Industries

India to Upgrade Railway Infrastructure

Dec. 29 – The Indian railways, often known as the lifeline of the country, announced that they would spend an additional Rs 30,000 crore (US$6.6 billion) to upgrade infrastructure and boost the economy. The sector plans to renew 2,941 km of railway tracks and sleeper sheets along 2,382 km of railway lines utilizing about 344,228 tons of steel during this financial year. Laloo Prasad Yadav, the railway minister announced that the railways would invest Rs 75,000 crore (US$15 billion) to upgrade infrastructure over the next seven years during his annual budget speech in Parliament.

As part of its growth initiative, the Railways have already manufactured 3,000 coaches this year, a year on year rise of 12.5 percent. They will also develop 300 railways stations into model stations and construct 23 world class stations. The Indian railways which run on electricity also have plans afoot to increase electricity generation and capacity, the Economic Times said.

Indian Beaches, Diamonds in the Rough

Dec. 27 – Its the end of the year, time to kick back, order yourself a fresh tender coconut, relax on a hammock and stare up the palm leaves swaying gently in the breeze as you soak in the sun and listen to waves kiss the shore.

No, its not impossible. Indian beaches offer all this and more. With 7,000 kilometers of coastline, India's east and west shores along the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal offer tourists splendid white washed beaches, clean warm waters as well as some of the most sumptous seafood.

Many beaches along India's coast are untouched, unspoilt and can offer the visitor pure tranquility. However if you are looking for a party along the beach, Goa and Kerala in Southern India should definately be on your list. All beaches are dotted with varying types of hotels, catering to the back packer as well as high spender, and offer various services according to the package you book.

Indian Oil Ministry to Offset State Oil Company Losses

Dec. 24 – Planning to ease the subsidy burden on Indian oil companies, the Oil Ministry said it is in the process of formulating a system to offset losses incurred by state oil companies.

Reuters sources say the paper which is expected to be released in mid January is likely to limit the subsidy share between crude oil firms and oil refinery companies to 300 billion rupees (US$6.40 billion) for the current financial year ending March 2009. Meanwhile the government has also told upstream Indian oil companies ONGC and Oil India Ltd not to extend any discounts to public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) – Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation – on the sale of crude oil, effective from December.

Indian Telecom Industry to Remain Strong

Dec. 22 – The telecom industry might be one of the few Indian sectors to buck the trend of global economic downturn. In light of increased liberalization in the sector and allowing foreign players to bid for 3G licenses in India, Industry insiders expect the sector to receive increased attention from foreign investors next year, significantly increasing FDI in the sector.

The telecommunication industry attracted about US$2billion in FDI during April to September this year, which is a significant jump from US$1.2 billion during the last calendar year, the Economic Times said.

n 2005, the India's commerce minister increased the FDI cap in the telecom sector from 49 percent to 74 percent for most services. As the industry grows and attracts more new players, domestic companies will be looking to foreign players attarct to invest in them.

Ferrari F1 Car to Sport Tata Logo

Dec. 18 – For the first time in motor sport history, the scarlet Ferraris of Felippe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen fighting for world championship honors in 2009 will bear the logo of an Indian company. The Tata Group would join such big names as Shell, Alice (an Italian internet company), Acer Computers, AMD microprocessors, drinks giant Martini and Dubai-based finance and investment firm Mubadala as the main backers of the Ferrari F1 team in 2009. The deal comes after Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover for US$2.3 billion in March this year.

The two companies are however not strangers to each other. While the technology arm of the Tata's – Tata Consultancy Services have supplied major programs and solutions in various technological areas to the design, manufacture and operation of F1 cars, the Tata Group financed Narain Karthikeyan when he drove for Jordan in 2005. A year later the Tata logo adorned the Williams F1 cars driven by Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, the Times of India reported. Italian Carmaker Fiat which owns Ferrari also has a joint venture with Tata Motors to produce cars and drive trains in the western state of Maharashtra.

3G Finally in Indian Hands

Dec. 12 – 3G or the third generation in mobile telephony was officially launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday. After years of debate on spectrum allocation and price the new technology will offer urban India richer multimedia content with the convenience of better speed and mobility. Some countries in Europe, Japan and South Korea have all deployed 3G. China has developed their own version of 3G which was deployed just prior to the Olympic games. 3G hasn't taken the world by storm yet as its an expensive technology for consumers and operators.

India's State telecom incumbent MTNL will commence services by the end of January in Mumbai, other major private operators have announced they would launch commercial 3G services six months after specturm allocation. The government is expected to auction freed spectrum early next year.

Automakers Slash Prices; Hope to Stimulate Car Sales

Dec. 9 – Hit by a potent mix of liquidity crunch, high borrowing costs and a slowing economy India's auto makers on Monday slashed prices by up to 4 percent. The car companies were reacting to the 4 percent cut in excise duties offered to manufacturers as part of the Central governments stimulus package. A rough industry estimate says Indian auto companies are likely to take a hit of Rs 1,000 crore (US$200 million) on unsold cars, trucks, buses and two-wheelers as they pass on the benefit to consumers, hoping to spur demand by lowering costs.

After five-years of uninterrupted growth, total sales of passenger vehicles (including SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles) dropped drastically in October. The industry's decline of 6.59 percent to 98,900 vehicles in October (compared with 105,000 vehicles last year) was the largest drop in sales in eight years. Top car makers Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India (HMI), Tata Motors, Honda Siel Cars India, General Motors, Ford Motor India and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) are already experiencing a drop in sales and don't expect the situation to get any better especially since footfall in showrooms has dropped by 50-70 percent in November.

Oil & Gas Companies Go Shopping

Dec. 3 – The value of global oil and gas companies has decreased in the last year due to the ongoing economic downturn making it an opportune time for Indian companies to buy global assets as well as global wealth funds particularly from China, the Middle East and Singapore to buy oil and gas assets in India.

“With the ongoing economic downturn and the resultant crash in oil prices, the valuation of oil and gas companies has decreased and this offers Indian companies the opportunity to buy global assets at more reasonable prices than earlier.” Dilip Khanna, partner, Ernst & Young’s oil & gas practice told the Financial Express.