The moment of the year 2007 for me was the evocative scene in Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par where the young protagonist defies all the odds and walks up shyly to receive an art prize, thereby demonstrating that every social and intellectual shortcoming can be overcome through genuine appreciation of potential.
So too, leaders in organizations can build stars if they are able to look beyond the appeal of ordinary success in pre-defined criteria such as a management degree from the right school, perfect articulation, polished dress sense etc. This may mean nurturing the stellar young woman returning after a career break to have children, offering tailor-made opportunities to those with specific handicaps such as blindness or being wheelchair bound, or identifying those who for reasons of financial difficulty, may not have benefited from the final polish of the top business schools.
Indeed, modern organisations can no longer afford to overlook the capabilities of those historically run over by the rat race. Recent studies by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), whose developed country members have of late suffered from declining productivity and ageing, shrinking populations, underscore this fact. Countries that have adopted women and family-friendly work practices including flexible working, such as Norway and Finland, have shown remarkable improvements in both business productivity and birth rate, as women find balancing career progression with child-rearing more manageable. On the other hand, Italy, with its traditional domestic values and macho corporate environment, has witnessed declines in both.
In the knowledge sector in our country, a lot is being to done to correct the gender imbalance that normally pervades all organisations in the corporate sector.
However, one identified factor that can come in the way of sustained growth is the availability of manpower of the right quality and numbers – the perennial refrain of poor quality of engineers and other technical graduates is not going to disappear and industry chieftains need to explore other avenues to find the talent they need to fuel growth of both the IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors. Early experiments by progressive organisations like Satyam through their rural empowerment programme and the Thermax-Zensar-Forbes Marshall connsortium supported by Dr Reddy's Foundation have focused on creating employability for urban slum children and demonstrated that the talent that exists at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid can be tapped for individual and business benefits.
There is no doubt that a greater degree of effort is required to make worthy knowledge workers out of the weaker segments of society but the results can make this effort truly worthwhile, not just through the satisfaction that each success story can bring but also by the sheer scale of new employment that is feasible if one looks beyond the traditional talent pools for future resources. Can we overcome our very own brand of corporate dyslexia and put new meaning into the lives of millions of our countrymen?
Ganesh Natrajan
Deputy Chairman & MD, Zensar Technologies
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Adnoc vows to protect environment
Adnoc vows to protect environment
posted on 31/12/2007
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has pledged to protect the environment by putting in place internal standards that push the company to decrease its impact on the earth. The government-controlled company, one of the largest oil producers in the world, made the commitment at the Arab Corporate Environmental Responsibility Summit organised by the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency and other local and international organisations.
"Adnoc and its group of companies are fully committed to environmental protection through a set of laws, corporate policies and codes of conduct,” said Ali Rashid Al Jarwan, general manager, ADMA-OPCO. He said leadership, commitment, policies, laws, management systems and corporate social responsibility form a strong bond that helps the group to shoulder its environmental responsibility. "We use the latest environmental management systems to ensure continuous improvement,” he said, adding that one of the major achievements of the group is the success made towards achieving a zero-flaring goal through upgrading facilities.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency has urged all businesses in the emirate to live up to their promises concerning the environment and to take preventative measures to protect the earth. The agency said the Arab Environment Ministers Council has approved last month's Abu Dhabi Declaration on Corporate Responsibility and Cleaner Production, which called for the private sector to support environmental protection efforts.
More than 120 chief executives, representing major business sectors from the Arab world, attended the summit and made commitments to take responsibility for the environmental costs associated with their businesses and to work towards green alternatives. "The protection of the environment is the responsibility of all business sectors. They have to contribute to environmental protection efforts and need to invest towards this,” Majid Al Mansouri, secretary-general of the Environment Agency, told Emirates Business.
In order to achieve this goal, he said, the agency is working with different sectors to implement an Environment, Health and Safety policy and the Environment, Health and Safety Management System at the emirate level so that sustainable development is integrated into every step of corporate strategies. "Financial achievement should not be the only goal of companies. Their corporate responsibilities should include environmental protection and social development. The environment, health and safety management must be considered in any new project,” Al Mansouri said. (Emirates Business 24|7)
posted on 31/12/2007
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has pledged to protect the environment by putting in place internal standards that push the company to decrease its impact on the earth. The government-controlled company, one of the largest oil producers in the world, made the commitment at the Arab Corporate Environmental Responsibility Summit organised by the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency and other local and international organisations.
"Adnoc and its group of companies are fully committed to environmental protection through a set of laws, corporate policies and codes of conduct,” said Ali Rashid Al Jarwan, general manager, ADMA-OPCO. He said leadership, commitment, policies, laws, management systems and corporate social responsibility form a strong bond that helps the group to shoulder its environmental responsibility. "We use the latest environmental management systems to ensure continuous improvement,” he said, adding that one of the major achievements of the group is the success made towards achieving a zero-flaring goal through upgrading facilities.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency has urged all businesses in the emirate to live up to their promises concerning the environment and to take preventative measures to protect the earth. The agency said the Arab Environment Ministers Council has approved last month's Abu Dhabi Declaration on Corporate Responsibility and Cleaner Production, which called for the private sector to support environmental protection efforts.
More than 120 chief executives, representing major business sectors from the Arab world, attended the summit and made commitments to take responsibility for the environmental costs associated with their businesses and to work towards green alternatives. "The protection of the environment is the responsibility of all business sectors. They have to contribute to environmental protection efforts and need to invest towards this,” Majid Al Mansouri, secretary-general of the Environment Agency, told Emirates Business.
In order to achieve this goal, he said, the agency is working with different sectors to implement an Environment, Health and Safety policy and the Environment, Health and Safety Management System at the emirate level so that sustainable development is integrated into every step of corporate strategies. "Financial achievement should not be the only goal of companies. Their corporate responsibilities should include environmental protection and social development. The environment, health and safety management must be considered in any new project,” Al Mansouri said. (Emirates Business 24|7)
IPIC awards 460 million dollars contract
IPIC awards 460 million dollars contract
posted on 02/01/2008 - Emirates News Agency, WAM
International Investment Company IPIC said Monday it awarded contracts worth 460 million dollars to three companies to supply pipes for a domestic crude oil export pipeline linking Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. IPIC, an Abu Dhabi government investment firm, split the contract for a total of 225 thousand tons of coated steel pipes between Sumitomo of Japan, Salzgitter Mannesmann International of Germany and Jindal Group of India. First delivery of the pipe will be in July 2008 and the whole deal will be completed in January 2009. Abu Dhabi plans to build the 360-kilomter pipeline to transport up to 1.5 million barrels a day from Habshan oil fields to Fujairah to bypass the Strait of Hormuz through which Arabian Gulf producers' ship crude oil exports.
posted on 02/01/2008 - Emirates News Agency, WAM
International Investment Company IPIC said Monday it awarded contracts worth 460 million dollars to three companies to supply pipes for a domestic crude oil export pipeline linking Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. IPIC, an Abu Dhabi government investment firm, split the contract for a total of 225 thousand tons of coated steel pipes between Sumitomo of Japan, Salzgitter Mannesmann International of Germany and Jindal Group of India. First delivery of the pipe will be in July 2008 and the whole deal will be completed in January 2009. Abu Dhabi plans to build the 360-kilomter pipeline to transport up to 1.5 million barrels a day from Habshan oil fields to Fujairah to bypass the Strait of Hormuz through which Arabian Gulf producers' ship crude oil exports.
IIT-Bombay to air lectures from today
IIT-Bombay to air lectures from today
2 Jan 2008, 0337 hrs IST,TNN
MUMBAI: For lakhs of aspirants who don't make it to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the new year has brought in cheer—this tech school is opening its classrooms beginning Wednesday for engineering colleges across the country.
As reported by TOI on December 8, IIT-Bombay will broadcast its lectures live through Edusat, the satellite which caters exclusively to the educational sector. Students of any engineering institute will now not only have real-time access to IIT-B tutoring, but can also interact with resident faculty at Powai.
Inaugurating the live interactive classroom, former TCS vice chairman F C Kohli said he had visited the MIT's classrooms of the future and India needs to harness technology in education to a great extent. "I will not call this distance learning, but a classroom redesigned. This is virtual live education," said Kohli, speaking on the IITB-ISRO initiative.
Hinting at the poor quality of education imparted in tier two engineering colleges, he said institutions need to realise they are not graduating "progressive technicians, but progressive thinkers and knowledge workers." Kohli, who is also the chairman of the board of governors at the College of Engineering, Pune, which had invested in setting up a dedicated fibre optic line to transmit lectures from IIT-B, said engineering colleges will have to work on "pre-requisites" before exposing their students to IIT-B lectures. "Basic pre-requisites, attendance when the course is on and follow-up are three essentials that colleges will have to keep in mind if they want to start offering the IIT courses," the father of Indian IT said. Additional chief secretary (higher and technical education) Joyce Shankaran suggested that IITs look beyond engineering colleges and transmit lectures to polytechnics and science colleges too.
For IIT-B, director Ashok Misra pointed out that the initiative will go a long way in furthering the cause of education. IIT will start transmitting lectures from 8.30 am to 8 pm. Head of IIT's centre for distance engineering education programme Kannan Moudgalya said almost 100 engineering colleges had already purchased ISRO receivers to access the live IIT-B lectures. To begin with, IIT-B will broadcast lectures in 13 courses, including software engineering, information systems, computation fluid dynamics, embedded systems, instrumentation and process control and fibre optics communication. "Besides, this initiative should be seen as an inclusive effort of all the IITs. Subject experts from other IITs and engineering colleges can also come to IIT-B and deliver lectures," added Moudgalya.
toireporter@timesgroup.com
2 Jan 2008, 0337 hrs IST,TNN
MUMBAI: For lakhs of aspirants who don't make it to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the new year has brought in cheer—this tech school is opening its classrooms beginning Wednesday for engineering colleges across the country.
As reported by TOI on December 8, IIT-Bombay will broadcast its lectures live through Edusat, the satellite which caters exclusively to the educational sector. Students of any engineering institute will now not only have real-time access to IIT-B tutoring, but can also interact with resident faculty at Powai.
Inaugurating the live interactive classroom, former TCS vice chairman F C Kohli said he had visited the MIT's classrooms of the future and India needs to harness technology in education to a great extent. "I will not call this distance learning, but a classroom redesigned. This is virtual live education," said Kohli, speaking on the IITB-ISRO initiative.
Hinting at the poor quality of education imparted in tier two engineering colleges, he said institutions need to realise they are not graduating "progressive technicians, but progressive thinkers and knowledge workers." Kohli, who is also the chairman of the board of governors at the College of Engineering, Pune, which had invested in setting up a dedicated fibre optic line to transmit lectures from IIT-B, said engineering colleges will have to work on "pre-requisites" before exposing their students to IIT-B lectures. "Basic pre-requisites, attendance when the course is on and follow-up are three essentials that colleges will have to keep in mind if they want to start offering the IIT courses," the father of Indian IT said. Additional chief secretary (higher and technical education) Joyce Shankaran suggested that IITs look beyond engineering colleges and transmit lectures to polytechnics and science colleges too.
For IIT-B, director Ashok Misra pointed out that the initiative will go a long way in furthering the cause of education. IIT will start transmitting lectures from 8.30 am to 8 pm. Head of IIT's centre for distance engineering education programme Kannan Moudgalya said almost 100 engineering colleges had already purchased ISRO receivers to access the live IIT-B lectures. To begin with, IIT-B will broadcast lectures in 13 courses, including software engineering, information systems, computation fluid dynamics, embedded systems, instrumentation and process control and fibre optics communication. "Besides, this initiative should be seen as an inclusive effort of all the IITs. Subject experts from other IITs and engineering colleges can also come to IIT-B and deliver lectures," added Moudgalya.
toireporter@timesgroup.com
A to Z of 2007
A to Z of 2007
TNN
A
Ajmer Sharif, the mecca of secularism, bombed, two killed. Abhi-Ash are married, media kept out. Alistair Pereira gets three years from HC for mowing down seven labourers while driving drunk. Adam Air Flight disappears over Indonesia, 102 die. Atlantic crossed by youngest sailor, Michael Perham, 14. Australia beat England 5-0 in Ashes, lift World Cup third time running. Anand Jon, designer, indicted for rape. AIIMS' P Venugopal, and health minister Ramadoss fight on.
B
Beyonce seduces Mumbai. Brian Lara, 37, announces retirement from ODIs after West Indies defeat in World Cup. Bachchans are highest tax-paying family with returns of Rs 25 crore. Black Friday releases, finally, to acclaim. Bombs on Samjauta Express kill 68. Britney Spears in rehab shaves head, tries to hang herself. Tony Blair steps down as Britain's PM. Bangladesh cyclone kills 3000. Bob Woolmer, Pak cricket coach, found dead in Kingston. Benazir Bhutto assassinated in Rawalpindi. Burma burns for democracy.
C
Cristina Kirchner becomes first wife in history to succeed husband as Argentinean president. China oil field in Ethiopia attacked, 74 killed. Chiranjeevi's daughter Srija elopes with Sirish Bharadwaj, asks for police protection from father. Columbia Univ President Lee Bollinger calls guest speaker Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad “a petty and cruel dictator”. India wins ODI series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Chennai court rejects Novartis patent plea in a landmark cancer drug case, boosts India's generic drug industry
D
Dhoni becomes captain at 26, leads team to T20 win against Pakistan. Team gets unprecendeted reception in Mumbai. Dumbledore, the beloved Hogwarts Headmaster, is outed from closet by J K Rowling. The Departed, Martin Scorsese's gritty film on the mafia wins four Oscars. Dow Jones plummets wildly after Chinese market drop. Do-not-call service activated, but pesky telemarketers continue. Delhi's former CM dies on Rajasthan's killer roads. Delhi model Gitanjali Nagpal found living on the street, rescued.
E
Emergency declared in Pakistan. Emergency declared in Bangladesh, Iajuddin Ahmed steps down. European Commission announces proposals for the European Union to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 and 60 per cent by 2050. Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayyar marry, after years of courtship, in a 15th-century palace in Cotswold, England with lavish receptions in Mumbai and Jodhpur. ET, please call, says Arthur Clarke on his ninetieth birthday.
F
Fake encounter of businessmen leads to arrest of 10 Delhi cops. Forest Whitaker gets Oscar for his turn as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. French government bans smoking in public places. Flamingos killed for meat in Mumbai. French President Jacques Chirac makes a gaffe, says that Iran's nuclear ability is so dodgy that a weapon would explode over Tehran before Tel Aviv; retracts after furore. Force India is Vijay Mallya's name for racing team, after he buys Spyker F1 for $109 million. Fidel Castro keeps on going.
G
Gordon Brown is new Brit PM. Gaekwads of Baroda's pearl necklace sold for $1.7 million. Golfer Gaurav Ghei wins Bejing Open. Greg Chappell resigns as India's cricket coach. Glasgow airport bombed by Bangalore doctor Kafeel Ahmed; cousin Mohammed Haneef cleared. Arun Gawli pays guests to dress for his daughter's wedding. G8, India approve Washington Declaration on carbon trading. Gujjars burn Rajasthan to demand ST tag. Ganga is one of the world's 10 dying rivers. GDP in India rises to 9.3%.
H
Hardwar court issues non-bailable warrant to M F Husain for ‘obscene' Bharat Mata painting. Husain's works vandalised in Delhi. Hyderabad blasts claims 42, Huji and LeT blamed. Half of Britain's millionaires are women. Hindalco, headed by Kumarmangalam Birla, buys Novelis for 6 billion dollars. Hitachi crosses the 1 terabyte hard disk capacity. Harry Potter final instalment published. He survives. Hugh Grant arrested for hitting lens man with a can of beans.
I
Indonesia landslides kill 81. iPhone, Apple's hippest new gizmo, storms market. India's first school shootout in Gurgaon, boy shot for being a bully. Indian rupee reaches eight-year high against US dollar. India loses Rs 2500 crore in betting on World Cup. India loses to Bangladesh. India has largest number of billionaires in Asia, 36. India, Pakistan exchange nuclear installations lists under 1998 agreement. India marks 150 years of the 1857 Uprising. Iranian President says herbal treatment will be the answer to AIDS. Iraq war death toll touches 11 lakh.
J
Jet and Sahara tie up to form Jetlite. James Laine's book Shivaji-Hindu King in Islamic India un-banned by court; Shiv Sainiks attack Oxford bookstore thinking it to be the same as Oxford University Press. John Abraham has a year of flops, called Box Office Turkey. J K Rowling announces eighth Harry Potter book, giving details on Hogwarts. Japan records a trade surplus of 4.4 billion in January due to lower oil prices and strong exports. Jayalalithaa becomes the first leader from the South to address a rally in Hindi, at Bareilly in UP.
K
Kausarbi and husband Sohrabuddin were killed and burnt by police, admits Gujarat government. Keith Richards of Rolling Stones says he snorts his dad's ashes, later says it was a joke. Kingfisher buys Air Deccan. Kerala boat with children capsizes, 22 drown. Santosh George Kulangara is first Indian to book Rs 90 lakh seat on Virgin Galactic for 2008 space trip. K P Singh of DLF, at $35 billion, is world's richest realtor. Richest Indian crown retained by Lakshmi Mittal ($51 billion). Karnataka put under President's rule.
L
Lal Masjid storming by Pak military, 160 killed. Doris Lessing wins Nobel for literature. Lina Sinha, a Manhattanite, gets 14 years' for sexual relations with a 13-year-old student. Loganathan, a prof at Virginia Tech, is shot by a gunman; Minal Panchal, a Mumbai girl, also dies. Lakshmana Kailash K spends 50 days in jail for being wrongly accused of posting obscene Shivaji pictures on the net. London mayor Ken Livingstone tells Mumbai planners to put their money in mass transport. Jay Leno badly hit by writers' strike.
M
Maoists kill 55 cops in Chhatisgarh. Monu Mittal gets death for whistle-blower Manjunath's murder. Madrid 2004 train bombing trial opens. Mattel recalls millions of ‘toxic lead' toys. Muttiah Muralidharan becomes highest wicket taker in Test matches with 709 wickets. Mayawati bans Aaja Nachle for caste slur against mochis. Malaysian Indians complain of ethnic violence, petition India. Narendra Modi is Gujarat chief minister for the third time.
N
New 7 wonders declared, India votes in the Taj. Nandigram shakes Kolkata's conscience after CPM cadres kill 14 villagers resisting land sale. Narayana Murthy courts controversy by not playing national anthem before foreign guests. Nariman Point flat sells for record Rs 97,842 per sq ft. Number mobility across mobile service providers gives consumers greater choice. Nilofer Bakhtiar, Pak minister, gets fatwa for hugging French paraglider. Nawaz Sharif returns. NCERT to ban ‘fail' word.
O
Osama Bin Laden turns 50 on March 11; a 51-year-old UK granny weds Osama's son. Oldest living person in the world is Japan's Yone Minagawa at 114 years. Orissa churches attacked at Christmas on conversion charge. Obama and Hillary Clinton continue to slug it out for President; former New York mayor Rudy Giulhany is strong Republican contender. Om Shanti Om released, becomes biggest grosser in Hindi cinema history, raking in Rs 94 crore and counting. Rival film Saawariya's director christened Sanjay Neela Bhansali for shooting through blue filter. Film is a damp squib.
P
Pooja Chauhan, 22, walks through Rajkot in her underwear to protest in-law abuse for delivering girl.Padma Lakshmi and Rushdie split, he hooks up with Star Wars' Carrie Fisher. Parkash Singh Badal is Punjab CM. Pratibha Patil is first woman President of India. Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar fails dope test, out of World Cup. Pavarotti dies. Priyanka Todi marries Rizwan, Rizwan found dead. Prakash Karat hogs news with anti-US nuclear deal stand. Pravin Mahajan gets life for killing brother Pramod. PlayStation comes to India.
Q
Ottavio Quattrocchi, the Italian Bofors accused, walks free from Argentinean jail. Queen Elizabeth II, 81, reaches new milestone as the longest-living British monarch; overtakes record set by great-great grandmother Queen Victoria. Sky's royal correspondent Sarah Hughes says, “For her, retirement is not an option.” She celebrates Christmas on YouTube. The Queen wins Helen Mirren an Oscar for Best Actress. More importantly, the real-time Queen is pleased and invites her to tea.
R
Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer for third time in French Open. Renault's Logan comes to India. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's wife gets $9 billion, the largest-ever alimony settlement. Ram Sethu is not man-made, no proof that Ramayana events took place, says government affidavit. M Karunanidhi calls Ram a drunkard. Richard Gere issued warrant for kissing Shilpa Shetty in public. Rahul Dravid quits as captain. Ribbed-vibrating condoms banned by BJP in MP. Rahul Gandhi named AICC general secretary.
S
Sidney Sheldon dies. Shakira raises temperature in Mumbai. Sunita Williams spends a record 195 days in space. Sanjay Dutt gets six years' for owning AK-56. SBI is highest corporate tax payer. Shilpa Shetty cries racism in UK reality show, but carries away Rs 3 crore prize. SEZ becomes most hated word in village India. Nicholas Sarkozy is French prez. Sandip Soparrkar becomes first single male to adopt in Mumbai. Sachin is out in the 90s, for the seventh time in 5 months. Six-pack in demand.
T
Teri chief R K Pachauri's panel on climate change and Al Gore win Nobel Peace Prize. Tax's highest payer is Akshay Kumar, Rs 26 crore. Taslima attacked in Hyderabad. Thirty-three pairs of twins found in Bamrauli, a UP village. Telgi convicted in stamp scam. Tata Steel buys Corus for $ 6.7 billion. Trial for Mumbai 7/11 blasts begins, deferred when accused say they don't trust judiciary.
U
UP stormed by Mayawati and her winning Dalit-Brahmin electoral axis. US House of Representatives gets first woman speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Uma Khurana, Delhi school teacher, framed by spurious sting operation. Uttarakhand, new name of Uttaranchal, won by BJP. Uphaar cinema's owners, the Ansals, found guilty. Ulcra land ceiling act repealed in Maharashtra, builders cheer, Uddhav Thackeray protests.
V
Vodafone buys 67 % stake in Hutch Essar for $11.1 billion. Vengsarkar spats with the BCCI after latter bans him from writing columns which earn him Rs 40 lakh a year. Vishy Anand wins in Mexico, is world champion for first time in his career. Victoria Beckham and the Spice Girls reuinte to empty stadium in Canada. Vick's husband David Beckham leaves Real Madrid for LA Galaxy on a $250 million contract. Vladimir Putin named Time's Person of the Year.
W
World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz resigns on charges of favouring his girlfriend-he helped her get a whopping $60,000 raise. Wadias announce setting up of 40 malls in India. West Bengal police admits its men raped two women in Nandigram. World Bank permits construction of Baghliar dam in Kashmir. WMD still not found in Iraq. West Bengal government asks Taslima to leave Kolkata. Narendra Modi offers her asylum in Gujarat.
X
XP's successor Windows Vista launch marred by security glitches. To counter this, X Leopard, a new operating system, is launched by Apple for its Macs. X Men-The Last Stand, began the season of trilogies from Hollywood and was followed by Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End, The Bourne Ultimatum and Spiderman 3. X-rated Santa bot (or icon) from Microsoft's Live Messenger leaves firm red-faced with its risque conversation.
Y
Y K Sabharwal, former chief justice, accused of aiding his son's money-laundering business. Yuvraj-Deepika-Dhoni love affair gives television enough grist for days on end. Former Russian President Boris Yelstin dead. Yakub Memon gets death for 1993 Mumbai blasts, passionately protests his innocence. Three other Memons get life. Total of 100 convicted in country's longest-running trial. Yasuo Fukuda, a moderate, replaces Shinzo Abe as Japan's prime minister.
Z
Zee's Subhash Chandra launches parallel cricket team ICL on Rs 100 crore fund. Kapil Dev is named executive chairman of the board, Lara, Chris Cairns play in inaugural Twenty-20 Championship; BCCI strikes back in court and with cash incentives. Zune launched by Microsoft as its answer to Apple's iPod fails to take off. Zaheera of the Best Bakery case, released; disappears, plays no role in Gujarat polls.
TNN
A
Ajmer Sharif, the mecca of secularism, bombed, two killed. Abhi-Ash are married, media kept out. Alistair Pereira gets three years from HC for mowing down seven labourers while driving drunk. Adam Air Flight disappears over Indonesia, 102 die. Atlantic crossed by youngest sailor, Michael Perham, 14. Australia beat England 5-0 in Ashes, lift World Cup third time running. Anand Jon, designer, indicted for rape. AIIMS' P Venugopal, and health minister Ramadoss fight on.
B
Beyonce seduces Mumbai. Brian Lara, 37, announces retirement from ODIs after West Indies defeat in World Cup. Bachchans are highest tax-paying family with returns of Rs 25 crore. Black Friday releases, finally, to acclaim. Bombs on Samjauta Express kill 68. Britney Spears in rehab shaves head, tries to hang herself. Tony Blair steps down as Britain's PM. Bangladesh cyclone kills 3000. Bob Woolmer, Pak cricket coach, found dead in Kingston. Benazir Bhutto assassinated in Rawalpindi. Burma burns for democracy.
C
Cristina Kirchner becomes first wife in history to succeed husband as Argentinean president. China oil field in Ethiopia attacked, 74 killed. Chiranjeevi's daughter Srija elopes with Sirish Bharadwaj, asks for police protection from father. Columbia Univ President Lee Bollinger calls guest speaker Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad “a petty and cruel dictator”. India wins ODI series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Chennai court rejects Novartis patent plea in a landmark cancer drug case, boosts India's generic drug industry
D
Dhoni becomes captain at 26, leads team to T20 win against Pakistan. Team gets unprecendeted reception in Mumbai. Dumbledore, the beloved Hogwarts Headmaster, is outed from closet by J K Rowling. The Departed, Martin Scorsese's gritty film on the mafia wins four Oscars. Dow Jones plummets wildly after Chinese market drop. Do-not-call service activated, but pesky telemarketers continue. Delhi's former CM dies on Rajasthan's killer roads. Delhi model Gitanjali Nagpal found living on the street, rescued.
E
Emergency declared in Pakistan. Emergency declared in Bangladesh, Iajuddin Ahmed steps down. European Commission announces proposals for the European Union to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 and 60 per cent by 2050. Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayyar marry, after years of courtship, in a 15th-century palace in Cotswold, England with lavish receptions in Mumbai and Jodhpur. ET, please call, says Arthur Clarke on his ninetieth birthday.
F
Fake encounter of businessmen leads to arrest of 10 Delhi cops. Forest Whitaker gets Oscar for his turn as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. French government bans smoking in public places. Flamingos killed for meat in Mumbai. French President Jacques Chirac makes a gaffe, says that Iran's nuclear ability is so dodgy that a weapon would explode over Tehran before Tel Aviv; retracts after furore. Force India is Vijay Mallya's name for racing team, after he buys Spyker F1 for $109 million. Fidel Castro keeps on going.
G
Gordon Brown is new Brit PM. Gaekwads of Baroda's pearl necklace sold for $1.7 million. Golfer Gaurav Ghei wins Bejing Open. Greg Chappell resigns as India's cricket coach. Glasgow airport bombed by Bangalore doctor Kafeel Ahmed; cousin Mohammed Haneef cleared. Arun Gawli pays guests to dress for his daughter's wedding. G8, India approve Washington Declaration on carbon trading. Gujjars burn Rajasthan to demand ST tag. Ganga is one of the world's 10 dying rivers. GDP in India rises to 9.3%.
H
Hardwar court issues non-bailable warrant to M F Husain for ‘obscene' Bharat Mata painting. Husain's works vandalised in Delhi. Hyderabad blasts claims 42, Huji and LeT blamed. Half of Britain's millionaires are women. Hindalco, headed by Kumarmangalam Birla, buys Novelis for 6 billion dollars. Hitachi crosses the 1 terabyte hard disk capacity. Harry Potter final instalment published. He survives. Hugh Grant arrested for hitting lens man with a can of beans.
I
Indonesia landslides kill 81. iPhone, Apple's hippest new gizmo, storms market. India's first school shootout in Gurgaon, boy shot for being a bully. Indian rupee reaches eight-year high against US dollar. India loses Rs 2500 crore in betting on World Cup. India loses to Bangladesh. India has largest number of billionaires in Asia, 36. India, Pakistan exchange nuclear installations lists under 1998 agreement. India marks 150 years of the 1857 Uprising. Iranian President says herbal treatment will be the answer to AIDS. Iraq war death toll touches 11 lakh.
J
Jet and Sahara tie up to form Jetlite. James Laine's book Shivaji-Hindu King in Islamic India un-banned by court; Shiv Sainiks attack Oxford bookstore thinking it to be the same as Oxford University Press. John Abraham has a year of flops, called Box Office Turkey. J K Rowling announces eighth Harry Potter book, giving details on Hogwarts. Japan records a trade surplus of 4.4 billion in January due to lower oil prices and strong exports. Jayalalithaa becomes the first leader from the South to address a rally in Hindi, at Bareilly in UP.
K
Kausarbi and husband Sohrabuddin were killed and burnt by police, admits Gujarat government. Keith Richards of Rolling Stones says he snorts his dad's ashes, later says it was a joke. Kingfisher buys Air Deccan. Kerala boat with children capsizes, 22 drown. Santosh George Kulangara is first Indian to book Rs 90 lakh seat on Virgin Galactic for 2008 space trip. K P Singh of DLF, at $35 billion, is world's richest realtor. Richest Indian crown retained by Lakshmi Mittal ($51 billion). Karnataka put under President's rule.
L
Lal Masjid storming by Pak military, 160 killed. Doris Lessing wins Nobel for literature. Lina Sinha, a Manhattanite, gets 14 years' for sexual relations with a 13-year-old student. Loganathan, a prof at Virginia Tech, is shot by a gunman; Minal Panchal, a Mumbai girl, also dies. Lakshmana Kailash K spends 50 days in jail for being wrongly accused of posting obscene Shivaji pictures on the net. London mayor Ken Livingstone tells Mumbai planners to put their money in mass transport. Jay Leno badly hit by writers' strike.
M
Maoists kill 55 cops in Chhatisgarh. Monu Mittal gets death for whistle-blower Manjunath's murder. Madrid 2004 train bombing trial opens. Mattel recalls millions of ‘toxic lead' toys. Muttiah Muralidharan becomes highest wicket taker in Test matches with 709 wickets. Mayawati bans Aaja Nachle for caste slur against mochis. Malaysian Indians complain of ethnic violence, petition India. Narendra Modi is Gujarat chief minister for the third time.
N
New 7 wonders declared, India votes in the Taj. Nandigram shakes Kolkata's conscience after CPM cadres kill 14 villagers resisting land sale. Narayana Murthy courts controversy by not playing national anthem before foreign guests. Nariman Point flat sells for record Rs 97,842 per sq ft. Number mobility across mobile service providers gives consumers greater choice. Nilofer Bakhtiar, Pak minister, gets fatwa for hugging French paraglider. Nawaz Sharif returns. NCERT to ban ‘fail' word.
O
Osama Bin Laden turns 50 on March 11; a 51-year-old UK granny weds Osama's son. Oldest living person in the world is Japan's Yone Minagawa at 114 years. Orissa churches attacked at Christmas on conversion charge. Obama and Hillary Clinton continue to slug it out for President; former New York mayor Rudy Giulhany is strong Republican contender. Om Shanti Om released, becomes biggest grosser in Hindi cinema history, raking in Rs 94 crore and counting. Rival film Saawariya's director christened Sanjay Neela Bhansali for shooting through blue filter. Film is a damp squib.
P
Pooja Chauhan, 22, walks through Rajkot in her underwear to protest in-law abuse for delivering girl.Padma Lakshmi and Rushdie split, he hooks up with Star Wars' Carrie Fisher. Parkash Singh Badal is Punjab CM. Pratibha Patil is first woman President of India. Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar fails dope test, out of World Cup. Pavarotti dies. Priyanka Todi marries Rizwan, Rizwan found dead. Prakash Karat hogs news with anti-US nuclear deal stand. Pravin Mahajan gets life for killing brother Pramod. PlayStation comes to India.
Q
Ottavio Quattrocchi, the Italian Bofors accused, walks free from Argentinean jail. Queen Elizabeth II, 81, reaches new milestone as the longest-living British monarch; overtakes record set by great-great grandmother Queen Victoria. Sky's royal correspondent Sarah Hughes says, “For her, retirement is not an option.” She celebrates Christmas on YouTube. The Queen wins Helen Mirren an Oscar for Best Actress. More importantly, the real-time Queen is pleased and invites her to tea.
R
Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer for third time in French Open. Renault's Logan comes to India. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's wife gets $9 billion, the largest-ever alimony settlement. Ram Sethu is not man-made, no proof that Ramayana events took place, says government affidavit. M Karunanidhi calls Ram a drunkard. Richard Gere issued warrant for kissing Shilpa Shetty in public. Rahul Dravid quits as captain. Ribbed-vibrating condoms banned by BJP in MP. Rahul Gandhi named AICC general secretary.
S
Sidney Sheldon dies. Shakira raises temperature in Mumbai. Sunita Williams spends a record 195 days in space. Sanjay Dutt gets six years' for owning AK-56. SBI is highest corporate tax payer. Shilpa Shetty cries racism in UK reality show, but carries away Rs 3 crore prize. SEZ becomes most hated word in village India. Nicholas Sarkozy is French prez. Sandip Soparrkar becomes first single male to adopt in Mumbai. Sachin is out in the 90s, for the seventh time in 5 months. Six-pack in demand.
T
Teri chief R K Pachauri's panel on climate change and Al Gore win Nobel Peace Prize. Tax's highest payer is Akshay Kumar, Rs 26 crore. Taslima attacked in Hyderabad. Thirty-three pairs of twins found in Bamrauli, a UP village. Telgi convicted in stamp scam. Tata Steel buys Corus for $ 6.7 billion. Trial for Mumbai 7/11 blasts begins, deferred when accused say they don't trust judiciary.
U
UP stormed by Mayawati and her winning Dalit-Brahmin electoral axis. US House of Representatives gets first woman speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Uma Khurana, Delhi school teacher, framed by spurious sting operation. Uttarakhand, new name of Uttaranchal, won by BJP. Uphaar cinema's owners, the Ansals, found guilty. Ulcra land ceiling act repealed in Maharashtra, builders cheer, Uddhav Thackeray protests.
V
Vodafone buys 67 % stake in Hutch Essar for $11.1 billion. Vengsarkar spats with the BCCI after latter bans him from writing columns which earn him Rs 40 lakh a year. Vishy Anand wins in Mexico, is world champion for first time in his career. Victoria Beckham and the Spice Girls reuinte to empty stadium in Canada. Vick's husband David Beckham leaves Real Madrid for LA Galaxy on a $250 million contract. Vladimir Putin named Time's Person of the Year.
W
World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz resigns on charges of favouring his girlfriend-he helped her get a whopping $60,000 raise. Wadias announce setting up of 40 malls in India. West Bengal police admits its men raped two women in Nandigram. World Bank permits construction of Baghliar dam in Kashmir. WMD still not found in Iraq. West Bengal government asks Taslima to leave Kolkata. Narendra Modi offers her asylum in Gujarat.
X
XP's successor Windows Vista launch marred by security glitches. To counter this, X Leopard, a new operating system, is launched by Apple for its Macs. X Men-The Last Stand, began the season of trilogies from Hollywood and was followed by Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End, The Bourne Ultimatum and Spiderman 3. X-rated Santa bot (or icon) from Microsoft's Live Messenger leaves firm red-faced with its risque conversation.
Y
Y K Sabharwal, former chief justice, accused of aiding his son's money-laundering business. Yuvraj-Deepika-Dhoni love affair gives television enough grist for days on end. Former Russian President Boris Yelstin dead. Yakub Memon gets death for 1993 Mumbai blasts, passionately protests his innocence. Three other Memons get life. Total of 100 convicted in country's longest-running trial. Yasuo Fukuda, a moderate, replaces Shinzo Abe as Japan's prime minister.
Z
Zee's Subhash Chandra launches parallel cricket team ICL on Rs 100 crore fund. Kapil Dev is named executive chairman of the board, Lara, Chris Cairns play in inaugural Twenty-20 Championship; BCCI strikes back in court and with cash incentives. Zune launched by Microsoft as its answer to Apple's iPod fails to take off. Zaheera of the Best Bakery case, released; disappears, plays no role in Gujarat polls.
Daily Exchange Rates - Wednesday, 02 January 2008
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Six new airports planned
Six new airports planned
By Sunil K. Vaidya, Bureau Chief GULF NEWS Published: January 01, 2008, 23:09
Muscat: Oman will have six more regional airports, Minister of National Economy and Supervisor of the Ministry of Finance Ahmad Bin Abdul Nabi Makki announced while releasing Oman's 2008 budget yesterday.
"Work is underway on the designs for construction of six regional airports in Sohar, Al Duqm, Ras Al Had, Adam, Haima and Shaleem," he said, adding that the expansion plans for the Muscat and Salalah international airports were also on course.
"The Ministry of Transport and Communication and the ministerial committee commissioned for improving the two airports are now reviewing the designs and the detailed maps," he added.
"It is expected during the first half of the current year the tenders for the new runway will be invited," he revealed, adding that the drawing up of the designs for the airport's new building were also underway.
Justifying airports at smaller towns in the interior, Darwish Bin Esmail Al Balushi, secretary-general in the Ministry of Finance, said the move was to support the development of tourism as these places were major tourist attractions.
By Sunil K. Vaidya, Bureau Chief GULF NEWS Published: January 01, 2008, 23:09
Muscat: Oman will have six more regional airports, Minister of National Economy and Supervisor of the Ministry of Finance Ahmad Bin Abdul Nabi Makki announced while releasing Oman's 2008 budget yesterday.
"Work is underway on the designs for construction of six regional airports in Sohar, Al Duqm, Ras Al Had, Adam, Haima and Shaleem," he said, adding that the expansion plans for the Muscat and Salalah international airports were also on course.
"The Ministry of Transport and Communication and the ministerial committee commissioned for improving the two airports are now reviewing the designs and the detailed maps," he added.
"It is expected during the first half of the current year the tenders for the new runway will be invited," he revealed, adding that the drawing up of the designs for the airport's new building were also underway.
Justifying airports at smaller towns in the interior, Darwish Bin Esmail Al Balushi, secretary-general in the Ministry of Finance, said the move was to support the development of tourism as these places were major tourist attractions.
Employers must give health insurance
Employers must give health insurance
By Dina El Shammaa, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: January 01, 2008, 23:09
Abu Dhabi: Expatriates residing in Abu Dhabi, whether working or living there, are entitled to health insurance coverage, said an official from the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) on Tuesday.
According to the Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Regulation Bill under Law 23, all employers and sponsors must provide health insurance for expatriates who live or work in Abu Dhabi.
This includes expatriates residing in Abu Dhabi, even if their visa is issued in another city, such as Dubai, people who are sponsored by expatriates residing in the emirate and all individuals sponsored by expatriates residing in the capital city.
"A sponsor or employer is responsible for ensuring that resident expatriates are in possession of valid health insurance," said Sultan Al Daheri, team leader of Reimbursement and Claims at HAAD.
"They will be held personally liable for the cost of all healthcare services that are provided to persons on their sponsorship in the event that such a person is not covered by a valid health insurance policy," said Al Daheri.
Penalty
Failure to subscribe or renew the subscription in the Health Insurance Scheme (HIS) by an employer or sponsor for workers and those residing under their sponsorship will result in a penalty of Dh300 monthly for every person without an insurance subscription, said Al Daheri.
In addition, employers and sponsors must not pass on the cost of providing Health Insurance to Employees.
If an employer or sponsor does pass on the cost to their employee, they will be considered in violation of the law and subject to investigation and penalties.
If an employee living in Abu Dhabi files a complaint against lack of fulfilment of an obligation arising from a health insurance scheme, a written complaint, called a Letter of Inspection Notification, is lodged at the Customer Service Section in HAAD.
Moreover, if any dispute occurs between parties involved, such as healthcare institutions, employers, or insurance companies, the problem is managed by the Enrollment and the Inspection Section (EIS) who send out their inspection team to monitor the issue and make sure a proper health insurance policy is provided to all employees.
Common complaint
According to HAAD Customer Service Head Afra Khalifa Al Ghathi, one of the most common complaints received at HAAD is related to Health Insurance Policies The EIS section also claims to receive up to six serious complaints per day.
Once HAAD officials receive these complaints, confidentiality is maintained so that the employee's position in the company is not jeopardised.
"Sometimes employers may fire or deduct from the employee's salary as reaction to the complaint. We put that into consideration and make sure the employee's name while lodging the complaint is not mentioned and all related details are kept confidential.
"We do not want to jeopardise the individual's position in any way and encourage people to openly share their experiences with us. It is our role to make sure employees and residents in Abu Dhabi are given a proper health insurance scheme," said Al Daheri.
Who to contact: Complain with confidence
Any complaints regarding health insurance regulations are handled by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi's customer service department, via three channels. The complainant's identity is kept confidential.
Toll free number: 800800 (from Abu Dhabi)
E-mail: healthcentre@haad.ae
Visit: the Health Authority Headquarters, Airport Road
Total upper limit coverage: The annual upper limit for healthcare services is Dh250,000
By Dina El Shammaa, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: January 01, 2008, 23:09
Abu Dhabi: Expatriates residing in Abu Dhabi, whether working or living there, are entitled to health insurance coverage, said an official from the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) on Tuesday.
According to the Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Regulation Bill under Law 23, all employers and sponsors must provide health insurance for expatriates who live or work in Abu Dhabi.
This includes expatriates residing in Abu Dhabi, even if their visa is issued in another city, such as Dubai, people who are sponsored by expatriates residing in the emirate and all individuals sponsored by expatriates residing in the capital city.
"A sponsor or employer is responsible for ensuring that resident expatriates are in possession of valid health insurance," said Sultan Al Daheri, team leader of Reimbursement and Claims at HAAD.
"They will be held personally liable for the cost of all healthcare services that are provided to persons on their sponsorship in the event that such a person is not covered by a valid health insurance policy," said Al Daheri.
Penalty
Failure to subscribe or renew the subscription in the Health Insurance Scheme (HIS) by an employer or sponsor for workers and those residing under their sponsorship will result in a penalty of Dh300 monthly for every person without an insurance subscription, said Al Daheri.
In addition, employers and sponsors must not pass on the cost of providing Health Insurance to Employees.
If an employer or sponsor does pass on the cost to their employee, they will be considered in violation of the law and subject to investigation and penalties.
If an employee living in Abu Dhabi files a complaint against lack of fulfilment of an obligation arising from a health insurance scheme, a written complaint, called a Letter of Inspection Notification, is lodged at the Customer Service Section in HAAD.
Moreover, if any dispute occurs between parties involved, such as healthcare institutions, employers, or insurance companies, the problem is managed by the Enrollment and the Inspection Section (EIS) who send out their inspection team to monitor the issue and make sure a proper health insurance policy is provided to all employees.
Common complaint
According to HAAD Customer Service Head Afra Khalifa Al Ghathi, one of the most common complaints received at HAAD is related to Health Insurance Policies The EIS section also claims to receive up to six serious complaints per day.
Once HAAD officials receive these complaints, confidentiality is maintained so that the employee's position in the company is not jeopardised.
"Sometimes employers may fire or deduct from the employee's salary as reaction to the complaint. We put that into consideration and make sure the employee's name while lodging the complaint is not mentioned and all related details are kept confidential.
"We do not want to jeopardise the individual's position in any way and encourage people to openly share their experiences with us. It is our role to make sure employees and residents in Abu Dhabi are given a proper health insurance scheme," said Al Daheri.
Who to contact: Complain with confidence
Any complaints regarding health insurance regulations are handled by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi's customer service department, via three channels. The complainant's identity is kept confidential.
Toll free number: 800800 (from Abu Dhabi)
E-mail: healthcentre@haad.ae
Visit: the Health Authority Headquarters, Airport Road
Total upper limit coverage: The annual upper limit for healthcare services is Dh250,000
Ministry in deal to raise quality of education
Ministry in deal to raise quality of education By Dina El Shammaa, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: January 01, 2008, 23:09
Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to raise the quality of education across the UAE and encourage international educational standards.
The agreement was signed by Abdullah Al Mussabbeh, Executive Director at the ministry, and Mubarak Saeed Al Shamsi, Director General, ADEC.
"We want to develop governmental and non-governmental schools following the GCC strategy. We will focus on students from kindergarten till 12th grade and are going to start immediately after the signing of this memorandum," said Al Mussabbeh.
ADEC is responsible for the education process in Abu Dhabi and focuses on planning, future development, implementation processes across the nation and in dealing with day to day problems in schools.
Responsibilities
The MoU stated the following: the council is responsible for all employees that work in the education sector in Abu Dhabi as from the date of signing the agreement; the council is responsible to deal with all administrative problems and supervises employees in Abu Dhabi, including school principals, employees, administrators and teachers; the MoE to still pay salaries and pensions as well as compensations that are due to the employees working in Abu Dhabi during the transitional period.
"The ministry during the transitional period will keep paying the salaries of the employees, then the council will take over in all the duties done by the ministry in Abu Dhabi to reach a high level of performance," said Al Mussabeh.
In addition, the ministry is giving all the information concerning Abu Dhabi to the council who aim to evolve the school curriculum allowing students reach international standards, deal with standards of teaching and school maintenance.
The agreement also mentions the number of classes to be given weekly, the beginning and end of the school year, exam dates, holidays and the official working hours; in addition to testing the education level of students through exams that will provide students a chance to go into universities under the supervision of the Ministry and the council held as responsible.
Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to raise the quality of education across the UAE and encourage international educational standards.
The agreement was signed by Abdullah Al Mussabbeh, Executive Director at the ministry, and Mubarak Saeed Al Shamsi, Director General, ADEC.
"We want to develop governmental and non-governmental schools following the GCC strategy. We will focus on students from kindergarten till 12th grade and are going to start immediately after the signing of this memorandum," said Al Mussabbeh.
ADEC is responsible for the education process in Abu Dhabi and focuses on planning, future development, implementation processes across the nation and in dealing with day to day problems in schools.
Responsibilities
The MoU stated the following: the council is responsible for all employees that work in the education sector in Abu Dhabi as from the date of signing the agreement; the council is responsible to deal with all administrative problems and supervises employees in Abu Dhabi, including school principals, employees, administrators and teachers; the MoE to still pay salaries and pensions as well as compensations that are due to the employees working in Abu Dhabi during the transitional period.
"The ministry during the transitional period will keep paying the salaries of the employees, then the council will take over in all the duties done by the ministry in Abu Dhabi to reach a high level of performance," said Al Mussabeh.
In addition, the ministry is giving all the information concerning Abu Dhabi to the council who aim to evolve the school curriculum allowing students reach international standards, deal with standards of teaching and school maintenance.
The agreement also mentions the number of classes to be given weekly, the beginning and end of the school year, exam dates, holidays and the official working hours; in addition to testing the education level of students through exams that will provide students a chance to go into universities under the supervision of the Ministry and the council held as responsible.
Identity card holders get more facilities
Identity card holders get more facilities
By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Last updated: January 01, 2008, 21:54
Abu Dhabi: Holders of identity cards issued by Emirates Identity Authority will get a New Year gift of two electronic services, E-Dirham and E-gate facilities are to be integrated onto the cards, a senior official told Gulf News.
"Technical work has been completed and the E-Dirham will be activated this week and the E-gate in the first quarter of this year," said Thamer Al Kassemi, Planning Division Manager at Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA).
The E-gate card provides a fast-track immigration clearance using smart technology and a fingerprint scan.
This not only takes you through immigration faster but also saves space on a passenger's passport, as it eliminates the need for a manual stamp every time they travel.
Travel document
"The EIDA is working with the Ministry of Interior to activate the E-gate service soon," said the official.
The E-Dirham service includes using the identity card as an e-wallet to pay for different services offered by ministries, government departments, and private companies that use E-dirhams. "Identity card holders can activate it at any E-dirham service point when it is announced."
Discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Labour to integrate labour cards with identity cards, said Al Kassemi. This may enhance electronic transactions in the country as the EIDA starts issuing identity cards to expatriates this year.
Darwish Al Zaraouni, General-Director of the EIDA earlier told Gulf News that registration for expatriate employees in the Government Sector and for large companies would start this month.
Registration for all expatriates will open in May 2008, he added.
The identity card has already enabled holders to use it a travel document to all GCC nations as it works as an e-passport. It will eventually replace driving licences, labour, residency and health cards. It will also act as an ATM card. Registration to get the identity card is just a phone call away as the EIDA launched its mobile registration service last month.
Coming soon: Mandatory for all
The Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) has been issuing identity cards to citizens since 2005 and it is mandatory for Emiratis to have an identity card under federal law No.9, 2006.
It will be mandatory for expatriates over 15-years-old from May (it is voluntary for 15 years and below). Darwish Al Zaraouni, General-Director of the EIDA earlier told Gulf News that registration for expatriate employees in the government sector and large private companies would start in January 2008.
"We are ready to open temporary offices at company premises on request". Registration for all expatriates will be open in May 2008, he added. Registration is just a phone call away as the EIDA launched its mobile registration service last month. For mobile registration services and further information, call the EIDA call centre on (600 523 432).
The EIDA also has seven registration centres located in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah. Centres in other emirates are under construction, said an official.
Fees
Citizens have to pay Dh 115 for five years. (Dh65 for 15 years or younger). Expatriates have to pay Dh100 per annum. (The fee has to be paid for the duration of the residence visa).
Contact
For mobile registration services and further information phone the EIDA call centre on 600523432.
By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Last updated: January 01, 2008, 21:54
Abu Dhabi: Holders of identity cards issued by Emirates Identity Authority will get a New Year gift of two electronic services, E-Dirham and E-gate facilities are to be integrated onto the cards, a senior official told Gulf News.
"Technical work has been completed and the E-Dirham will be activated this week and the E-gate in the first quarter of this year," said Thamer Al Kassemi, Planning Division Manager at Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA).
The E-gate card provides a fast-track immigration clearance using smart technology and a fingerprint scan.
This not only takes you through immigration faster but also saves space on a passenger's passport, as it eliminates the need for a manual stamp every time they travel.
Travel document
"The EIDA is working with the Ministry of Interior to activate the E-gate service soon," said the official.
The E-Dirham service includes using the identity card as an e-wallet to pay for different services offered by ministries, government departments, and private companies that use E-dirhams. "Identity card holders can activate it at any E-dirham service point when it is announced."
Discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Labour to integrate labour cards with identity cards, said Al Kassemi. This may enhance electronic transactions in the country as the EIDA starts issuing identity cards to expatriates this year.
Darwish Al Zaraouni, General-Director of the EIDA earlier told Gulf News that registration for expatriate employees in the Government Sector and for large companies would start this month.
Registration for all expatriates will open in May 2008, he added.
The identity card has already enabled holders to use it a travel document to all GCC nations as it works as an e-passport. It will eventually replace driving licences, labour, residency and health cards. It will also act as an ATM card. Registration to get the identity card is just a phone call away as the EIDA launched its mobile registration service last month.
Coming soon: Mandatory for all
The Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) has been issuing identity cards to citizens since 2005 and it is mandatory for Emiratis to have an identity card under federal law No.9, 2006.
It will be mandatory for expatriates over 15-years-old from May (it is voluntary for 15 years and below). Darwish Al Zaraouni, General-Director of the EIDA earlier told Gulf News that registration for expatriate employees in the government sector and large private companies would start in January 2008.
"We are ready to open temporary offices at company premises on request". Registration for all expatriates will be open in May 2008, he added. Registration is just a phone call away as the EIDA launched its mobile registration service last month. For mobile registration services and further information, call the EIDA call centre on (600 523 432).
The EIDA also has seven registration centres located in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah. Centres in other emirates are under construction, said an official.
Fees
Citizens have to pay Dh 115 for five years. (Dh65 for 15 years or younger). Expatriates have to pay Dh100 per annum. (The fee has to be paid for the duration of the residence visa).
Contact
For mobile registration services and further information phone the EIDA call centre on 600523432.
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
20 great stocks to buy in 2008
20 great stocks to buy in 2008
BS Smart Investor Team
December 31, 2007
Stock selection will be the key factor in determining returns in 2008, given concerns of a global slowdown and premium valuations in domestic markets.
Year 2007 saw the market deliver good returns amidst volatility, especially in the second half, thanks to global concerns. The BSE Sensex was up a good 46.6 per cent, helped by strong foreign and domestic inflows.
And what led to these inflows was none other than a strong performance by India Inc. For investors, the moot question is how will 2008 be? The answer is not simple given that none of the global concerns have eased, while the Indian rupee is still firm and India Inc is experiencing a deceleration in growth rates.
"Year 2008 will be difficult globally, although it is not yet known how deep the US downturn will be," says Andrew Holland, managing director -- strategic risk group, DSP Merrill Lynch.
While India's vulnerability to global shocks has been put to test adequately over the past year, the overall macroeconomic growth remained strong owing to infrastructure, capital goods and real estate sectors.
Notably, the story is not likely to be very different in 2008 barring drastic surprises, which means that domestic consumption plays should remain in flavour.
By this logic, the most certain sectors are capital goods, financial services, infrastructure, power, logistics and oil, gas and energy sectors among others. Even among these sectors, not all stocks can be expected to do well, owing to the differences in business models and the individual strengths and weaknesses.
Further, in our selection, we have looked at the fundamentals of companies and their potential to deliver earnings growth of over 20-25 per cent.
But, while growth is a must, valuations too need to be fair, which is why we kept a tab on the price earnings to growth (PEG) ratio. Here, most stocks are trading at a PEG of less than 1 times based on FY09 earnings estimates, which ensures that the price is not exorbitant.
To ease your effort of picking the juiciest fruits from the orchard, we have handpicked a few likely winners of 2008. Read on.
Adlabs Films
With a strong presence across the entertainment industry value chain of content production, distribution, and exhibition, Adlabs becomes the choicest pick.
Domestic consumption and leisure spends will remain buoyant as disposable incomes rise across the country fuelling growth at Adlabs.
Adlabs produces and distributes films, and is a dominant player in the multiplex segment. It has also acquired 51 per cent stake in television content producer Synergy Communications, the maker of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and Kaun Banega Crorepati.
In the FM radio business, its subsidiary, which runs Big FM has 44 FM licenses across India. This could also become a value unlocking opportunity going forward.
Over the past three years, Adlabs has impeccably delivered a top line growth of over 100 per cent y-o-y, along with high profitability. In the September 2007 quarter, it raked in a whopping 69 per cent operating profit margin.
But going by the past numbers, operating margins have remained in excess of 50 per cent consistently, with net profit margins at over 22 per cent. The stock has appreciated three-fold since January 2007 and should do well.
Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda has a strong presence in western India -- a key zone for retail and industrial growth-- with equally good rural network.
Further, the bank is one of the few banks having a substantial international presence, which contributes 18-20 per cent to total business and 30 per cent to profits. This business is expected to rise further with the bank growing its global presence.
The bank has improved its fundamentals over the past several years on key parameters such as net interest margins (NIMs) and asset quality despite growing at a robust pace (asset growth CAGR of 19 per cent in FY04-07). Going ahead, the bank's focus on NIMs backed by moderate growth augurs well.
Besides, its initiatives such as online trading services, and joint ventures in insurance and asset management, will help it create value for its shareholders.
Additional triggers could be in the form of consolidation within the public sector bank space. All this put together makes this stock, which is reasonably valued at 1.4 times its FY09 estimated book value, an attractive investment opportunity.
Bharat Bijlee
Though Bharat Bijlee has risen by a whopping 228.5 per cent in the last one year, even at current levels, it is inexpensive.
Consider this: The company has investment in various companies including Siemens, HDFC [Get Quote] and ICICI Bank [Get Quote].
At current rates, their combined value works out to Rs 317 crore (Rs 3.17 billion), or about Rs 560 per share.
Excluding this, the core business is valued at attractive valuations of 20 times FY08 earnings and 15 times FY09 estimated earnings.
The company is capitalising on the emerging opportunities in the power transformer sector, which accounts for 65 per cent of its total revenues with the balance from motors.
In the Eleventh Five Year Plan, a total power generation capacity of 78,000 mw is planned. This augurs well for transformer manufacturers such as Bharat Bijlee.
The company on its part has recently expanded its transformer capacity to 11,000 MVA from 8,000 MVA. The motors business is also witnessing 25 per cent growth and Bharat Bijlee has forayed into higher frame motors of up to 400 kw. All this put together make Bharat Bijlee a good pick.
Bharati Shipyard
Stocks of shipbuilding companies have been re-rated on the back of rising order book-to-sales to over seven times. The stock price of ABG Shipyard [Get Quote] has gone up 267 per cent, while Bharati Shipyard is up 107 per cent over the last one year.
The gain has been higher in the case of ABG Shipyard, thus stretching its valuation at 33 times its FY08 estimated earnings. Bharati Shipyard is still trading at a comfortable 18 times estimated FY08 EPS and 13 times FY09 EPS.
Also, its current order book of about Rs 4,639 crore (Rs 46.39 billion) (11 times its FY07 revenue) is strong enough for maintaining 50 per cent growth for the next three years.
Bharati is building a greenfield shipyard which will enable it to build six vessels up to 60,000 dwt (dead weight tonne) against 15,000 dwt currently by December 2008. This will enable Bharati to improve its execution speed and bid for more projects.
Besides, it is planning to invest Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) along with Apeejay Shipping to set up a shipbuilding yard on the eastern coast, which will be commissioned in FY 2011. A relatively lower valuation and strong earnings visibility makes this stock an attractive investment.
Bhel
Today, the biggest constraint in the power sector is the supply of equipment, especially the critical power equipment required for the larger projects.
But, for Bhel, which commands about 65 per cent market share in the domestic power equipment industry, this provides long-term earnings visibility.
While competition is rising with new players like L&T and Chinese companies vying for a share, Bhel's order book of Rs 62,400 crore (Rs 624 billion), almost 3.6 times its FY07 revenues, instils confidence. The successful acquisition of orders for super critical boilers and high technology gas turbines required for the bigger projects would only improve its order book further.
Considering the huge order backlog and the orders in pipeline, Bhel is expanding its capacities by 67 per cent to 10,000 mw by January 2008, which will further increase to 15,000 mw by December 2009.
Bhel is also expanding its forging and casting capacities and a new fabrication plant to help reduce its dependence on imports. These should also help lower costs in the years to come. Overall, a better industry outlook, strong order book and expansion of existing capacities will drive the stock from the current levels.
Bharti Airtel
With a mobile subscriber base of 51 million, Bharti Airtel is India's largest mobile service provider. While it has added an average of 2 million subscribers a month in Q2, it is expected to crack the 100 million subscriber mark by FY10.
While the company has experienced good growth, its ARPU has fallen by 10 per cent over the last three quarters, much ahead of the 4 per cent decline experienced by Reliance Communications [Get Quote]. Even then, operating margins have improved, on the back of higher margin in broadband business and cost reduction.
Going forward, increase in scale of operations will keep costs in check. Capital and operating expenditure is also likely to come down after the formation of Indus, a tower infrastructure company, which will manage the tower infrastructure of Bharti, Vodafone and Idea.
A trigger for the stock could be the listing of Bharti Infratel, the tower division and which holds 42 per cent in Indus. Bharti Infratel already has 20,000 towers and plans to set up more.
RCOM will be the biggest threat for the company if it manages to soon roll out its GSM services across 15 circles. Additionally, any unfavourable outcome over the spectrum issue will have its impact; it could lead to increased investments in upgradation of existing equipment.
To conclude, Bharti's revenues should grow by 35 per cent in the next two years on the back of subscriber expansion, start of Sri Lankan operations by March 2008, and launch of IPTV and DTH. A sum-of-parts valuation puts the per share value of Bharti at Rs 1,200, a 27 per cent upside from the current levels.
Blue Star
The central air conditioning major, Blue Star, is a key beneficiary of the economic boom in the country across sectors like IT/ITES, retail and telecom.
This is reflected in the strong CAGR of 32 per cent and 40 per cent in sales and operating profit respectively in the past three years.
Notably, such strong growth traction is expected to continue as the company is sitting on a strong order book position, which is at Rs 1,030 crore (Rs 10.30 billion) as on September 2007. It is likely to get repeat orders from its existing customers as they expand operations.
It is expanding its capacities by investing about Rs 60-70 crore (Rs 60-700 million), which will lead to economies of scale and rationalisation of costs leading to margin expansion. Its return on equity and return on capital employed, which were at 34 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, in FY07, will only improve.
However, the full benefits will be reflected only from the next financial year. The macro factors too continue to be robust, with huge investments planned in all the above mentioned sectors.
Dishman Pharmaceuticals
Dishman, a pharma outsourcing player, is moving up the value chain from being a commoditised chemicals supplier to a research partner for innovator companies.
Its acquisition of Swiss-based Carbogen-Amcis (CA), which offers drug development and commercialisation services, has helped it tap into the client base of CA that includes seven of the top ten US drug companies.
With three projects in phase-III development, and likely to hit commercial production in two years, CA's revenues are expected to grow 15 per cent annually to Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) by December 2008.
Dishman caters to 50 per cent of Dutch pharma major Solvay Pharma's requirement of eposartan mesylate, an anti-hypertension medication. Its acquisition of Solvay's Vitamin-D business will boost revenues. Its foray into China to manufacture Quats, a catalyst, is also seen positively.
All these should help reduce Solvay's share of 25 per cent in Dishman's revenues going forward. With earnings expected to grow between 25-30 per cent in the next two years (Rs 12 in FY08, Rs 15 in FY09 and Rs 20 in FY10), the stock can deliver 28-30 per cent returns in one year.
Educomp Solutions
Educomp, the market leader in Kindergarten-12 education products, is a successful niche player. It has made some smart acquisitions, entered new areas. and garnered a client base of almost 6,000 schools across India besides, a small presence in Singapore and the US. Its first mover advantage makes it difficult for competition to catch up anytime soon.
Besides, the company has so far acquired and built the abilities to design and create content for schools, learning and school infrastructure management solutions, online teaching solutions, community building solutions and more recently into setting up its own schools.
Financially, Educomp's top line has almost doubled every year and operating margins have been maintained above 50 per cent.
Considering the growth potential in the Indian education industry, Educomp is likely to keep its juggernaut rolling for the coming few years. In FY09, Educomp will double its top line again and grow its earnings by 75 per cent. Although there has been a concern over valuations, the consistent earnings growth justify the same.
HDFC
HDFC is an ideal play on the gamut of financial services. Besides market dominance in housing finance, it provides huge potential for value unlocking from its investment in banking, insurance and mutual fund subsidiaries.
The proposed UTI Mutual Fund IPO, stake sale by Reliance Capital [Get Quote] in its mutual fund entity and the probability of listing of insurance companies though in the long term, should provide triggers. Moreover, there is a possibility of a merger with HDFC Bank.
Its core business--housing finance will continue to do well. Its loan book is expected to witness a CAGR of 25 per cent over the next two years. Its net interest margins are expected to remain stable at around 3 per cent.
And, HDFC is known for its asset quality. HDFC's stock trades at about 5 times FY09 estimated book value (adjusted for the value of its subsidiaries, which is about 30 per cent of HDFC's market capitalisation), and is a worthy pick.
India Infoline
India Infoline is another company representing financial services, except the lending business.
Its stock price has grown more than fourfold in the last one year amid many positive triggers like capital raising for expansions, tie-up with strategic investors for investments in subsidiaries and restructuring of its various businesses.
Besides equity broking, it has expanded its product basket to include institutional equities broking, commodities broking, margin finance, investment banking and, distribution of life insurance, mutual fund and loans products.
It is investing towards building a strong distribution network (596 branches in 345 cities) and customer base (5 lakh clients) for its various services. Accordingly, the share of its traditional broking business of about 56 per cent in FY07 revenues is expected to come down over the years.
The stock trades at 51 times and 44 times estimated earnings for FY08 and FY09, respectively. While it looks cheaper than Edelweiss, in terms of market capitalisation to revenues, it trades at a higher P/E than Indiabulls [Get Quote].
However, it has the most de-risked business model compared to other players. Given India Infoline's aggressive growth strategy, the stock is ideal for long term investors.
Jain Irrigation
Jain Irrigation, which is in the businesses of micro irrigation systems, food processing and plastic pipes and sheets, is a direct play on the growing emphasis on agriculture. Irrigation systems account for 30 per cent of its revenue. It's revenues from micro irrigation have grown at 70 per cent annually.
Growth will be maintained on the back of its plans to launch new irrigation systems, higher replacement demand, focus on geographical diversification.
Jain's five overseas acquisitions, including a 50 per cent stake in NaanDan of Israel, the world's fifth largest micro-irrigation company, will help in terms of access to technology and access to large markets such as South Africa, US, and Europe.
In food processing, which accounts for 14 per cent of total income and grew by 74 per cent in FY07, Jain produces juices and dehydrated vegetables for companies like Coco Cola, Nestle [Get Quote], etc. This business to grow at healthy from hereon.
In plastic pipes and sheets, its products find application in agriculture (30 per cent market share) and telecom (70% share) among others and, should continue to grow at a healthy pace.
To sum up, Jain is operating in high growth areas, while exports too are expected to grow rapidly, which makes it a good investment case.
Jindal Saw
Jindal Saw, the most diversified Indian pipe manufacturer, makes submerged arc welded (Saw), seamless and ductile iron spun pipes, which are used in diverse applications like oil & gas and water-based infrastructure.
The company is expanding its capacities in phases which will bring economies of scale-- longitudinal Saw pipes (by 25 per cent), helical Saw pipes (233 per cent) and seamless pipes (150 per cent) -- by FY09. These expansions are well-timed due to strong demand for pipes on account of surging demand for oil and gas globally.
Over the next three-four years, global demand (including India), for Saw pipes is estimated at 200,000 km involving an investment of $60 billion.
Jindal Saw is likely to gain due to restructuring of the investment holdings in Jindal Group companies, wherein it has substantial investments in Nalwa Sons, Jindal Stainless [Get Quote], JSW Steel [Get Quote] and Jindal Steel & Power, are worth about Rs 2,200 crore (Rs 22 billion). Excluding the value of investments, the stock trades at 9 times its FY09 estimated earnings, which is attractive as compared with 17 times for Welspun Gujarat.
Larsen & Toubro
Reinventing itself and successfully developing new businesses are among L&T's key strengths. That, along with the domestic infrastructure and global hydrocarbon investments, is responsible for the rising revenues and order book. It is now targeting a turnover of Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) by FY10 as compared with Rs 18,363 crore (Rs 183.63 billion) in FY07.
Going forward, there is more business to come, as the government has estimated an infrastructure investment of $500 billion during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Besides, a lot of money will also be spent by domestic players in the metal, oil and gas, power and other industries.
Little wonder, L&T's order book has been rising. As of September 2007, the engineering and construction division had an order book of Rs 42,000 crore (Rs 420 billion).
Going forward, L&T is also focusing on the overseas markets and has targeted exports to increase to 25 per cent of 2010 sales. It is entering shipbuilding, railway locomotives, power generation and power equipment as well.
While all these investments in different businesses will help sustain future growth, the medium term continues to be robust. Some of it is already rubbing off positively on the share price. Although the stock seems richly valued, it can fetch good returns.
Maruti Suzuki
On the back of a sound foundation of existing products (13 models priced between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 15 lakh), strong distribution, efficient service network and new product launches, Maruti Suzuki will maintain its dominant position.
The company has 52 per cent market share by volume of the Indian car market and 62.5 per cent of the small car segment, which is commendable given the stiff competition from global majors.
Maruti grew at a scorching 18 per cent, compared with the 13 per cent recorded by passenger car market in H1 FY08. For eight months ended November 2007, sales volume was up 19.7 per cent to 500,108 vehicles led by 49 per cent growth in exports. Notably, exports are expected to grow 40 per cent annually for the next two years; its share in total sales is likely to move up to 12 per cent in 2010 from 7 per cent in FY07.
Maruti is already augmenting capacities by 3 lakh in a phased manner by FY10 to a million units. Besides, it has lined up Splash (A2 segment) and the concept car A-Star (A1 segment), while a Swift sedan is on the cards. These will help earnings grow by 20 per cent annually in the next two years. Aggressive pricing, enhanced margins on the back of improved product mix, indigenisation and scale benefits, will help Maruti do well.
ONGC
Oil exploration companies are set to benefit from the current high oil prices and firm outlook. India's largest oil exploration company, ONGC is the best bet in this space. ONGC with interest in 85 domestic blocks including 52 offshore fields, has made 28 discoveries in the past two years, of which, 14 were made in FY08 itself.
Further, its 100 per cent subsidiary, ONGC Videsh has stakes in 26 blocks across 15 countries and is expected to be the key growth driver with its share in ONGC's consolidated revenues and profits expected to rise to 20 per cent (14 per cent now) and 14 per cent (9 per cent now), respectively.
ONGC's substantial interests in MRPL, Petronet LNG [Get Quote], GAIL and Indian Oil Corporation [Get Quote] are the topping. Moreover, the IPO of Oil India in the next few months could provide further triggers.
What also makes ONGC attractive is that it is the cheapest among its Asian peers trading at 10.1 times estimated FY09 earnings and enterprise value per barrel oil equivalent of about 7.5 times for FY09.
Going ahead, exploration successes especially in the KG basin and favourable announcement on various issues like sharing of subsidy burden, cess and deregulation in gas prices will be big positives.
Patel Engineering
Patel Engineering, which is having an order book of Rs 5,400 crore (Rs 54 billion) almost 4.8 times its FY07 revenues, would be the key beneficiary of the boom in the construction, power and real estate sectors.
Within power sector, the 11th Five Year Plan has an outlay of Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion), adding another 18,000 mw in hydropower generation. Patel Engineering has 22 per cent market share in the domestic hydropower construction, which accounts for 60 per cent of its current order book.
Also, the company has pre-qualified for new projects worth over Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) as on September 30, 2007.
Besides, its entry into own power generation setting up of 1,200 mw thermal power plant at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) are positive triggers. Meanwhile, its core businesses including construction of dams, transportation and micro-tunneling are growing at a faster pace thus providing sustainable earnings growth.
The immediate trigger would come from its real estate business. Patel Engineering has transferred a land bank of about 1,000 acres spread across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai to Patel Realty India, a 100 per cent subsidiary.
According to estimates, the real estate business is valued between Rs 500-520 per share. All of these make Patel Engineering an attractive investment.
Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications (RCOM) has a mobile telephony market share of 18 per cent and subscriber base of 38 million, which is rising by a million every month. And this should continue to rise as RCOM penetrates into smaller towns.
What's more interesting is that despite concerns over declining, operating margins have improved to 42.2 per cent in Q2 FY08, thanks to the benefits of larger scale.
This is expected to improve further if RCOM gets the go-ahead to operate an additional 15 GSM circles as 65 per cent of passive infrastructure such as telecom towers, is common to both GSM and CDMA technologies and the investments in its existing networks will be incremental.
Additionally, it is the value unlocking in its subsidiaries that are likely to provide further triggers.
In 2008, RCOM is likely to announce a stake sale and subsequently list its tower subsidiary, Reliance Telecom Infrastructure, list its submarine cable subsidiary, FLAG Telecom, hive off of its SEZ and BPO businesses and the launch IPTV and DTH services by the first quarter of 2008.
Analysts estimate that a conservative sum-of-parts valuation based on FY09 numbers for RCOM comes to Rs 850-Rs 900 per share, which indicates an appreciation of 17-24 per cent from current levels.
Reliance Industries
In 2008, Reliance Industries' (RIL) exploration and production (E&P) division, which accounts for 50 per cent of its sum-of-parts valuation, will start selling gas from the KG Basin. The only ambiguous aspect here seems to be the pricing of gas and settlement with the ADA group and NTPC.
Within a few months, Reliance Petroleum [Get Quote] will also start operations, all of which should lead to a jump in RIL's profits.
Also, the bids for NELP VII will be awarded by July 2008. While further wins will add to reserves, new discoveries at existing reserves should further add to valuations and the possible de-merger of RIL's E&P division would unlock value.
While the company is yet to prove its mettle in its retail and SEZ initiatives, given its track record managing mammoth projects, one can hope to see positive results here as well.
Notably, analysts maintain their bullish outlook on the core businesses. Refining margins for RIL, already the best among global players, should remain firm until FY11, while petrochemical margins are expected to be stable with good growth in volumes. At a P/E of under 12 times FY09 estimated core earnings, RIL is a worthy investment.
State Bank of India
SBI's move to merge State Bank of [Get Quote] Saurashtra with itself has the potential to trigger the re-rating of public sector banking stocks by pushing the much needed consolidation process.
To further expedite consolidation, the boards of SBI and its other six associate banks are meeting in January to consider merger. Should that happen, SBI's standalone balance sheet size will grow 1.5 times to Rs 8.20 lakh crore (Rs 8.20 trillion), almost double the size of ICICI Bank's.
Also, its branch network will jump 50 per cent to 14,400 branches. But, the improvement in valuations (re-rating) should get a boost when the merged entity is able to rationalise costs and extract benefits from the merger.
SBI will raise Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 billion) through a rights issue that should provide fuel for future growth. In a competitive Indian banking business, it is important for banks to achieve size and scale to be globally competitive.
And for investors, it is more important to find such banks at reasonable valuations. SBI meets both these criteria. SBI's stock trades at 2.2 times and 2 times its estimated consolidated book value for FY08 and FY09, respectively.
Further, SBI has investments in mutual fund and life insurance subsidiaries, which make valuations more compelling.
BS Smart Investor Team
December 31, 2007
Stock selection will be the key factor in determining returns in 2008, given concerns of a global slowdown and premium valuations in domestic markets.
Year 2007 saw the market deliver good returns amidst volatility, especially in the second half, thanks to global concerns. The BSE Sensex was up a good 46.6 per cent, helped by strong foreign and domestic inflows.
And what led to these inflows was none other than a strong performance by India Inc. For investors, the moot question is how will 2008 be? The answer is not simple given that none of the global concerns have eased, while the Indian rupee is still firm and India Inc is experiencing a deceleration in growth rates.
"Year 2008 will be difficult globally, although it is not yet known how deep the US downturn will be," says Andrew Holland, managing director -- strategic risk group, DSP Merrill Lynch.
While India's vulnerability to global shocks has been put to test adequately over the past year, the overall macroeconomic growth remained strong owing to infrastructure, capital goods and real estate sectors.
Notably, the story is not likely to be very different in 2008 barring drastic surprises, which means that domestic consumption plays should remain in flavour.
By this logic, the most certain sectors are capital goods, financial services, infrastructure, power, logistics and oil, gas and energy sectors among others. Even among these sectors, not all stocks can be expected to do well, owing to the differences in business models and the individual strengths and weaknesses.
Further, in our selection, we have looked at the fundamentals of companies and their potential to deliver earnings growth of over 20-25 per cent.
But, while growth is a must, valuations too need to be fair, which is why we kept a tab on the price earnings to growth (PEG) ratio. Here, most stocks are trading at a PEG of less than 1 times based on FY09 earnings estimates, which ensures that the price is not exorbitant.
To ease your effort of picking the juiciest fruits from the orchard, we have handpicked a few likely winners of 2008. Read on.
Adlabs Films
With a strong presence across the entertainment industry value chain of content production, distribution, and exhibition, Adlabs becomes the choicest pick.
Domestic consumption and leisure spends will remain buoyant as disposable incomes rise across the country fuelling growth at Adlabs.
Adlabs produces and distributes films, and is a dominant player in the multiplex segment. It has also acquired 51 per cent stake in television content producer Synergy Communications, the maker of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and Kaun Banega Crorepati.
In the FM radio business, its subsidiary, which runs Big FM has 44 FM licenses across India. This could also become a value unlocking opportunity going forward.
Over the past three years, Adlabs has impeccably delivered a top line growth of over 100 per cent y-o-y, along with high profitability. In the September 2007 quarter, it raked in a whopping 69 per cent operating profit margin.
But going by the past numbers, operating margins have remained in excess of 50 per cent consistently, with net profit margins at over 22 per cent. The stock has appreciated three-fold since January 2007 and should do well.
Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda has a strong presence in western India -- a key zone for retail and industrial growth-- with equally good rural network.
Further, the bank is one of the few banks having a substantial international presence, which contributes 18-20 per cent to total business and 30 per cent to profits. This business is expected to rise further with the bank growing its global presence.
The bank has improved its fundamentals over the past several years on key parameters such as net interest margins (NIMs) and asset quality despite growing at a robust pace (asset growth CAGR of 19 per cent in FY04-07). Going ahead, the bank's focus on NIMs backed by moderate growth augurs well.
Besides, its initiatives such as online trading services, and joint ventures in insurance and asset management, will help it create value for its shareholders.
Additional triggers could be in the form of consolidation within the public sector bank space. All this put together makes this stock, which is reasonably valued at 1.4 times its FY09 estimated book value, an attractive investment opportunity.
Bharat Bijlee
Though Bharat Bijlee has risen by a whopping 228.5 per cent in the last one year, even at current levels, it is inexpensive.
Consider this: The company has investment in various companies including Siemens, HDFC [Get Quote] and ICICI Bank [Get Quote].
At current rates, their combined value works out to Rs 317 crore (Rs 3.17 billion), or about Rs 560 per share.
Excluding this, the core business is valued at attractive valuations of 20 times FY08 earnings and 15 times FY09 estimated earnings.
The company is capitalising on the emerging opportunities in the power transformer sector, which accounts for 65 per cent of its total revenues with the balance from motors.
In the Eleventh Five Year Plan, a total power generation capacity of 78,000 mw is planned. This augurs well for transformer manufacturers such as Bharat Bijlee.
The company on its part has recently expanded its transformer capacity to 11,000 MVA from 8,000 MVA. The motors business is also witnessing 25 per cent growth and Bharat Bijlee has forayed into higher frame motors of up to 400 kw. All this put together make Bharat Bijlee a good pick.
Bharati Shipyard
Stocks of shipbuilding companies have been re-rated on the back of rising order book-to-sales to over seven times. The stock price of ABG Shipyard [Get Quote] has gone up 267 per cent, while Bharati Shipyard is up 107 per cent over the last one year.
The gain has been higher in the case of ABG Shipyard, thus stretching its valuation at 33 times its FY08 estimated earnings. Bharati Shipyard is still trading at a comfortable 18 times estimated FY08 EPS and 13 times FY09 EPS.
Also, its current order book of about Rs 4,639 crore (Rs 46.39 billion) (11 times its FY07 revenue) is strong enough for maintaining 50 per cent growth for the next three years.
Bharati is building a greenfield shipyard which will enable it to build six vessels up to 60,000 dwt (dead weight tonne) against 15,000 dwt currently by December 2008. This will enable Bharati to improve its execution speed and bid for more projects.
Besides, it is planning to invest Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) along with Apeejay Shipping to set up a shipbuilding yard on the eastern coast, which will be commissioned in FY 2011. A relatively lower valuation and strong earnings visibility makes this stock an attractive investment.
Bhel
Today, the biggest constraint in the power sector is the supply of equipment, especially the critical power equipment required for the larger projects.
But, for Bhel, which commands about 65 per cent market share in the domestic power equipment industry, this provides long-term earnings visibility.
While competition is rising with new players like L&T and Chinese companies vying for a share, Bhel's order book of Rs 62,400 crore (Rs 624 billion), almost 3.6 times its FY07 revenues, instils confidence. The successful acquisition of orders for super critical boilers and high technology gas turbines required for the bigger projects would only improve its order book further.
Considering the huge order backlog and the orders in pipeline, Bhel is expanding its capacities by 67 per cent to 10,000 mw by January 2008, which will further increase to 15,000 mw by December 2009.
Bhel is also expanding its forging and casting capacities and a new fabrication plant to help reduce its dependence on imports. These should also help lower costs in the years to come. Overall, a better industry outlook, strong order book and expansion of existing capacities will drive the stock from the current levels.
Bharti Airtel
With a mobile subscriber base of 51 million, Bharti Airtel is India's largest mobile service provider. While it has added an average of 2 million subscribers a month in Q2, it is expected to crack the 100 million subscriber mark by FY10.
While the company has experienced good growth, its ARPU has fallen by 10 per cent over the last three quarters, much ahead of the 4 per cent decline experienced by Reliance Communications [Get Quote]. Even then, operating margins have improved, on the back of higher margin in broadband business and cost reduction.
Going forward, increase in scale of operations will keep costs in check. Capital and operating expenditure is also likely to come down after the formation of Indus, a tower infrastructure company, which will manage the tower infrastructure of Bharti, Vodafone and Idea.
A trigger for the stock could be the listing of Bharti Infratel, the tower division and which holds 42 per cent in Indus. Bharti Infratel already has 20,000 towers and plans to set up more.
RCOM will be the biggest threat for the company if it manages to soon roll out its GSM services across 15 circles. Additionally, any unfavourable outcome over the spectrum issue will have its impact; it could lead to increased investments in upgradation of existing equipment.
To conclude, Bharti's revenues should grow by 35 per cent in the next two years on the back of subscriber expansion, start of Sri Lankan operations by March 2008, and launch of IPTV and DTH. A sum-of-parts valuation puts the per share value of Bharti at Rs 1,200, a 27 per cent upside from the current levels.
Blue Star
The central air conditioning major, Blue Star, is a key beneficiary of the economic boom in the country across sectors like IT/ITES, retail and telecom.
This is reflected in the strong CAGR of 32 per cent and 40 per cent in sales and operating profit respectively in the past three years.
Notably, such strong growth traction is expected to continue as the company is sitting on a strong order book position, which is at Rs 1,030 crore (Rs 10.30 billion) as on September 2007. It is likely to get repeat orders from its existing customers as they expand operations.
It is expanding its capacities by investing about Rs 60-70 crore (Rs 60-700 million), which will lead to economies of scale and rationalisation of costs leading to margin expansion. Its return on equity and return on capital employed, which were at 34 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, in FY07, will only improve.
However, the full benefits will be reflected only from the next financial year. The macro factors too continue to be robust, with huge investments planned in all the above mentioned sectors.
Dishman Pharmaceuticals
Dishman, a pharma outsourcing player, is moving up the value chain from being a commoditised chemicals supplier to a research partner for innovator companies.
Its acquisition of Swiss-based Carbogen-Amcis (CA), which offers drug development and commercialisation services, has helped it tap into the client base of CA that includes seven of the top ten US drug companies.
With three projects in phase-III development, and likely to hit commercial production in two years, CA's revenues are expected to grow 15 per cent annually to Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) by December 2008.
Dishman caters to 50 per cent of Dutch pharma major Solvay Pharma's requirement of eposartan mesylate, an anti-hypertension medication. Its acquisition of Solvay's Vitamin-D business will boost revenues. Its foray into China to manufacture Quats, a catalyst, is also seen positively.
All these should help reduce Solvay's share of 25 per cent in Dishman's revenues going forward. With earnings expected to grow between 25-30 per cent in the next two years (Rs 12 in FY08, Rs 15 in FY09 and Rs 20 in FY10), the stock can deliver 28-30 per cent returns in one year.
Educomp Solutions
Educomp, the market leader in Kindergarten-12 education products, is a successful niche player. It has made some smart acquisitions, entered new areas. and garnered a client base of almost 6,000 schools across India besides, a small presence in Singapore and the US. Its first mover advantage makes it difficult for competition to catch up anytime soon.
Besides, the company has so far acquired and built the abilities to design and create content for schools, learning and school infrastructure management solutions, online teaching solutions, community building solutions and more recently into setting up its own schools.
Financially, Educomp's top line has almost doubled every year and operating margins have been maintained above 50 per cent.
Considering the growth potential in the Indian education industry, Educomp is likely to keep its juggernaut rolling for the coming few years. In FY09, Educomp will double its top line again and grow its earnings by 75 per cent. Although there has been a concern over valuations, the consistent earnings growth justify the same.
HDFC
HDFC is an ideal play on the gamut of financial services. Besides market dominance in housing finance, it provides huge potential for value unlocking from its investment in banking, insurance and mutual fund subsidiaries.
The proposed UTI Mutual Fund IPO, stake sale by Reliance Capital [Get Quote] in its mutual fund entity and the probability of listing of insurance companies though in the long term, should provide triggers. Moreover, there is a possibility of a merger with HDFC Bank.
Its core business--housing finance will continue to do well. Its loan book is expected to witness a CAGR of 25 per cent over the next two years. Its net interest margins are expected to remain stable at around 3 per cent.
And, HDFC is known for its asset quality. HDFC's stock trades at about 5 times FY09 estimated book value (adjusted for the value of its subsidiaries, which is about 30 per cent of HDFC's market capitalisation), and is a worthy pick.
India Infoline
India Infoline is another company representing financial services, except the lending business.
Its stock price has grown more than fourfold in the last one year amid many positive triggers like capital raising for expansions, tie-up with strategic investors for investments in subsidiaries and restructuring of its various businesses.
Besides equity broking, it has expanded its product basket to include institutional equities broking, commodities broking, margin finance, investment banking and, distribution of life insurance, mutual fund and loans products.
It is investing towards building a strong distribution network (596 branches in 345 cities) and customer base (5 lakh clients) for its various services. Accordingly, the share of its traditional broking business of about 56 per cent in FY07 revenues is expected to come down over the years.
The stock trades at 51 times and 44 times estimated earnings for FY08 and FY09, respectively. While it looks cheaper than Edelweiss, in terms of market capitalisation to revenues, it trades at a higher P/E than Indiabulls [Get Quote].
However, it has the most de-risked business model compared to other players. Given India Infoline's aggressive growth strategy, the stock is ideal for long term investors.
Jain Irrigation
Jain Irrigation, which is in the businesses of micro irrigation systems, food processing and plastic pipes and sheets, is a direct play on the growing emphasis on agriculture. Irrigation systems account for 30 per cent of its revenue. It's revenues from micro irrigation have grown at 70 per cent annually.
Growth will be maintained on the back of its plans to launch new irrigation systems, higher replacement demand, focus on geographical diversification.
Jain's five overseas acquisitions, including a 50 per cent stake in NaanDan of Israel, the world's fifth largest micro-irrigation company, will help in terms of access to technology and access to large markets such as South Africa, US, and Europe.
In food processing, which accounts for 14 per cent of total income and grew by 74 per cent in FY07, Jain produces juices and dehydrated vegetables for companies like Coco Cola, Nestle [Get Quote], etc. This business to grow at healthy from hereon.
In plastic pipes and sheets, its products find application in agriculture (30 per cent market share) and telecom (70% share) among others and, should continue to grow at a healthy pace.
To sum up, Jain is operating in high growth areas, while exports too are expected to grow rapidly, which makes it a good investment case.
Jindal Saw
Jindal Saw, the most diversified Indian pipe manufacturer, makes submerged arc welded (Saw), seamless and ductile iron spun pipes, which are used in diverse applications like oil & gas and water-based infrastructure.
The company is expanding its capacities in phases which will bring economies of scale-- longitudinal Saw pipes (by 25 per cent), helical Saw pipes (233 per cent) and seamless pipes (150 per cent) -- by FY09. These expansions are well-timed due to strong demand for pipes on account of surging demand for oil and gas globally.
Over the next three-four years, global demand (including India), for Saw pipes is estimated at 200,000 km involving an investment of $60 billion.
Jindal Saw is likely to gain due to restructuring of the investment holdings in Jindal Group companies, wherein it has substantial investments in Nalwa Sons, Jindal Stainless [Get Quote], JSW Steel [Get Quote] and Jindal Steel & Power, are worth about Rs 2,200 crore (Rs 22 billion). Excluding the value of investments, the stock trades at 9 times its FY09 estimated earnings, which is attractive as compared with 17 times for Welspun Gujarat.
Larsen & Toubro
Reinventing itself and successfully developing new businesses are among L&T's key strengths. That, along with the domestic infrastructure and global hydrocarbon investments, is responsible for the rising revenues and order book. It is now targeting a turnover of Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) by FY10 as compared with Rs 18,363 crore (Rs 183.63 billion) in FY07.
Going forward, there is more business to come, as the government has estimated an infrastructure investment of $500 billion during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Besides, a lot of money will also be spent by domestic players in the metal, oil and gas, power and other industries.
Little wonder, L&T's order book has been rising. As of September 2007, the engineering and construction division had an order book of Rs 42,000 crore (Rs 420 billion).
Going forward, L&T is also focusing on the overseas markets and has targeted exports to increase to 25 per cent of 2010 sales. It is entering shipbuilding, railway locomotives, power generation and power equipment as well.
While all these investments in different businesses will help sustain future growth, the medium term continues to be robust. Some of it is already rubbing off positively on the share price. Although the stock seems richly valued, it can fetch good returns.
Maruti Suzuki
On the back of a sound foundation of existing products (13 models priced between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 15 lakh), strong distribution, efficient service network and new product launches, Maruti Suzuki will maintain its dominant position.
The company has 52 per cent market share by volume of the Indian car market and 62.5 per cent of the small car segment, which is commendable given the stiff competition from global majors.
Maruti grew at a scorching 18 per cent, compared with the 13 per cent recorded by passenger car market in H1 FY08. For eight months ended November 2007, sales volume was up 19.7 per cent to 500,108 vehicles led by 49 per cent growth in exports. Notably, exports are expected to grow 40 per cent annually for the next two years; its share in total sales is likely to move up to 12 per cent in 2010 from 7 per cent in FY07.
Maruti is already augmenting capacities by 3 lakh in a phased manner by FY10 to a million units. Besides, it has lined up Splash (A2 segment) and the concept car A-Star (A1 segment), while a Swift sedan is on the cards. These will help earnings grow by 20 per cent annually in the next two years. Aggressive pricing, enhanced margins on the back of improved product mix, indigenisation and scale benefits, will help Maruti do well.
ONGC
Oil exploration companies are set to benefit from the current high oil prices and firm outlook. India's largest oil exploration company, ONGC is the best bet in this space. ONGC with interest in 85 domestic blocks including 52 offshore fields, has made 28 discoveries in the past two years, of which, 14 were made in FY08 itself.
Further, its 100 per cent subsidiary, ONGC Videsh has stakes in 26 blocks across 15 countries and is expected to be the key growth driver with its share in ONGC's consolidated revenues and profits expected to rise to 20 per cent (14 per cent now) and 14 per cent (9 per cent now), respectively.
ONGC's substantial interests in MRPL, Petronet LNG [Get Quote], GAIL and Indian Oil Corporation [Get Quote] are the topping. Moreover, the IPO of Oil India in the next few months could provide further triggers.
What also makes ONGC attractive is that it is the cheapest among its Asian peers trading at 10.1 times estimated FY09 earnings and enterprise value per barrel oil equivalent of about 7.5 times for FY09.
Going ahead, exploration successes especially in the KG basin and favourable announcement on various issues like sharing of subsidy burden, cess and deregulation in gas prices will be big positives.
Patel Engineering
Patel Engineering, which is having an order book of Rs 5,400 crore (Rs 54 billion) almost 4.8 times its FY07 revenues, would be the key beneficiary of the boom in the construction, power and real estate sectors.
Within power sector, the 11th Five Year Plan has an outlay of Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion), adding another 18,000 mw in hydropower generation. Patel Engineering has 22 per cent market share in the domestic hydropower construction, which accounts for 60 per cent of its current order book.
Also, the company has pre-qualified for new projects worth over Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) as on September 30, 2007.
Besides, its entry into own power generation setting up of 1,200 mw thermal power plant at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) are positive triggers. Meanwhile, its core businesses including construction of dams, transportation and micro-tunneling are growing at a faster pace thus providing sustainable earnings growth.
The immediate trigger would come from its real estate business. Patel Engineering has transferred a land bank of about 1,000 acres spread across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai to Patel Realty India, a 100 per cent subsidiary.
According to estimates, the real estate business is valued between Rs 500-520 per share. All of these make Patel Engineering an attractive investment.
Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications (RCOM) has a mobile telephony market share of 18 per cent and subscriber base of 38 million, which is rising by a million every month. And this should continue to rise as RCOM penetrates into smaller towns.
What's more interesting is that despite concerns over declining, operating margins have improved to 42.2 per cent in Q2 FY08, thanks to the benefits of larger scale.
This is expected to improve further if RCOM gets the go-ahead to operate an additional 15 GSM circles as 65 per cent of passive infrastructure such as telecom towers, is common to both GSM and CDMA technologies and the investments in its existing networks will be incremental.
Additionally, it is the value unlocking in its subsidiaries that are likely to provide further triggers.
In 2008, RCOM is likely to announce a stake sale and subsequently list its tower subsidiary, Reliance Telecom Infrastructure, list its submarine cable subsidiary, FLAG Telecom, hive off of its SEZ and BPO businesses and the launch IPTV and DTH services by the first quarter of 2008.
Analysts estimate that a conservative sum-of-parts valuation based on FY09 numbers for RCOM comes to Rs 850-Rs 900 per share, which indicates an appreciation of 17-24 per cent from current levels.
Reliance Industries
In 2008, Reliance Industries' (RIL) exploration and production (E&P) division, which accounts for 50 per cent of its sum-of-parts valuation, will start selling gas from the KG Basin. The only ambiguous aspect here seems to be the pricing of gas and settlement with the ADA group and NTPC.
Within a few months, Reliance Petroleum [Get Quote] will also start operations, all of which should lead to a jump in RIL's profits.
Also, the bids for NELP VII will be awarded by July 2008. While further wins will add to reserves, new discoveries at existing reserves should further add to valuations and the possible de-merger of RIL's E&P division would unlock value.
While the company is yet to prove its mettle in its retail and SEZ initiatives, given its track record managing mammoth projects, one can hope to see positive results here as well.
Notably, analysts maintain their bullish outlook on the core businesses. Refining margins for RIL, already the best among global players, should remain firm until FY11, while petrochemical margins are expected to be stable with good growth in volumes. At a P/E of under 12 times FY09 estimated core earnings, RIL is a worthy investment.
State Bank of India
SBI's move to merge State Bank of [Get Quote] Saurashtra with itself has the potential to trigger the re-rating of public sector banking stocks by pushing the much needed consolidation process.
To further expedite consolidation, the boards of SBI and its other six associate banks are meeting in January to consider merger. Should that happen, SBI's standalone balance sheet size will grow 1.5 times to Rs 8.20 lakh crore (Rs 8.20 trillion), almost double the size of ICICI Bank's.
Also, its branch network will jump 50 per cent to 14,400 branches. But, the improvement in valuations (re-rating) should get a boost when the merged entity is able to rationalise costs and extract benefits from the merger.
SBI will raise Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 billion) through a rights issue that should provide fuel for future growth. In a competitive Indian banking business, it is important for banks to achieve size and scale to be globally competitive.
And for investors, it is more important to find such banks at reasonable valuations. SBI meets both these criteria. SBI's stock trades at 2.2 times and 2 times its estimated consolidated book value for FY08 and FY09, respectively.
Further, SBI has investments in mutual fund and life insurance subsidiaries, which make valuations more compelling.
The India growth party has just only started: Kamath
The India growth party has just only started: Kamath
28 Dec, 2007, 0521 hrs IST,KV KAMATH MD & CEO, ICICI BANK ,
India has made remarkable progress during the last 60 years and is viewed today as a land of opportunity. For the first time since independence we are at such an exciting stage of development. We are seeing the advantages of economic empowerment consequent to the transition to a high growth phase.
The trends that we are witnessing today are unprecedented in the nation’s economic history. The experience of other economies shows that a high growth rate of 9% or more is indeed sustainable over long periods of time. Japan grew at 8.5% for 20 years after World War II.
The result was a fivefold increase in its GDP. China has grown at a compounded annual rate of 9.5% for over 25 years since it began reforms, with its GDP growing ten times.
The Indian economy today has the same characteristics as the economies of Japan and China in the early years of their growth: favourable demographics , human capital, rising competitiveness of industry and rising savings rate. India is at the beginning of the curve in terms of what could happen. We can reasonably expect these growth rates to sustain for the next 15-20 years. The party, in other words, has just started.
A look at the structure and growth drivers of the economy reaffirms this outlook. The growth momentum in the initial part of this decade was primarily led by the services sector . This sector brought to the fore the knowledge capital and entrepreneurial ability latent in the Indian people. Knowledge has emerged as the key driver of our economy today. While the services sector continues to thrive, the industrial, and particularly the manufacturing sector, has in recent years kicked in as a powerful growth driver.
Currently, India’s manufacturing growth is amongst the fastest in the world. India’s manufacturing base is the fourth largest globally. What has made this possible? With 69% of the population being less than 35 years of age, economic growth has spurred sustained consumption demand. The momentum in consumption demand has in turn accelerated the industrial and manufacturing growth process.
At the same time, growing global competitiveness has enabled Indian industry to develop India as a global sourcing hub, and also encouraged our companies to go out and establish a presence overseas, whether organically or inorganically.
As we have progressed from a per capita income level of $500 to $1,000, we have seen a rapid increase in the consuming class in the country. A per capita income of $1,000 marks the next step-up in the growth path. It is estimated that the increase of per capita GDP has added about 90 million people to the Indian consuming class.
At this level of income there is a distinct demand for better living standards and with increased affordability , large-scale infrastructure development becomes a reality. Going forward , as we move towards a per capita income of $1,500 and then $2,000, we will witness a rapid acceleration of this process. This will be a key factor driving consumption momentum and the consuming class of our population will expand exponentially in the years to come. On the other hand, the resurgence of investments in the economy will accelerate the industrial momentum .
Already we have an estimated capital expenditure and infrastructure pipeline of $500 billion over the next few years across a range of sectors. The healthy savings-investments balance that we witness today is a strong indicator that such investments can be easily financed. In essence, we are in a phase where both consumption and investment demand mutually reinforce each other to drive economic growth. As each of these factors continues to gain in strength, we seem well poised to take our growth story to the next higher level.
Can any element stop the party? Let us take oil prices first. The rapid increase in global oil prices to $100 per barrel has raised questions on the possible impact on the economy . Naturally earlier periods of oil price shocks are cited in most predictions of economic disaster. The key word here though is shock. The oil price increases preceding the current one were a result of an abrupt disruption of supply. Such disruptions were not easy to predict and affected the economic environment adversely. In contrast, the current increase in oil prices is driven by surging demand from emerging markets , which itself is an outcome of the growth process.
In recent years oil prices have remained volatile but economic growth has remained strong. In the Indian context also, strong economic growth has the capacity to absorb increased oil prices. As a comparison , while the net oil import bill for India increased by $5.6 billion in fiscal 2007, GDP growth at market prices was well over $100 billion.
The interest rate cycle in India has reversed after witnessing a period of low interest rates. However, I do not see high interest rates as a threat to growth. The monetary measures appear to have had the desired impact and with inflation under control and liquidity being comfortable, interest rates should come down in the future. The strong appreciation in the rupee has led to concerns regarding adverse impact on export competitiveness . However, I would like to point out that an economy attracting capital on account of a strong growth outlook should be prepared to face appreciating rates. Rather than depend on exchange rates and government interventions, I am sure that our industries have the capacity to remain competitive by improving efficiency.
Over the past few months, conditions in global markets have deteriorated and there are now concerns surrounding a downturn of the US economy. Credit markets have tightened owing to a loss of confidence among investors . Financing continues to be available for Indian credits and going forward liquidity conditions should ease following the re-pricing of risks in global markets.
The Indian growth story is based on multiple cylinders — consumption, investment, domestic demand, global competitiveness , knowledge-based businesses, industrial growth. Cyclical downturns in any one sector can occur but it is the combination of all factors that will keep the economy running at the rates that we are now seeing. In addition, there is ample scope to do much better , be it in the agriculture sector or in terms of infrastructure development. There are a lot of growth stories waiting to happen. As such the risks we see do not seem to have the potential to derail the economy . The party, as I said earlier, is going to be a long one.
The author is managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank
28 Dec, 2007, 0521 hrs IST,KV KAMATH MD & CEO, ICICI BANK ,
India has made remarkable progress during the last 60 years and is viewed today as a land of opportunity. For the first time since independence we are at such an exciting stage of development. We are seeing the advantages of economic empowerment consequent to the transition to a high growth phase.
The trends that we are witnessing today are unprecedented in the nation’s economic history. The experience of other economies shows that a high growth rate of 9% or more is indeed sustainable over long periods of time. Japan grew at 8.5% for 20 years after World War II.
The result was a fivefold increase in its GDP. China has grown at a compounded annual rate of 9.5% for over 25 years since it began reforms, with its GDP growing ten times.
The Indian economy today has the same characteristics as the economies of Japan and China in the early years of their growth: favourable demographics , human capital, rising competitiveness of industry and rising savings rate. India is at the beginning of the curve in terms of what could happen. We can reasonably expect these growth rates to sustain for the next 15-20 years. The party, in other words, has just started.
A look at the structure and growth drivers of the economy reaffirms this outlook. The growth momentum in the initial part of this decade was primarily led by the services sector . This sector brought to the fore the knowledge capital and entrepreneurial ability latent in the Indian people. Knowledge has emerged as the key driver of our economy today. While the services sector continues to thrive, the industrial, and particularly the manufacturing sector, has in recent years kicked in as a powerful growth driver.
Currently, India’s manufacturing growth is amongst the fastest in the world. India’s manufacturing base is the fourth largest globally. What has made this possible? With 69% of the population being less than 35 years of age, economic growth has spurred sustained consumption demand. The momentum in consumption demand has in turn accelerated the industrial and manufacturing growth process.
At the same time, growing global competitiveness has enabled Indian industry to develop India as a global sourcing hub, and also encouraged our companies to go out and establish a presence overseas, whether organically or inorganically.
As we have progressed from a per capita income level of $500 to $1,000, we have seen a rapid increase in the consuming class in the country. A per capita income of $1,000 marks the next step-up in the growth path. It is estimated that the increase of per capita GDP has added about 90 million people to the Indian consuming class.
At this level of income there is a distinct demand for better living standards and with increased affordability , large-scale infrastructure development becomes a reality. Going forward , as we move towards a per capita income of $1,500 and then $2,000, we will witness a rapid acceleration of this process. This will be a key factor driving consumption momentum and the consuming class of our population will expand exponentially in the years to come. On the other hand, the resurgence of investments in the economy will accelerate the industrial momentum .
Already we have an estimated capital expenditure and infrastructure pipeline of $500 billion over the next few years across a range of sectors. The healthy savings-investments balance that we witness today is a strong indicator that such investments can be easily financed. In essence, we are in a phase where both consumption and investment demand mutually reinforce each other to drive economic growth. As each of these factors continues to gain in strength, we seem well poised to take our growth story to the next higher level.
Can any element stop the party? Let us take oil prices first. The rapid increase in global oil prices to $100 per barrel has raised questions on the possible impact on the economy . Naturally earlier periods of oil price shocks are cited in most predictions of economic disaster. The key word here though is shock. The oil price increases preceding the current one were a result of an abrupt disruption of supply. Such disruptions were not easy to predict and affected the economic environment adversely. In contrast, the current increase in oil prices is driven by surging demand from emerging markets , which itself is an outcome of the growth process.
In recent years oil prices have remained volatile but economic growth has remained strong. In the Indian context also, strong economic growth has the capacity to absorb increased oil prices. As a comparison , while the net oil import bill for India increased by $5.6 billion in fiscal 2007, GDP growth at market prices was well over $100 billion.
The interest rate cycle in India has reversed after witnessing a period of low interest rates. However, I do not see high interest rates as a threat to growth. The monetary measures appear to have had the desired impact and with inflation under control and liquidity being comfortable, interest rates should come down in the future. The strong appreciation in the rupee has led to concerns regarding adverse impact on export competitiveness . However, I would like to point out that an economy attracting capital on account of a strong growth outlook should be prepared to face appreciating rates. Rather than depend on exchange rates and government interventions, I am sure that our industries have the capacity to remain competitive by improving efficiency.
Over the past few months, conditions in global markets have deteriorated and there are now concerns surrounding a downturn of the US economy. Credit markets have tightened owing to a loss of confidence among investors . Financing continues to be available for Indian credits and going forward liquidity conditions should ease following the re-pricing of risks in global markets.
The Indian growth story is based on multiple cylinders — consumption, investment, domestic demand, global competitiveness , knowledge-based businesses, industrial growth. Cyclical downturns in any one sector can occur but it is the combination of all factors that will keep the economy running at the rates that we are now seeing. In addition, there is ample scope to do much better , be it in the agriculture sector or in terms of infrastructure development. There are a lot of growth stories waiting to happen. As such the risks we see do not seem to have the potential to derail the economy . The party, as I said earlier, is going to be a long one.
The author is managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank
The end of a long, enlightening journey: Sashi Tharoor
The end of a long, enlightening journey: Sashi Tharoor
Seventeen instalments ago we embarked in this space on a quixotic scheme: to compile a glossary of things Indian, "a sense of what we have in common: the assumptions, the habits, the shared reference-points that constitute the cultural and intellectual baggage of every thinking Indian."
We have ploughed through the alphabet, with tongue yoked firmly to cheek, and here we are at last at the final furrows on our brow (and the last letters of the alphabet).
But before we get there, as faithful readers have reminded me, there are a couple of other terms I should have defined for our glossary that I didn’t before their alphabet slipped away.
Call Centres: The quintessential symbol of India's globalisation. While traditional India sleeps, a dynamic young cohort of highly skilled, articulate professionals works through the night, functioning on US time under made-up American aliases, pretending familiarity with a culture and climate they've never actually experienced, earning salaries that were undreamt of by their elders (but a fraction of what an American would make) and enjoying a lifestyle that's a cocktail of premature affluence and ersatz westernisation transplanted to an Indian setting.
Critics argue that this is "coolie work" (see my column of April 15 this year) but it's transforming lives, boosting our economy and altering our society. When the story of the New India is written, call centres will have to play a large part in the narrative.
IITs: Are perhaps Jawaharlal Nehru's most consequential legacy: they epitomise his creation of an infrastructure for excellence in science and technology, which has become a source of great self-confidence and competitive advantage for India today. Nehru's establishment of the Indian Institutes of Technology has led to India's reputation for engineering excellence, and its effects have been felt abroad, since the IITs produced many of the finest minds in America's Silicon Valley and Fortune-100 Corporations. Today, an IIT degree is held in the same reverence in the US as one from MIT or Caltech. There are not too many Indian institutions of which this can be said.
Back to our final entries: Villages: Are where two-thirds of Indians still live. They are, for the most part, neither the dregs of misery they are sometimes portrayed to be (living conditions in our city slums are surely far worse) nor the idealised self-sufficient communities our Gandhians wish they were (there are too many inequalities and vested interests, and too few opportunities, for that). Our villages are just as susceptible to the encroachments of change, to the influence of the nearest movie theatre, to the ideas of the loudest politician, as any of our cities. They have simply lasted longer, and changed slower, because neither the attempts nor the resources have been geared for dramatic transformation. But village India is changing — few villages can claim to be identical in every respect to the way they were even a decade ago — and the pace of change can only accelerate. As urbanisation proceeds apace, within the lifetime of many of the readers of this column, villages will no longer house a majority of India's population. And then, to borrow from Edward Luce, if Gandhiji hadn't been cremated, he would surely have rolled over in his grave.
Weddings: Are the classic Indian social event, glittering occasions for conspicuous consumption, outrageous overdressing and free food. In a culture where marriage is a family arrangement rather than a legal contract, the wedding is the real opportunity to proclaim a new relationship to society, and brings together friends, business contacts, relatives and spongers in orgiastic celebration of the act of union. Beneath the surface bonhomie and backslapping jollity, however, lurk the real tensions, as the bride's father asks himself, "Are the groom's party really happy with the dowry? Can i trust the chap who's collecting the presents?"
Xerox: Xerox machines are a relatively new feature of Indian life. The cost of photocopying, though it has been dropping, is still prohibitive enough to dissuade all but companies, scholars and the occasional spy from resorting too freely to it. But the existence of so many roadside sheds with Xerox machines in them is, like our STD booths, a contribution of Indian democracy to the popularisation of technology.
Yes-men: Known north of the Vindhyas as chamchas, yes-men have existed throughout Indian history and will no doubt continue to do so. Their role is sanctified by the tradition of deference, the power of position, the fact of overpopulation and the alternative of unemployment. No one with money, power or position moves alone when he can be accompanied by a host of sycophants ready to echo his every nod. Yes-men are not necessarily at the bottom of the social scale; the role can be played at various levels. Thus, a peasant can be a yes-man to a contractor who is a yes-man to a landlord who is a yes-man to a party boss who is a yes-man to a chief minister who is a yes-man to a cabinet member who is a yes-man to the prime minister... At no stage in the process does anyone actually think anything other than, "What does my boss want me to think?" Fortunately for the country, somebody up there values the word no.
Zoroastrianism: See Parsis. (This is part of the typical Indian habit of observing the letter of an undertaking, while violating its spirit. It is also known as having the last laugh.)
By: Shashi Tharoor
Seventeen instalments ago we embarked in this space on a quixotic scheme: to compile a glossary of things Indian, "a sense of what we have in common: the assumptions, the habits, the shared reference-points that constitute the cultural and intellectual baggage of every thinking Indian."
We have ploughed through the alphabet, with tongue yoked firmly to cheek, and here we are at last at the final furrows on our brow (and the last letters of the alphabet).
But before we get there, as faithful readers have reminded me, there are a couple of other terms I should have defined for our glossary that I didn’t before their alphabet slipped away.
Call Centres: The quintessential symbol of India's globalisation. While traditional India sleeps, a dynamic young cohort of highly skilled, articulate professionals works through the night, functioning on US time under made-up American aliases, pretending familiarity with a culture and climate they've never actually experienced, earning salaries that were undreamt of by their elders (but a fraction of what an American would make) and enjoying a lifestyle that's a cocktail of premature affluence and ersatz westernisation transplanted to an Indian setting.
Critics argue that this is "coolie work" (see my column of April 15 this year) but it's transforming lives, boosting our economy and altering our society. When the story of the New India is written, call centres will have to play a large part in the narrative.
IITs: Are perhaps Jawaharlal Nehru's most consequential legacy: they epitomise his creation of an infrastructure for excellence in science and technology, which has become a source of great self-confidence and competitive advantage for India today. Nehru's establishment of the Indian Institutes of Technology has led to India's reputation for engineering excellence, and its effects have been felt abroad, since the IITs produced many of the finest minds in America's Silicon Valley and Fortune-100 Corporations. Today, an IIT degree is held in the same reverence in the US as one from MIT or Caltech. There are not too many Indian institutions of which this can be said.
Back to our final entries: Villages: Are where two-thirds of Indians still live. They are, for the most part, neither the dregs of misery they are sometimes portrayed to be (living conditions in our city slums are surely far worse) nor the idealised self-sufficient communities our Gandhians wish they were (there are too many inequalities and vested interests, and too few opportunities, for that). Our villages are just as susceptible to the encroachments of change, to the influence of the nearest movie theatre, to the ideas of the loudest politician, as any of our cities. They have simply lasted longer, and changed slower, because neither the attempts nor the resources have been geared for dramatic transformation. But village India is changing — few villages can claim to be identical in every respect to the way they were even a decade ago — and the pace of change can only accelerate. As urbanisation proceeds apace, within the lifetime of many of the readers of this column, villages will no longer house a majority of India's population. And then, to borrow from Edward Luce, if Gandhiji hadn't been cremated, he would surely have rolled over in his grave.
Weddings: Are the classic Indian social event, glittering occasions for conspicuous consumption, outrageous overdressing and free food. In a culture where marriage is a family arrangement rather than a legal contract, the wedding is the real opportunity to proclaim a new relationship to society, and brings together friends, business contacts, relatives and spongers in orgiastic celebration of the act of union. Beneath the surface bonhomie and backslapping jollity, however, lurk the real tensions, as the bride's father asks himself, "Are the groom's party really happy with the dowry? Can i trust the chap who's collecting the presents?"
Xerox: Xerox machines are a relatively new feature of Indian life. The cost of photocopying, though it has been dropping, is still prohibitive enough to dissuade all but companies, scholars and the occasional spy from resorting too freely to it. But the existence of so many roadside sheds with Xerox machines in them is, like our STD booths, a contribution of Indian democracy to the popularisation of technology.
Yes-men: Known north of the Vindhyas as chamchas, yes-men have existed throughout Indian history and will no doubt continue to do so. Their role is sanctified by the tradition of deference, the power of position, the fact of overpopulation and the alternative of unemployment. No one with money, power or position moves alone when he can be accompanied by a host of sycophants ready to echo his every nod. Yes-men are not necessarily at the bottom of the social scale; the role can be played at various levels. Thus, a peasant can be a yes-man to a contractor who is a yes-man to a landlord who is a yes-man to a party boss who is a yes-man to a chief minister who is a yes-man to a cabinet member who is a yes-man to the prime minister... At no stage in the process does anyone actually think anything other than, "What does my boss want me to think?" Fortunately for the country, somebody up there values the word no.
Zoroastrianism: See Parsis. (This is part of the typical Indian habit of observing the letter of an undertaking, while violating its spirit. It is also known as having the last laugh.)
By: Shashi Tharoor
Research stocks well to become smart investor
Research stocks well to become smart investor
1 Jan, 2008, 1730 hrs IST,Prerna Katiyar, TNN
Guptaji has got a “hot tip” on a buzzing stop and he can hardly wait for the markets to open to place his order. He got this tip from his colleague, considered to be an old hand in stock markets. His colleagues stock ideas come from a couple of websites that claim to give recommendations on stocks that give high returns. So Guptaji was glad to see his transaction executed and was already making a rough estimate on his expected returns. To his surprise, within the next few trading sessions the stock shed nearly 30%.
Guptaji is not alone. The market seems to be flooded with information from news channels, newspapers, websites, hotlines, and even astrology-linked tips, not to forget our own friends and colleagues, continuously feeding us with stock picks. Retail investors and first-time investors are becoming a easy prey hoping to make quick bucks sitting at home.
Making investments based on these heard-on-the-street tips not only makes investor’s lose their hard-earned money, but also sends wrong notions that the stock market is meant to be understood by a niche few.
Ask any retail investor and one can hear innumerable stories about people who have made amazing gains as well as nerve-wrecking losses by speculative trading based on these hot tips. “When I started investing in 2004, I followed tips offered by a few websites and lost close to 40% of my principal. I was so disappointed that I stopped investing after that,” says a retail investor from Jaipur, Sudip Verma.
There have been instances when the people who gave stock recommendations through popular means were caught doing exactly the opposite so as to benefit themselves out of this contrarian situation. “It needs to be seen if the source himself is well informed or not. In most cases, one should avoid these tips unless one is sure of the authenticity of the source,” says SBI mutual fund manager Jayesh Shroff.
The idea here is to do your own homework before making any investments. Popular and quite easy ways to do this is to check the company’s website to accustom oneself of the company’s line of business, working model, management, performance over a couple of years, new products, latest announcements, etc.
Key numbers to judge the performance are rate of increase in revenue and net profit over past few years, return on equity, return on capital employed, dividend history, relative price to earning ratio (P/E) vis-à-vis its peers, price to book value (BV) and so on. Most of these numbers can be compared not just with the corresponding period of past quarters and years but also with the peers in the same sector.
In addition, one should take into account the market capitalisation of the company, as risk of manipulation is higher if you have decided to invest in a low-cap company. Large caps, because of their sheer size, are less prone to manipulative trading. In fact, attending the annual general meeting, if one gets the opportunity, is also a good idea as one gets the chance to talk to the management on their plans and can also get their individual doubts clarified.
It’s not that one should keep himself totally aloof from these recommendations. The stock ideas one gets from
various sources may act as a cue but needs to be validated by checking the fundamentals (and if possible the technicals) yourself. There are few genuine reasons to take a hint from these recommendations.
First, it’s not practically possible for a retail investor to carry out an extensive research on quality of management and future plans of the company. Second, there can be islands of opportunities among this vast sea of recommendations. So choosing the right stock and not betting on anything and everything that comes your way may be a good idea.
“An investor should first prepare his own trading strategy. Protecting one’s capital is of primary importance, and before taking any advise one should have the basic idea as to how much of it he is ready to lose if he runs into a sequence of losing trades,” says Deepak Mohoni, who gives stock recommendations for the short term. “Following a particular target is not a good idea, as the target either limits profits or is never reached. Traders should use stop losses and trailing stops instead,” he adds.
After all, we do ask the vendor to cut the watermelon and show if it is red or not before buying, compare prices of the same product across different brands, try a dress if it actually fits our size, and the like. Don’t we do that, Guptaji?
1 Jan, 2008, 1730 hrs IST,Prerna Katiyar, TNN
Guptaji has got a “hot tip” on a buzzing stop and he can hardly wait for the markets to open to place his order. He got this tip from his colleague, considered to be an old hand in stock markets. His colleagues stock ideas come from a couple of websites that claim to give recommendations on stocks that give high returns. So Guptaji was glad to see his transaction executed and was already making a rough estimate on his expected returns. To his surprise, within the next few trading sessions the stock shed nearly 30%.
Guptaji is not alone. The market seems to be flooded with information from news channels, newspapers, websites, hotlines, and even astrology-linked tips, not to forget our own friends and colleagues, continuously feeding us with stock picks. Retail investors and first-time investors are becoming a easy prey hoping to make quick bucks sitting at home.
Making investments based on these heard-on-the-street tips not only makes investor’s lose their hard-earned money, but also sends wrong notions that the stock market is meant to be understood by a niche few.
Ask any retail investor and one can hear innumerable stories about people who have made amazing gains as well as nerve-wrecking losses by speculative trading based on these hot tips. “When I started investing in 2004, I followed tips offered by a few websites and lost close to 40% of my principal. I was so disappointed that I stopped investing after that,” says a retail investor from Jaipur, Sudip Verma.
There have been instances when the people who gave stock recommendations through popular means were caught doing exactly the opposite so as to benefit themselves out of this contrarian situation. “It needs to be seen if the source himself is well informed or not. In most cases, one should avoid these tips unless one is sure of the authenticity of the source,” says SBI mutual fund manager Jayesh Shroff.
The idea here is to do your own homework before making any investments. Popular and quite easy ways to do this is to check the company’s website to accustom oneself of the company’s line of business, working model, management, performance over a couple of years, new products, latest announcements, etc.
Key numbers to judge the performance are rate of increase in revenue and net profit over past few years, return on equity, return on capital employed, dividend history, relative price to earning ratio (P/E) vis-à-vis its peers, price to book value (BV) and so on. Most of these numbers can be compared not just with the corresponding period of past quarters and years but also with the peers in the same sector.
In addition, one should take into account the market capitalisation of the company, as risk of manipulation is higher if you have decided to invest in a low-cap company. Large caps, because of their sheer size, are less prone to manipulative trading. In fact, attending the annual general meeting, if one gets the opportunity, is also a good idea as one gets the chance to talk to the management on their plans and can also get their individual doubts clarified.
It’s not that one should keep himself totally aloof from these recommendations. The stock ideas one gets from
various sources may act as a cue but needs to be validated by checking the fundamentals (and if possible the technicals) yourself. There are few genuine reasons to take a hint from these recommendations.
First, it’s not practically possible for a retail investor to carry out an extensive research on quality of management and future plans of the company. Second, there can be islands of opportunities among this vast sea of recommendations. So choosing the right stock and not betting on anything and everything that comes your way may be a good idea.
“An investor should first prepare his own trading strategy. Protecting one’s capital is of primary importance, and before taking any advise one should have the basic idea as to how much of it he is ready to lose if he runs into a sequence of losing trades,” says Deepak Mohoni, who gives stock recommendations for the short term. “Following a particular target is not a good idea, as the target either limits profits or is never reached. Traders should use stop losses and trailing stops instead,” he adds.
After all, we do ask the vendor to cut the watermelon and show if it is red or not before buying, compare prices of the same product across different brands, try a dress if it actually fits our size, and the like. Don’t we do that, Guptaji?
Aloo Chutney Wala
Chef: Chef Ramesh Dogra
Taj Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur
Ingredients: chutney
sweet mango pickle, mixed pickle and mint chutney in equal quantities
Potato stuffing
grated compressed cheese
cashew nut
raisin
salt
coriander leaves
turmeric powder; all to taste
Main preparation
potatoes
2 tbsp clarified butter
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
4 tbsp sliced onions
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp yoghurt
2 tbsp chutney
water
Method: For the chutney, mix sweet mango pickle, mixed pickle and mint chutney together. The chutney is ready.
For the potato stuffing, mix grated cheese, cashew nut, raisin, salt, coriander leaves and turmeric powder together. Then lightly saut�hem in a pan. The stuffing is ready.
Now carve the potatoes in a barrel shape and deep-fry them in clarified butter. Then scoop out the potatoes and fill them with the prepared stuffing and keep them aside.
For the gravy, heat clarified butter in pan. Add cumin seeds, sliced onions, ginger garlic paste. Saute the onions till they turn light brown.
Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, tomato puree, yoghurt, chutney and water. Mix it well. The gravy is ready.
Now mix the fried potatoes and gravy together.
Aloo chutney wala is ready to eat. Serve hot with rice or naan.
Alcohol protects against leg artery disease
Alcohol protects against leg artery disease
A moderate consumption of alcohol can protect against arterial disease in legs of the elderly.
Leg artery disease (or lower extremity arterial disease) is a condition in which the arteries in the legs get clogged with fatty deposits, reducing blood flow to the legs. Over time, a build-up of plaque and a hardening of the arteries can impact circulation in the legs, ankles and feet. Symptoms of this condition include burning, aching, pain, and coolness in the legs, as well as changes in skin colour or the development of slow or non-healing sores on the legs or feet. It is said that adults who drink moderately have a lower risk of developing leg artery disease as compared to those who have zero alcohol consumption. However it is important to weigh these benefits against the many potentially harmful effects of alcohol consumption.
To assess the benefits of alcohol in the prevention of leg artery disease, American researchers studied 5,635 generally healthy, community-dwelling adults who participated in a cardiovascular health study. A total of 172 cases of leg artery disease were diagnosed during a mean of 7.5 years of follow-up between 1989 and 1999.
The results indicated that elderly men and women who reported drinking between one and 13 servings of beer, wine or liquor in a week had a 44 percent lower risk of being hospitalised for leg artery disease, compared with elderly men and women who reported no alcohol consumption. By contrast, it was also found that this apparent protective effect was not evident among study participants reporting less than one, or 14 or more, alcoholic drinks a week.
Moderate alcohol consumption was also associated with a trend for declining arterial pressure in the lower legs, another indicator of lower risk for arterial disease. Thus, it can be said that there exists a combination of potential cardiovascular benefits that come with moderate alcohol consumption. But it is important for older adults to discuss their alcohol consumption with doctors on a regular basis.
American Journal of Epidemiology,
January 2008
A moderate consumption of alcohol can protect against arterial disease in legs of the elderly.
Leg artery disease (or lower extremity arterial disease) is a condition in which the arteries in the legs get clogged with fatty deposits, reducing blood flow to the legs. Over time, a build-up of plaque and a hardening of the arteries can impact circulation in the legs, ankles and feet. Symptoms of this condition include burning, aching, pain, and coolness in the legs, as well as changes in skin colour or the development of slow or non-healing sores on the legs or feet. It is said that adults who drink moderately have a lower risk of developing leg artery disease as compared to those who have zero alcohol consumption. However it is important to weigh these benefits against the many potentially harmful effects of alcohol consumption.
To assess the benefits of alcohol in the prevention of leg artery disease, American researchers studied 5,635 generally healthy, community-dwelling adults who participated in a cardiovascular health study. A total of 172 cases of leg artery disease were diagnosed during a mean of 7.5 years of follow-up between 1989 and 1999.
The results indicated that elderly men and women who reported drinking between one and 13 servings of beer, wine or liquor in a week had a 44 percent lower risk of being hospitalised for leg artery disease, compared with elderly men and women who reported no alcohol consumption. By contrast, it was also found that this apparent protective effect was not evident among study participants reporting less than one, or 14 or more, alcoholic drinks a week.
Moderate alcohol consumption was also associated with a trend for declining arterial pressure in the lower legs, another indicator of lower risk for arterial disease. Thus, it can be said that there exists a combination of potential cardiovascular benefits that come with moderate alcohol consumption. But it is important for older adults to discuss their alcohol consumption with doctors on a regular basis.
American Journal of Epidemiology,
January 2008
Sensex closes at 20,286 for 2007
Sensex closes at 20,286 for 2007
Saurabh Kumar for NDTVMond ay, December 31, 2007 (Mumbai):
Markets closed mixed on Monday, the last trading day of the year 2007, with the benchmark index Sensex at 20,287 making a gain of 0.4 per cent or 80 points. The 30-share index touched a day high of 20,484 levels.
In the broader markets, Nifty held up in green by 0.97 per cent. The 50-share index closed at 6,137 levels. While buying emerged in oil & gas, healthcare and real estate counters, information technology counters were hit.
�The oil & gas is a reliable space and anyone can invest money in these counters and relax as they will definitely reap benefit in long-term. Media and multiplex counters will also boom in 2008. Education is a booming space and more corporatisation is happening. I won�t be surprised to see schools getting listed,� said Rajesh Jain, Director & CEO, Pranav Securities.
�It is immaterial even if we close above the all time high or not, rather we should be satisfied that we are closing so near to it. As we move towards the Budget, the markets will saturate and we will have to be very selective about our scrip selection. There is going to momentum play in the first quarter,� said Anu Jain, Technical Advisor, The Omniscient Securities.
The Asian markets also closed mixed on Monday. While Hong Kong�s Hang Seng closed firm making a gain of 1.62 per cent, Japan�s Nikkei and South Korea�s Kospi closed in the negative territory by over 0.6 per cent each.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Ranbaxy and ITC Ltd led the positive sentiment in the BSE-30 pack. The stocks registered smart gains of over 1.9 per cent each.
Among the NSE-50 scrips, Tata Power Company, Zee Entertainment, BPCL, Idea Cellular and Cairn India were some of the key gainers; they firmed up by over 4 per cent per cent each.
However, Infosys Technologies, Ambuja Cements, HDFC, Nalco and Sterlite Industries were the few counters which lost ground. The stocks slipped into red by over 1.36 per cent each.
Healthcare firm
BSE healthcare index firmed up by 1.48 per cent or 64 points was the biggest gainer among the sectoral indices. Real estate, metal and oil & gas indices also gained ground.
FDC Ltd at Rs 47 surged 9.94 per cent or Rs 4.25 led the gains in the healthcare pack. Dishman Pharma (up 7.29 per cent), Matrix Laboratories (up 4.57 per cent), Fortis Healthcare (up 4.35 per cent), Opto Circuits (up 4.18 per cent) and Aventis Pharma (up 3.69 per cent) were some of the key gainers.
Buying was visible in real estate counters with Kolte-Patil Developers, Puravankara Projects, Indiabulls Real Estate, Akruti City and HDI firming up by over 2.79 per cent each.
Metal counters extended their gains Monday with Ispat Industries, Gujarat NRE Coke, Maharashtra Seamless, Jindal Saw, Jindal Stainless and SAIL gaining over 1.74 per cent each.
Action was also visible in oil & gas counters with HPCL (up 7.69 per cent), IOC (up 7.48 per cent), Cairn India (up 4.37 per cent) and Aban Offshore (up 2.69 per cent) emerging as some of the key gainers.
However, information technology counters lost momentum once again with NIIT Tech, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and I-Flex solutions shedding over 0.44 per cent each.
Saurabh Kumar for NDTVMond ay, December 31, 2007 (Mumbai):
Markets closed mixed on Monday, the last trading day of the year 2007, with the benchmark index Sensex at 20,287 making a gain of 0.4 per cent or 80 points. The 30-share index touched a day high of 20,484 levels.
In the broader markets, Nifty held up in green by 0.97 per cent. The 50-share index closed at 6,137 levels. While buying emerged in oil & gas, healthcare and real estate counters, information technology counters were hit.
�The oil & gas is a reliable space and anyone can invest money in these counters and relax as they will definitely reap benefit in long-term. Media and multiplex counters will also boom in 2008. Education is a booming space and more corporatisation is happening. I won�t be surprised to see schools getting listed,� said Rajesh Jain, Director & CEO, Pranav Securities.
�It is immaterial even if we close above the all time high or not, rather we should be satisfied that we are closing so near to it. As we move towards the Budget, the markets will saturate and we will have to be very selective about our scrip selection. There is going to momentum play in the first quarter,� said Anu Jain, Technical Advisor, The Omniscient Securities.
The Asian markets also closed mixed on Monday. While Hong Kong�s Hang Seng closed firm making a gain of 1.62 per cent, Japan�s Nikkei and South Korea�s Kospi closed in the negative territory by over 0.6 per cent each.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Ranbaxy and ITC Ltd led the positive sentiment in the BSE-30 pack. The stocks registered smart gains of over 1.9 per cent each.
Among the NSE-50 scrips, Tata Power Company, Zee Entertainment, BPCL, Idea Cellular and Cairn India were some of the key gainers; they firmed up by over 4 per cent per cent each.
However, Infosys Technologies, Ambuja Cements, HDFC, Nalco and Sterlite Industries were the few counters which lost ground. The stocks slipped into red by over 1.36 per cent each.
Healthcare firm
BSE healthcare index firmed up by 1.48 per cent or 64 points was the biggest gainer among the sectoral indices. Real estate, metal and oil & gas indices also gained ground.
FDC Ltd at Rs 47 surged 9.94 per cent or Rs 4.25 led the gains in the healthcare pack. Dishman Pharma (up 7.29 per cent), Matrix Laboratories (up 4.57 per cent), Fortis Healthcare (up 4.35 per cent), Opto Circuits (up 4.18 per cent) and Aventis Pharma (up 3.69 per cent) were some of the key gainers.
Buying was visible in real estate counters with Kolte-Patil Developers, Puravankara Projects, Indiabulls Real Estate, Akruti City and HDI firming up by over 2.79 per cent each.
Metal counters extended their gains Monday with Ispat Industries, Gujarat NRE Coke, Maharashtra Seamless, Jindal Saw, Jindal Stainless and SAIL gaining over 1.74 per cent each.
Action was also visible in oil & gas counters with HPCL (up 7.69 per cent), IOC (up 7.48 per cent), Cairn India (up 4.37 per cent) and Aban Offshore (up 2.69 per cent) emerging as some of the key gainers.
However, information technology counters lost momentum once again with NIIT Tech, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and I-Flex solutions shedding over 0.44 per cent each.
India's 10 Chak De moments
India's 10 Chak De momentsSambuddha Dutt for Samachar.com Monday, December 31, 2007 (New Delhi)
The Year 2007 made every Indian sports fan experience every possible emotion. From joy to despair to anger, the past year had it all for us.
But what it will be remembered for the most, is the new anthem for the world of Indian sports, thanks to a movie that was based on our national sport, and has now attained cult status.
So, we thought it fitting to start our special look back at sports in 2007 with the top 10 Chak De moments for Indian sport.
10. Anup Sridhar's badminton win
Anup Sridhar smashed his way into the quarterfinals of the world badminton championships and into NDTV's top ten. His dream run included wins over the current Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and a former All-England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.
9. Jyoti Randhawa: Best in Indian golf
The Jyoti flame burned bright in 2007, not only did Randhawa win the Indian Open title for a third time. He also had seven top 10 finishes on the European tour.
8. Sania Mirza's best year
She made waves in 2007, Sania Mirza reached one final, three semis and three quarters in singles. No wonder, she called this her best year ever. The titles though came from doubles. She won four tournaments with four different partners.
7. Narain Karthikeyan: Fastest ever
Zooming in at number seven is Narain Karthikeyan, the fastest Indian on wheels won his first A-1 GP race. Now he is looking to complete some unfinished business in Formual 1.
6. India-England series: Prized moment
The test series win in England was certainly India's most prized moment in the longer version of the game in recent times.
5. Sourav Ganguly: The comeback hero
It was the mother of all comebacks, Sourav Ganguly making 2007 his own by scoring more than a 1000 test runs.
The city of joy had more to celebrate with Dola Banerjee becoming the first Indian to win a gold at the archery World Cup.
4. Hockey: Courtesy Kabir Khan
The Chak De theme would have been incomplete without a win from hockey. The men's team did their bit by winning the Asia Cup, a great turnaround given the debacle at the Asian games.
3. Sunil Chhetri: Football figure
Sunil Chettri was the Indian footballer of the year for his role in helping India win the Nehru Cup for the first time. It may have been a small tournament but it was a big day for Indian football, our best international showing in more than three decades.
2. Viswanathan Anand and Ivana Furtado
The two chess champions, Viswanathan Anand and Ivana Furtado, the 8-year-old only allowed a few draws because she felt bad for her opponents.
1. Yuvraj's six fireworks
Yuvraj did not stand in front of a truck but he did steam-roll the opposition. His six sixes in an over in the 20-20 world cup is the stuff of legend. The six sixes performance of Yuvi came en route to India winning the title - the country's first silverware in the international arena since the 1983 world cup win that certainly made choosing our number one Chak De moment an absolute no-brainer.
The Year 2007 made every Indian sports fan experience every possible emotion. From joy to despair to anger, the past year had it all for us.
But what it will be remembered for the most, is the new anthem for the world of Indian sports, thanks to a movie that was based on our national sport, and has now attained cult status.
So, we thought it fitting to start our special look back at sports in 2007 with the top 10 Chak De moments for Indian sport.
10. Anup Sridhar's badminton win
Anup Sridhar smashed his way into the quarterfinals of the world badminton championships and into NDTV's top ten. His dream run included wins over the current Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and a former All-England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.
9. Jyoti Randhawa: Best in Indian golf
The Jyoti flame burned bright in 2007, not only did Randhawa win the Indian Open title for a third time. He also had seven top 10 finishes on the European tour.
8. Sania Mirza's best year
She made waves in 2007, Sania Mirza reached one final, three semis and three quarters in singles. No wonder, she called this her best year ever. The titles though came from doubles. She won four tournaments with four different partners.
7. Narain Karthikeyan: Fastest ever
Zooming in at number seven is Narain Karthikeyan, the fastest Indian on wheels won his first A-1 GP race. Now he is looking to complete some unfinished business in Formual 1.
6. India-England series: Prized moment
The test series win in England was certainly India's most prized moment in the longer version of the game in recent times.
5. Sourav Ganguly: The comeback hero
It was the mother of all comebacks, Sourav Ganguly making 2007 his own by scoring more than a 1000 test runs.
The city of joy had more to celebrate with Dola Banerjee becoming the first Indian to win a gold at the archery World Cup.
4. Hockey: Courtesy Kabir Khan
The Chak De theme would have been incomplete without a win from hockey. The men's team did their bit by winning the Asia Cup, a great turnaround given the debacle at the Asian games.
3. Sunil Chhetri: Football figure
Sunil Chettri was the Indian footballer of the year for his role in helping India win the Nehru Cup for the first time. It may have been a small tournament but it was a big day for Indian football, our best international showing in more than three decades.
2. Viswanathan Anand and Ivana Furtado
The two chess champions, Viswanathan Anand and Ivana Furtado, the 8-year-old only allowed a few draws because she felt bad for her opponents.
1. Yuvraj's six fireworks
Yuvraj did not stand in front of a truck but he did steam-roll the opposition. His six sixes in an over in the 20-20 world cup is the stuff of legend. The six sixes performance of Yuvi came en route to India winning the title - the country's first silverware in the international arena since the 1983 world cup win that certainly made choosing our number one Chak De moment an absolute no-brainer.
Daily Stock Movement - BSE - 1 January 2008
Market position as at 2 pm IST
TOP 5 GAINERS
Symbol,Curr.Price,% Charge
INDO RAMA,78.50,19.94
JB CHEM&PH,95.00,16.00
APOLLO HSP,598.90,14.02
EIH,202.00,9.46
MTNL,208.25,8.29
TOP VOLUME STOCK
Symbol,Curr.Price,Volume
RPL,227.00,7156172
ISPATINDUS,82.90,6864847
APOLLO TYR,57.10,4441374
MTNL,208.25,4411854
ASHOKLEYLA,52.30,3188885
TOP LOSERS
Symbol,Curr.Price,% Charge
CAIRN INDI,249.15,-3.32
AVENTIS PH,1,125.25,-3.25
GSK CONSUM,715.00,-2.81
ESSEL PROP,75.00,-2.79
DREDGINGCO,1,050.05,-2.74
TOP VALUE STOCK
Symbol,Curr.Price,Value ('000)
REL,2,275.00,2070325.08
RPL,227.00,1624451.04
MTNL,208.25,918768.60
BRIGADE EN,405.00,762146.82
IDFC,231.65,645306.02
TOP 5 GAINERS
Symbol,Curr.Price,% Charge
INDO RAMA,78.50,19.94
JB CHEM&PH,95.00,16.00
APOLLO HSP,598.90,14.02
EIH,202.00,9.46
MTNL,208.25,8.29
TOP VOLUME STOCK
Symbol,Curr.Price,Volume
RPL,227.00,7156172
ISPATINDUS,82.90,6864847
APOLLO TYR,57.10,4441374
MTNL,208.25,4411854
ASHOKLEYLA,52.30,3188885
TOP LOSERS
Symbol,Curr.Price,% Charge
CAIRN INDI,249.15,-3.32
AVENTIS PH,1,125.25,-3.25
GSK CONSUM,715.00,-2.81
ESSEL PROP,75.00,-2.79
DREDGINGCO,1,050.05,-2.74
TOP VALUE STOCK
Symbol,Curr.Price,Value ('000)
REL,2,275.00,2070325.08
RPL,227.00,1624451.04
MTNL,208.25,918768.60
BRIGADE EN,405.00,762146.82
IDFC,231.65,645306.02
Photo Speaks - Welcome 2008
Welcome 2008 - Burj Dubai getting dressed up to become the tallest building in the world in 2008.
Old is Gold - The Trade Centre Building - still a beauty to watch, dwarfed amongst the new generation buildings.
Dubai skyline on the closing days of December 2007.
IGNOU aims to increase gross enrolment ratio
IGNOU aims to increase gross enrolment ratio
University launches ‘Convergence of Conventional Education and Distance Learning’ scheme
Convergence seems to be Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) new mantra to take education to the remotest corners of the country.
Aimed at tapping the best of conventional education and distance learning, the university had recently launched a novel scheme.
Called the ‘Convergence of Conventional Education and Distance Learning’, the project is expected to increase the gross enrolment ratio of students.
Vice-Chancellor V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai elaborates:
Increasing role
“The nationwide scheme will also increase the role of technology-augmented education and promote satellite-based education. It will expand the reach of education along with social inclusiveness.”
Prof. Pillai says that the expansion of education globally and in India, in particular, has been tremendous.
These days it is not one single mode but multiple modes of education that are utilised, making use of Internet, information and communication technology, satellites and other different media.
Through a convergence of conventional and distance modes of education, we can enhance the reach as well as the quality of both the systems. This union stands to benefit both, he says.
The scheme
As per the scheme, students pursuing courses in colleges through the conventional system can simultaneously enrol for the same level degrees at Indira Gandhi National Open University.
For this purpose, a student needs to complete the first year of the course through the conventional system.
However, the second year can be pursued via the distance mode.
The credit transfer will be made possible through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between IGNOU and the university concerned.
Furthermore, IGNOU would identify some new programmes in collaboration with the interested university to offer degrees jointly to students. The programme will be jointly formulated and Indira Gandhi National Open University will supplement the face-to-face instruction offered by the conventional university with an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) component.
Programmes offered:
Institutions can offer undergraduate/ postgraduate programmes of IGNOU.
The scheme provides for the combined use of printed self-learning course material and face-to-face academic counselling enabled by technology for the benefit of the undergraduate/ postgraduate students of the respective college and adjoining institutions who may enrol for Certificate/ Diploma Programmes of IGNOU as a value-added programme.
The mode
The mode of programme transaction will be either face-to-face or ODL. In both cases, IGNOU will provide the course materials. The university will continue to hold discussions on the nature of convergence of conventional and distance modes of education; areas in which convergence is needed; strategies to be adopted towards desirable, effective, viable and cost-effective convergence; possible outcomes of convergence and utilisation by various stakeholders.
GER
According to IGNOU, the targeted Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of the 16-21 age group in higher education during the XI Plan is 20, about double that of today.
Prof. Pillai says that this requires doubling of the physical faculties and human resource in higher education institutions, which is a rather difficult proposition by conventional expansion.
“We believe that open and distance learning is a tool for education — it does not have to be utilised only by the Open University system,” he says.
IGNOU is also looking at a mixed model that links face-to-face learning and distance learning systems. This is the state-of-the-art open system of education in the world now.
We are also looking at technology in science-related areas — at how virtual laboratories can be created for a practical mode of teaching.
This is when convergence will occur and forms the background of the joint activity of AICTE, UGC and ODL, he says.
University launches ‘Convergence of Conventional Education and Distance Learning’ scheme
Convergence seems to be Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) new mantra to take education to the remotest corners of the country.
Aimed at tapping the best of conventional education and distance learning, the university had recently launched a novel scheme.
Called the ‘Convergence of Conventional Education and Distance Learning’, the project is expected to increase the gross enrolment ratio of students.
Vice-Chancellor V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai elaborates:
Increasing role
“The nationwide scheme will also increase the role of technology-augmented education and promote satellite-based education. It will expand the reach of education along with social inclusiveness.”
Prof. Pillai says that the expansion of education globally and in India, in particular, has been tremendous.
These days it is not one single mode but multiple modes of education that are utilised, making use of Internet, information and communication technology, satellites and other different media.
Through a convergence of conventional and distance modes of education, we can enhance the reach as well as the quality of both the systems. This union stands to benefit both, he says.
The scheme
As per the scheme, students pursuing courses in colleges through the conventional system can simultaneously enrol for the same level degrees at Indira Gandhi National Open University.
For this purpose, a student needs to complete the first year of the course through the conventional system.
However, the second year can be pursued via the distance mode.
The credit transfer will be made possible through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between IGNOU and the university concerned.
Furthermore, IGNOU would identify some new programmes in collaboration with the interested university to offer degrees jointly to students. The programme will be jointly formulated and Indira Gandhi National Open University will supplement the face-to-face instruction offered by the conventional university with an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) component.
Programmes offered:
Institutions can offer undergraduate/ postgraduate programmes of IGNOU.
The scheme provides for the combined use of printed self-learning course material and face-to-face academic counselling enabled by technology for the benefit of the undergraduate/ postgraduate students of the respective college and adjoining institutions who may enrol for Certificate/ Diploma Programmes of IGNOU as a value-added programme.
The mode
The mode of programme transaction will be either face-to-face or ODL. In both cases, IGNOU will provide the course materials. The university will continue to hold discussions on the nature of convergence of conventional and distance modes of education; areas in which convergence is needed; strategies to be adopted towards desirable, effective, viable and cost-effective convergence; possible outcomes of convergence and utilisation by various stakeholders.
GER
According to IGNOU, the targeted Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of the 16-21 age group in higher education during the XI Plan is 20, about double that of today.
Prof. Pillai says that this requires doubling of the physical faculties and human resource in higher education institutions, which is a rather difficult proposition by conventional expansion.
“We believe that open and distance learning is a tool for education — it does not have to be utilised only by the Open University system,” he says.
IGNOU is also looking at a mixed model that links face-to-face learning and distance learning systems. This is the state-of-the-art open system of education in the world now.
We are also looking at technology in science-related areas — at how virtual laboratories can be created for a practical mode of teaching.
This is when convergence will occur and forms the background of the joint activity of AICTE, UGC and ODL, he says.
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