CA Newsletter Apr 01 Apr 07

7/29/2019 CA Newsletter Apr 01 Apr 07

1/11

1 Pages 01 st APRIL 07t h APRIL 2011 w w w .xedint e l lect.c

BUSI NESS NEW S

ECONOMIC INDICATORS 2 COVER STORY3 PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK 4 BUSINESS NEWS 5-8

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 9 MISCELLANEOUS NEWS 10 GENERAL AWARENESS11

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ECONOM ICINDICATOR

I nd i a t o c reat e 1 . 6

m i l l i on j obs i n

2011 : Su rvey

COVER STORY

MI SCELLANEOUS

NEWS

I n d i a- P ak m a t c h

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v iew e rsh i .

I NTERNATI ONAL

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Mexico f l i es f i rs tp l ane w i t h b i o - f ue l .

XED NEWSLETTER a weekly news bul let in

JAN LOKPAL BI LL: CRUSADI NG AGAI NST CORRUPTI ON


2/11

TOP 10 HEADLI NES OF THE WEEK

1 . I nd i a t o c rea t e 1 . 6 m i l l i on j obs i n 2011 : Su rvey .2 . Am u l i s now a $3 b i l l i on b rand .3 . I nd i a t o becom e g l oba l sp i ce hub soon .4 . I nd i a Cen t ra l bank repo r t : w eak Ch inese Yuan d i sadvan t ages I nd i a .5 . I nd i a -Sr i Lanka f i na l : Be t t i ng c rosses a w hopp ing Rs 50 , 000 c ro re .6 . B rand : Fi lm s t a rs sa f er be t s t han c r i cke t e rs .7 . M ex i co f l i es f i r s t p l ane w i t h b i o - f u e l .8 . T oyo t a se ll s 1 m i l l ion t h P r i us hyb r i d i n US.

9 . I nd i a -Pak m a t ch reco rds h i ghest -eve r v i ew ersh ip .1 0 . I nd i ans am ong m os t vaca t i on dep r i ved : Su rvey .

ECONOMI C I NDI CATORS

HUMA N DEVELOPMENT I NDEX

The index is a combination of threesub-indices covering wealth, health andeducation. According to the UNs annuaHuman Development Index thecountries whose HDI has improved themost since 1980 are mainly in Asia.

China and India have been helped by rapid

GDP growth, but even slower-growingcountries such as Nepal and Bangladesh havefostered human development by makingprogress in health and education. Thecountries where HDI has improved the leastare mainly in Africa, with Zimbabwe at thebottom of the pile.

St ock M arke t I nd i ces as on 07t h Apr 1 1 Valu es

BSE SENSEX 1 9 ,5 9 1

NSE Ni f t y 5 , 885

Cur ren t M arke t Ra t es as on 07t h Apr 1 1 Va lu es

Ru pee / US Do l lar 4 4 .2 2

Ru pee/ Eu r o 6 3 .2 3


3/11

JAN LOKPAL BI LL: CRUSADI NG AGAI NST CORRUPTI ON

Gandh ian s t ands aga ins t co r rup t i on , Na t i on f o l l ows su i t : On 6th April, Anna Hazare and over 100 of hissupporters sat on an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi demanding theinvolvement of civil society in drafting the anti-graft Lokpal bill. The fast was takenup by civil society members when the government did not accept their demand ohaving a joint committee on the bill. The government insists on the drafting of bilby its own committee which comprises of Sharad Pawar who has been involved inland scams in Maharashtra, Veerapa Moily who drafted the weak Lokpal legislationand Kapil Sibal who does not see any corruption in the 2G scam. Participants o

the Jayprakash Narayan movement in the 70s observed a fast in support of socialactivist Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death which has gone on for some days nowAlmost 5,000 people from all walks of life gathered at Jantar Mantar to show theirsupport for Hazare.

Suppor t f r om a l l co rne rs com es pou r i ng : On April 4, the NACs (National Advisory Council) Working Group onTransparency and Accountability met other civil society groups to examine thevarious versions of the Lokpal Bill. One drafted by the government and the other(Jan Lokpal Bill) drafted by Anna Hazare and the civil society activists, with a viewto producing its own draft. Never before in recent history of India, there has beena rally of more than 50,000 people for an apolitical, non-religious purpose. In thememorandum submitted to President Pratibha Singh Patil on February 27 itself, 3million people voiced their support. The Jan Lokpal bill has been drafted by formerUnion Minister Shanti Bhushan, former IPS Kiran Bedi, Justice N. Santosh Hegde,

renowned advocate Prashant Bhushan, former chief election commissioner J. M.Lyngdoh in consultation with the leaders of the India Against Corruptionmovement and the civil society.

Quite contrary to government stance in this case J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah affirmed that his governmentwould consider the amendments to State vigilance Act as suggested by a group of activists. He appreciated that civisociety and volunteers of RTI movement have initiated a new debate of making certain amendments in the StateVigilance Act for making it more effective and vibrant.

B r i n g in g c o r r u p t t o b o o k : Lokpal at centre and Lokayukta at state level will be independent bodies. Anti CorruptionBranch and CBI will be merged into these bodies. All investigations in Lokpal & Lokayukta shallbe transparent. After completion of investigation, all case records shall be open to public. Theywill have power to initiate investigations and prosecution against any officer or politician withoutneeding anyones permission. Investigation should be completed within 1 year and trial to get

over in next 1 year. Within two years, the corrupt should go to jail. At present the penalty is notcommensurate to the amount of corruption. For example, A. Raja has swindled Rs 1.76 lakhcrore. He went to jail and within four months he is out while he has made enough money for fivegenerations. The Jan Lokpal Bill has the provision of recovering money from his property andother assets.

Dra f t t h a t can k i l l g ra f t: The draft bill provides that at least four members of the Lokpal musthave legal background. In order to assure people of integrity are appointed as members of theLokpal, the bill bars appointment of any person who has been charge-sheeted under Preventionof Corruption Act or under Indian Penal Code. The bill proposes Lokpal to receive complaintsunder Prevention of Corruption Act, complaints of misconduct, grievances and complaints from

whistle-blowers. The Lokpal shall also provide protection to whistle blowers. In a major applaudable move Lokpal &Lokayukta will get public grievances resolved in time bound manner, impose a penalty of Rs 250 per day of delay, tobe deducted from the salary of guilty officer and award that amount as

compensation to the aggrieved citizen.

Hazare wants the Lokpal's office to subsume the Chief Vigilance Commision sothat both political leaders and officials come under its ambit as well as thejudiciary. He also wants the Lokpal to have police powers - that is, to not justbe a recommendatory body but an effective office that can file FIRs,Chargesheet the accused and file cases. Hazare and other activists have beendemanding for the Prime Minister's Office to come within the ambit of theLokpal. Members of selection committee for lokpal would include Chief ElectionCommissioner, Comptroller and Auditor General of India and internationalawardees like Nobel Prize winners and Magsaysay awardees of Indian origin.


4/11

PERSONA LI TI ES OF THE WEEK

Na ina La l K idwa i - The Co r po r a te D ivaA prominent personality of the corporate world, she is the first woman to guide thefunctioning of a foreign bank in India. Naina Lal Kidwai comes from a family of highachievers. Her father was the CEO of a leading Indian insurance company; her sisterbecame one of India's top golfers. By the age of 16 Kidwai had decided on a career inbusiness, still a stronghold of male executives at the time.

Break ing the G lass Ce i l i ng : Naina earned an economics degree from Delhi University,

where she was also elected president of the student union and won a college leadershipaward. She then completed a chartered accountancy course before applying to PriceWaterhouse as a trainee in 1977. In 1982 she became the first female from her country toearn an MBA from the prestigious Harvard Business School. In the 1980s India'sinvestment-banking industry was in its infancy, Naina found her own path and within threeyears rose to head Grindlays's western regional operations for investment banking. In 1989she was promoted to head the entire division. At present, she is working as the GroupGeneral Manager and Country Head of HSBC India.

Career: During 1994-2002, she worked at Morgan Stanley as Vice Chairman of JM Morgan Stanley and Head of theInvestment Bank in India. She was instrumental in facilitating the cellular phone services nationwide through a deainvolving the Tatas and Birlas. Her other positions include being a non-executive director on the board of Nestle SA,Chairman, City of London's Advisory Council for India, Global Advisor, Harvard Business School. She is on theGoverning Board of NCAER, Audit Advisory Board of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and on the Nationa

Executive Committee of CII and FICCI. Her interests include microfinance and livelihood creation for rural women andenvironment.

Persona l L i fe : Naina is married to Rashid Kidwai, who runs the NGO, Grassroot Trading Network for Women. She isthe mother of two children, who is maintaining a great balance between work and home. She is very fond of Indianclassical as well as western music. She loves to go on trekking tours to the Himalayas. She is a nature lover, who hasa keen interest in observing the wildlife.

Awards and Recogn i t i ons : In the year 2000, the Fortune magazine declared her as the third most powerfubusinesswoman in Asia. She has repeatedly ranked in the Fortune global list of Top Women in Business, 12th in theWall Street Journal 2006 Global Listing of Women to Watch ad listed by Time Magazines one of their 15 GlobaInfluentials 2002. In 2007, she received the Padma Shri, for her work in the promotion of Trade and Industry.

A r u n d h at i R o y- Pe n i s m i g h t i er t h a n t h e Sw o r dArundhati Roy is an Indian novelist, activist and a world citizen. She was born in Shillong toa Keralite Syrian Christian mother and a Bengali Hindu father. She left Kerala for Delhi atage 16, and embarked on a homeless lifestyle, staying in a small hut with a tin roof withinthe walls of Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla and making living selling empty bottles.

F rom t he Wr i t e r s Desk : She began writing her first novel, The God of Small Things, in1992, completing it in 1996. The publication of The God of Small Things catapultedArundhati to instant international fame. It received the 1997 Booker Prize for Fiction andwas listed as one of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year for 1997. Since winningthe Booker Prize, she has concentrated her writing on political issues. These include theNarmada Dam project, India's Nuclear Weapons, corrupt power company Enron's activitiesin India. She is a figure-head of the anti-globalization/alter-globalization movement and avehement critic of neo-imperialism.

L im e l i gh t : She attracted attention in 1994, when she criticised Shekhar Kapur's film Bandit Queen. In her film reviewtitled, 'The Great Indian Rape Trick', she questioned the right to "restage the rape of a living woman without herpermission," and charged Kapur with exploiting Devi and misrepresenting her life and its meaning.

Cr i t i c i sms: In an interview with Times of India published in August 2008, Arundhati expressed her support for theindependence of Kashmir from India which was criticized by Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party for her remarks.

Ot he r P ro j ec t s : Since the success of her novel, she has been working as a screenplay writer again, writing atelevision serial, The Banyan Tree, and the documentary DAM/AGE: A Film with Arundhati Roy (2002). In early 2007she announced that she would begin work on a second novel. Arundhati was one of the contributors on the book WeAre One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples, released in October 2009. The book explores the culture of peoples aroundthe world, portraying their diversity and the threats to their existence. The returns from the sale of this book go to theindigenous rights organization Survival International.


5/11

BUSI NESS NEWS

1 . I n d ia t o c r ea t e 1 .6 m i l l io n j o b s in 2 0 1 1 : Su r v e y- ET Apr 01For the second successive year, more than one million new jobs will be created in India'sorganized sector in 2011, led by the healthcare sector, but there will be no attractive pay hikesfor those in harness, states a survey on employment opportunities released Thursday. Anothedampening factor is that there will not be any attractive compensation package for freshers asthe wage bill hike across sectors for 2011 is pegged between 8.82 percent and 12 percent, saysthe Ma Foi Randstad Employment Survey.

According to the survey, around 1.6 million new jobs will be created in 2011 on the back ocapacity expansion by companies. As per the survey conducted amongst 650 companies across13 industry sectors in eight major cities, the healthcare sector is expected to create 248,500 new

jobs. Sectors like real estate, hospitality and manufacturing of non-machinery products together would create 223,400new jobs.

2 . A m u l is n ow a $ 3 bi ll io n b ra nd -TNN Apr 02Co-operative dairy giant Amul is now a three billion dollar brand. The Gujarat Co-operativeMilk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets brand Amul has reported a sales turnover ofRs 9,780 crore for the fiscal year 2010-11, a growth of 22 per cent over previous year when ithad registered Rs 8,002 crore annual turnover. Putting together direct sales done by all the 13district dairy unions of Gujarat, which are member unions of GCMMF, sales turnover of brandAmul has touched the Rs 13,500 crore mark - US $ 3 billion.

Amul had achieved the distinction of becoming country's first billion dollar co-operative brand just four years ago in2007. At the same time, sales of Amulspray, which is India's largest selling infant food, has crossed Rs 1,000 croremark turning the infant food into a Rs 1,000 crore brand.

3 . I n d ia t o b ec om e g l ob al sp i ce h u b so o n-BS Apr 04India, the world's leading spice producer, exporter and consumer, is all set to become a hub of global spice trade with

the launch of an international body that would coordinate it. "Process is on to open thehead-office of World Spice Organisation (WSO) at Kochi. It has been registered and wilbe formally launched within three months," Founding Chairman WSO Philip Kuruvilla toldPTI.

Kochi in Kerala is the hub for spice trading in India. The body will not only seek bettersolutions for sustainability of spice production, but would also address the issue of food

safety regulations. A global body that can connect all the spice producing and exporting countries for timely exchange

of information from production to exports to regulation is needed, he added.

4 . I n d i a c b an k r e p o r t : w e a k Ch i n e se y u an d i sa d v an t a g e s I n d i a- Reuters Apr 01A weak Chinese currency erodes the competitiveness of trading partners including India,whose imports from China are growing faster than its exports, a staff study by the Indiancentral bank said on Friday. "By keeping RMB (renminbi) undervalued against the USD anddepreciating it in line with the USD in the international market without taking into account theeconomic fundamentals of China, it invariably and distinctly provides competitive advantageover its trade competitors and trade partners including India," the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)staff study said.

The United States has long called on Beijing to let its currency rise more quickly, accusing it of keeping its exchangerate artificially cheap to give its exporters an unfair advantage. India's central bank chief has said that an artificiallylow yuan hurts India, although Indian officials have generally refrained from criticizing Beijing's currency policy. The

report by the RBI's research department, which does not necessarily reflect the view of the central bank'smanagement, warned against a growing reliance on Chinese imports, which rose to 10.7 percent of all Indian importsin 2009/10 from 7.3 percent five years earlier.

5 . I n d i a- Sr i L an k a f i n a l: B et t i n g c r o s se s a w h o p p i n g Rs 5 0 , 0 0 0 cr o r e -ET Apr 02The underground betting syndicate is in a frenzy over the India-Sri Lanka cricket World Cupfinal here Saturday. A mind-boggling sum of Rs.50,000 crore (over $11 billion) is at stakeon the final showdown, sources said. If the punters are to be believed, India are a cleafavorites at 46 paise against Sri Lanka's Rs. 1.38. In simple parlance, if one bets Re.1 onIndia and it wins, the better gets his rupee back plus 46 paise. For a rupee bet on SrLanka, and it wins, the return would be a whopping Rs.2.38. Among the players, SachinTendulkar is considered the best bet for hitting a half century at 90 paise, but a whoppingRs.5 for a century.


6/11

6 . B r a n d : Fi l m s t a r s s af e r b et s t h a n cr i c k et e r s -ET Apr 05The historic win of Team India against Sri Lanka in the World Cup finals may have catapultedthe Men in Blue to a different level as far as their brand equity goes but they still lack thereliability factor which Bollywood stars offer to brands. The man of the moment, M S Dhoni,who is expected to notch up to Rs 10 crore per annum in ads, and the little master, SachinTendulkar, are the only two safe bets, say experts in the brand endorsementindustry. Captain cool, Dhoni endorses Dabur's Chyawanprash and Dabur Honey.

In Bollywood, Aamir Khan tops the endorsement chart with a Rs 14-crore annual fee followedby Shah Rukh Khan who commands Rs 8-10 crore yearly. The advertising industry prefers filmstars over cricketers

because their stardom surpasses one hit or a flop unlike players whose brand value changes with each tournament. Along-term association with cricketers like Sachin and Dhoni is possible because they have become icons and oneperformance does not impact their brand value.

7 . D h on i h ig h es t i ns u r ed p l ay e r i n I P L- 4-TNN Apr 07Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is the highest earning cricketein the world, is the most heavily insured player for the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL-4) T-20 tournament which begins on April 8. An insurance firm official confirmed that the Indiancaptain, who led CSK to victory in IPL-3, has been insured for Rs 34 crore by the OrientalInsurance Company (OIC) a rise of Rs 24 crore over his insurance cover for IPL 3. CSK haspaid a premium of Rs 16 lakh, which includes travel risk cover, including medical emergenciespersonal accident and loss of baggage.

Incidentally, little master Sachin Tendulkar, who will play for Mukesh Ambanis Mumbai Indians

for the fourth consecutive season, has an insurance cover of only Rs 12 crore. According to a source from theinsurance industry, every insurance company and IPL team have a different methodology of finalizing an insurancepolicy. For example, Ambani has decided to take comprehensive cover for his team, which includes event cancellationcover, workmens compensation, personal accident cover, medical cover and so on, he said.

8 . Fr e e m o b i le m i n u t es co m e in n e w a v at a r - BS Apr 03Telecom companies are no more at open war, trying to cut rates and into each otherssubscriber base. But they have not stopped pampering subscribers with discounted plans andfree minutes. New operators, as usual, are taking the first step. However, these offers are alsoadding value, unlike earlier discounts which caused margin depreciation across the industry.Videocon, the last entrant into the sector, has a new plan called zero paisa per second.The topsix operators together have a market share of 87 per cent, while the rest is divided betweennine smaller ones. Tata Docomo had also launched a plan called Unpaid in partnership with the Future GroupCustomers will be rewarded with free talktime for every purchase above`350 made at any of the Future Group

shopping outlets such as Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Central, Brand Factory, etc.

9 . ESPN ST AR Sp o r t s t h e o t h e r c r i ck e t j a c k p o t w i n n e r -BS Apr 03The 2011 cricket world cup has proved to be a golden goose for ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), withthe telecaster raking in around `800 crore from the tournament. With India winning the cupthe seriescould turn out to be the one of (its) biggest revenue grossers, saidsevaral mediabuyers.

They say with the India-Pakistan semi-final the most viewed on TV in the history of cricket, thebroadcaster got a handful of advertisers who paid heavy premium to board on the final stage of the tournamentDuring the finals, ESS had sold a10-second slot for `23-24 lakh eachto last-minute advertisers. And, it got manysuch, in last-minute deals. These included Nikes bleed blue campaign, Amity Group,Volkswagen, Hero Honda, UshaFansand the trailer of Shah Rukh Khans big-budget release, Ra.One, which is scheduled during Diwali. ESS has paid$1.1 billion ( `4,900 crore) or the exclusive global telecast rights for all International Cricket Council matches between

2007 and 2015.

10 . Fo rd pos t s 97 pc g row t h f o r qua r t e r end ing March , 2011 -ET Apr 01Ford India today reported its strongest-ever growth in year-on-year sales , moving over 1 lakhunits during the 2010-11 financial year, after registering a 97 per cent increase for the quarterending March, 2011. During the January-March, 2011, period, Ford India sold 29,804 units, a 97per cent growth from 15,154 units during the same period of the previous year.

Ford India, which introduced its first compact car, Figo, last year, sold 85,000 units. In March, 10,485 units were sold,compared to 9,478 units in the same month last year, it said. The company recorded over 10,000-plus sales in Marchthis year, the highest figure so far.It sold 10,485 units in March. Ford India currently retails premium SUV Endeavourthe old Fiesta and Figo. It has a manufacturing facility at Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai. The company has 170dealers across India.


7/11

11 . I nd i an bank ing p ro f essi ona l s' dem and g row s 25% i n A f r i ca , UAE-ET Apr 03There is up to 25 per cent rise in demand for Indian banking professionals in the globamarket, especially from Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as firms seek tocash in on their experience, leading human resource firm GlobalHunt has said. There is20-25 per cent increase in demand mainly for functions such as relationshipmanagement, sales and marketing, new product launch, back and front officeoperations and technology support across all levels, he said.

At present, companies in these regions are offering 15-20 per cent hike on theircurrent salaries to these banking professionals. These companies are offering double compensation and professionals

are interested in taking up such assignments for new challenges, exposure, attractive compensation and savingpotential, he added. Meanwhile, in the West Asia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia are keen on hiring bankingprofessionals from India, GlobalHunt has said.

12 . Wor l d Cup 2011 F i na l: A f t e r Wor l d Cup w in , huge w ind f a l l f o r I nd i an c r i cke t p l aye rs -ET Apr 04It's raining crores for the World Cup-winning Indian cricket team whose members will also getresidential plots and Railways too chipped in announcing first AC complimentary lifetimepasses. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took the lead announcing a Rs one croreaward for each player and several state governments followed suit. Coach Gary Kirsten andother support staff will get Rs 50 lakh each as reward for their contribution, while the selectorswill be given Rs 25 lakh each, BCCI President Shashank Manohar said today. Delhi Chief MinisterSheila Dikshit announced a award of Rs two crore for Captain M S Dhoni and Rs one crore eachfor four Delhi players after their historic victory. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhanannounced award of Rs one crore each for Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan, who hail from the

state. Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singhwill be given a cash award of Rs one crore. Jharkhand Government said it would give a plot ofland to Dhoni to set up a cricket academy in the state.

13. I PL 4 : SET Max f i x es HD feed ra t e a t Rs 10 Cr -ET Apr 05SET Max, the official channel for the Indian Premiere League (IPL), is demanding Rs 10 crore for ahigh-definition feed for the tournament's fourth season, two direct to home television serviceproviders said. Senior officials from the two companies, who did not wish to be named, said thebroadcaster's demand was too high and it would have to slash its rate. Sun Direct is the only DTHoperator that has a deal with SET Max for HD feed as it signed a deal last year.

IPL's fourth season, which starts on April 8, will have 74 matches played between 10 teams. ESPNStar Sports (ESS) is said to have demanded Rs 10,000 per subscriber from DTH service providers

for the HD feed, but had to scale it down to Rs 100-150. DTH players ended up paying 3-5 crore for the World Cup

feed.

14 . N i rm a m akes ex i t o f f e r t o res i dua l sha reho lde rs -BS Apr 04Ahmedabad-based FMCG firm Nirma today said it has made an exit offer to the remainingshareholders to tender their shares till March next year following its plans to delist from bourses. Post the offer, the promoter group increased the holding in the company to 90.82 per cent.

The company said the shareholders can tender their shares to the acquirers at the final price of Rs 260 per sharesduring a time period of one year between March 31, 2011 and March 30, 2012. In December, Nirma Ltd hadannounced that it will delist from the bourses. In this regard, it said it would acquire all the 3.63 crore outstandingshares held by public, amounting to 22.83 per cent of the firm's equity capital. At the given price, the total outgo othe company on acquisition of shares held by the public is estimated at over Rs 940 crore.

15 . Ad i t ya B i r l a Group m u l l s s t ake sal e in I dea Ce l l u l ar repo r t- Reuters Apr 05

The controlling shareholder of Idea Cellular, Aditya Birla Group, is mulling a sale of itsstake in the mobile carrier and has held talks with potential bidders including MTN Group,Bloomberg reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Talks between AdityaBirla Group, which owns a 47 percent stake in Idea, and South Africa's MTN are at an earlystage and may not result in a transaction, Bloomberg reported the sources as saying.

Idea's market capitalisation is about $5 billion and Aditya Birla Group's stake is valued atabout $2.35 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Any deal with MTN wouldlikely involve a mix of cash and shares, one of the sources told the agency. A

spokeswoman for the Aditya Birla Group in Mumbai denied that the firm was in talks to sell the stake, while MTNdeclined to comment, Bloomberg reported. Axiata, Malaysia's second-largest mobile phone operator, reported aquarterly loss in February after writing down its investment in India and warned of more challenges ahead ascompetition intensifies.


8/11

1 6 . W i p r o b uy s I T u n i t f o r $ 1 5 0 m n- TNN Apr02IT major Wipro Technologies has acquired the oil and gas information technology practiceof US-based Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for $150 million (aboutRs 670 crore). Its Wipros second biggest acquisition in the IT space, the largest being its$600 mn takeover of Info crossing. SAIC is a $10-billion scientific, engineering andtechnology applications company.

The acquisition will be funded through internal cash resources. The acquisition entails theacquisition of SAICs assets in the US and equity in its UK and Indian subsidiaries. SAICsoil and gas information technology practice has revenues of around $188 million. It is said

to be servicing around six global-500 oil and gas majors. All the 1,450 employees of the acquired division willtransition to Wipro across North America, Europe, India and the Middle East. Around 450 of the employees are basedin India.

1 7 . I n d i a m i n i st r y o b t a i n s st a y o r d e r o n I d e a- Sp i ce d e a l: s o u r ce s- Reuters Apr 01India's telecoms ministry has obtained an order to stay the takeover of a mobile firm by thecountry's sixth-largest mobile carrier Idea Cellular, two sources said on Friday, but Idea said it wiloppose the move. Idea said in a statement on Friday the telecoms ministry had obtained "an exparte order on a merger approved over a year ago," but did not give further details.

A senior official in the telecoms ministry and another source with knowledge of the developmentconfirmed that the telecoms ministry had obtained a stay order from the Delhi High Court againstIdea's takeover of Spice Communications. In 2008, Idea agreed to buy smaller rival Spice in a

three-way deal that also gave Malaysia's Axiata about a fifth of Idea. Under Indian rules, no firm is allowed to own 10

percent or more in two competing companies operating in a zone.

1 8 . Gi t a n j a li t o e x p a n d t h r o u g h f i v e I t a l i an b r a n d s -ET Apr 01In a bid to expand its global footprint, jewellery manufacturer and retailer Gitanjali Group todaysaid it has recently acquired five Italian brands and launched Giantti Italia Srl , the company'sItalian subsidiary with offices in Milan. The five Italian brands acquired by Gitanjali are Valente,Stefan Hafner, Nouvelle Bague, IO Si and Porrati.

"Our choice for the future is, in fact, to keep all design and production in Italy. It is our desireto work with the Italian creators and designers to offer the international markets innovativecollections with a strong stylistic connotation," he said. In addition, he said, Italian jewellery isvery popular in India and Gitanjali Group's range of products are stronger and more diversified.

19 . Vo l kswagen , M ercedes t ak i ng d i s t r i bu t o rs o f M aru t i , M ah ind ra & M ah ind ra -ET Apr 04

Global carmakers such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Nissan and BMW aresnatching away distributors from domestic rivals, including Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra &Mahindra, by offering better margins as they strive to secure prime locations and boossales in the world's fast-growing market after China. New Delhi-based Bhasin Motorswhich sold cars of Mahindra & Mahindra from its swanky showroom in the southextension market for eight years, has recently taken Volkswagen to its fold. The

distributor's four-storey building, which showcased only M&M brands, has been bifurcated into two separateshowrooms to accommodate German carmaker's products.

Mumbai, India's second largest automobile market after Delhi, is also witnessing a change as dealers are shunningtheir long-standing loyalties to traditional brands. In Mumbai, multinational companies own 20% of the totadealership network , according to data provided by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA). TheGerman carmaker is offering margins of up to 5-6 % on sales of new cars as against 3-3 .5% offered by traditionaplayers such as Maruti and Tata Motors. Other players like BMW, Nissan, Audi and Mercedes are also providing bette

incentives than domestic carmakers.

20 . P&G t o se ll Pr i ng l es f o r $1 . 5 B t o D iam ond F oods- ET Apr 06Procter & Gamble will sell its Pringles potato chips business to Diamond Foods Inc for $1.5billion in stock, creating a new snack foods giant and freeing the consumer products company tofocus on cosmetics and healthcare products. P&G will split off the Pringles business and combine itwith Diamond Foods, with P&G shareholders owning 57% of the new company and Diamondstockholders the rest, the companies said. Diamond, known for its Pop Secret popcorns and Kettlechips, will also assume $850 million of Pringles debt. By adding Pringles to its portfolio, Diamondwill more than triple the size of its snack business, and expects net sales of about $1.8 billion in the fiscal year endingJuly 31, 2012, the companies said in a statement. Diamond, which has grown through acquisitions, bought GeneraMills' Pop Secret business for $190 million in September 2008 and some assets of Harmony Foods in May 2006. Itbought potato chips maker Kettle Foods for $615 million in February 2010.


9/11

I NTERNATI ONAL NEW S

21 . M ex i co f l i es f i r s t p l ane w i t h b i o - f ue l -ET Apr 03Mexico has carried out the country's first flight using fuel made from plants in an Airbus A320plane. Domestic carrier Interjet and Airbus carried out the demo flight Saturday, said GilbertoLopez Meyer, Mexico's director of airports and auxiliary services.

One of the two engines powering the aircraft used 30 percent bio-fuel as the A320 plane flewfrom Mexico City International airport to Angel Albino Corzo of Tuxtla Gutierrez airport insouthern Chiapas state, RIA Novosti reported. The fuel was made from a locally grown oil-

producing plant, jatropha. Jatropha is crucial in efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emission and has the potential toreduce the overall carbon dioxide footprint by up to 80 percent over standard aviation kerosene, according to Airbus.

22 . T oyo t a sel l s 1 m i l l i on t h P r i us hyb r i d i n US-msnbc.com Apr 06Toyota Motor Corp., struggling to restart production after a massive earthquake and tsunamistruck Japan, said Wednesday it has sold one million Prius hybrids in the United States. Theautomaker said the Prius has been the top-selling hybrid in the U.S. since it went on sale 11years ago. The Prius is powered by both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. It can getup to 51 miles per gallon in the city and 48 on the highway.

It has become increasingly popular this year as gas prices nationwide have moved toward $4per gallon. Toyota said it has sold more than 2 million Priuses worldwide. The March 11 earthquake in Japan forcedToyota to stop production at most Japanese factories. But the company restarted two plants that make Prius andLexus models on March 28. Moody's Investors Service warned Wednesday it may downgrade its credit rating fo

Toyota due to the financial fallout from suspended car production following the March 11 quake and tsunami.

23 . As Goog le a im s t o com pe t e w i t h T V, w i l l YouTube l ose it s cha rm ? Reuters April 7With Google gearing up to infuse massive amount of money to turn YouTube into acompetition for Television, the popular video sharing website, which has grown into itsrole in the world of internet as a social platform for the users, stands a risk of losing itscharm.

Quoting people familiar with the matter, Wall Street Journal reported April 7 that theGoogle Inc. is working on a major overhaul of YouTube as it tries to position itself for therise of televisions. Competing with broadcast and cable television, Google is aiming to

entice users to stay on YouTube longer, to boost revenue prospects by convincing advertisers on the reach fordesirable consumers. According to the report, YouTube is set to undergo a series of changes. The home page will berevamped to highlight sets of "channels" around topics such as arts and sports. Google is planning to spend as much

as $100 million to commission low-cost content designed exclusively for the Web, sources told WSJ.

2 4 . M i cr o s of t , T o y ot a t e a m u p o n d i g it a l a u t o n e t w o r k-Reuters Apr07Microsoft Corp and Toyota Motor Corp unveiled a plan on Wednesday to work together onbringing Internet-connected services to Toyota's cars across the world. The world's biggestsoftware company and the biggest automaker said they were investing about $12 million (1billion yen) in Toyota Media Service Co, a Toyota unit that handles its digital offerings forcustomers.

Toyota is planning to set up a network based on Microsoft's Azure "cloud computing"platform by 2015, which would allow customers across the world access to Toyota's digital services, such as GPSmultimedia, and managing power on electric and hybrid vehicles. One of the services Toyota is planning will monitoand integrate a person's power usage across the home and car to maximize efficiency, for example by automaticallycharging electric cars when power rates are lowest. The chief advantage for Toyota is that it will be able to offe

Internet-delivered services to customers in all 170 countries it sells in, through the use of one Microsoft cloudplatform, rather than having to set up networks and data centers in each country.

25 . M i croso f t dec l a res w a r on Goog le i n EU an t i - t r u s t com p la i n t -ET Apr 01US computer giant Microsoft today declared war on Internet king Google when it joined officiallyan anti-trust complaint in Europe that could result in billions of dollars in fines. It is the first timeMicrosoft, which was itself hit with eight-figure fines during a decade of Brussels anti-trust actionalong with US chip-maker Intel , has gone public with submissions to European Union inspectorsprobing the online search giant. The move heightens the intensity of the probe against Googlelaunched by EU regulators end November, amid accusations it rigged the search market forconsumers. EU competition watchdogs are investigating whether Google is guilty of "unfavorabletreatment" of rival search services providers and whether the company's own services --

including YouTube video , book-scanning or telephony -- are getting "preferential placement" in consumer queries.


10/11

MI SCELLANEOUS NEW S

2 6 . I n d i a- P ak m a t c h r e co r d s h ig h e st - e v e r v i ew e r s h ip -BS 01 AprThe much-awaited semi-final match of the ICC World Cup between India andPakistan may not have been a thriller but has clocked a record viewership ratingof 11.74, according to overnight television rating agency, aMap. Although mostindustry watchers will wait for the TAM ratings, which most media agenciessubscribe to for a full analysis, media planners said the initial ratings suggest thishas been by far the best encounter not just in this World Cup but in a very longtime.

According to aMap numbers, 67.3 million people watched the match across the official broadcaster of the tournamentESPN Star Sports (ESS) network of channels and state-owned Doordarshan. ESS said the World Cup had so fardelivered 60 per cent more ratings as compared to the 2007 edition, played in the Caribbean. India had exited in thegroup stage then, which led to a huge drop in viewership and left sponsors in complete dismay.

2 7 . I n d i an s a m o n g m o s t v a ca t i o n d e p r iv e d : Su r v e y -ET Apr 05"All work, no play" may be the credo India's young workforce swears by. The youth may beIndia's demographic dividend, but they are also among the most vacation deprived in theworld, a survey said Tuesday. According to a Vacation Deprivation survey, India has emergedas the fourth most vacation deprived country after Japan, the US and Australia.

The study says that on an average, Indians are entitled to 26 annual leave days but are ableto avail of 22 leave days on an average. The survey was carried out amongst service class

professionals at managerial levels and above in 11 countries in 2010, with over 1,000respondents per country. The India survey was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Onthe other hand, in France, which ranks as the world's most holiday-rich nation, the average

employee receives 37.5 annual leave days per year (and takes on an average 34.5 of those days).

28 . Anonym ous Launches DDoS At t ack On Sony - ibtimes.com Apr 06The hacker collective Anonymous has made good on its threat to attack Sony, having launched adistributed denial-of-service attack on Wednesday afternoon. Anonymous launched a DDoSattack on Sony Wednesday, in revenge for the lawsuit the company filed against George Hotz formodifying his PlayStation 3.

The attack is revenge for the legal action taken against another hacker who modified aPlayStation 3. Sony Computer Entertainment America filed suit against George Hotz, also knownas Geohot. Hotz had released a firmware modification that allowed a Sony PlayStation 3 to run other operating

systems. Sony had removed that functionality some months before. The suit is still pending. Anonymous has a Facebook page that references April 16 a a day of some action, though it doesn't say what that might be.

29 . I nd i an eng inee r i ng deg rees m ay be recogn i zed i n 13 coun t r i es soon -ET Apr 01India is slowly but steadily gearing up for full membership of Washington Accord,the exclusive group of 13 countries that recognizes each other's engineeringdegrees. India has put the process on fast track after lying low for nearly two yearsIndia became a provisional member of the accord in 2009.

Early this week two mentors - R Menon Unnikrishnan of California State UniversityFullerton, and Lock Kai Sang of Institution of Engineers, Singapore - on behalf oWashington Accord visited RV Engineering College, Bangalore, to oversee theprocess of accreditation. The two would now give a report to India's National Boardof Accreditation (NBA). Based on their inputs, India would bring about necessary

changes in the guidelines that have to be based on those of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology(ABET), USA. Rajeev Kumar from IIT Kharagpur is not only preparing the accreditation guidelines but also broughthese in sync with the ABET guidelines but added new transparent features like self-assessment by institutes. Theguidelines are now entirely output-based (performance of students, quality of course content, faculty etc.)

30 . Ad i God re j t akes cha rge as I SB cha irm an-BS Apr 02The executive board of the Indian School of Business (ISB) today accepted the resignation ofRajat Gupta, and elected Adi Godrej as the second chairman of the ISB, with immediateeffect. In his new role, Adi Godrej will chair the ISB board. Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, ISB said,Adi has been closely associated with the ISB since its inception. Over the years, he hasprovided valuable guidance towards making ISB one of the largest management institutionsin the world. As the chairman of the Godrej Group, Adi has a strong reputation as a businessleader and is committed to an inclusive India. We welcome Adi as our new chairman.


11/11

I NDI AN DAI RY I NDUSTRY

India is the worlds largest milk producer with the per capita milk availability about 258grams per day. Milk Production in India in 2009 was 108.5 MT and is projected to reach240 MT in 2020. Presently it contributes 12-15 % to the world milk production and it isexpected to increase upto 30-35% by the year 2020. The largest exporter of milk is NewZealand and the largest importer is Japan. Indias dairy market is classified intoorganised and unorganized sector. 88% share of the total milk production is commandedby the unorganized sector - which specializes in selling sub-standard, unpasteurized milkmore often than not adulterated with harmful chemicals. In the organised dairy industry,

the cooperative milk processors have a 60% market share. The cooperative dairiesprocess 90% of the collected milk as liquid milk whereas the private dairies process andsell only 20% of the milk collected as liquid milk and 80% for other dairy products with afocus on value-added products.

Opera t ion Flood Era: Dairy sector witnessed a spectacular growth between1971-1996 popularly known as OperationFlood era. An integrated cooperative dairy development programme was implementedin three phases. The National Dairy Development Board was designated by theGovernment of India as the implementing agency. It provided an assured market roundthe year to the rural milk producers and established linkage between rural milkproduction and urban market through modern technology and professionamanagement. Milk production grew from 21 million tonnes in 1970 to nearly 69 milliontonnes in 1996 - more than threefold, at the compound growth rate of 4.5 per centSome ten million farmers were enrolled as members in about 73000 milk cooperative

societies. Dr.Verghese Kurien was the visionary and architect of this white revolution.

Role o f coopera t i ves: Cooperatives allow for much easier marketing of the endproduct as compared to other businesses. Cooperatives assure the farmer of not only amarket for their product but also take care of logistical issues like transportation and

containers. The farmer is spared these costs as well as the cost of putting up a retail outlet. They also allow for stableselling rate which does not change even when the yield is surplus. Payments are guaranteed to milk producers andensured within a maximum of 30 days.

Cons t ra i n t s o f t he da i r y i ndus t r y:Inadequate management of feeding herd and lack of quality control in various stageof production can cause major loss affecting the profitability of the entire venture.There is a propensity amongst farmers to take cash crops and value-added crops asfodders given to livestock instead of going for fodder cultivation in their own land.There is also a need to set up schemes for diversification and preparation of valueadded milk products at the production centers instead of sending raw milk over longdistances. This incurs high cost on transportation and erodes profitability.

M il k m a r k e t i n g: Government should provide parity between the price of cow milkand buffalo milk purchased from the farmers. It should encourage local sale of

liquid milk instead of sending all the surplus milk to distant places. The methods of appraisasanction and disbursements of dairy loans need to be improved, particularly by the cooperativeBanks. Banks should also diversify and provide loans for all activities of dairy industryparticularly for breeding of animals and processing and marketing of milk and milk products.

A m u l :Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) owned Amul, is the largest foodbrand in India and world's Largest Pouched Milk Brand with an annual turnover of US$1700 million in 200910. Dr Verghese Kurien, former chairman of the GCMMF, is recognised asa key person behind the success of Amul. The Amul Model is a three-tier cooperative structureThis structure consists of a Dairy Cooperative Society at the village level affiliated to a MilkUnion at the District level which in turn is further federated into a Milk Federation at the Statelevel. The above three-tier structure was set-up in order to delegate the various functions. Milkcollection is done at the Village Dairy Society, Milk Procurement & Processing at the District MilkUnion and Milk & Milk Products Marketing at the State Milk Federation. Currently Unions making

up GCMMF have 2.9 million producer members with milk collection average of 9.10 million liters per day. In August2007, Amul introduced Kool Koko, a chocolate milk brand extending its product offering in the milk products segment.Other Amul brands are Amul Kool, a low calorie thirst quenching drink; Masti Butter Milk; Kool Cafe, ready to drinkcoffee and India's first sports drink Stamina. Amul's sugar-free Pro-Biotic Ice-cream won The International DairyFederation Marketing Award for 2007.

CA Newsletter Apr 01 Apr 07

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