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Latest India Headline Updates
2008-01-15 17:38:00
Let us understand each other, PM tells BeijingThe India n Express BSNL mulls IPO, valued at over $ 100 bnThe Financial Express Indian funds dominate world?s top 100 list in 2007Livemint SBI does a first, opens ESOP locker for employeesThe Economic Times IPOs to take investors' wealth to Rs 100 tnThe Economic Times RBI intervenes as rupee eyes 10-yr highLivemint PM alarmed by rise in crude pricesThe Financial Express Two-tier structure for GST: RBIThe Indian Express
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IBM having a good time in India
2008-01-15 04:07:00
By Vipin Agnihotri It?s not that easy to strategize for an organization that sells everything from supercomputers to blade servers to plain vanilla software services. Yes you guessed it right, we are talking about IBM that has grown over 10-fold in five years in India . In general, IBM is a company, which is more than a century old and has a market capitalization of around $150 billion. In my opinion, Bruce Harreld, Senior Vice President for Marketing & Strategy has played a prominent part in turning around the company from its ?near-death? experience in the mid-90s. To begin with, Harreld ensure that IBM exited businesses like personal computers (which by the way was sold to Lenovo) and hard disk drives (which was sold to Hitachi). According to experts, IBM then strengthened its offerings around high-growth, high-value areas. For example, IBM?s Emerging Business Opportunities (EBO) program has produced more than 20 new businesses for IBM, which includes multi-billion-dollar ac...
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Xenitis Group launches Aamar motorbike
2008-01-15 00:36:00
By Vipin Agnihotri In 2002, when the Kolkata-based Xenitis Group launched a personal computer in the price range of Rs 10,000, market was surprised. In terms of statistic, Aamar PC last year notched up sales of Rs 620 crore. Buoyed by the success, Xenitis has launched Aamar motorbike. Last month, group launched a four-stroke motorcycle priced at a rock bottom Rs 19,990, which by the way is 50 per cent cheaper than the hitherto cheapest four-stroke mobike in the market. In my opinion, that price may prove to be a winner. According to company sources, even before the new motorcycle was launched, it booked firm orders for 1.6 lakh bikes. The main objective of company is to position themselves as makers of common man?s products. The latest move has been quite in line with that. The two-wheelers are made by Global Automobiles, collaboration between Xenitis and China?s Guangzhou Motors, which pretty much explain how the company is managing to retail its bikes at the sub-20K price point....
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All is not well at Rediff
2008-01-11 06:09:00
By Vipin Agnihotri In terms of statistic, Rediff has 59.8 million registered users. What?s more, it also leads in page views. In the last quarter, revenue of Rediff grew 18 per cent but still all is not well at the India?s best-known Internet Company, Rediff.com. In my opinion, risks such as competition, pricing pressure, client concentration, and a slowdown in online advertising is creating quite a headache for Rediff as their ad revenue share is bound to dip. Most of the experts is of the opinion that search is eating into the overall pie and is minimizing Rediff?s addressable market. Some of you may argue that Rediff?s unique users grew by 9 per cent during the July-September quarter but the fact of the matter is that over the same period, Google and Yahoo grew unique users by 9 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. Point to be noted here is that online advertising accounts for 1.8 per cent of total advertising spend and will increase to 3.1 per cent this year, pivotal factor h...
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VIDEO: Funny Look at Medical Tourism in India
2008-01-08 19:12:00
Our next video focuses on Outsourcing and specifically medical tourism. We shine a bright light on the industry and hold no punches. In India , the most common treatments are heart surgery, cosmetic surgery, knee transplant and dental surgery. India is a favorable destination because its medical infrastructure and technology is on par with those in the USA and Europe. Click to See Above Video As health care costs skyrocket, patients in the developed world are looking overseas for medical treatment. India is capitalizing on its low costs and highly trained doctors to appeal to these "medical tourists." Even with airfare, the cost of going to India for surgery can be markedly cheaper, and the quality of services is often better than that found in the United States and UK. Indeed, many patients are pleased at the prospect of combining their tummy tucks with a trip to the Taj Mahal. - YaleGlobal Embed this video
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New India Street FaceBook Application Ready to be Launched
2008-01-06 19:10:00
I am very happy to announce that India 's first social crowd stock picking tool will be on Facebook relatively soon. By the end of the month, we will launch a Facebook application that will enable all of you to share stock tips, see community picks, and gauge stock trends based on community sentiment. Moreover, the system will begin to rank you as a stock picker and open up doors to you never before seen in India. Imagine an investment house looking for talented investment managers perusing our top 50 stock pickers. Imagine the ability to invest in stocks that the top 50 are investing in. The application is just the start of our new technology push towards Indian transparency, India business, and making you money.
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Reliance and Bharti-Wal-Mart can learn a lesson from ITC
2008-01-06 18:35:00
By Vipin Agnihotri No one is going to argue with the fact that India is on the threshold of a retail revolution. In my opinion, in few portions India has already traversed some way down that path. But there are some portions, such as allowing foreign direct investment in the retail sector that India needs some more work. Agri-retailing in India also need a lot of work. According to experts, the business model of agri-retailing consists of sourcing farm produce directly from farmers and then selling them to end-consumers. The best part about this model is that it get rid of the middlemen from the value chain, which in turn gives both farmers and end consumers better prices. In addition, it also gives retailer a substantial margin. But it has been noticed that middlemen have substantial political clout. Seeing their profits disappearing, these middlemen have now struck back. Not so long ago, political ?mobocracy? has derailed Reliance Retail?s push into Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal...
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State of Indian Exporters
2008-01-05 01:05:00
By Vipin AgnihotriIn my opinion, the appreciation of the rupee against the dollar has severely eroded the profit margins of India n exporters, forcing them to contemplate drastic measures such as minimizing workforce. Most of the Indian exporters are losing orders because of the increase in the rupee value.Not so long ago, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) announced that traditional exports have been severely affected and that almost four million people have lost their jobs. Point to be noted here is that if the trend persists, there is a good chance that eight million more jobs will be lost in the days to come. According to sources, textiles and leather industries, which source their raw materials more or less from the domestic market, have been severely hit. As a matter of fact, 600,000 people in the textiles industry alone will lose their jobs next year.The IT industry is also facing the heat from rising rupee. In terms of statistic, from a mere 5 per cent share of ...
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SMS based transactions all set to surpass online transactions
2008-01-05 01:03:00
By Vipin Agnihotri In terms of statistic, number of Indians with mobile phones has crossed 200 million. This has convinced transaction-led services companies to go beyond the Internet and tap the mobile platform. According to sources, Kingfisher Airlines in collaboration with PayMate, an M-commerce solutions company has flagged off FlyBuySms, a first of its kind service in India through which a Kingfisher Airlines ticket can be booked anywhere, anytime with the help of mobile messaging service. The best part about this service is that it does not need a registration or downloading of any application. What?s more, cost to the customer is just the SMS charges of Rs 2-3. In my opinion, it?s an extremely convenient method- a truly anytime and anywhere end-to-end solution for the customers. Indications are that the service will be available for sister airline Air Deccan by the next year. The pivotal factor here is that Kingfisher is not the only company that has decided to go the ...
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India's Bloggers affecting India Politics
2007-12-31 19:52:00
I came across this article today and wanted to share with all of you. It appears India 's nascent blog ecosystem may finally be moving mainstream. While years behind Western countries, Blogs like Trak.in, Pluggd.in and others are starting to have some impact in India. I believe 2008 will be a year where India blogs increase in influence but not in affluence until India's bandwidth and online usage increase. The article can be found here and below: Joe C Mathew / New Delhi December 31, 2007 Early this year, Shamnad Basheer, a young intellectual property consultant, pointed out on his blog that a crucial paragraph in the report on patents by the RA Mashelkar panel was an exact copy of someone else?s research. This is what prompted the former director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to withdraw the report in February. Three months later, Basheer was at it again. As the government went into a tizzy over reports that some ...
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India the Year in Review 2007
2007-12-30 18:33:00
It's been an amazing year for India in 2007. We've highlighted the top business stories below and end with some predictions and opportunities for 2008. The BSE Sensex started the year at 12,300 and will end the year around 20,200 a tremendous year over year gain of 61% AT Kearney's famous emerging markets report gives China the nod for most FDI while India finishes in 2nd place While India is not in the traditional sense a serious tourist destination, the country still racked up $9.1 billion in toursim revenue, roughly equal to the American City of San Diego. This is up from $8.9 billion from 2006, which is growth but not much. Until Western friendly infrastructure and destinations exist, the global tourism crowd will shy away. The Richest man in the world in 2007 is for the first time in an Indian. Mukesh Ambani became the wealthiest man as a result of the India stock market increase. India real estate continued to increase in value in the Tier 1 and Tier ...
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VIDEO: Airplane Experience for India's Poor
2007-12-29 20:32:00
While India's economy is skyrocketing, most Indians have never left the ground. However, an enterprising entrepreneur is giving India's poor a chance to sit in a real airplane. Amazingly the airplane is parked in his backyard in a Delhi middle class neighborhood.
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Review of SadakMap.com
2007-12-26 20:02:00
By Vipin Agnihotri SadakMap.com is a new, local listings + Google Maps mashup site. To use this site, first and foremost, you have to register for the service. Once you do that, you can place markers for any local businesses, restaurants, and places of interest on the map. The best part about this site is that you can also add reviews to any listing and rate a listing. The first impression that I got from the site is that they want to form a social networking community. At this moment of time, site uses Google Maps API to leverage Google Maps as part of the collaborative interaction. Point to be noted here is that Google Maps can very easily be substituted by other alternatives and mashed up with the data SadakMap has collected. SadakMap has taken the assistance of a map interface as a backdrop to display local information. It is quite straightforward for people to relate to information displayed on a map and making it interactive makes the map come alive. The India Street ...
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Tata Group all set to clinch the Ford deal
2007-12-26 20:00:00
By Vipin Agnihotri Good news for India, renowned car makers Ford is all to set to announce the Tata Group as the preferred bidder for its iconic Jaguar and Land Rover. Sources have confirmed to The India Street that the deal will be finalized in a matter of 15 days. In my opinion, Ford?s picking Tata would be a historic moment because of the simple reason that it would be the first time a major Western car group is going to be bought by an Indian company. According to experts, the deal is said to be for about £1 billion but the exact amount could change once Tata is declared the preferred bidder. It is worth mentioning in this regard that Tatas may have to negotiate a settlement with the pension trustees and also have to make sure that Ford continues to maintain regular supply of components and engines. Point to be noted here is that Ford has lost $12.6 billion in 2006 and because of this they were looking to sell Jaguar and Land Rover which have been hit by unfavorable exchang...
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Grade A Office Market Rents in India
2007-12-25 01:28:00
Scroll right to view entire graph
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Maxjet Lies to Passengers then Cancels All Flights 13 Days Later
2007-12-25 01:15:00
In the "this has to be one of the biggest corporate lies" folder I direct your attention to exhibit A where Maxjet only 13 days ago declared the airline "stronger than ever": December 11, 2007 Bill StockbridgeCEO and PresidentMAXjet Airways, Inc.45025 Aviation Drive, 4th FloorDulles, VA 20166 Dear Friend of MAXjet: Recently, you may have heard?incorrectly?that MAXjet is cancelling flights due to financial issues. Please be assured that we have not cancelled and are not cancelling any MAXjet flights. MAXjet is stronger than ever, with 34 non-stop flights per week between London and the US (New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles). We have completed 100% of our scheduled flights and have an on-time performance record of 82% for November and December to date. This is a fantastic record for an international airline. I am confident we will continue to improve on this as we head into 2008. We take great pride in knowing that we have created a great Business Class product at an incre...
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Private jet owners to get their own airport and runways in India
2007-12-24 03:25:00
By Vipin Agnihotri We at The India Street are always in look out for exclusive stories so that our readers can get the first hand news. Keeping with this tradition, our sources has tell us that private jet owners in India might be allowed their own airport and runways in the near future. The Indian government is working overtime on a policy that will make it possible soon. In my opinion, this is quite a decent move from the government especially when one take into consideration the fact that there is a growing number of private jets in the country. Point to be noted here is that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation plans to set up separate terminals for private jet owners in metros. On the other hand, in smaller towns, a private airport and an airstrip might be granted permission. At this moment of time, there are around 130 private jets in the country. According to experts, this number is going to increase further in the coming years. CEOs who own at least one private j...
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Future of Indian BPO industry not that bright
2007-12-24 03:24:00
By Vipin Agnihotri Indian BPO industry is continuously witnessing upswing in both attrition and wage inflation. Most of the experts feel that India remains the best alternative at present but China is emerging as an equally good destination. The best part about China is that they are more committed towards education and training as compared to India. Plenty of international BPO firms are looking at the smaller cities of India in terms of resources. But the irony is that the resources in India are quite limited and not big enough to meet the global demand of big firms. For example, Convergys Corporation has around 12,000 call centre employees and another 1,300 for its software development unit in India but yet they are suffering because of lack of resources. According to sources, Convergys is looking at the Philippines as an alternative to India. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the company has around 10,000 people in the Philippines and considers it to be on par wit...
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Review of Cheaperthanhotels.co.uk
2007-12-22 03:00:00
By Vipin Agnihotri The best part about Cheaperthanhotels.co.uk is that the website is quite organized and simple to surf. Because of this, you will not face any problem in searching things of your choice. Cheaperthanhotels.co.uk not only offers you a list of hotel deals and their costs per night but also more details regarding each hotel. The main objective of Cheaperthanhotels.co.uk is to assist their visitors in selecting the best hotel. It is worth mentioning in this regard that Cheaperthanhotels.co.uk work in collaboration with the leading hotel chains across the world. Another good thing about Cheaperthanhotels.co.uk is that they have information about lots of European countries hotels such as United Kingdom and Ireland. ?Last Minute Deals? is also quite a good feature offered by them. With the help of this, you can find hotel for accommodation at an economical rate. The India Street Rating: 8/10 Suggested Reading: Videocon, Porsche and Tanishq in news
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What will Chevron do in Reliance Petroleum Limited?
2007-12-20 19:59:00
By Vipin Agnihotri When completed, Reliance Petroleum Limited is going to be Asia?s biggest refinery but at present it is in construction phase. Despite all this, for the last one year, Reliance Petroleum Limited has been one of the most buzzing stocks in the Indian market. It is worth mentioning in this regard that stock of Reliance Petroleum Limited has provided return of more than 200 per cent over the last year. Albeit in the recent past, from its all time high of Rs 295, the stock has fallen by more than 30 per cent. Lots of experts believe that the US oil major Chevron , which presently owns 5 per cent in Reliance Petroleum Limited, may sell its stake. According to sources, Chevron is evaluating all the options available at hand. Not so long ago, Reliance Industries Limited sold as much as 4.01 per cent equity in Reliance Petroleum Limited for an average price of Rs 223, totaling little over Rs 40 billion. Post equity trade, Reliance Industries Limited?s holding in Relia...

Futures trading finally arrives in India
2007-12-20 19:57:00
By Vipin Agnihotri Future trading has finally arrived in India but the need of the hour is stricter control over it. In terms of statistic, the daily turnover at India's three commodity exchanges is more than Rs 15,000 crore. Future trading gives a much-needed cushion to parties to buy or sell a commodity with expectation of a certain price at a future date. However, point to be noted here is that a large chunk of transactions in futures trading are offset prior to maturity by entering into fresh contracts on the basis of prevailing prices. Not only future trading assist the seller in getting a better price but also allows buyers to hedge price risks in commodities like gas, crude oil and agriculture produce. Banned in India till 2003, the Indian government grants permission to futures trading in farm products as part of agriculture sector reforms so that farmers can get better prices. According to experts, future trading was expected to throw up new price trends and more ...
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Red Fort Capital to launch a Rs. 800 crore domestic real estate fund
2007-12-20 19:54:00
By Vipin Agnihotri Red Fort Capital, an international private equity real estate firm, is all set to launch a Rs. 800 crore domestic real estate fund in the starting of 2008. According to sources, it will be targeting high net worth individuals and corporates. Initial indications are that the fund would be used for redevelopment of existing projects, non-FDI projects and acquisition of lands. Parry Singh, Director, Red Fort Capital Advisors addressing a press conference said that the company has brought in Rs. 1,600 crore through the foreign direct investment (FDI) route. Of this, it had so far invested Rs. 1,200 crore in number of projects. At present, the company had decided to invest Rs. 400 crore in Chennai alone over six months. Point to be noted here is that the investment would be across low-to-high end residential and hospitality projects. It is worth mentioning in this regard that Red Fort Capital had begun its routines in Chennai by getting residential 10 acres land at A...
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Videocon, Porsche and Tanishq in news
2007-12-15 22:41:00
By Vipin Agnihotri Videocon transitioning from electronics to exploration Videocon Industries has just taken a step ahead by transitioning from electronics to exploration. According to sources, the company is in the race for acquiring London based Burren Energy, which digs oil in Congo and Turkmenistan. There is a buzz in the Indian media that Videocon has submitted an expression of interest for Burren and believes that Burren?s operation would be of great value and in sync with that of its own. However, Burren of late has discarded quite a few approaches including one from the Italian energy major ENI. Porsche to expand its operations in India The German luxury car maker, Porsche is all set to expand its operations in India. And going forward with it, Porsche recently inaugurated a $ 2 million showroom in Mumbai and intends to open similar showrooms at Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. It also plans to open a facility in Mumbai by 2009. The company hopes to continue i...
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PSU oil marketing firms in India losing 2 billion per day
2007-12-15 22:39:00
By Vipin Agnihotri India , which imports around 70 per cent of its crude oil requirement, is faced with a not so unheard problem. According to sources, the PSU oil-marketing firms are losing about Rs 2 billion per day on retail sales. In my opinion, the main reason behind this is that Indian government has not allowed them to increase prices in line with the increase in international crude oil prices. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the government had in place a three-pronged package, which has an impact on the price hike in petroleum products, meets its burden by present provisioning and alter the existing subsidy scheme to target the poor. Indications are that despite the fact that the mismatches between domestic prices and global oil prices can?t be tackled with the issuance of oil bonds, the government will issue bonds worth Rs 300 billion to compensate PSU oil firms for their losses. According to experts, in February last year the committee on Pricing and Taxati...
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Anil Ambani all set to be the Rupert Murdoch of India
2007-12-12 19:13:00
By Vipin Agnihotri While elder brother Mukesh Ambani is basking in the glory of being crowned the richest man of the world, younger brother, Anil Ambani is not that far behind. As a matter of fact, he is all set to become the Rupert Murdoch of India . In my opinion, media and entertainment has been the object of his affection ever since his 360-degree separation from Mukesh Ambani. Initial signs are that ADA Group is planning to launch Direct to home (DTH) services in India shortly under the brand name Reliance blue magic. In addition, Anil Ambani has also decided to join forces with the Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to foray into the IPTV space. Reliance?s IPTV service shall be powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, which will allow Reliance to deliver completely new, connected and personalized television experiences for the Indian consumers, with number of advanced features. It includes, video on demand, digital video recording, instant channel changing and personal me...

IBM launches new security products
2007-12-12 19:12:00
By Vipin Agnihotri With the emergence of more complex criminal attacks, more collaborative business models and increasingly sophisticated infrastructures, security technologies are undergoing a tough ordeal. Point to be noted here is that present days security technologies are actually insufficient to deal with the new reality of risk. Well, taking into account the dynamics of current situation, IBM has launched a slew of products, services and research breakthroughs to strategically manage risk across all the domains of IT security such as Information Security ; Application Security; Threat and Vulnerability; Physical Security and Identity and Access Management. Most of the experts are of the opinion that the move to focus on a detailed structured approach to dealing with security problems is a pretty clever and much needed move on IBM?s part. According to sources, the first phase of IBM?s new security initiative will address the security issues from the enterprise. It is worth...
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In Pictures: Indian cricket stadiums
2007-12-09 06:22:00
By Vipin Agnihotri In India, everyone loves cricket. As a matter of fact, it?s like religion here. Taking this into account, The India Street decided to give you pictures of some of the famous cricket stadiums in India. Take a look. Eden Garden Cricket Stadium, Kolkata Green Park Stadium, Kanpur Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad Brabourne Cricket Stadium, Mumbai Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad Chennai cricket stadium Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Lucknow KD Singh Babu cricket stadium Suggested Reading: India to Ban Online and Mobile Video - Are you serious? The India Street - Business Transparency: Virtual Cricket Stock ... The India Street - Business Transparency: Cricket- Bollywood link ...
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VIDEO: Emerging Markets India
2007-12-06 20:43:00
I found this clip from Bloomberg on the emerging India which highlights why India is going to be resilient in the face of a US slow down. Wipro's chariman chimes in and gives his opinion that Wipro's business will not be effected.
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Videocon, Larsen & Toubro and Oberoi group in news
2007-12-06 05:21:00
By Vipin Agnihotri Videocon acquires Planet M Videocon, the Indian multinational has acquired Planet M, one of the leading music and entertainment retail chain for Rs 2 billion in order to reap the advantages of its brand image. According to sources, the acquisition has been done by NEXT, Videocon?s retail chain for consumer electronics and home appliances. In my opinion, Videocon is highly ambitious with Planet M, which is a well-known brand amongst the youth. The group plans to increase its turnover by six fold, from about Rs 1.5 billion to about Rs 10 billion and then to Rs 20 billion in the next four years. Larsen & Toubro negotiating with global shipping fleet owners Larsen & Toubro is presently in the process of negotiation with global shipping fleet owners in order to realize its ambition of building ships worth over $ 1 billion. However, this big ambition has come to a halt because of the roadblocks laid by the Tamilnadu government. It is worth mentionin...
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Socio-economic problem affecting business climate of India
2007-12-06 05:19:00
By Vipin Agnihotri The socio-economic problem of India is well affecting the business climate of India at global forums too. It is worth mentioning in this regard that this year, India slipped to 48th position in the World Economic Forum?s Global Competitiveness Index and to 31st position in Business Competitiveness Index. Point to be noted here is that these rankings are largely affected by the socio-economic parameters such as sustainable national prosperity and the political and social context of the nation. Sustainable national prosperity is calculated by taking into account the per capita GDP. In my opinion, intensive usage of technology, its generation and the incidence of technology transfer to India is worth appreciating but the penetration and implementation of the latest technologies are still quite low when you compare it with international standards. No one will argue with the fact that this low penetration had led to low levels of per capita income, which eventual...
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