‘Market-determined 3G auction soon’

NEW DELHI: PM Manmohan Singh on Friday said that 3G telephony spectrum would be auctioned soon, thus ending the uncertainty generated by reported differences between ministries of telecom and defence on vacation of airwaves.

"I am happy that auction of spectrum for 3G and broadband wireless services will be conducted shortly. In a reform initiative, the government has decided that this spectrum will be allocated at market-determined prices rather than administered one," he said at a telecom conference here.

There were reports that auction of 3G spectrum (air waves) could be delayed beyond scheduled January 14, 2010 and FM Pranab Mukherjee was entrusted with the responsibility of resolving inter-ministerial dispute. The Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Mukherjee, had late last month cleared over Rs 10,000-crore package for building alternate network for the defence force to get spectrum vacated for commercial use and the same was to go to Cabinet for clearance.

Singh also predicted that India, which already has nearly 488 million mobile users and adds about 15-16 million users a month, could witness robust growth in the sector given the fact that the economic downturn is showing signs of moderation. Meanwhile, communications minister Andimuthu Raja said that the auction of high-speed third-generation wireless frequencies could be completed by March 2010.

PM also assured that all the 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats in the country will be provided high speed broadband connectivity by 2012 to remove asymmetry of information and opportunities to the rural population.

POSTED BY:

PALLAVI SINGH

PGDM III SEM, 'B'

Templeton u-turn has no bearing on Sun-Taro case

Asset manager withdraws from Israeli drug co's appeal. Global asset management firm Templeton had dissented to Sun Pharma's $454-million proposal to acquire Israeli drug-maker Taro, ever since the deal was formalised in .

Sea Link in troubled waters

DISAPPOINTING TRAFFIC. The Bandra-Worli Sea Link has only been able to attract 30 per cent of the vehicular traffic plying between the Western suburbs and the Island city of Mumbai, in spite of five months in operation. This translates to a ...

Gold, silver jewellery exports to get drawback

No change in existing rates, caps. Gold and silver jewellery exporters have cause to cheer as the Government has, for the first time, specified drawback rates for such exports. Through drawback payments, exporters can avail themselves of refund ...

Sehwag slams double ton puts India in command

India’s openers Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay pounded Sri Lanka’s attack with a 221-run partnership in the third and final cricket Test in Mumbai. Sehwag slammed double ton in just 168 balls. He has become the first Indian to hit six double centuries in Test cricket.

One killed in protests against water cuts in Mumbai:

About 200 protestors were trying to force their way into the city’s Civic Headquarters when the police lathi-charged. The protest was led by Congress after Mumbai Municipal Corporation - governed by Shiv Sena - announced water cuts by 15 per cent.

Manmohan, Obama discuss Afghanistan

United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday called up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek support for Washington’s revised Afghanistan policy, being finalised after months of intense deliberations.
The phone call was among the several placed by Mr. Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to their counterparts around the world.
During their “brief conversation,” Dr. Singh and Mr. Obama dwelt on the need to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan and the means to achieve them.
Washington is proposing an increase in both the civilian and military components in Afghanistan, and India is seen as a crucial partner in construction and rehabilitation in that country. There are over 3,000 Indians in Afghanistan undertaking construction work and providing security to the Indian missions and to workers in some places.
The other subject the two leaders discussed was the coming Copenhagen summit on climate change, sources in the government said.
There are about 71,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, along with about 36,000 from the NATO and other allies, some in supporting role. Mr. Obama has also been advocating an increase in the civilian component to undertake institution-building and reconstruction.
Only last week, Dr. Singh disfavoured troop withdrawal and stressed the importance of continued engagement in Afghanistan by major regional and international actors.
On climate change, Dr. Singh told Mr. Obama that India was willing to be part of a solution and it expected a successful outcome in Copenhagen.
While hoping for a helpful international regime, Dr. Singh said India, at this stage, was not in favour of binding emission cut targets and had started taking unilateral measures without waiting for international consensus.


ANSHU KUMAR
PGDM 1st sem

Banking: RBI to the rescue
Sunaina Vasudev / Mumbai December 2, 2009, 15:04 IST
The RBI clarification, issued on December 1, 2009, has allowed banks to include technical or prudential write-offs for calculating provision coverage for non-performing assets (NPAs) - mandated to be at a minimum of 70% by September 10. This has triggered a relief rally in bank stocks with reasonably higher NPAs or low provisioning which were underperforming the BSE Bankex
A further positive for PSU banks in the list is the government’s proposed recapitalisation of banks where government shareholding is below 55%, with funds sourced from the World Bank. Several of these were quoting below book value based on the combination of an expected hit to next year profits as RBI provisioning norms came into play and an inability to effectively utilize a credit cycle growth phase .
(CAR = Capital Adequacy Ratio; NPA = Non-Performing Assets)
Source Capitaline
Credit upswingThe Indian economy is primed to see a new credit cycle after bottoming out at 8-8.5% y-o-y growth levels in November 09 as per a Morgan Stanley report on the Indian economy. It estimates credit growth will be 16% by March 10 and 22% by end 2010. On credit quality, the sense is that impaired assets are at a trough now although NPA accretion will continue for the next two quarters. A revival in industrial production and access to risk capital through revived capital markets will help repair balance sheets and reduce further impairments of assets for banks, according to Morgan Stanley.

BSNL's proposed acquisition of Zain on hold

"We had sought some information from Vavasi about the company itself, which we have not got. To that extent it can be implied that the acquisition of Zain Telecom is on hold," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal said.
Asked if BSNL is looking to approach Zain Telecom directly, he said "nothing like that at the moment".The PSU, which today announced a partnership with the UK -based BT to offer managed global conferencing solutions to Indian corporate, said the company has a Rs 14,000-crore capex plan for the current fiscal, a major portion of that has already been spend on mobile line expansion and network.Vavasi is a New Delhi-based company with diversified interest, including telecom and renewable energy.Goyal said the revenue of the PSU would take a hit due to a host of low tariff announced by the company following the stiff competition in the segment, but he hoped that volume growth will make up for that.Asked about reports of any CBI probe in BSNL-Swan Telecom deal, Goyal said he is not aware of any such probe.

Gold prices surge to Rs 18,400 in opening trade
2 Dec 2009, 1438 hrs IST, PTI
Text:
NEW DELHI: Gold prices ontoday touched a new peak at Rs 18,400 per ten gram in the national capital gaining Rs 430 in the opening trade on heavy


How to invest in goldFew tips to buy goldGold & silver jewellery Different ways to invest in gold Is gold fund for you? buying for the marriage season amid firming global cues. Gold gained Rs 430 to trade at Rs 18,400 per ten gram in the first few minutes of trading as jewellery fabricators indulged in creating fresh positions following a constant raise in its prices at overseas front. The precious metal, which normally move in tandem with international trend, remained on an uptrend and set record high levels in each session, marketmen said. They said the current rally was backed as gold prices shot up to 1,215.85 dollar an ounce in Asian trade as investors stepped up purchases to protect their wealth against a slumping dollar. The impact was noticed in futures trading as gold for April contract rose by 1.44 per cent to a new record high level of Rs 18,263 per ten gram in early trading.

Car prices set to increase by January.

Come New Year, cars will be costlier with automakers like Toyota and General Motors today saying that they will hike prices by up three per cent due to rising input costs, while the country's largest car maker to Maruti Suzuki India is still evaluating the situation. "We will be increasing the prices of our models by 2-3 per cent from January first week to offset rising input costs," General Motors India (GMI) Vice-President P Balendran said. GMI sells models, including hatchback Chevrolet Spark and Aveo UVA, sedans Aveo, Optra, Cruze and SUV Captiva. Toyota Kirloskar Motor also said it will increase the prices of three of its models -- Innova, Corolla Altis and Fortuner -- by 1.5 to 2 per cent from January 1 next year. The price hike decision has been taken in view of increasing input costs and unfavourable exchange rate, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said in a statement. "So far, we have absorbed the increase in total costs owing to the unfavourable exchange rate and increasing input costs. However, now we are compelled to pass on, a part of it, to customers," TKM Deputy Managing Director (Marketing) Sandeep Singh said. Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), however, has not taken a final decision on price hike, although the rising input costs are putting pressure on its margins.
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B

Ben Kingsley will paly 'Teen Patti' with Amitabh Bachchan

British actor Sir Ben Kinsley is busy in two projects from India. He is going to play two very important roles in two different flicks with film industry's top faces like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and the actor of the millennium Amitabh Bachchan.Kingsley is playing the role of emperor Shahjahan in the flick 'Taj' with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan where the damsel is playing the role of Shahjahan's beloved wife Mumtajmahal for whom The Tajmahal- symbol of love was made. But before this flick 'Taj', the actor will be seen sharing screen with Big B in the flick 'Teen Patti'.Being talking about the film, Kingsley revealed his agent in Los Angeles that Indian producers had sent him a script and all his scenes were to be shot in a single schedule in England.Kingsley has also revealed that he immediately agreed to be a part of the project when he was informed that he will be working with Bollywood great actor Amitabh Bachchan."I play a mathematician who blesses Venkat's (Amitabh Bachchan) journey and reassures him that knowledge is great. I have a cameo in the film but it is spread through out the film because you will see glimpses of me till the end," he said.
POSTED BY: PALLAVI SINGH
PGDM III SEM, 'B'

Dubai cisis to shape 2010 global risk mindset

Dubai's debt crisis may not sow lasting global contagion, but it may colour a 2010 investment landscape where asset managers will likely
differentiate more between risks rather than embracing them indiscriminately. The global market sell-off after last Wednesday's Dubai bombshell on delaying debt payments from its state-owned conglomerates lasted only two days. World stocks have bounced back 2.5 percent this week. For all the ripples this aftershock of the credit crisis will create, the direct material impact of any debt rescheduling on international banks or governments outside the region pales in comparison to an event like last year's bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, for example. Of the $26 billion affected by the rescheduling, analysts reckon no more than 50 percent is held by global banks, and individual lenders can absorb that sort of hit. Credit ratings firm Moody's said on Tuesday it saw no reason to alter international bank ratings due to developments. But while there's little rationale for direct contagion, the implications may seep through market psychology for many months to come. The event was a reminder of the excessive leverage the world is still trying to shed and triggered what many investors, including giant US bond fund Pimco, saw as a much-needed correction to 2009's surge in risky assets and emerging markets. While many may see this as a good opportunity to re-enter the market, they will likely be more choosy on their return. "Fundamentals will become more apparent again. It's the theme that will carry on in 2010. It's going to become much more discerning. We do appreciate next year will be turbulent for investors," said Rekha Sharma, global strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. CAVEAT EMPTOR Growth-sensitive emerging market assets were the main beneficiaries this year of the wholesale shift out of low-risk, low-yielding money market instruments that took place since March of this year. But the liquidity and growth landscape is set to change next year as Western central banks seek to time their exits from super-cheap money policies flooding the world and as many emerging economies attempt to frustrate speculative flows with a variety of controls, taxes and state intervention. As a result, country-specific risks are rising in the face of recent capital curbs by the likes of Brazil and Taiwan. Reflecting these rising idiosyncratic risks, for example, Brazil has moved to the top of Swiss bank UBS's growth surprise rankings followed by China, Korea and Poland.

World's cheapest car Tata Nano goes green .

India's Tata Group says it is planning to produce hybrid versions of its Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car.
Ratan Tata, the chairman of both Tata Group and Tata Motors - the biggest vehicle producer in India - made the comments on a visit to South Korea.
A hybrid vehicle typically uses two or more distinct power sources to move it, usually petrol or diesel and a battery.
Mr Tata also said that low-priced goods would drive sales faster than high-end ones in India.
And he predicted this so-called price revolution would also continue to spread across the world.
The chairman did not provide any further details on the possible launch of cheap hybrid versions.
The Nano, whose basic model costs 100,000 rupees ($2,155; £1,306), was first delivered in India in July this year.
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B

Will India grab the #1 spot in Tests?

The all important match begins tomorrow - for the first time in more than two decades India have a chance to become the number one Test team in the world.
India lead the three match series against Sri Lanka 1-0; thanks to their bombastic 144-run win in the second match at Kanpur India almost overtook Lanka for the second spot in the ICC rankings. A 2-0 win would ensure India overtaking South Africa for the top spot. A Test win against Sri Lanka is easier said than done but Mahendra Singh Dhoni is confident that India have what it takes to secure the #1 position. Dhoni advised his men to play their natural game and forget about the rankings.
"It will be an added responsibility," Dhoni said. "Becoming the number one side is not important, we've got to maintain our performance level."
Opener Gautam Gambhir, who scored a big hundred in the second Test is out of the team for the final match. It is certainly a bit of a setback for India as the 200+ opening stand between Gambhir and Sehwag in the previous match directly accounted for the win. Murali Vijay has been called in to replace Gambhir and it remains to be seen the batsman can replicate Gambhir's performance. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth's comeback is a big bonus for India, and along with Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Mishra/Ojha the bowling lineup seems strong.
On the other hand Sri Lanka will hope to break their 14-year jinx and win a Test match on Indian soil. Muttiah Muralitharan has not performed well in the past two matches, but the spin legend blamed the batsman-friendly pitches in both matches. "We got the worst bowling conditions in the last two Tests," Muralitharan said. "We didn't have the bowlers, that was one of the factors." Captain Sangakkara added, "We have still got a lot to achieve in Mumbai. Whether we can win the series or not, we can still equal the series and finish the series 1-1. That is a great motivation for us."
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B

China objects, India obliges .

After Chinese objections to construction of a road in a forward area of south-eastern Ladakh, India today claimed that the incident could be a result of different perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). New Delhi is said to be ‘concerned’ about the fresh dispute in the area, where Chinese troops have reportedly been painting the rocks and writing messages in Mandarin.
Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defence, said the matter is being inquired. “We will inquire into the matter. The whole problem arises in the different perception of the actual border. That is why it has possibly been stopped,” he said.
Work on the road to link the Demchok village, located 300 kilometers south-east of Leh, beyond India’s last post in the Ladakh region was stopped in October after objections by China.
The road was being constructed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to connect two remote villages, Demchok being the last settlement on the Indian side.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has also drawn the Centre’s attention to the incident. The government is planning to take up the matter through diplomatic channels with Beijing, sources said.
Officials claim that the construction of road was well within the Indian territory. The 3.8 kilometer stretch was almost complete when Chinese army personnel intervened and stopped further construction.
The Chinese army had also raised the issue in a flag meeting with their Indian counterpart.
The People’s Liberation Army troops have adopted aggressive tactics and there have been several reports of violation of the LAC. The ministry of external affairs is likely to intervene and take up the matter with the Chinese foreign office through diplomatic channels.
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B

5 experts chosen for Infosys prize .

The Infosys Science Foundation, a not-for-profit trust set up by Infosys Technologies, on Monday named three scientists and two academic experts as winners of Infosys Prize 2009 for outstanding contributions to scientific research. The winner in physical sciences is Thanu Padmanabhan of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophyics, Pune, in recognition of his contribution to a deeper understanding of Einstein’s theory of gravity in the context of thermodynamics . For mathematical sciences , Ashoke Sen of Harish Chandra Research Institute at Allahabad was given the prize in recognition of his contributions to mathematical physics. For life sciences, K VijayRaghavan of National Centre of Biological Sciences in Bangalore got the award. The winner in the social sciences and economics category is Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee of Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his contributions to the economic theory of development. Upinder Singh of the University of Delhi won an award for her contributions as an outstanding historian of ancient and early medieval India.

POSTED BY: PALLAVI SINGH
PGDM III SEM 'B'