Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Foreign money floods ..Telecom...!!
Foreign money floods big telecom companiesBharti sold 5% stake to a Doha-based firm for Rs 7,080 cr, while Vodafone invested Rs 10,141 cr by buying out its Indian partnersKatya B Naidu |
Sunday, December 22, 2013
COAL TO METHANOL..FUEL ENERGY SOURCE ...!!!
Tatas and Ambanis showed interest in methanol economy: G K Suryaprakash
Interview with Professor, University of Southern California, DornsifeN Sundaresha Subramanian | New Delhi
December 21, 2013 Last Updated at 23:15 IS
Even as Indian policymakers explored options to reduce ballooning fuel bills that were raising the country’s current account deficit and exchange rates, scientist G K Suryaprakash was busy completing his award-winning work, which, if pursued seriously, could resolve the globe’s energy issues. In November, India-born Suryaprakash, who teaches at the University of Southern California, Dornsife, was awarded the $1-million Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation. He shared it with his Nobel laureate mentor and colleague George Olah. Their proposal to use methanol to replace fossil fuels and petroleum-based feedstock has caught the interests of some Indian states, as well as the Tatas and Reliance, Suryaprakash tells N Sundaresha Subramanian during a recent visit to Allahabad. Edited excerpts:
Tell us about your work, which won you the prestigious prize that has come to be known as the “Energy Nobel” in Israel.
We believe once we run out of oil and gas, it will be a simple solution for mankind. We call it a KISS concept — keep it simple, silly. When you talk about global warming issues, carbon dioxide (Co2) is seen as the biggest culprit. But you can’t just ban it. Without Co2, there is no life on Earth. Human beings are tied to the carbon cycle. But there is an imbalance in the atmosphere due to excessive Co2 emission because of burning fossil fuel. The way to go is ‘recycle Co2’. It is called carbon capture and recycling. We want to make methanol from carbon dioxide. It is the simplest carbon compound and can be a viable alternative to fossil fuels. You can do all you do (with fossil fuels), with methanaol. Mankind can do it for ever, as long as the Sun is shining. That’s the idea.
If it’s so simple, why has no one done it yet?
Humankind is not mostly reactive. It always reacts to crisis. China is doing it because it has no other choice. It has coal; it converts it into methanol. That is a huge market. Israel is adopting it. They found lot of natural gas in the Mediterranean. They have instituted this prize which we won recently, which is known as the Nobel Prize for alternative fuel.
Is this technology viable today?
It is viable. In Iceland, we are doing it. We are taking geothermal steam and water and making 10 tonnes of methanol a day. The George Olah Renewable Methanol plant is named after my Nobel laureate colleague.
How is India placed to make use of this concept?
India can start it. India has a lot of dry biomass — coconut parts and bagasse, which come from sugar cane husk. We can easily gassify it. Such activities are going on in Sweden, Norway, etc. India can benefit from this. It should do it in a distributive fashion. In a small fashion, locally; then, you can consume the fuel you produce.
But currently, India is grappling with debates over the usage of another alternative fuel,ethanol.
In my view, ethanol is not sustainable; it affects food security. Even the US converts 40 per cent of its valuable corn crop into bioethanol. It is unsustainable. Because of that, cheese and wheat prices have risen in third-world countries.
Has the Indian government shown any interest in the methanol economy?
The Indian government hasn’t shown much interest. But the Karnataka government has. There is an organisation in Karnataka that is looking for sustainable fuel; that has shown interest.
Some corporate groups in India are showing interest in methanol.
The Tatas and the Ambanis have read our book ‘Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy’. I had dinner with (Reliance Industries chief) Mukesh Ambani in the big house he has built in Mumbai. He showed an interest. But they come from a petrochemical background; they are business people. They want to see profits. Methanol may not bring you money right away. It is good for the environment.
In the long run, we will make money. I am not interested in making money.
How long is this long run?
Probably, we will convert coal to methanol. China is already doing it. You can stop importing oil. It is good for India; it saves valuable foreign exchange. In the long run, India has this solar potential. You can use that energy to make methanol. It is a flexible concept. Each country, depending on its situation, can make use of it and save money.
How will this distributive model work? Doesn’t it need a government push?
India does well in spite of its government policy. Having said that, this has to happen in a local way. Some people can collect biomass; a small investment can be made in a gassifier. Once you set up a gassifier, it is very easy to make methanol.
Isn’t some kind of a stimulant needed?
There are a lot of sustainable organisations. They can take it up. I would prefer (at the) state level. There is a lot more commitment. The Centre just puts the money and walks away, right? That is not a good idea. I think state governments are a better bet. If local people are not involved, forget it. It’s not going to happen.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
LOKPAL BILL...KNOW...NOW...
All you need to know about Lokpal Bill
A close look at the main provisions of the amended Lokpal and Lokayukta BillIANS | New Delhi
December 18, 2013 Last Updated at 16:22 IST
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 was passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday a day after the anti-graft legislation underwent amendments during its course in Rajya Sabha.
Following are the salient features of the amended Lokpal bill
1. Lokayuktas: The new bill mandates states to set up Lokayuktas within 365 days. States have the freedom to determine the nature and type of Lokayukta.
The old bill said the law shall be applicable to states only if they give consent to its application.
The old bill gave power to the central government to appoint state Lokayuktas while the new draft gives this power to the states.
2. Constitution of Lokpal: The Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members, of which fifty percent shall be judicial members. Fifty percent members of Lokpal shall be from among SC, ST, OBCs, minorities and women.
The older version said the chairperson shall be the Chief Justice of India or a present or former judge of the Supreme Court or a non-judicial member with specified qualifications (chief justice or a judge of a high court).
3. Selection of Lokpal: The selection committee will have prime minister, Lok Sabha speaker, leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. A fifth member of the selection committee for selection of Lokpal under the category of "eminent jurist" may be nominated by the president on the basis of recommendation of the first four members of the selection committee.
In the old bill, selection of the fifth person was left entirely to the president.
4. Religious bodies and trust: The new bill includes societies and trusts that collect public money, receive funding from foreign sources, and have an income level above a certain threshold, it excludes bodies creating endowments for or performing religious or charitable functions.
The old bill expanded definition of public servant by bringing societies and trusts which receive donations from the public (over a specified annual income) and, organisations which receive foreign donations (over Rs.10 lakh a year) within the purview of the Lokpal.
5. Prosecution: In the new version, before taking a decision on filing a charge sheet in a case upon consideration of the investigation report, the Lokpal may authorise its own prosecution wing or the concerned investigating agency to initiate prosecution in special courts.
Under the old bill, prosecution of the case could be done only by the prosecution wing of the Lokpal.
6. Central Bureau of Investigation: For independence of the CBI, in the new bill a directorate of prosecution will be formed. Appointment of the director of prosecution will be on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
Transfer of officers of CBI investigating cases referred by Lokpal will be only with the approval of Lokpal who will also have superintendence over CBI in relation to Lokpal referred cases.
7. Hearing: The new bill says a government servant will get a hearing before a decision is taken by the Lokpal.
8. Prime Minister: The prime minister will be under the purview of the Lokpal with subject matter exclusions and specific process for handling complaints against the prime minister.
9. Investigation: Inquiry has to be completed within 60 days and investigation to be completed within six months. Lokpal shall order an investigation only after hearing the public servant.
Inquiry against the prime minister has to be held in-camera and approved by two-thirds of the full bench of the Lokpal.
10. Penalty: False and frivolous complaints - imprisonment up to one year and a fine of up to Rs.1 lakh. Public servants - imprisonment up to seven years. Criminal misconduct and habitually abetting corruption - jail term up to 10 years.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
NOW CAIRN INDIA ..!!! HUGE OIL RESERVES IN KG BASIN..!!!!
Cairn strikes east coast oil bounty, 10,000 bpd output likely from 2017
Pranav Nambiar | New Delhi | Updated: Dec 03 2013, 05:29 ISSUMMARYCAIRN India has struck significant oil reserves in its Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin onshore field KG-ONN-2003/1 with productionCAIRN India has struck significant oil reserves in its Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin onshore field KG-ONN-2003/1 with production estimated at 8,000-10,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) starting 2017. This opens up a larger play for Cairn India on the east coast, joining the likes of Reliance Industries (RIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) that have made large finds in the region.As per the declaration of commerciality (DoC) documents submitted by Cairn to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) on November 29, the company has in-place oil resources of about 320 million barrels, of which about 40 million barrels can be recovered. It has also found small amounts of gas with recoverable reserves of around 70 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas.
The oil resource estimate is based on the appraisal of three discovered wells in the field — Nagayalanka SE, 1Z and 1Z ST. Cairn will invest around $600 million in drilling 20 wells of the next three to four years and an additional $165 million for creating the infrastructure to produce oil from the field. Oil ministry sources say Cairn India’s reserves in the field can be revised upwards as it drills more wells. The net present value (NPV) of the project stands at around $ 900 million.Cairn’s KG onshore field has a tight reservoir with low permeability, thus requiring the company to use hydraulic fracking techniques to drill the wells. The recovery factor of the KG field is therefore just 10-15%, while at Ravva, it is as high as 60%.
The sedimentary formations where Cairn’s KG field is located in are also called Mesozoic rocks and these formations formed over 100 million years back have seldom been tapped in India, though they account for nearly 50% of global hydrocarbon finds. Mesozoics are mainly found in the western regions of Narmada, Cambay and Saurashtra, in the east around Cauvery and the KG Basin as well as the north along the higher Himalaya.According to industry experts, as the investments are lower in the case of onshore fields, the threshold for commerciality is lower and from that perspective, 8,000-10,000
bopd is a reasonably good find. In contrast, a deepwater field which requires platforms for separating oil and water as well as pipelines for evacuating oil is generally commercial at higher levels of around 30,000 bopd. ONGC’s recent oil find of about 100 million tonnes or 700 million barrels of oil in its east coast KG-DWN-98/2 field is larger than the Cairn find but this is located in the deepwater region. “In the case of onshore fields, we need just tankers to evacuate the oil. So, even small onshore oil finds are typically commercially viable,” said a public sector oil company official. The latest find also opens up a huge play for the company in the east coast. Cairn India will soon begin exploring its offshore KG basin block KG-OSN-2009/3 after it received a government nod to undertake a pared down minimum work programme in the block. The private sector oil and gas company will invest Rs 500 crore to undertake the MWP and subsequently ramp up investments depending on the prospectivity of the block.
Cairn is also undertaking 4D seismic work to identify pockets of oil deposits which have bypassed east coast Ravva fields. The oil production from Ravva is seeing a natural decline averaged 22,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the July-September quarter. The results from the 4D tests are expected to be released by the end of the financial year.Cairn’s current production is 1,78,000 boepd and expects to exit FY14e at greater than 2,00,000 boepd, led by Rajasthan which produced around 1,74,200 boepd in the previous quarter.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
TATA POWER...POWERING TO EXCEL..!!!
Press Trust of India | New Delhi
December 1, 2013 Last Updated at 12:23 IST
Tata Power plans to raise up to Rs 5,000 cr in next 3 yrsIt has ambitious expansion plans, including setting up projects in Vietnam and GeorgiaThe country's largest private power producer Tata Power is exploring various options to raise around Rs 5,000 crore in the next three years.Tata Power, which has an installed generation capacity of over 8,500 MW, has also embarked on ambitious expansion plans, including setting up projects in Vietnam and Georgia.For raising funds, the power utility has said that it is studying all possible options."Everything is being studied, what is likely and what is not likely, something which we have not reached the decision as yet," Tata Power told analysts in November.According to the transcript of analysts' call, the company's fund requirement is about Rs 4,000-5,000 crore over a three-year span.The company's comment came in response to a query about the quantum of funds the company was looking at through various measures.The fund raising options include possible sale of equity.Without providing specific details, Tata Power told analysts that it would look at all funds, "including debt funds but today we are quite stretched as far as date is concerned".At the end of September this year, the company's long term borrowings stood at Rs 32,842.24 crore."We have funds as of today probably till the first quarter of next year provided all our consumers pay us on time," the company said.For the six months ended September, the company posted a net loss of Rs 39.73 crore. In the year-ago period, it had a net profit of Rs 62.13 crore.These figures are after considering tax, minority interest and share of profit of associates.Tata Power generated 22,738 million units of electricity in the six months ended September, much higher than 14,029 million units produced in the year-ago period.http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/tata-power-plans-to-raise-up-to-rs-5-000-cr-in-next-3-yrs-113120100093_1.html
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Biotech aiming to be $100 bn sector by 2025!!!!
Biotech aiming to be $100 bn sector by 2025: Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-ShawPTI | Neemrana (Rajasthan) | Updated: Nov 16 2013, 16:57 ISTSUMMARYTaking this road map is about delivering security including food security, health security, she said.
Indian biotechnology sector is looking to be a USD 100 billion sector by 2025, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said here today."We want to make Indian biotechnology a USD 100 billion sector by 2025. I really believe this can be done if we have right policies in place, right resources and right investments," Biocon Chairman and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said.She was speaking on the sidelines of the third convocation and fifth annual lecture of NIIT University. Taking this road map is about delivering security like food security, health security and energy security and environment security, she added.
"Agri bio can itself provide a USD 40 billion sector, Already BT Cotton is a USD 7.5 billion sector for the country. If you allow other genetically modified crops it could be much bigger," Shaw said.The government should allow the genetically modified crops. Without that the country cannot be food sufficient, she added."Moreover this would also lead to less use of pesticides which are very harmful. You need to reduce pests and pesticides and that can only be done with technology," Mazumdar-Shaw said.
If farmers are to become prosperous you need technology, she added."This can happen when you have investments in agri-bio, pharma-bio among others," Mazumdar-Shaw said, adding that "for this, we need enabling policies by the government."Private sector needs the ease to conduct its business, she said.
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/biotech-aiming-to-be-100-bn-sector-by-2025-biocon-chief-kiran-mazumdarshaw/1195723
Sunday, September 8, 2013
SOLAR ENERGY...NEXT BIG THING..!!!!!!!
New designed solar cells can hold up to 70,000 suns powerPTIWASHINGTON, SEP 8:
In a breakthrough, scientists have created an array of solar cells that can withstand the blazing glare of 70,000 suns.
Researchers have come up with a new technique for improving the connections between stacked solar cells, which should improve the overall efficiency of solar energy devices and reduce the cost of solar energy production.
Stacked solar cells consist of several solar cells that are stacked on top of one another. Stacked cells are currently the most efficient cells on the market, converting up to 45 per cent of the solar energy they absorb into electricity.
But to be effective, solar cell designers need to ensure the connecting junctions between these stacked cells do not absorb any of the solar energy and do not siphon off the voltage the cells produce — effectively wasting that energy as heat.
“We have discovered that by inserting a very thin film of gallium arsenide into the connecting junction of stacked cells we can virtually eliminate voltage loss without blocking any of the solar energy,” said Dr Salah Bedair, a professor of electrical engineering at North Carolina State University and senior author of a paper.
This work is important because photovoltaic energy companies are interested in using lenses to concentrate solar energy, from one sun (no lens) to 4,000 suns or more.
However, if the solar energy is significantly intensified — to 700 suns or more — the connecting junctions used in existing stacked cells begin losing voltage. And the more intense the solar energy, the more voltage those junctions lose — thereby reducing the conversion efficiency.
“Now we have created a connecting junction that loses almost no voltage, even when the stacked solar cell is exposed to 70,000 suns of solar energy,” Bedair said. “And that is more than sufficient for practical purposes, since concentrating lenses are unlikely to create more than 4,000 or 5,000 suns worth of energy. “This discovery means that solar cell manufacturers can now create stacked cells that can handle these high—intensity solar energies without losing voltage at the connecting junctions, thus potentially improving conversion efficiency,” he said.
“This should reduce overall costs for the energy industry because, rather than creating large, expensive solar cells, you can use much smaller cells that produce just as much electricity by absorbing intensified solar energy from concentrating lenses. And concentrating lenses are relatively inexpensive,” Bedair said.
(This article was published on September 8, 2013)
Friday, March 8, 2013
Profit squeeze hammering emerging equities..........
London: Record high stocks? Currency surges? In the United States maybe, but across emerging markets, slowing economies and collapsing exports are hammering company profits far harder than in the seemingly hobbled West.
While world stocks have risen more than 5 percent already this year, led by Wall Street's surge to record highs, bourses from Chinato Brazil are flat to negative in dollar terms, unnerving those who fear a third year of stop-start performance. To add insult to injury, most emerging market currencies are in the red against the US dollar. Given that major central banks are in full money-printing mode, the weakness is worrying, not least to the swathes of investors who have flocked in, lured by the promise of double-digit returns, robust growth and consumer demand.
Worrying maybe, but not surprising, says Martial Godet, head of emerging equity strategy at BNP Paribas. Godet's calculations show a steep decline in return-on-equity (ROE) in emerging markets to around 12 percent, a fall of 3 percentage points in the last 18 months and well below pre-crisis levels of 16-17 percent. That lags developed markets' 13.5 percent. But US firms - "the ultimate quality and growth markets" in Godet's words - have usurped EMs' ROE supremacy with a 15 percent average. ROE shows how well a company is using shareholders' equity investment to generate profits."The deterioration has been both fast and large," he said. "If you look at any of the criteria associated with profitability, you see that between 2011-2012 emerging markets were unable to transform economic growth into earnings growth." Cash is still coming in - data from EPFR Global shows $33 billion in inflows to emerging equity funds in 2013, part of investors' so-called rotation out of bonds and into equities. Most of this was soaked up by this year's new equity issues, totalling $30 billion according to Thomson Reuters data. But the ROE slump is a bad omen and inflows have started to stutter. ING Investment Management for instance recently downgraded emerging markets holdings in its equity portfolio. Robert Davis a senior fund manager at ING IM, notes flat corporate earnings in emerging markets last year despite revenue growth of around 12 percent.
Developed companies meanwhile have stayed profitable through years of economic doldrums, posting single-digit revenue growth in 2012 but managing a 2-3 percent rise in profits, he adds."Longer-term expectations of higher growth and demographics (in emerging markets) are valid, but what we have seen in the past couple of years is disappointment, because compared to developed markets, companies have been ... less able to protect their margins," Davis said.
BOTH ENDS
Of course, within emerging markets there are countries and sectors that will continue to do well. And despite negative earnings, MSCI's emerging stock index rose 15 percent in 2012. But profit margins are being eroded from both ends.First, emerging markets are bearing the brunt of economic slowdown, argue UBS analysts, noting that the EM growth "spread" over rich peers has fallen to a 10-year low of 3 percentage points. As exports shrink, that hits corporate topline revenues, countries' current account balances and currencies.And because global growth and emerging corporate profits have tended to move in lock-step, a 3 percent expansion rate for the world economy may be insufficient to generate a recovery in emerging earnings growth, UBS tell clients.
Separately, JPMorgan Asset Management, which has also gone neutral on emerging stocks, points out that past episodes of worsening external balances - 1997-1999, 2005 and 2008-2009 - have also coincided with emerging equity underperformance. "We will be watching two sets of data - trade and earnings delivery - to gauge whether to put on renewed active positions," JPMorgan AM's multi-asset strategy team told clients. Secondly, the crisis has hammered home emerging firms' inefficiencies, compared to their developed counterparts.
Input costs, including investment and wages, may even have been exacerbated as governments tightened control over economies in order to revive growth. That's especially so in the Big Four, BRIC countries, China, India, Russia and Brazil, where stocks are lagging S&P500 returns for the fourth year in a row. "After the crisis, US and other developed market companies really tried to improve efficiency by investing less, deleveraging balance sheets, accumulating cash and conducting optimisation of their operations," Godet said. "EM companies continued to invest as if the crisis of 2008 hadn't happened, as if growth was just as strong as before."
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Prices are yet to reflect all the fears, moreover. Expectations for 2013 earnings growth stand currently at 13.5 percent, compared to 8 percent for the United States and Europe. JPMorgan AM says that its own composite valuation index based on forward price-to-earnings, price-to-book, price-to-cash flow and dividend yields, indicates a 17 percent valuation premium over developed companies. Emerging markets will need to show superior earnings performance to justify this premium, it adds.
Deutsche Bank analysts are pessimistic about this prospect.
Those buying emerging stocks after 2008 joined the party too late, they say, predicting in a note that the sector is only 27 months into what may be a multi-year period of underperformance.
Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2013
http://profit.ndtv.com/news/international-business/article-profit-squeeze-hammering-emerging-equities-319217?pfrom=home-otherstories
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Irda slaps Rs 50-lakh penalty on SKS Microfinance
Microfinance institution levied a charge on members, that exceeds the premium and violates regulations
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has slapped a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on SKS Microfinance for violating insurance norms. Irda said the microfinance institution (MFI) levied a charge on its members, which was more than the premium amount, in violation of insurance regulations.
Irda has asked SKS to remit the penalty within 15 days from the date of receipt of the order.
According to the group insurance guidelines, an MFI cannot collect from its members amounts that are higher than the policy premium charged by the insurance company. MFI has not collected any ‘premium’ amount from its members but it collected one per cent of the loan amount as DRF fee.
According to the Irda order, the MFI was acting as a group policyholder and administrator for group life insurance policies, taken to cover the loan amount granted to its members.
Irda noticed that the group policy holder was recovering one per cent of the loan amount towards DRF (death relief fund) fee.
A portion (around 55 per cent) of the DRF fee is utilised to fund the group term insurance premium for the members. In case a member opts to insure her spouse/child, an extra one per cent is charged for each additional member.
Irda said the group policy holder does not insure all its members in a single policy, but obtains a different policy for each month. As the group policy holder pays only a part of the DRF fee as insurance premium, the remaining amount is booked as revenue income. This, according to Irda, is in violation of the group insurance guidelines
“The documents establish that the premium is only about 0.55 per cent of the loan amount and not 1 per cent as charged for the death protection fee,” the Irda order said. Thus, the MFI has levied a charge more than the premium in violation of guidelines, Irda noted.
Irda has asked SKS to remit the penalty within 15 days from the date of receipt of the order.
According to the group insurance guidelines, an MFI cannot collect from its members amounts that are higher than the policy premium charged by the insurance company. MFI has not collected any ‘premium’ amount from its members but it collected one per cent of the loan amount as DRF fee.
According to the Irda order, the MFI was acting as a group policyholder and administrator for group life insurance policies, taken to cover the loan amount granted to its members.
Irda noticed that the group policy holder was recovering one per cent of the loan amount towards DRF (death relief fund) fee.
A portion (around 55 per cent) of the DRF fee is utilised to fund the group term insurance premium for the members. In case a member opts to insure her spouse/child, an extra one per cent is charged for each additional member.
Irda said the group policy holder does not insure all its members in a single policy, but obtains a different policy for each month. As the group policy holder pays only a part of the DRF fee as insurance premium, the remaining amount is booked as revenue income. This, according to Irda, is in violation of the group insurance guidelines
“The documents establish that the premium is only about 0.55 per cent of the loan amount and not 1 per cent as charged for the death protection fee,” the Irda order said. Thus, the MFI has levied a charge more than the premium in violation of guidelines, Irda noted.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/irda-slaps-rs-50-lakh-penalty-on-sks-microfinance-113022000850_1.html
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Reliance Jio getting voice....
With Reliance Jio getting voice, telcos pitch for more 3G spectrum
THOMAS K. THOMAS
GSM players body suggests taking 15 MHz of air wave from Defence Ministry
NEW DELHI, FEB. 19:
With Reliance Industries-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm all set to offer voice and data service across India, rival GSM players have run to the Government seeking more spectrum for third generation (3G) technology based mobile services. GSM operators, including Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone, won 3G spectrum in the 2010 auction, but none has a pan-India footprint. Also, they got only 5 MHz each in the 2,100 MHz band, which is insufficient to provide high speed data services such as video streaming or live television.
So, while the GSM players have national coverage when it comes to voice, they do not have the bandwidth for pan-India data play. On the other hand, Reliance Jio has 20 MHz of broadband spectrum in the 2,300 MHz band which will allow it to offer high quality data service. And, now, with the Government allowing Internet firms to offer voice, Reliance Jio is square on the GSM players’ turf.In a letter to the Department of Telecom and the telecom regulator, the Cellular Operators Association of India said that “Insufficient 3G spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band will not only hurt the growth of mobile broadband services, but will result in fragmented spectrum allocations. This will prevent operators from establishing a pan-India 3G footprint, leading to suboptimal use of scarce and valuable spectrum.” The GSM operators’ lobby group said that the DoT can take 15 MHz of 3G spectrum from the Ministry of Defence as part of the agreement already signed. Under this deal, the Defence Ministry had agreed to vacate some spectrum bands in return for an exclusive optic fibre network for the armed forces.
The COAI said that if this spectrum is not auctioned soon, then it will be the end of the road for 3G players as no other spectrum band has a better ecosystem in terms of cheaper phones and user devices.
Thomas.thomas@thehindu.co.in
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/with-reliance-jio-getting-voice-telcos-pitch-for-more-3g-spectrum/article4432505.ece
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
ArcelorMittal posts $3.73-b loss
ArcelorMittal posts $3.73-b loss in 2012
LUXEMBOURG/NEW DELHI, FEB 6:
ArcelorMittal, world’s largest steelmaker, has gone into the red with a net loss of $3.73 billion in 2012 largely due to a $4.3 billion write down related to company’s European businesses.
It had posted net profit of $2.26 billion in 2011. Operating profit or EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) also fell by 30 per cent to $7.08 billion in 2012 vis-a-vis $10.11 billion in 2011, ArcelorMittal said in a statement. The company’s sales too were down 10.39 per cent to $84.21 billion in 2012. However, ArcelorMittal gave a positive outlook for 2013, saying it expects higher EBITDA and 2-3 per cent increase in steel shipments in 2013. It is also expecting “marginal” improvement in per-tonne steel margins in 2013 as it hopes to reap full benefits of asset optimisation plan that has already been completed during the second half of 2013. “2012 was a very difficult year for the steel industry, particularly in Europe where demand for steel fell a further 8.8 per cent... Although we expect the challenges to continue in 2013, largely due to the fragility of the European economy, we have recently seen some more positive indicators,” the company’s Chairman Lakshmi Mittal said.
He added that various measures taken last year to strengthen company’s businesses, including reducing capacities and net debt are “expected to support an improvement in the profitability of our steel business this year“. During the year, ArcelorMittal took a non-cash write down of $4.3 billion with respect to its European businesses. Besides, it also incurred $1.3 billion charges related to optimisation of its assets. “The $4.3 billion goodwill impairment is due to the weaker macroeconomic and market environment in Europe where apparent steel demand fell approximately 9 per cent in 2012, bringing the cumulative demand decline to approximately 29 per cent since 2007,” the company said.
It added that “weaker demand environment and expectations that it will persist over the near and medium term, led to a downward revision of cash flow expectations underlying the valuation of the European businesses to which goodwill had been allocated“. Quarter-on-quarter basis, ArcelorMittal’s net loss widened to $3.98 billion in October-December, 2012 vis-a-vis $1 billion of the same quarter of 2011. The sales were down 14 per cent to $19.31 billion, while EBITDA fell nearly 23 per cent to $1.32 billion in the fourth quarter. The company also forecast that European steel consumption would be 1 per cent lower this year than in 2012. However, it expects a growth of 3 per cent in the Chinese market and 5 per cent in Brazilian market in 2013.
Besides, ArcelorMittal is planning to increase iron ore shipments by 20 per cent. The expansion of its mines in Canada to 24 million tonnes per annum is on track and expected to be completed during the first half of 2013, it said. The company is also hopeful of reducing its net debt to $17 billion by June 30 due to a slew of measures. It is expecting to garner $5 billion from fund raising exercise completed in January, and 15 per cent stake sale in Canadian iron ore mine to Posco and China Steel Corporation. As on December 31, 2012, the company had a net debt of $21.8 billion. For 2013, the company has set a capex of $3.5 billion on various operations and expansion plans. However, it has proposed to reduce the dividend for 2013 by about 74 per cent to $0.20 per share against $0.75 per share of 2012.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/international/arcelormittal-posts-373b-loss-in-2012/article4385880.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
sugar decontrol..on the cards...NOW....
Food ministry seeks cabinet approval for sugar decontrol
NEW DELHI: The food ministry has decided to seek Cabinet approval to lift controls on sugar, the first time such a proposal will be taken to the highest decision-making body of the government since the sector was brought under strict regulation 50 years ago.The politically sensitive move to deregulate sugar, one of the last bastions of state controls after two decades of economic liberalisation, follows bold moves last year, such as allowing more foreign direct investment in the retail sector and substantially increasing diesel prices along with the declaration that prices of the fuel will be raised gradually to international levels. Sugar decontrol was strongly recommended last year by a committee led by C Rangarajan, the influential head of the economic advisory council of the prime minister. The government has already accepted another report by Rangarajan, which proposes far-reaching changes in the oil sector.
Four other committees since 1998 have suggested diluting the Sugar (Control) Order of 1963, but the proposal was never sent to the Cabinet because of fears of a political backlash. "We will soon send a proposal to the Cabinet, asking for removal of state curbs as recommended by the Rangarajan committee," a senior food ministry official told ET. The official said the government is keen to abolish the system of telling sugar mills how much of the sweetener they can release in the market. It also wants to stop the system of levy sugar, which forces millers to sell a part of their output at below-market prices. Sugar industry officials, who have been pitching for decontrol, welcomed the move. "Presently, mills are allocated sugar quota for four months depending on their production capacity. If the Cabinet approves the proposal, sugar mills will be free to sell sugar as per their commercial interests and demand in the market," said Abinash Varma, director-general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association, and a former bureaucrat in the food ministry.
Currently, mills have to sell 10% of total production to the government at Rs 19.01 per kg, a fraction of the wholesale market price of Rs 34 per kg, for public distribution through ration shops.
"The government will have to buy sugar at market price from mills. This will give liquidity of around Rs 2,500 crore to more than 500 sugar mills, including Shree Renuka SugarsBSE 0.35 %, Balrampur ChiniBSE -0.86 %and Bajaj Hindusthan," the food ministry official said. The withdrawal of levy obligation, however, would shift the subsidy burden, presently borne by industry, on the government for supplying cheaper sugar to poor families. The government supplies around 2.7 mt to poor families and defence forces at rates much below the market price bearing a subsidy burden of Rs 2,300-2,500 crore a year. Poor families get 500 gm to 1.3 kg of sugar per person per month from ration shops at Rs 13.50 a kg - a rate that has not been revised since 2001-02. "In this case, the government would buy sugar for public distribution through tenders. The company quoting lowest price will get the contract and the Centre will bear the price difference," the official said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/food/food-ministry-seeks-cabinet-approval-for-sugar-decontrol/articleshow/18358170.cms
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Apex court tells Centre - Spell out steps to protect small traders
NEW DELHI, JAN 22:
Is FDI in retail a “political gimmick”? This was what the Supreme Court today asked the Government, seeking its response on how it intends to safeguard the interests of small traders after opening up the retail sector to foreign direct investment (FDI). The apex court said the interests of small traders should not be affected by FDI in retail. It said small traders fear their businesses would be affected with the coming of multinational companies, and this needs to be allayed by the government through a regulatory mechanism.
Response in 3 weeks
A Bench headed by Justices R.M. Lodha and S.J. Mukhopadhaya asked the Centre to file its response on these aspects within three weeks and also asked whether some foreign investment had come into the country after the retail sector was opened up or if it was just a “political gimmick”. “What checks are there to ensure that free trade is not affected, particularly the interests of small traders,” the Bench asked, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate questioning the Centre’s policy. “Apprehension is there in the minds of people that small traders’ interests would be affected. How do you intend to allay the fear? Some regulatory mechanism has to be there,” the Bench said. Favouring a regulatory framework to protect small traders, the Bench said the big companies can bring down the prices of commodities through unfair trade practices, forcing small traders to shut shop after which the companies could hike prices and monopolise the market. “Has the policy brought some investment into the country or is it just a political gimmick. Has the policy brought some fruits?” the Bench asked the government.
‘Approved by House’
Expressing reservation on scrutiny of the policy by the Court, Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati said it is a policy matter that has been approved by Parliament and all these aspects were discussed by MPs. The Bench, however, said Government policies are not sacrosanct and the Court has a right to see that the policy is reasonable and within the Constitutional framework.
No policy is sacrosanct
“Any policy is not sacrosanct and it must be within constitutional parameters. We are not policy-makers and we cannot substitute government policy but we will see that it is reasonable and within the constitutional framework,” the Bench said. The court adjourned the matter for five weeks. The Confederation of All-India Traders welcomed the court’s observations on protecting the interests of small traders. “The issue raised by the court for the protection of small traders is a welcome step. We have always advocated that the Centre must put in place a mechanism or regulatory framework to protect the interests of small traders, who are very apprehensive about the FDI policy in retail,” the association’s General-Secretary Praveen Khandelwal said.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/apex-court-tells-centre-spell-out-steps-to-protect-small-traders/article4331859.ece?homepage=true
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