PepsiCo's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi has been ranked third most powerful businesswoman by Fortune, the only Indian-origin woman on the 2014 list topped by IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty and General Motors CEO Mary Barra.
Manufacturing sector activities in India moderated for the second straight month in July as rates of expansion in output and new orders eased slightly, a monthly survey said on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) eased to 57.7 in July from 57.8 in June. Despite the fall, the Indian manufacturing sector maintained strong growth momentum at the start of the third quarter amid ongoing buoyant demand, the survey said.
General Motors, the US auto major, plans to double the level of sourcing of automotive components from India to $1 billion (Rs 4,500 crore) annually in the next two years. For the year 2010, the company has placed $550 million worth of orders to its Indian vendors.
UltraTech Cement was the biggest gainer in the Sensex chart, climbing 3.13 per cent, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra. In contrast, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank and Nestle were among the laggards.
General Motors India had completed all investments intended for the country well before its parent's bankruptcy filing, said Karl Slym, president & MD.
The past couple of years have been tough for everyone 'but things are now definitely looking up. There are certain signs of life in the industry,' General Motors Co's North American president Mark Reuss told reporters on the sidelines of the Chicago Auto Show.
The Italian car giant surprised the recession-hit global auto industry with an announcement that it is bidding to take over the GM's struggling Opel brand to consolidate its global base. Though Fiat entered India almost six decades ago, it is facing rough competition from car manufacturers from Japan and South Korea. It tied up with Tata Motors for building a manufacturing plant near Pune to increase its supply capacity in 2007.
General Motors India on Tuesday sought incentives for owners of cars driven on alternative fuel and tax rate cuts to encourage adoption of such eco-friendly vehicles.
The resignation of Fritz Henderson was approved by the board of directors of the company at its meeting on Tuesday.
The head of GM's European operations Nick Reilly assured on Thursday state premier of Thuringia in eastern Germany Christine Lieberknecht that Opel's Eisenach plant in the state will remain open.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) will issue equity shares on a preferential basis to parent Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) to acquire 100 per cent stake in the latter's Gujarat plant. This deal is expected to increase the share base of MSIL by about 4 per cent. And consequently, it will raise SMC's shareholding in Maruti by around 1.8 percentage point. "Whether it is in terms of PAT (profit after tax) or earnings per share (EPS) or dividend per share (DPS) of MSIL, the share-swap option will give shareholders a better deal than any other option such as cash payment," MSIL chairman RC Bhargava told reporters during a press conference.
Dr Devdas Shetty is the new dean of the College of Engineering at Lawrence Technological University, Michigan. He said his goal is to see the College of Engineering become a leader in engineering education. "I want to work on providing real-life challenges for students by forming industry partnerships and applied research at the undergraduate level," he said.
GM declined to put a timeframe on when the electric small car would hit the Indian market.
Company officials have maintained that the closure is a routine exercise and is not a fallout of the ongoing global meltdown. "There will be no production at the company's Halol unit for about two weeks," said P Balendran, vice-president, GM India. The company has shut production from December 13 to December 30.
The money will be drawn from the Troubled Asset Relief Programmeme set up to bail out financial institutions.
While Detroit's Big Three wrangle with the US Congress for a bailout, we could be witnessing another extinction story.
The automobile sector is considered a good indicator of economic health. It has a very long value chain, from primary materials, like metals, glass and plastic, to value-added high-end electronic components, specialised alloys, and software.
Auto component sourcing has touched $3 billion in India and is expected to double by next financial year-end. Such sourcing has provided Indian players with the opportunity to charge a premium that varies between 5 and 10 per cent.
General Motors Co. plans to remove its GM "Mark of Excellence" from all models launched by the company in the future.
GM India is working on launching a BS-IV variant of the car, but is in no hurry.
New units of the iconic Maruti 800, Ford Ikon (1.3 petrol), Fiat Palio, Skoda Fabia (1.2 petrol) and Octavia (1.9 TDI engine), and Chevrolet Tavera (2.5 DI) of General Motors will no longer be sold in the 13 notified cities from Thursday, which constitute 40-50 per cent of total car sales in the country.
Ajit Balakrishnan on mapping the Business Serengeti.
Excise duty cut of Rs 6,000 on big cars to be passed to customers; LCDs cheaper by Rs 3,500.
"Just media hype," said a relieved Sachin Kumar, executive of the Auto Vikas showroom of General Motors India in West Delhi's Moti Nagar. "There were some showroom queries on the first two days, but it died down."
Some cars that are emblematic of India's automobile industry will no longer come off the assembly lines after this year.
There are 50-odd auto component manufacturers from India who supply to Detroit's Big-3 (including Ford).
Indian IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Satyam Computer Services -- which have running multi-million dollar deals with General Motors that has filed for bankruptcy -- are likely to face a short-term impact since any loss of business in these slowing economic conditions is a setback.
The United States government may own 70 per cent stake in the restructured General Motors, the ailing auto maker which is battling to avert a possible bankruptcy.
In a chat with Sohini Das, GM India president and managing director Karl Slym says, with the launch of the new compact car, Beat, and a positive response to the Cruze, GM plans to cross the 100,000-unit mark this year in sales.
General Motors (GM) India Limited plans to export Beat, its compact car to Europe and countries in the Asia Pacific region, from January 2011.
Chrysler and General Motors each annually outsource $200-300 million (around Rs 10-15 billion) worth of projects to different vendors, which may be hit by 20-25 per cent, says Avinash Vashistha, chairman and CEO, Tholons, a research and advisory firm. While Chrysler has filed for bankruptcy, there is talk that GM may follow suit.
The companies hope 2010 would be a better year for them as the economy begins to show some signs of recovery.
According to the Auto Component Manufacturers Association, the apex body of component makers in India, global sourcing of components from the country will double from $2.95 billion to $5.9 billion in 2008-09, and is slated to hit $20 billion in seven years.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said he would not rule out the option of forcing out chief executives of banks which have received taxpayers' money but are not performing well.
Attributing to a person familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal said, GM plans to begin paying back a $6.7 billion loan it owes to the US government starting late this year, which would put it on track to potentially repay the entire loan by the middle of 2011.
"We have so far invested $1 billion in India and there is no question of puting a cap on it", Karl Slym, president and managing director of India operations, told reporters in Bangalore after unveiling the SUV Chevrolet Captiva Automatic, a premium Sports Utility Vehicle and small car Spark Muzic Special Edition.
The company, which is also looking to strengthen its position in the sports utility segment, today launched the automatic transmission four-wheel drive version of its popular sports utility vehicle Captiva, priced at Rs 20.3 lakhs (Rs 2.03 million). He said the company will be launching an LPG-driven car in the first half of this year, without specifying details, adding it would be followed by other LPG vehicles.
US auto major Chrysler on Friday said it has received four billion dollars as emergency loan from the government, a move to avert a collapse of the ailing automaker.
In its first major marketing campaign since emerging from bankruptcy, GM is putting its new chairman Edward E Whitacre Jr in the spotlight as the spokesman for the offer to give customers a full refund within 60 days on any GM car or truck, The New York Times said.
