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33rd Issue For B Capsule
33rd Issue For B Capsule
33nd Issue The Editorial Date: 15th July, 2012 By Ashwin Kumar Governments looking ahead of privatising diesel will once again flame number of such issues from social to economical grounds, also Delhi governments initiative to privatize the water supply system brings into light the inefficiencies of the new governance which is running with old practises. Also wrong reforms and much depreciated rupee value signifys whether Mr.P M is an underachiever or not? NEWS FOR USE Economy News By Ashwin Kumar
India can grow by 8-9% with reforms' India has the potential to grow at 8-9 per cent over the next 5-10 years by focusing on its intrinsic strengths and taking the Opposition on board to push economic reforms, said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong here on Thursday. "India would be able to grow not just at seven per cent, but 8-9 per cent for another 5-10 years easily, because the potential is there, human capabilities are there," Lee said at a symposium here. Hailing India's efforts since economic liberalisation in 1991, he said the country needs to capitalise on its large human capital and build on the success in the information technology sector. India will have to improve investment climate to attract foreign investments, Lee said, indirectly referring to the implementation the General AntiAvoidance Tax Rules (GAAR), which was in the midst of controversy recently. Global industry associations and investors have expressed apprehensions over India's business environment following the announcement of GAAR. The introduction of retrospective tax as in the case of Vodafone has also added to the uncertainty among overseas investors. Mauritius assures India to relook at tax treaties Amid concerns about Mauritius being used as a route for evasion of taxes, India on Thursday got an assurance from the country that it would have a re-look over various aspects related to tax treaties, like DTAA. "If there is room for improvement, we will constantly make room for improvement, of course, in respect and in compliance with the best international practices," Mauritius Foreign Minister Arvin Boolell told reporters here when asked about India's demands for reworking the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). During talks with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Thursday, Boolell also underlined the importance of Mauritius as a springboard for investments by Indian entrepreneurs to Africa. Boolell also called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is scheduled to meet Commerce Minister Anand Sharma tomorrow. India-Mauritius tax treaty provides that capital gains arising in India from investments in the country from the island nation can only be taxed in Mauritius. E-commerce may grow 50% this year' Driven by sustained growth of the online travel booking industry and new business models for insurance and mutual funds sectors, the domestic e-commerce market is poised to clip at over 50 per cent this year, according to an industry data aggregator. We do expect over 50 percent growth in this calendar year depending on certain sectors. The online travel booking segment will be the major contributor to this growth, First Data Corporation vice-president and country manager Mr Amrish Rau told PTI here. The total market size of the industry stood at Rs 46,520 last year, a massive jump from Rs 81.47 billion in 2007, he said. The online travel industry comprising rail and air ticket bookings, etc cornered 81 percent of the market share at Rs 378.90 billion last year, he added. Besides, the e-payments system is also expanding in the mutual funds and insurance segments, apart from the public sector space, with government bodies increasingly adopting this route for both accepting and making payments, he said. Cloud market nearing US$1 billion in India The overall Indian market for cloud-- both public & private -- has grown steadily to reach US$ 860 912 million in calendar year 2011, according to market advisory firm Zinnov Management Consulting. The 'Public Cloud Opportunity in India' study released today highlighted that the public cloud market comprises 20-22 per cent of the share, while the remaining 78-80 per cent is accounted for by private cloud. The public cloud market has rapidly evolved in the last two years in India with significant traction across SaaS, PaaS & IaaS (software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as a service), the study said. With the current market of US$ 160192 million in 2011, public cloud in India is at a very nascent state of the market and may not have hit the inflection point yet, indicating significant future potential. SaaS market in India is largely dominated by email, collaboration tools, CRM/ ERP and stood at US$ 123-143 million for 2011. The SaaS market has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46 per cent from US$ 56-67 million in 2009 until 2011. The PaaS market in India is at US$ 1.5-2.5 million in 2011, having grown at a CAGR of 75 per cent from US$ 0.5-1.5 million 2009.. India's unemployment rate stood at 3.8% last fiscal India's jobless rate stood at 3.8 per cent during the last fiscal, with Daman and Diu and Gujarat topping the list of least unemployed among states and UTs."Our unemployment level is much better than that of other countries like US, Spain and South Africa," DirectorGeneral of Labour Bureau D S Kolmakar told reporters here today. The latest report for the year 2011-12, released by Labour Bureau (under Union Ministry of Labour and Employment) here said Daman and Diu and Gujarat had unemployment rates of 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan stood at 3rd and 4th position in the list.As for Punjab, its fiscal position may be "worrisome" but it peformed better in providing employment than states like Haryana, Delhi and Maharashtra during last
Corporate News
Violation of FDI policy: HC notice to Centre, pvt firms The Delhi High Court today sought replies of the Centre, Bharti Walmart Private Limited and Bharti Retail Limited on a plea for a probe against the firms for allegedly carrying out retail trading in multi-brand sector in violation of India's existing FDI policy. A bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Anil Kumar, who demitted office today, issued notices to the Centre and the firms on a public interst litigation (PIL) petition, filed by scientist and environmental activist Vandana Shiva. The PIL alleged Bharti Walmart was illegally carrying out multi-brand retail trade despite being permitted only to carry out wholesale cash-and-carry trade here. Infosys Q1 net rises 32.92% Country's second largest software firm Infosys today reported a 32.92 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 22.89 billion for the first quarter ended June 30, 2012. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 17.22 billion for the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal (2011-12), Infosys said in a filing to the BSE. Reacting to the results, the scrip of Infosys tumbled 9.42 per cent to Rs 2,233.95 at the BSE from its previous close since it failed to meet its dollar revenue guidance and also cut its dollar forecast for FY 2013. The company's revenues up 28.47 per cent to Rs 96.16 billion in the first quarter from Rs 74.85 billion in the year-ago period. FinMin dismisses Vodafone plea Dismissing Vodafone's contention in the Rs 200 billion tax case, the Finance Ministry has prepared a reply to the company's rejoinder which would be sent after approval of the Prime Minister. "We did not agree with Vodafone ... The Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on Vodafone has prepared reply of Vodafone's rejoinder. The reply will be sent to the Prime Minister's Office first. After approval of the PMO, it will be sent to Vodafone," a senior official said after the meeting of IMG. The government had earlier formed the IMG to look into the arbitration notice send by the telecom major under the India-Netherlands bilateral investment protection agreement (BIPA). The government has already replied to the initial notice arguing that tax matters are not covered under the BIPA.
Going places
How Volvo changed the way Indians travel
Executive Summary: In 2001, Volvo Buses India sold 20 coaches. By December 2011, 5,000 of them were running on Indian roads. Volvo did not achieve this by toning down its products or cutting prices as multinational companies often do. It developed the market and waited for it to mature. Volvo now has 76 per cent of the Indian luxury bus market. The company changed the way Indians travel. Now, as the competition closes in, it is preparing to launch products that could transform the market - again. A decade ago, buses were more or less a by-product of trucks. They were built on truck chassis. Body builders bought chassis primarily from Telco (now Tata Motors) and Ashok Leyland. The difference between city and inter-city buses, or regular and 'deluxe' ones, was
The changing economic landscape strengthened his resolve. The company approached private operators who ran inter-city 'deluxe' buses and could price tickets higher. Volvo refused to compromise on product specifications . Passey points out that inter-city buses are 12 metres long everywhere in the world.
Volvo departed from the industry norm by offering service support for the entire bus, and not just parts"
But in India, bus length was capped at 11 metres. "We got the regulation changed," says Passey. It was a good thing Volvo had a wide range of products. "All I had to do was choose the one best suited for India," he adds. "I did not choose the most sophisticated, because operators were used to frontengine buses, very little suspension and ordinary brakes." To persuade operators that Volvos were profitable, the sales team drew up a lifecycle cost comparison. Volvos had a few more seats than others - a disadvantage in the early 2000s, when states taxed operators per seat. But the biggest advantage was that they could run for 22 hours without maintenance. Operators were concerned whether Volvo would provide maintenance centres every 25 km, as was the usual practice. Passey says: "We told them you don't need that with a Volvo. We'll give you one every 400 km." Volvo also departed from the norm by offering service support for the entire bus, and not just individual parts. With maintenance hassles reduced, operators could focus on routes. For example, Mumbai-based Neeta Tours and Travels, which had 20 Volvos in 2004, figured it could serve seven destinations. A bus could leave Ahmedabad at 10 p.m., reach Mumbai at 6 a.m., then go to Pune and back, and then head back to Ahmedabad at 10 p.m. Operators could also focus on sprucing up service with hot towels and entertainment. This also meant they could raise ticket prices by as much as Rs 100 on some routes. Phanindra Sama, founder and CEO of redBus, a portal that sells bus tickets, says, "The Volvo phenomenon coincided with higher per capita income, more awareness about luxury, and increasing migration to cities from Tier-II and Tier-III towns." As Volvos could run farther than buses used till then, routes such as the 1,000-km Bangalore-Mumbai run became popular. Being faster, they could depart later than a deluxe coach, yet arrive at the same time.
Volvo also reached out to not only operators, but also other stakeholders. It ran commercials in film theatres. Before launching the B7R in 2001, it sought driver and passenger feedback. "We realised we wouldn't sell much if we sold merely the product," says Passey. "We had to sell the concept of luxury bus travel." Eventually, state bus companies not only bought Volvos but also built brands around them: Garuda in Andhra Pradesh, Shivneri in Maharashtra, Airawat in Karnataka. The development of expressways such as the Mumbai-Pune one helped things along. Volvo became a ticket brand - something no other commercial vehicle has achieved anywhere in the world - as passengers asked for Volvo tickets, rather than an operator or a route. More case studies As with the inter-city coach, the success of the city bus was gradual. In January 2006, Volvo sold its first city bus to the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Volvos now ply in 13 cities.
Volvo hopes to make second-tier city connections viable, as traffi c is set to grow in this segment
The company is again looking to change the market, especially with rivals such as Mercedes-Benz and Tata Motors tail-gating it. Its 14.5-m inter-city bus is the longest in India, with more space for passengers and luggage. Its 14.5m multi-axle city bus is being pitched as a solution for urban traffic congestion. With the 9,100 medium-haul bus (for distances of 300 to 400 km), Volvo hopes to make second-tier city connections viable, as traffic is set to grow in this segment. This move - changing the market when the competition closes in - is possible because of a previous strategic step. In 2008, Volvo started manufacturing buses near Bangalore. It makes 1,100 buses a year, and hopes to raise production to 2,500 by 2013/14. Sama of red-Bus says: "The fact that Volvo manufactures its own buses works to its advantage. Mercedes still depends on its body maker, Sutlej." Would any other bus company, had it entered India in 2001, have done as well as Volvo? Perhaps, if its product range was comparable, and if it were patient enough to develop the market. After all, one of the crucial factors in Volvo's success in India is that it has invested in changing the circumstances.
EXPERTS SPEAK
To fare better in the transport market, Volvo should offer a systemic solution: Geetam Tiwari
'THINK BEYOND BUSES' Local manufacturers did not upgrade bus technology almost until 2004, because there was no demand for a better product. Given this environment, Volvo's strategy of bringing state-of-the-art products and creating a market for long-distance luxury travel has been commendable. Higher disposable incomes and other changes in the economic landscape have certainly contributed to the success of inter-city travel driven by Volvo. But it was also because local manufacturers could not create this market successfully. {quote}Urban public transport remains a challenge because it requires not just state-of-the-art buses, but also state-ofthe-art roads designed for public transport. This means creating central lanes for buses, stops for level boarding, passenger information systems, and making streets safe for pedestrians (because every public transport user is a pedestrian at the beginning and end of the journey). Also, money cannot be recovered from fares alone. There is need for thought on financing public transport systems. To fare better in the urban transport market, Volvo should offer a systemic solution, not just buses. It could form a consortium of planners, operators, and IT service providers and offer comprehensive solutions supported by local or state governments. As the urban population is going to double in 25 years - about 600 million people by 2040 - the urban transport market will grow and could attract more investment. Growing environmental concerns and easy availability of information technology will fuel this growth. So demand for good
Volvo's success lies in converting its belief that there was a market for luxury travel in India into a value proposition: Abdul Majeed
'FILLING IN THE QUALITY VOID' The bus industry in India started with a focus on public transport, especially to cater to the common man. There were quality issues, but no one really cared. Things began to change with liberalisation, as more people began to move from the middle class to the upper middle class and above. They sought better quality travel. You needed to book months in advance for trains, and air travel did not suit them. They were willing to pay a premium for bus transport, but no such service was available barring a few air-conditioned buses. {quote}Volvo was first to spot this opportunity. It firmly believed there was a market for luxury bus transport in India, for which commuters would pay a premium. Volvo's success lies in converting this belief into a value proposition. Its buses were many times costlier, and the operators needed to charge higher fares to make money. A comfortable journey that reduces travel time by a few hours was what Volvo bus operators offered to justify the premium fares, and people bought into it. The rest is history. What Volvo has demonstrated is that though Indians are traditionally cost conscious, there is a growing crop of customers who demand quality. As road infrastructure improves and people get richer, the luxury bus segment, especially for inter-city travel, will grow faster and larger. We are far away from a bullet train era, and the poor state of the railways would only catalyse this shift. Volvo's success has triggered the entry of more players into the luxury segment. The Swedish company is best placed to take advantage of this transformation, as luxury bus travel in the country has become synonymous with Volvo. Abdul Majeed, Partner and Leader - Automotive, PwC
Business Icon By Namita Katariya
NOEL TATA
NoelTata added another interesting chapter to Ratan Tata has resigned as the Managing International as a non-executive Vicehandles the group's overseas trade. Tata Chairman B Muthuraman. Noel will also another newly-created position. Earlier he was Corp. Ltd, a listed investment firm that has a taken over from N A Soonawala, a trusted
the Tata Group's succession story. The half-brother of Director of retail firm Trent, and joined Tata Chairman, appointed MD of Tata International, which International did not have anMDso far and was led by continue to be Trent's non-executive Vice- Chairman, appointed non-executive Chairman of Tata Investment substantial holding in Tata Group companies. He had lieutenant of RatanTata.
Born in 1957, Noel is the son of Naval and SimoneTata. He is married to Pallonji Shapoorji Mistrys daughter, Aloo. Pallonji is a construction tycoon. He also benefits from his 18.5%stake (as last published) inTata Sons which is the holding company of the Tata conglomerate. Noel Tata is an influential figure in one of India's largest business conglomerates, the Tata Group. After beginning his career at Tata International, the group's arm for the products and services it offered abroad, Tata joined Trent, Tata Group's retail arm, of which he became Managing Director in 1999. Praised as an intelligent and candid businessperson, Tata earned his reputation largely by developing Trent's department store,Westside, from a single unprofitable shop to a chain of fourteen highly successful outlets. Trent operates lifestyle chain Westside, one of Indias largest and fastest
Vodafone is the largest mobile telecommunications network company (as measured by turnover) and has a market value of about 86 billion. It is headquartered in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It currently has operations in 31 countries and partner networks in further 40 countries. As of January 2009, Vodafone had 427 million customers in 31 markets worldwide. In terms of customers, therefore, only China Mobile is larger. The largest mobile telecommunications network in the world, Vodafone, was founded in 1984 as Racal Telecom Ltd, which was a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc. Racal was a British radar and electronics firm founded in 1950. Vodafone made UKs first mobile call a few minutes past midnight on January 1, 1985 from St. Katherines Dock to Newbury. In 1987 Vodafone was recognized as the largest mobile network of the world, the very same year Vodata was created as the voice and data business to market Vodafones voice and mail service. In 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics Plc, to become an independent company as Vodafone Group Plc. The name Vodafone originates from Voice Data Fone, which reflects provisions of voice and data over mobile phones. The story about the worlds largest telecommunications giant has been nothing short of phenomenal, with head quarters in United Kingdom, and interests in Europe and United States of America Vodafone Group, has marked an astonishing achievement in the cellular business, with its major acquisition strategies and takeovers. The Groups subsidiaries operate under the brand name Vodafone. Vodafone currently has operations in 25 countries and partnering networks in another 45 countries. Vodafones business unit is enabling the worlds leading multinational companies to develop and control their entire mobile communications networks. During the mid 1990s Vodafone began to consolidate itself on the British high-street. In July 1996 Vodafone acquired two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for 30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples Phone for 77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using Vodafone's network.
Saturday, 14 July 2012 Sensex: 17,214 (1.8%) 11.4 Nifty: 5,227 (1.7%) 13.0
Market Outlook Our markets were down ~1.8% for the week, reflecting weak global cues US markets were down 1.5%. IIP data for May 2012 came in better-than expected at 2.4% (above market expectations of ~1.8%), showing improvement across various sectors - manufacturing, mining, and electricity. Infosys disappointed the street with lower-than-expected results and a sharp reduction in guidance (to 5% from 8-10% for FY13E). TCS, on the other hand, reported results slightly above the streets expectations and also painted a positive outlook. Going ahead, action on government policy reform especially in terms of increasing diesel prices immediately post the domestic Presidential elections and progress on resolution of the various power sector issues bailout of discoms, power tariff hikes, increasing domestic availability of coal would set the direction of the market. Markets are likely to be in a wait and watch mode next week. There would be stock specific action based on results performance in terms of expectation and management guidance. Major auto and bank companies would report results next week. Top Corporate News during the week 1. TCS Q1 slightly above estimates; Management commentary is quite confident and positive on deal pipeline and outlook for FY13; Outperform on relative basis. During Q1FY13, TCSs top line registered an impressive growth of 12.1% to Rs. 148.69 bn from Rs. 132.59 bn on sequential basis and 37.7% on YoY basis. In dollar terms, revenue grew at a healthy pace of 3.0% to $2.73 bn on QoQ basis. The company witnessed a good volume growth of 5.3% and witnessed a healthy traction across all the verticals, except Energy. On geographical wise, UK and US led the growth by 15.2% and 3.2% respectively, whereas India contradicted by 13.9% on QoQ basis. EBITDA improved by 10.2% to Rs. 43.23 bn from Rs. 39.24 bn on QoQ basis, with margin slip of only 52 bps to 29.1% despite wage hike. PAT increased by 14.6% to 33.17 bn. On overall basis, the results were marginally ahead of street estimates. More importantly, the management commentary on outlook and pipeline were quite confident and maintained hiring guidance of 50k employees for FY13E, which further confirmed the managements confidence on the environment and this would keep TCS as bellwether in IT space. We believe that TCS would continue to command premium over the peers (~30% premium now) and continue to outperform on relative basis. 2. Infosys Q1 below estimates; Magnitude of $ revenue guidance for full year came as huge negative surprise; Underperform in the short term. During Q1FY13, Infosys top line grew by 8.6% to Rs. 96.16 bn from Rs. 88.52 bn on sequential basis, thanks to rupee depreciation of 9.7%. On dollar terms, it decreased by 1.2% from $1.75 bn to $1.77 bn. On Vertical wise, Manufacturing (2.2%) and Retail (5.9%) led the growth, whereas BFSI remained soft (-1%) and Energy Utilities (-25.4%) witnessed client specific ramp down of (~$15 mn). On geographical mix, Europe declined by ~8% because of client ramp down. On services wise, Run the Business (RTB) side of services such as BPO and IMS showed an impressive growth of 5.4% and 5.4%, whereas Change The Business (CTB Discretionary in nature) such as Consulting declined by ~5% (QoQ basis). EBITDA increased by 6% to Rs.32.43bn from 30.59 bn. EBITDA Margin declined by 83 bps to 33.7% due to service mix change and 3.8% price reduction. PAT decreased by 1.2% to Rs.22.89 bn from Rs. 23.16 bn. (QoQ basis). On a positive side, volume growth continued to remain positive ~3% in Q1FY13. Predominately, Guidance reduction (to 5% from 810% for FY13E) was due to price reduction and cross currency fluctuations but volume assumption remained almost same around 9.5%. The results are below street estimates on dollar front and magnitude of guidance reduction came as negative surprise. We
By Puneet Arora
GK QUESTION
Sathya Sai Baba, one of India's most influential spiritual leaders expired on 24 April 2011 in his home town in Andhra Pradesh. Name his hometown. a. Warangal b. Puttaparthi c. Mahabubnagar d. Vepagunta
According to reports of Freedom House published on 23 April 2011 what was Indias ranking among 37 countries that were assessed on the basis of free and unrestricted access to the web? a. 10th b. 14th c. 25th d. 28th
Which one of the following became the first Indian state to set up Agriculture Cabinet? a. Bihar b. Uttar Pradesh c. Haryana d. Punjab
Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) has identified twenty-five ecologically sensitive areas in which one of the following states? a. Kerala b. Goa c. Maharashtra d. Karnataka
The National Advisory Council (NAC) finalised a draft bill named the draft prevention of communal and targeted violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill to tackle communal violence including attacks SC and ST members and religious and linguistic minorities. Who is the Chairperson of NAC? a. Sonia Gandhi b. Manmohan Singh c. Suresh Kalmadi d. Rahul Gandhi 7. Sally Pearson, the world 100m hurdles champion, was named the Female World Athlete of the year for 2011 by the IAAF. To which country does she belong? 1) Australia 2) New Zealand 3) U.K. 4) U.S.A. 8. The term Bull's eye is associated with which of the following sports? 1) Badminton 2) Boxing. 3) Shooting 4) Cricket 9.Which of the following program-mes was launched by the govern-ment to develop rural infrastruct-ure in India? 1) SHGs 2) Bharat Nirman 3) JNNURM 4) IAY 10. Which of the following is not the name of a foreign bank? 1) BNP Paribas 2) Deutsche Bank
Sporadic : occurring at irregular intervals SYN: occasional, intermittent ANT: frequent, steady He kept breaking into fits of sporadic anger.
Ferocious : savagely fierce, violent STN: brutal, cruel ANT: gentle, mild The ferocious midday sun wore the travelers out.
Coherent : logical and consistent SYN: reasonable, rational ANT: incoherent, muddled They failed to develop a coherent economic strategy.
Apprise : inform or tell SYN: notify, intimate AYN: confuse, obfuscate We must apprise them of the dangers that may be involved. Editor in chief Ashwin Kumar Dwivedi Sourceswww.yahoo.finance.com , www.rediff.business.com, www.wikipedia.com, www.businesstoday.com www.indiabiznews.com,www.moneycontrol.com , The economics times, Business standard, economist. Editorial Team- AshwinKumar Dwivedi , Namita Katariya , Puneet Arora , Payal Ahuja, Nandish ,Mani Dubey , Girish Kumar Mishra
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