The rupee's slide against the dollar and euro has put pressure on international automobile companies as compressed margins may force them to revisit prices of imported models in the next few months.
The domestic logistics industry, which is estimated to generate business worth $110 billion in the next two years, will need over 400,000 additional pair of hands in the next four to five years.
The entry of private players has boosted the fortunes of FM radio in a big way in the country. This has been consistently reflecting in the revenue earned by the industry, which grew to Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion) last year from Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.5 billion) a year ago. The industry is expected to close with over Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) in revenue this year.
With the general insurance penetration at a dismal 0.60 per cent (measured as a percentage of GDP), many companies feel that selling the policies through photo studios, grocery stores and even telephone booths would help improve the figure. "If telecom companies are able to use grocery stores, petty shops and other small outlets, why not insurance companies?" said an Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority official.
Speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of the ground breaking ceremony of the Chennai-based Sri City's SEZ in Tada, in Andhra Pradesh, last week, Singhal said SEZs in the country have so far generated over 300,000 jobs, adding once all the 462 zones start functioning, they are expected to create 4 million jobs.
Tax concessions in Uttarakhand are encouraging auto majors from Hero Honda to Tata Motors to shift a larger part of their manufacturing to the state to counter rising raw material costs and increase their flexibility to offer consumers cheaper models in a competitive market.
Austrian two-wheeler maker KTM Power Sports is developing three intra-city transportation models - a trike, a budget car and a scooter - in a joint collaboration with Bajaj Auto. Bajaj, India's second-largest motorcycle maker, owns 21 per cent stake in KTM.
Analysts tracking listed companies like Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors have said sales forecast for the two-wheeler industry for the next few months looks very bleak as spiralling input costs, high lending rates and reducing availability of finance will put brakes on sales growth. ICICI Bank's has already withdrawn from advancing loans at two-wheeler dealerships.
In an attempt to steal the two-wheeler market from the three Indian giants Hero Honda, Bajaj and TVS Motors, which collectively account for almost 85 per cent of sales, Japanese bike manufacturers like Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki will launch scaled-down Indian versions of their international superbike models.
Honda Motorcycle Scooter India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, Japan, will launch a slew of high-power premium bikes in India, the first of which will debut by March next year, according to company executives.
The group's foray into the segment dates back to the start of 2004 when M&M Group Chairman Keshub Mahindra said the company had started testing some two-wheeler models and was looking at a commercial launch. Vice-Chairman Anand Mahindra said: "The company's foray into the bottom segment of the pyramid will create tremendous brand awareness in an entire section of the population and open a whole new population in the urban market."
With automotive sales entering into a sluggish period, leading commercial vehicle makers are enticing buyers by doling out discounts and lucrative finance options. Tata Motors, for instance, recently run a scheme wherein commercial vehicle buyers would get three months' waiver on equated monthly installments on the vehicle loan. The response, according to the company, was very positive.
A proposal by the joint venture between Tata Motors and Fiat to set up a facility to manufacture the world's most famous small diesel engine -- the 1.3 multijet -- had been rejected by Japan's largest maker of minicars, Suzuki Motor Corporation.
The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (Irda) is planning to issue a notice to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to stop the latter from allowing policy holders to nominate "strangers" (those who are not close relatives) and religious institutions as beneficiaries of life policy claims.
India's four-wheeler sector may post a flat profit growth in the first quarter due to a rise in input costs. The cost of automobile steel, which constitutes about 40 per cent of the total raw materials, rose by more than 25 per cent during the three-month period. Prices of raw materials like aluminium, copper, rubber and fuel also appreciated significantly.
Iconic Italian brand Alfa Romeo is all set to burn rubber on Indian roads next year as Fiat, the parent company, prepares to launch the brand in the local market, according to top Fiat India executives.
According to sources privy to the information, default rates have touched 5-6 per cent in the past six months as against the usual 1-2 per cent. Banks and other lending organisations agree that there has been a rise in delinquency rates, but the increase has only become significant during the past one month following the fuel hike. Fuel costs account for about 60 per cent of the total operating expenses of truckers.
In the wake of a hugely successful first season, the television advertisement rates for the second edition of the Indian Premier League are expected to increase by 40 to 50 per cent, say analysts. The inaugural edition of the Indian cricket board-mooted 20-over tournament had attracted over 20 million viewers, of which 8.2 million were women, they say.
The story about India enticing world auto majors will add another feather in European giant Volkswagen's (VW) cap as it prepares for its first fully-original Indian Volkswagen car, made with the help of expertise provided by Indian engineers and designers.
The state-owned life insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India has decided to introduce strict norms for agents in a move to arrest fraudulent and early claims (arising after first year of the policy). The corporation found that early claims arose due to poor underwriting and moral hazards.
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