After the CPI(M), the crucial partner of the ruling UPA government, raised its voice against any attempt to shut down three public sector vaccine manufacturing units, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has quickly moved to announce that it will upgrade the units and 'do everything to protect their interest'.
During May-June, sales of not only seasonal consumer goods such as ACs and refrigerators go up, but also with more and more families going abroad for holidays, there is a surge in sales of cameras and camcorders and even laptops, according to industry observers. While Reliance Digital is offering value for money combo offers on cellphones to laptops and televisions.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have used a mix of charm and roguish coercion to let India know that he expected the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline proposal to become a reality in 45 days. But India is in no hurry to take a decision, a top Cabinet minister in the United Progressive Alliance government said. The volatile political environment in Iran and Pakistan has as much weightage now and the UPA government is becoming more reluctant.
The rise in raw material costs has caused a 10 per cent increase in the retail prices of fast-moving consumer goods as companies are passing on the rise in costs.
In a move to focus on its core FMCG strength, the Burman family, promoters of Dabur India, last week announced their exit from the pharma business.
According to party sources, the Congress' hopes to regain power are pinned on the first and third phases of the election. The first phase (89 assembly segments) will cover the entire southern Karnataka along with Bangalore and Mysore. In the third phase, 69 constituencies of the northern part will go to polls.
Miguel A Torres, president, Torres group of companies, has his friendly, blue eyes fixed on the bubbling market. "We will invest $1 million to hire more people and expand to other parts. We have already invested the same over the last six years," he says. Torres produces red, white, sparkling, and dessert wines, ranging from single vineyard to mass-market brands.
All major players in the Rs 1,200-crore (Rs 12 billion) ice cream market are set to adorn a health-oriented look this year by offering more such products. Amul has already launched probiotic health and wellness ice creams and is also offering sugar free variants. Mother Dairy has decided to expand its naturally flavoured offerings along with its new packaging. HUL introduced Moo ice cream under the health and wellness umbrella. Aavin has also launched a low-sugar ice-cream.
For long, McDonald's has been riding on the affordability plank, advertising its prices that are apparently a throwback to an era. Now, it has to share the plank with India's oldest fast food giant, Nirula's when it comes to people picked from sepia tone menus. In spite of a rise in input costs, homegrown fast food chain Nirula's, which a-decade-and-a-half ago was the only one of its kind in Delhi, has slashed its prices.
They might have made little headway in the market so far, but leading Chinese consumer electronics companies are busy drawing up big plans to expand their footprints in India. After acquiring Anchor Daewoo's appliance business last year, Haier is on the prowl for some local brands. TCL is getting ready to expand its product range to mobile phones and home appliances.
In terms of price, Tag Heuer mobile phones will be positioned at the top end of the market and cost about Rs 2,21,000. Switzerland-based Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy group, which owns the brand, has decided to launch the phones in India at the same time as their global launch.
Whole-timers, who form the backbone of the party, are more difficult to get nowadays, admits the CPI-M. Although the party membership has increased in the past few years along with its might in national politics (it has 43 Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha), the CPI-M has conceded its problems of a continuing high attrition rate. The rate of attrition from the party is as high as 7.5 per cent. In other words, for every 200 members, 15 members are leaving the party.
In a sharp mid-course correction, Karan Bilimoria, the NRI beer maker, is in talks for a distribution tie-up in the US with Anheuser-Busch, whose Budweiser lords it over half the beer market in that country. While Cobra managed to hold its own in the SABMiller-dominated South African beer market, it managed only flat results with Krait Prestige, which was marketed as the world's first Champagne Lager.
The rankings on the value are set to change. A role reversal is silently taking place in the Indian consumer durable business landscape. LG, which has built a huge reputation and amassed a significant market share on the back of affordable pricing, is consciously promoting higher end products. The Korean company has undertaken a strategic initiative to position itself as a maker of premium consumer electronics.
Camera makers are getting bullish on Indian markets as the consumer base here is increasing. Major camera brands are banking on retail sales in India. For this, Nikon has tied up with consumer electronics retail chains such as Croma, while Sony India has exclusive retail store network. Samsung has tie-ups with Reliance Digital, Croma, and other multi brand outlets. But all the brands face stiff competition from grey markets that are canabalising the brands' share in retail.
Today, the finance minister received another oblique suggestion for the budget, though it is uncertain how he can accommodate it in his budget speech, which is already under printing in the basement of North Block. This was from Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with some young Members of Parliament from his party for a 'stock-taking exercise' on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.
The Reserve Bank of India has told parliamentarians that it is concerned over the stock market exposure of various non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) promoted by leading banks in the country.
With the wine market in India poised for heady growth, liquor companies are ready to uncork their best wines. Currently, the Indian wine market is estimated at 1.2 million cases (one case has 12 bottles of 750 ml each), with imported wines accounting for a mere 200,000 cases.
Bullish on the Indian market, Japanese companies dealing in consumer durables are all set to strengthen their presence in India by targeting niche categories and expanding their reach to tier-2 markets. The Rs 25,000-crore consumer durables market in India is currently dominated by Korean companies -- LG and Samsung.
Major ad agencies face a rise in attrition rate, as top officials change jobs at the beginning of the year.
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