Indian export-oriented information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms may be grappling with an appreciating rupee and clouds of doubt looming over the extension of tax sops for the sector beyond 2009. An Everest-Nasscom study points out that the domestic BPO market, with a growth rate of 50 per cent over the last five years, has grown faster than the overall Indian BPO market to reach nearly $1.6 billion (Rs 6,400 crore) by end of FY2008.
The fourth quarter of financial year ending March 31, 2008, may hold a mixed bag of results for Indian information technology (IT) companies. On the one hand, IT firms - which hedged themselves taking the view that the Indian rupee would continue rising against the US dollar - will have to bear a negative impact on the portfolio that has been hedged so far. On the other, their top line as well as operating margins (EBIDTA) will get a boost since the rupee has depreciated.
Consumer durables major Videocon Industries has firmed up its telecom plans and is making an initial investment of Rs 6,000 crore for rolling out GSM services, notwithstanding spectrum and legal issues besieging the sector. The services will be launched through its subsidiary, Datacom Solutions, by May. In case of a delay in spectrum allocation, the company may opt for taking spectrum on lease.
The tax holiday awarded by the Union Budget to healthcare and IT sectors has been greeted with enthusiasm. Major hospital chains had already announced plans to expand in tier 2 cities. The tax holiday has proved to be an added incentive. India needs 3.1 million new hospital beds in the next 10 years. The tax-holiday benefits are available for all new hospital projects except the ones coming up in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore & Ahmedabad.
Richard Branson, after a dramatic launch of Virgin mobile in India, is keen on his India venture and is also exploring the possibilities of using bio-fuel for his aviation arm.
Global information technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) is set to launch its special lines of products, targeting women and the youth in India.
In a major development, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has cleared applications of nine telecom aspirants and is close to issuing them Letters of Intent. This will be followed by issuance of universal access service licences and allocation of spectrum.
In a move that would result in the mellowing of the spectrum issue and enabling the new service providers to commence operations, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has begun identifying the quantity of unused spectrum across 23 circles in the country.
DoT is asking the public to help to check illegal routing of international calls, which is causing the dept a loss of Rs 5000 cr.
Firming up its plans to rollout direct-to-home (DTH) television services, telecom firm Reliance Communications (RCom) has booked capacity on Malaysian satellite system, MEASAT-3. The deal size could not be confirmed, while it is understood that the deal is signed for around 15-20 years. RCom has booked four transponders, with an option to add four transponders after a year on MEASAT-3.
There is a growing number of celebrities who are regular bloggers and make it a point to chat with their fans logging on at a pre-decided time.
"Valentine's Day is an established gifting occasion in India today and for many working people, shopping online especially for unique products allows them the opportunity to make the occasion special for their loved one," says Ambareesh Murty, director, Marketing & Operations, eBay India.
The Department of Telecommunications has mooted a proposal for increasing additional spectrum charges and has also suggested slashing of one-time fixed spectrum charges.
The high mobile telephony penetration in India's major metros and cities is expected to lead to a dramatic churn in the space
Mobile call rates are declining in face of fierce competition. In this price war, PCOs are likely to be the first casualty.
While the extent of Iran's isolation was unclear, many blogs alleged that the cable cuts and outages in West Asia were a ploy by an intelligence agency to disrupt Iranian commerce, targeting an emerging petroleum exchange that the country was shortly hoping to roll out.
In the wake of recent submarine cable cuts that disrupted Internet and telephony services across the world, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is looking at putting in place a mechanism to ensure immediate restoration of lines in case of such incidents in the future.
The required skills have become higher, creating opportunities for a more specialised workforce in this sector. For long, a job with a business process outsourcing (BPO) company has been looked upon as a stepping stone to another, longer-lasting career. Such has been the attrition in the industry.
In less than a week's time, a fourth submarine cable was severed in West Asia, disrupting voice and telecommunication traffic between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The company - Mumbai-based Netcore Solutions - provides around 20 SMS-based channels like news, Sensex, cricket, jokes, horoscope and Bollywood free-of-cost to subscribers, irrespective of the operator or the circle. Further, these services are available across all the 23 circles in the country.
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