle their row in consultation with their mother.

Domestic BPO biz to earn $6 bn by 2012

Domestic BPO biz to earn $6 bn by 2012

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2009

Though it is smaller than the $11 billion BPO exports market, it is expected to reach $6 billion by 2012, according to a new Ernst and Young study. The domestic BPO market, hence, presents a huge untapped growth opportunity. Its addressable market opportunity is in the range of $16-19 billion by 2012, with significant business growth coming in from sectors like BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), telecom, media, retail and government.

Satyam employees resent 'selective' pay hikes

Satyam employees resent 'selective' pay hikes

Rediff.com   11 Jun 2009

Some employees have alleged that close to 20 employees of the troubled Satyam Computer Services have been promoted to the I-1 and I-2 bands (representing assistant vice-president and vice-president levels) and also received a salary hike of 20-40 per cent. The timing has caused much resentment with some employees taking up the matter with the human resources department.

Infy sets up domestic BPO operation

Infy sets up domestic BPO operation

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2009

India's second-largest IT services firm, Infosys Technologies, has set up a separate unit within its business process outsourcing arm (Infosys BPO) to concentrate solely on the domestic BPO market.

Humble barcodes live on to tell the story

Humble barcodes live on to tell the story

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2009

Not only have they been thriving for over 10 years in India alone, but also have stood their ground in the face of newer and smarter technologies like radio-frequency identification, which promised to revolutionise the retailing sector.

IITs in talks with investment cos to sell patents

IITs in talks with investment cos to sell patents

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2009

IIT Bombay, for instance, recently joined hands with Intellectual Ventures to seek support in marketing and licensing patents the institute holds.

PE activity increases: Markets gain

PE activity increases: Markets gain

Rediff.com   5 Jun 2009

While a number of players invested more in Indian companies, another set exited the market, making profits after March. The companies that invested included Saif Partners, which made a $24 million investment in Network18, and Times Private Treaties, which acquired 12 per cent in Jiny & Jony (for an undisclosed sum), according to data with analysts and brokerage firms.

Vice-chairmen: Lynchpin in Tata group management

Vice-chairmen: Lynchpin in Tata group management

Rediff.com   4 Jun 2009

The Tata group is strengthening the management super-structure within its group companies by extending the post of vice-chairman to three more companies - Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services.

Rs 70,000 crore infra projects get finance closure

Rs 70,000 crore infra projects get finance closure

Rediff.com   28 May 2009

The latest to join the list of projects that have achieved financial closure are two power projects -- 1,050 Mw GMR Kamalanga Energy of GMR Energy coming up at Dhenkanal in Orissa and the second phase 300 Mw Rosa power project in Uttar Pradesh promoted by Reliance Power. Experts said financial closure for another Rs 100,000 crore worth of projects are likely to be achieved in this calendar year, mainly from the power and infrastructure sector.

Bharti's balance sheet may stagger a bit

Bharti's balance sheet may stagger a bit

Rediff.com   27 May 2009

Sunil Mittal's plan to merge his Bharti Airtel - India's biggest mobile-phone operator -with South Africa's MTN, coupled with the company's 3G foray, is likely to put pressure on its balance sheet, as the estimated cash requirement would be Rs 40,475 crore (Rs 404.75 billion) in this fiscal.

Console gaming takes an Indian twist

Console gaming takes an Indian twist

Rediff.com   25 May 2009

Sony is hopeful of growing the fledgling Rs 410 crore console gaming industry in India with games that will be developed in India and will be essentially based on Indian storylines. The journey has begun with the launch of the first India developed game for the PS2 platform, Hanuman: Boy Warrior, which is based on the hit Indian animation film Hanuman.

TCS' Asia-Pacific biz to grow fastest

TCS' Asia-Pacific biz to grow fastest

Rediff.com   21 May 2009

In an earlier interview, chief operating officer N Chandrasekaran had voiced this concern and said TCS was taking some measures. The impact was also evident on the overall revenue contribution, which fell to 4.7 per cent in FY09 from 5.2 per cent in FY08. TCS' head for Apac, Girija Pandey, feels the region will continue to be volatile till they reach a certain level.

HCL Tech plans to cancel Rs 3,000 cr worth hedges

HCL Tech plans to cancel Rs 3,000 cr worth hedges

Rediff.com   16 May 2009

New Delhi-headquartered IT services provider HCL Technologies plans to cancel hedging contracts worth $600 million (around Rs 2,970 crore), as the rupee continues to remain at Rs 49-50 levels. These hedges, analysts opine, would be taken at a rate of around Rs 41.

Reliance Industries may repay Rs 15,000 crore

Reliance Industries may repay Rs 15,000 crore

Rediff.com   13 May 2009

A company executive, who did not want to be identified, said the combined debt of RIL and its subsidiary, Reliance Petroleum, which is being merged with it, would be brought down to around Rs 57,000 crore this year from Rs 72,000 crore at present.

'If biz focuses on core, outsourcing will stay'

'If biz focuses on core, outsourcing will stay'

Rediff.com   12 May 2009

Having spent the first 90 days meeting employees and key clients, Jeya Kumar, new CEO of Patni Computer Systems, is clearly in control. While he acknowledges concerns due to the current slowdown, he has started restructuring the company. He details the growth plans in a chat with Business Standard's Shivani Shinde.

Mobile TV: A good show

Mobile TV: A good show

Rediff.com   7 May 2009

While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has approved the access of TV on mobiles, service providers still cannot stream live TV channels on to the handset due to spectrum allocation from the Ministry of Information and Broadcast. However, since the regulations do not allow a direct transmission of TV channels, service providers as well as content providers have started using a technology called Unicast which provides content to end-user on a one-on-one basis.

Aditya Birla Nuvo plans 150 new stores

Aditya Birla Nuvo plans 150 new stores

Rediff.com   1 May 2009

It will also close 30 unviable stores. The company's move comes after its net loss widened to Rs 141.2 crore in the March-ended quarter, owing to mounting losses in apparels. The loss was Rs 82.2 crore in the apparel business, against a loss of Rs 4.44 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

Swine flu: Firm offers patented machine

Swine flu: Firm offers patented machine

Rediff.com   1 May 2009

Termed AiroCide, the technology is supposed to eliminate 99.9 per cent of all air-borne micro-organisms, bacteria and pollutants.