Bp december 2013

Contents...

Bureau Chief- Kalyan Gogoi ! Chief Co-ordinator ( Delhi ): Arup Jyoti Gogoi ! Co-ordinator (Kolkata): Rudra PratapChoudhury ! Special co-ordinators : Jasho Rabi (Shillong), Lithung Tungsha (Kohima), Madhurjya Saikia (Duliajan), TanmoySaikia(Mizoram), L.M.Sarkar(Agartala) ! Finance and Planing : Dipayan Borah ! Advisor : Pranjal Dutta (Legal) ! Design &

Grapics : Nitul Kr. Dutta

Address : Guwahati Office– Bhangagarh, Anil Nagar, by lane no2, House no-1, Pin-781003, Guwahati (Assam) !!!!! Delhi Office–A-12, 2nd floor, Kalkaji, New Delhi- 110019

website : www.businesspositive.guwahati.com e-mail : [email protected] : 9954223870, 9508708837

Executive Editor: Madhurjya D. Konwar

Editorial

www.businesspositive.guwahati.com

Ami akhomiya nahau dukhiyaBuli santona lovile nohobo...Ajir akhomiyai nijok nisinile

Akhom rosatole jabo...

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika had rightly reminded the people of Assam of theirpresent self. But who does care? We boast of ourselves that we are rich,we have everything .Now, the soaring prices of potato, onion, egg, fishetc have revealed another poor picture of the state. No doubt, it is thefailure of the state govt to control the price rise. But have we ever triedto be self sufficient? The British had taught us or paved the way of Teaand Oil production. Since then we are carrying the hollow pride that weare the forerunner or number one in the country. But British had nottaught us about potato, onion or fish production. That’s why it is verypitiable condition now. From potato to onion or from fish to milk we aredependent on others. We can’t even produce 50 percent of our needs.On the other-hand Oil and Tea, for which we take pride for years afteryears, their production is also declining. Assam is no longer a majoroil exploration destination. The state’s crude production now formsonly a small portion of the total production in the country. Accordingto the records of Petroleum Ministry the total crude oil production ofIndia in 2011-12 was 38.09 million tonnes, of which, the offshoreproduction was more than 20 million tonnes .The onshore productionwas around 18 million tonnes. Of this 18 million tonnes ondhore oilproduction, Assam and Nagaland’s combined production is 5.02million tonnes which is below than Rajasthan (6.55 million tonnes)and Gujarat (5.78 million tonnes).The most oil production in thecountry is from Mumbai offshore oil fields. On the other side, thoughAssam leads the country in Tea production but its total production isdeclining. Records show that in 2011-12 Assam produced 591.88million kg tea i.e. 53.06 % of the total production in the country. Butin 2012-13 it produced 588.14 million kg or 51.82 percent of thecountry. So, it’s time to wake up from the deep slumber.

It’s time towake up from deep slumber

Assam Govt seeks Rs307430.13 cr from 14thFinance Panel

–2

Amway India Continues OnUpward Trajectory

–3

TCS to hire 25,000 viacampus placement byFebruar

–5

Brahmaputra Jungle Resort–8

Purbanchal Cement : TheReal Innovation

–9

‘Green Warrior’ Award toJadav Payeng

–12

Mo Naga unravels the truthbehind the tribal tattoos ofthe region

–13

Cabinet’s proposal onIndian Inclusive InnovationFund

–17

The North East Fest 2013Delhi

–19

BUSINESS POSITIVE December-2013 2

The State government sought Rs 307430.13 crore from the14th Finance Commission to meet its non-Plan expenditureand give an added thrust to infrastructuredevelopment projects in the State. The State governmentalso made a strong plea before the Commission for inclusionof erosion as a natural calamity under Calamity ReliefFund and provide Rs 1,000 crore for rehabilitation of rivererosion-affected families. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi metCommission chairman Y.V. Reddy at the AssamAdministrative Staff College and submitted a memorandumseeking Rs.307,430.13 crore to meet the state’s committedexpenditure and carry forward infrastructure developmentactivities. The amount covers the state’s specific needs,including upgradation of infrastructure, pre-devolutionrevenue deficit, additional financial liability for the new paycommission, rehabilitation of erosion-affected families,financial assistance to local bodies, Sixth Schedule areas,other autonomous councils, reform and restructuring ofstate PSUs and covering non-Plan expenses. Otherexpenses include those committed by the government suchas the implementation of the National Food SecurityScheme, establishment of judicial and fast-track courts,modernisation of the police force and upgradation of healthand education infrastructure. The chief minister alsorequested the commission to increase the size of thedivisible pool of central taxes from 32 to 50 percent. “Thecommission should take an effective step to rectify thevertical imbalances between the centre and the states byway of bringing cess and surcharges to the shareable poolof resources,” Gogoi said.

The chief minister also made a plea that reduction ofroyalty on crude oil at discounted price has hit the state’seconomy hard, and urged the commission for itsintervention in amending the existing methodology forcalculation of rate of royalty on crude oil from the existing20 to at least 30 percent. Gogoi also requested thecommission to consider the issue of CST compensation infinancial devolution to the states in terms of therecommendations of the Empowered Committee on CSTcompensation for losses incurred in the past years till GSTis introduced. The chief minister made a strong case forinclusion of erosion as a natural calamity under the CalamityRelief Fund and provide Rs.1,000 crore for rehabilitation ofriver erosion affected families. “Erosion is a much graverproblem than floods here. So far 4.27 lakh hectare of land hasbeen eroded since 1950. “Every year, the state accounts foraverage loss of 8,000 hectare due to erosion,” Gogoi said.

Assam Govt seeks Rs 307430.13Assam Govt seeks Rs 307430.13Assam Govt seeks Rs 307430.13Assam Govt seeks Rs 307430.13Assam Govt seeks Rs 307430.13cr frcr frcr frcr frcr from 14th Fom 14th Fom 14th Fom 14th Fom 14th Finance Pinance Pinance Pinance Pinance Panelanelanelanelanel

Hike in DAVP adrates for print media

The centre has decided to hike the rates of advertisementsat which the Department of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP)releases the same to newspapers and publications for aninterim period till a committee appointed by it, finalises newrates. Speaking to the reporters, Information andBroadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said that as perDAVP’s print media advertisement policy, a Rate StructureCommittee (RSC) is to be constituted every three years forconsideration of revision of rates. He said the 5th RSC wasconstituted in November 2004 and on its recommendations,the rate card for Print Media Advertisement was issued in2005 and these rates were valid up to 31st December,2008. The 6th RSC was constituted in 2008 but it could notsubmit its recommendations in time and a proposal for grantof interim hike was considered by the I &B and FinanceMinistries, Tewari said. He added that based on therecommendations of the 6th RSC, the DAVP rate card forprint media was finalised with effect from October 15, 2010to October 14, 2013. The I&B Minister said the 7th RSC wasconstituted in May, 2013 and is likely to submit itsrecommendations very soon. He, however, added the validityof last rate card was effective only up to October 14, 2013 andthe Ministry had received representations for grant of interimrelief to meet the pending revision of rate card. A proposal forgrant of an interim hike was considered by the I&B Ministryin consultation with Finance ministry and concurrence of theElection Commission, Tewari told reporters.

– Business Positive Bureau, Delhi

3 BUSINESS POSITIVE December-2013

mway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, India’s largest directselling FMCG company, continues to maintain upwardmovement with a turnover of Rs2288crores in 2012,registering a little over 7% growth over the last fiscalwhen it recorded a turnover of Rs 2130 crores. Tomeet the growing demand, Amway announced its firstGreenfield manufacturing facility in the country withan investment of Rs 550 crore (US$ 100 MN).

Talking to the press at the company’s contractmanufacturing facility at Baddi, Mr. Yoginder Singh,Sr. VP, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Amway India, said,“Direct Selling Industry in India is showing a healthygrowth rate, which is in excess of 22 percent. AmwayIndia has also been growing simultaneously with thecurrent turnover at 2288 Crores, adding up to over20% CAGR over a period of 5 years. Our focus overthe years on improving consumer awareness andaccessibility has paid off handsomely essentially as thequality of the Amway pick-up centers has undergonea sea change, and is more experiential for theconsumer. Besides the world class quality product,enabling web orders coupled by regular TV campaigns

AmwayIndiaContinuesOn UpwardTrajectory

have been major growth drivers for Amway. Going bythe market trend, we are aiming to touch US $ 1 billionmark by 2020.”

The year 2013 started with the launch ofWomen’s Health Range from brand Nutrilite.Considering the changing lifestyle, the new women’srange which is targeted at both working and non-working women addresses the nutritionalrequirements across life stages helping them maintaina perfect balance between health, wellbeing and dailyactivities. The range includes Nutrilite Hair Skin andNail that enhances the nail quality, promotes hair,health and makes the skin look better, Nutrilite Tri-Iron& Folic for building better nutritional components andimmunity, Nutrilite Black Cohosh and Soy supports theoverall wellbeing of women during menopause. Inaddition to these products, Amway has re-launchedadvanced Calcium and Bone Health supplement.Nutrilite contributes more than 50% to revenues withthe sales in excess of 1200 crore in 2012.

In beauty category, Amway introduced two newproducts under the super premium brand Artistry –The “Skin Renewing Peel”& “Youth Xtend”. Theintensive skincare renewing peel helps to stimulate afresher, radiant and more youthful looking skin. Thecomprehensive Youth Xtend collection helpsreprogram the skin’s future while helping to repair andprotect the skin and prolong a younger look.

As per the latest findings of the PHDCCI reporton Direct Selling 2011-12, the size of the industry grewfrom Rs 5229 Crores to Rs 6385 Crores and by theyear 2015 is expected to cross Rs 10,000 crores.Besides being key source of livelihood for over 5million people, it also contributes substantially to thetax revenues of the national and state exchequers. Tax

A

" Registers Rs2288crores turnover in 2012;aims to touch US$ 1 billion mark by 2020

" Year of wellness and beauty for AmwayWomen – launches Nutrilite Women’sHealth Range and Artistry renewing Peel& Youth Xtend

" Announces its first manufacturing plant inIndia.


collections from direct selling companies have grown by26.9% in 2011-12 to touch Rs 821.2 crore as against Rs647 crore.

Talking about Amway India’s presence in Assamand Northeast market Mr. Singh, said Assam, thegateway to North-East is one of the key states in EasternRegion with high growth potential. For Amway India too,Assam is a key market .The state has recorded 18%growth in turnover in 2012. To maintain the upwardgrowth, Amway has unveiled Northeast’s first “BrandExperience Centre” in Guwahati in 2013, making it thethird city in East with such experiential initiative. TheState-of-the-art Brand Experience Centre is a uniqueexperiential branding initiative in Northeastern India inthe field of nutrition, wellness and beauty that enhancesbrand visibility and awareness. We hope that suchexperiential initiative would add fillip to the growth inAssam.

About Amway India:Amway India is country’s leading direct selling FMCGCompany. The company has invested more than Rs 151crores in India, and has 135 offices and 55 citywarehouses across the country, covering over 4000cities and towns through its home delivery network.

Almost 97% of the products sold by Amway Indiaare now manufactured within the country through 7third-party contract manufacturers. Amway does nothave its own production facility in India. Amway Indiacurrently offers 131 products in five categories ofPersonal Care, Home Care, Nutrition & Wellness,Cosmetics and great value products. Recently, Amwayhas tripled production capacities at its leading vendorfacility at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh by commissioningfour new production lines at an investment of Rs. 55crores. The first-phase at Baddi saw an investment ofRs 50 crores, taking total investment in Baddi to Rs 105crores.

– Business Positive Bureau

Strengthening its 9pm primetime band – Ultimate Discovery,Discovery Channel is launching acompelling lineup of enrichingprogrammes in the comingmonths. Since its launch in 2008,Ultimate Discovery hassuccessfully brought for itsviewers the incredible world ofscience, technology, history,natural world, adventure andexploration. Bringing its viewerscloser to the unimaginable real world, Ultimate Discoveryfeatures a whole new line-up that captures the best and takesthe viewer to new heights in the genre.Every Night at 9PM,Ultimate Discovery continues to fulfill its promise to enlightenand engage viewers with more astounding and breathtakingcontent.Announcing the new line-up, Rahul Johri, Senior VicePresident and General Manager – South Asia and Head ofRevenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, DiscoveryNetworks Asia-Pacific, said, “Discovery Channel is dedicatedto bring the highest quality factual content that informs andentertains its viewers about the world in all its wonder, diversityand amazement. Ultimate Discovery at 9 pm is an endeavourto showcase a signature mix of compelling and the best ofDiscovery programmes.” Ultimate Discovery, in the comingmonths, launches big ticket shows like Earth Machine, whichreveals some of the biggest features of the planet’s internalmachinery and how these hidden wonders are driving ourexistence. The natural history series, Human Planet showcasesthe incredible ability of people to survive in the most extremeenvironments and an all new season of You Have Been Warnedsearches for the funniest, most daring, or just downright bizarreclips and brings together the world’s leading science experts topull apart and explain the clips to viewers.

AMAZING WORLDTRUE STORIES

TheUltimate

ExperienceOn

DiscoveryChannel

AMAZING WORLDTRUE STORIES


he country’s largest softwareservices firm Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS) announced that itexpects to hire 25,000 candidatesthrough campus recruitment byFebruary next year.“As far as our trainee or campus hiringis concerned you are aware that we doit from seventh semester onwards, andwe have started that exercise- wehave said that we will be giving offersto 25,000 people/ students, the processis already on,” TCS EVP and globalhead, Human Resources AjoyMukherjee said.

“We will be completing thatexercise in January or early February,at this stage we are going to variousinstitutes and doing our campushiring,” he added.

The new recruits are expected tojoin the company by July

“As far as this year is concerned-initially when we started with we saidwe will be doing with 45,000 as thetotal hiring which includes trainees....then we revised and said that we will

TCS to hire 25,000via campus placementby February

do 5,000 more- so totally we said thatwe will be 50,000, that’s what we didat the end of the last quarter,” the ITfirm’s HR head said.

“As far as hiring target isconcerned it is 50,000 and we arepretty much on track as far as thatnumber goes and we will do the reviewagain to see that we should increase itor not,” he added. Stating that offcampus placement would be primarilyfor freshers, Mr Mukherjee said,“....given the environment todaywhere the number of organisationsthat are visiting various campuseshave come down, and the offers arenot too many- so can we look at a waywhere in if we are not visiting but therecan be bright candidates who have notgot an opportunity. That is what we arelooking at.”

“....looking at current environmentand everything else I think we will bedoing part of our student recruitmentthrough off campus,” he said, withoutdivulging any further detail.

Reacting to some companies

deferring campus hiring, he said “fromTCS perspective we have neverdeferred anything, if an appointment isgiven, they are for the financial yearand they join in the financial year.”

Stating that salary levels fortrainees joining would be Rs 3.15-3.25lakh per annum, he said “there areothers- if I do hiring for CTO (chieftechnology officer) labs, there theoffer is much higher.”

Replying to a question on salaryfor campus hires being stagnant, hesaid, “Probably for last four years, ithas remained there, it is something weare looking at but at the same time- itis at the bottom of the pyramid, themoment you touch it then we arechanging the employee cost throughoutthe pyramid.”

“....at this stage I don’t see anypressure from any angle, but we haveinflation- by looking at inflation andeverything else it is becoming slightlymore difficult for trainees at this pointin time. But that is something we areaware of. At this stage I’m notconsidering any hike or increase,” hesaid.

On attrition, Mr Mukherjee said,“....attrition for us is now lower, in factwe have probably the highest retentionas far as the industry is concerned, oneof the reasons is of course the wholemarket is subdued to certain extent,demand is low. There is slight increasein (attrition) from last quarter to thisquarter but that is seasonal becausethis is the time when people go forhigher studies.”


T


harti Airtel, India’s largest telecomcompany and service provider in 20countries across Asia and Africa,announced that it has entered into adefinitive agreement with the WaridGroup to fully acquire Warid Congo SA.The agreement is subject to regulatoryand statutory approvals. With aninvestment of $70-80 million, analystsbelieve this deal would be value-accretive for Bharti, as the acquisitionwould make Airtel the largest mobileoperator in Congo Brazzaville, witharound 2.6 million subscribers. Atpresent, Airtel is the second largestoperator in that country with 1.6 millioncustomers, while Warid is the thirdlargest with around a million customers.According to PhillipCapital, the dealconsolidates the market and it could bevalue-accretive in the first year ofacquisition because Warid is likely tohave 25-30 per cent margins and a 20per cent market share, with an investedcapital of $70-80 million.

In 2012 (calendar year), BhartiAirtel in Congo posted revenues of Rs1,090 crore. PhillipCapital estimatesBharti’s average revenue per user

Bharti Airtel

(Arpu) in the market at $9. Theacquisition of Warid Congo providesBharti with a substantial market shareand lead over the current largestplayer — MTN Group. Thisagreement is the third such deal thatBharti is signing with the Warid Group.Earlier, Bharti had acquired WaridBangladesh and Warid Uganda. Withthis deal, it would be acquiring Warid’smobile business in Congo-Brazzaville,one of the more rich countries in Africawith four mobile players.

“This acquisition is in line with ourstated strategy of strengthening ourmarket position through in-countryacquisitions, as and when suitableopportunities come along. We are at anadvance stage of successfullyintegrating Warid’s Uganda operationswith that of Airtel and look forward to asimilarly swift transition in CongoBrazzaville as well.” said Manoj Kohli,managing director and chief executiveofficer (international) of Bharti Airtel.

To acquire Warid Group’s Congo businessB

Department of Basic Sciences & Humanities in Royal School of Engineering &Technology under Royal Group of Institutions, known for its academic excellencein the North-eastern region, organized a Seminar on Frontiers in Nano Technology(FNT) on 16 November 2013 at its premises with the objective to bring togetherthe scientific experts and researchers from academia to present and discuss currentresearch findings on the subject of nanotechnology and its contribution towards thesociety. Dr. Pranayee Datta, Professor, Dept. of Electronics & CommunicationTechnology, Gauhati University, inaugurated the event and delivered the keynotespeech on the importance of nanotechnology which is the engineering of practicalsystems at the molecular scale and has the prospective to change every part of ourlives. She explained the effects of nanotechnology on all materials such asceramics, polymers, metals, biomaterials and its effects on our approach to IT andcommunications technology, manufacturing as well as electronics. She enlightenedthe delegates with a thought provoking talk on “Nanoelectronics – From conceptto reality,” which encompassed basics of nano-dimensional structures havingquantum confinement & their devices with some applications. Following this, analumnus of Columbia University and a post-doctoral fellow from StanfordUniversity, Dr. Arun Chattopadhyay, Head, Department of Chemistry at IndianInstitute of Technology Guwahati who is the pioneer of research in the areas likeNano-materials Synthesis, Composites, Nano-biotechnology, ChemicalLocomotion and Quantum Dots & Chemical Reaction of Nanoparticles delivereda lecture on the various aspects of Nanotechnology in the first part of the technicalsession of the event which was highly informative and entertaining too.This wasfollowed by a special lecture by Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Ghosh, Professor,Department of Biotechnology, Indian institute of Technology Guwahati as well asPost-Doctoral Fellow of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York,USA;hehighlighted the applications of nanotechnology in areas like Cancer Gene Therapy,Biotechnology & Molecular Pathways Involving Drug Resistance.

Much Welcomed Seminar onFrontiers in Nanotechnology

Mobile phones based on thelatest 4G technology may beavailable at a price of as low as$100 (around Rs 6,200) in next 18months, says mobile chipsetmaker Broadcom.

“Operators in the US are looking to buy 4G mobilephones for $100. They are not there yet but they are headingin that direction ... 18 months time should be reasonable toachieve it,” Broadcom Mobile Senior Director (MobilePlatform Solutions) Michael Civiello said. The 4Gtechnology is nearly five-times faster than its predecessor 3Gbut handsets that work on this ultra fast service are costly.The lowest priced 4Gphone is available ataround Rs 18,000 inIndia. However, most ofsuch handsets cost aboveRs 40,000. On the otherhand, 3G phones haveseen major price drop toas low as Rs 4,000 in themarket. Civiello said thatthe $100 4G devices willnot come from big Tier Iglobal brands. “It will come from some local brand or nobrand company who is not putting any marketing dollar inphone,not putting any promotional campaign etc.”

Talking about India, he said the price will depend onvolumes and Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the onlycompany that has 4G spectrum in all telecom circles in thecountry, can play a key role in driving down the price ofdevices. On rationale behind major drop in the price of 4Gphones, he said that the initial cost of 4G technologycomponent is high, but after development volumes drive down

the cost of thesecomponents. TheBroadcom director feelsthat there may be adifference of $10 in pricein India as 4G spectrumallocated to operatorshere is different from thatin the US.

Rahul Bhatia, promoter of IndiGo, the country’slargest airline by market share, said that there wereplans to induct smaller aircraft to tap the latentpotential in India’s growing regional commercialaviation market. Bhatia, managing director, InterGlobeEnterprises, said the market for regional airconnectivity was underserved. “Clearly, there is amarket for smaller aircraft. I am not saying it willhappen tomorrow. There are plans, but these are notimminent.” He declined to specify the timeline andwhether a separate subsidiary would be establishedfor the group’s proposed foray into regional airconnectivity services. “If you ask me if we areinterested, probably yes. But it is not immediate. Wehaven’t decided on the details yet; for instance, if weneed a new subsidiary,” Bhatia said. The airline,which is adding an aircraft every month to its existingfleet of about 70 A320s, said it would advance thecompletion of deliveries of the 100 aircraft it hadplaced orders for with Airbus to November 2014. ByDecember 2013, IndiGo would have a fleet of 85A320s.

On the high ticket prices in the domestic market,Bhatia said the current fare structure was an anomaly.He added while full-service carriers had been slashingfares to compete with budget carriers, an increase infuel prices and dollar-denominated expenses hadforced all airlines raise ticket prices. “The weak rupeeand high fuel prices are putting pressure on margins.Airlines are dependent on currency costs. But thereligion in IndiGo is to keep prices low; otherwise, Idon’t think we can grow 20-30 per cent annually. Whatyou are seeing right now is an anomaly,” he said.

On whether the proposed entry of two newairlines into India — AirAsia and Tata-SIA — and thealliance of Jet Airways with Etihad will put pressureon profitability and prices, Bhatia said, “We are notshying away from competition; we will take themhead on. India is an underserved market and there isroom for everybody to survive and prosper.”

IndiGo plans flying smallplanes to small centres


IndiGo plans flying smallplanes to small centres

4G atRs 6,200can berealityin 18

months


ssam, with its rich flora and fauna, abundance ofnature, the green hills all around, the network of rivers leadby the mighty Brahmaputra, the colourful tribes, the neverending tea gardens, is undoubtedly in the offing to becomea major international tourist destination.

Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati in districtKamrup (metro) in Assam is a miniature Assam. It is alsovery strategically located being just 40 km from theG.N.B. International Airport at Guwahati and 25 km fromthe Guwahati Railway Station, and on the midwaybetween Shillong and Kaziranga National Park – the twomost popular tourist attractions of Northeast India.People from various tribes and communities like Karbi,Bodo, Tiwa, Rabha, Garo, Tea Tribes and others live inharmony here, to make a rich cultural identity. It iscovered by green hills and paddy fields with a number oftea gardens dotted all around. The area has lot of veryinteresting tourist spots like the Amchang WildlifeSanctuary, Tagheria Waterfall, Nazirakhat which has anArchaeological Park and a temple of Lord Ganesha,Topatoli Organic Citrus Project etc. A Tribal Museumdepicting all the tribes of entire Northeast under theinitiative of Govt. Of Assam will be operational from thenext year. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, world famous forhaving the highest density of one hornedrhino and a paradise for migratory birds, isjust a few minutes drive from Sonapur.Sonapur offers a lot of options to tourists asfar as accommodation is considered, but themost popular is the Brahmaputra JungleResort, the only 3 star property here. Just 13

km from Guwahati, the capital of Assam and gateway tothe most virgin tourist destination- the northeast India,awaits for you a most beautiful and exciting place on earth.Located on top of a hill with a waterfall and a mini-lake, andsurrounded by tea gardens on the front and AmchangWildlife Sanctuary at the back, Brahmaputra Jungle Resort,in pure jungle ambience, yet fully secured, offersaccommodation in bamboo ethnic cottages, tents in themidst of jungle, or modern air-conditioned rooms. It has aswimming pool, a multi-cuisine restaurant cum bar, aconference hall, and offers a wide range of activities to itsguests.

Welcome to Brahmaputra Jungle Resort for a leisurelystay or an exciting 3-4 nights and enjoy in-house activitieslike elephant and pony ride, boating, fishing, swimming,riffle shooting, trekking, rock climbing, bird watching, bar-be-que with bonfire, badminton, etc. Visit to : a tea gardenand pluck tea leaves, a tea factory and see the process oftea production, Hindustan Paper Mill and learn how paperis made, elephant safari at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary,Tagheria Waterfall, Topatoli Organic Citrus Project, orangegarden, Vintage Car Museum, Naziraghat and see theTribal Museum Centre and the Archaeological Park, etcwill keep all guests thrilled for the entire period.

Brahmaputra Jungle ResortA Heaven in the Earth

A##### Tridib Sarma

“Innovation paves the way to growth” isrightly proved by The Purbanchal CementLimited. The constant spirit of innovation ofthe group has led the group to be one of thepioneers in most of the cement relatedtechnology in north east India.

The Purbanchal Cement Limited group isa leading business player of Eastern India andranked amongst India’s top five players in theRefractory & Ferroalloy business. The groupis promoted by ‘Maithan Group of Companies’which has strong presence in Core Sectors likeSteel, Ferro Alloys, Refractory and Cementwith annual turnover of more than 2500Crores. Purbanchal Cement Limited is aleading cement manufacturer of north easternIndia having a state of the art integratedcement plant. The plant which is located nearSonapur, just 25 K.M. away from the city ofGuwahati which allows it to supply ‘FactoryFresh Cement’ directly from plant to DealerPoint/ Construction Site without anytransshipment & handling throughout thestates of Assam & Meghalaya. The plant isequipped with latest technology and high

skilled professionals ensuringhighest level of quality &commitment. Finished products

Purbanchal CementThe Real Innovation

are dispatched in ‘Factory Sealed Trucks’ fromplant to ensure supply of genuine quality andquantity of the product up to usage point. Inaddition to this, product quality is duly certifiedby ‘Bureau of Indian Standards’. The companyis accredited with ISO:9001:2008 (QualityManagement System) & ISO:14001:2004(Environment Management System) by NorskAkkreditering, Norway.

GL Purbanchal Cement being atechnology friendly organization and has beenintroducing new innovations to provideoptimum value for money. Introduction of“Silo Facility” in the region gives a pioneeringadvantage to the organization and has beenwidely used by the construction industrythroughout North East. Use of bulkers forsupply of cement is another successfulinnovation introduced by the organizationwhich is environment friendly and very costeffective at the same point of time.Purbanchal Cement has also Implemented‘TRUCK SEALING SYSTEM’ first time inthe region to ensure superior quality and toeliminate pilferage. Quality of concrete andother construction material is a vital aspect fordurability. To assess the quality of thesematerials Purbanchal Cement has introduced


ThePurbanchalCementLimitedgroup is aleadingbusinessplayer ofEasternIndia andrankedamongstIndia’s topfive playersin theRefractory&Ferroalloybusiness.

’’

’’

##### Rangman Das


a service of “CONCRETE TESTINGVAN” which facilitates quality assessmentat construction sites. Purbanchal cement isalso one of the first to use “Ad star Bag” incement packaging which is internationallyrenowned due to its strength and biodegradability. Purbanchal Cement is also thefirst mover to introduce a premium cementbrand “Surya Concretec” in the region.According to Purbanchal group ‘SURYACONCRETEC’ is ‘not just Cement’ but‘Cement & More’ as this product is enrichedwith ultra-fine particles of ‘Hyper ActiveAdditives’ which fills all micro pores andforms a ‘DENSE CONCRETE MATRIX’.These intrinsic properties prove this productmost suited for Concreting & FoundationJobs.. This new launch of PurbanchalCement Limited is a premium qualityproduct especially designed to satisfy theintrinsic technical needs for Slab Casting,Piling & Foundation works. The CompanyDirector Mr. Madhur Agarwalla said– “Thisproduct has been introduced for premiumsegment Customers who deserves the bestin their life. This fulfils all the intrinsicrequirement of Mass Concreting &Foundation works. The product is enrichedwith most advanced ‘DCM Technology’which improves the performance & life ofConcrete. The internationally acclaimed &durable AdStar Bag has been introducedfirst time in North East India.”

The company believes that success isnot achieved through growth in theoperations of the company but also throughthe developmental activities that weundertake in and around the area of ouractivities. Thus CSR has always been a keyfocus area for the company.

EDUCATION:

$$$$$ Regular Scholarship tomeritorious & deservingstudents

$$$$$ Distribution of SchoolBags, Books, StudyMaterials, SportsEquipments, MusicalInstruments to nearby school students

$$$$$ Setting up safe drinking water facilities to nearby schools

HEALTH & HYGIENE :

$$$$$ Providing local villagers with free 24×7 ambulance support$$$$$ Regular free medical check-ups and medicine distribution

camps$$$$$ Regular Water Sprinkling on village road$$$$$ Planting trees within factory premises and surrounding villages

CULTURE & RELIGION

$$$$$ Funding Sree Sree Lakshmi NarayanMandir at Kamalajari, Sonapur, Kamrup,Assam

$$$$$ Sponsoring Shree Shree Durga Mandir atMorogdula, Sonapur, Kamrup, Assam

$$$$$ Organizing Community Lunch during MaghBihu Festival

$$$$$ Sponsoring Rongali Bihu Utchhav in localvillages

$$$$$ Free distribution of Wheelchairs for helpingpoor disabled villagers’ for the welfare ofthe society.

CSR Activities...

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC) is trading higher by 2.5% at Rs277, extending its previous day’s around1% gain, after reporting a better-than-expected 2.8% year-on-year (yoy) jumpin net profit at Rs 6,064 crore for thequarter ended September 30, 2013(Q2FY14) even after paying record fuelsubsidy. The state-owned oil andexploration firm had profit of Rs 5,897crore in a year ago quarter. Thecompany’s net sales increased 12.8%yoy to Rs 22,312 crore. The board ofdirectors of the state-owned oilexploration firm is schedule to meet onDecember 06, 2013, to consider paymentofinterim dividend for the financial year2013-14. Meanwhile, analyst at MotilalOswal Securities has recommended‘Buy’ on the stock with target price of Rs387 per share. The stock currentlytrades at around 40% discount to itsglobal peers on EV/BOE (1P basis) andtimely execution of diesel reforms andpassing on of benefits of gas price hikecould lead to stock’s re-rating. The stockimplied dividend yield of FY14 dividendstands at around 4%, says analyst in areport dated November 13. Kirit Parikhrecommendations, if implemented, willbe significantly positive for Indian oil andgas sector helping in lowering of underrecoveries and increasing profitability ofoil PSU’s. Even if the implementation isdelayed, the sectoroutlook still remainspositive with continuedmonthly diesel pricehikes, limit onsubsidized LPGcylinders and gradualshift to direct cashtransfer, added report.

ONGC extends gain post Q2 earnings


For oil subsidies, India willrely on 2014-15 Budget: Fitch

To fund part of the oil subsidies bill for this financial year, the Centrewould have to depend on its Budget for the next financial year, said ratingagency Fitch. The agency said the government had allocated Rs 65,000crore for petroleum subsidies in FY14. Of this, Rs 45,000 crore was usedto pay oil marketing companies for the subsidy gap in the previous financialyear. Fitch said this left the government with only Rs 20,000 crore to meetits share of the shortfall between the subsidised price and the market price(under-recoveries). This was likely to be insufficient, and it was likely thegovernment would have to draw around Rs 45,000 crore from FY15’s nextBudget, it added. With the Lok Sabha polls slated for April-May 2014, theUnited Progressive Alliance government will present an interim Budgetearly next year. The new government would announce a full-fledgedBudget for 2014-15 around mid-2014.

For the first half of this financial year, the total under-recoveries fromdiesel, kerosene (distributed through the Public Distribution System) andliquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was Rs 60,900 crore. Diesel subsidiesaccounted for Rs 28,300 crore. In January this year, the government hadannounced steps to further deregulate the petroleum sector by allowingdiesel for industrial use to be priced at market prices. It had also allowedrefining and marketing companies to increase the prices for retail diesel 50paise a month. This led to a steady decline in diesel under- recoveries. Thegovernment also restricted the number of subsidised LPG cylinders (onwhich it incurred an average subsidy of Rs 408 each) to nine per family,

per year. This is likely to reduce subsidy in the LPGsegment in the second half of this financial year.Assuming under-recoveries in the subsequent twoquarters is about Rs 40,000 crore each, total under-recoveries in 2013-14 would be Rs 1,40,000. For2012-13, the figure stood at Rs 161,000 crore,Fitch said. The agency said upstream playersONGC and OIL would have to shoulder a greaterpart of the total under-recoveries.

The stock was up nearly 3%at Rs 277 on the National

Stock Exchange.

The stock was up nearly 3%at Rs 277 on the National

Stock Exchange.


The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), a subsidiaryof the RBS Group, awarded the RBS ‘GreenWarrior’ Award to Mr. Jadav Payeng,Environmental Activist and Forestry Workerfrom Assam under the RBS Earth HeroesAward for 2013 on Nov 15 in New Delhi. TheRBS ‘Green Warrior’ Award was presented toMr. Jadav Payeng for his continuous effort overdecades, which lead to the successful conversionof a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra in to aforest reserve by planting trees. The forest,called Molai forest after him is located nearKokilamukh of Jorhat, Assam, India, andencompasses an area of about 1,360 hectares

Mr. Brijesh Mehra, Interim CountryExecutive, RBS N.V said “I am truly inspired by the dedication of thenumerous nominees and winners of Earth Heroes Awards; they are actuallymaking a difference to our vital environs. We believe that corporate shouldplace a higher emphasis on environmental protection and spread awareness,that our long term economic growth is highly dependent on environmentalsustainability.” Pankaj Phatarphod, Managing Director, RBS BusinessServices Pvt. Ltd. said “RBS Earth Heroes Awards recognizes and bringsforth the work of individuals and institutions that have done exemplary workin the field of conservation. This is of great motivation for our very youngemployee work force who get to meet, interact and see the work of theaward recipients.” Mr. N Sunil Kumar, Director, RBS Foundation India said“It has been an extremely difficult decision for the jury to identify winnersfrom the nomination received, as each one of their efforts is remarkable andhonorable.” Seven individuals/ institutions from the field of wildlife andconservation, who have demonstrated exemplary work on the ground, werechosen by an independent jury, for the RBS Earth Heroes Award. The jurypanel comprising of active wildlife enthusiasts, environmentalists andconservationists, reviewed nominations received from across the country.


RBS Earth Heroes Award 2013

‘GreenWarrior’

Awardto JadavPayeng

Tata Indigo emaxprice starts at Rs 4.99lakh and goes upto Rs5.27 lakh TataMotors recently launched CNGversions of mid sized sedanTataIndigo and compact carTata Indica under its emax seriespriced up to Rs 5.27 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The new TataIndigo emax price starts at Rs 4.99lakh and goes upto Rs 5.27 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), while the new TataIndica emax is priced between Rs3.99 lakh and Rs 4.26 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), the company saidin a statement. The new emax rangehas CNG and Petrol bi-fuel systemoptions, it added. Commenting on thelaunch, Tata Motors Senior VicePresident, Passenger Vehicle BusinessUnit (Commercial), Ankush Arorasaid: “CNG is gaining momentum inthe Indian automobile market and weare happy to announce expansion ofour CNG portfolio.” The introductionof the new variants comes as anessential step that underlines thecompany’s commitment to be asustainable automotive player, headded. The two new variants havebeen introduced in six markets acrossIndia and will now be available inDelhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UttarPradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura,the company said. Tata Motors hadshowcased its emax range at the‘Horizonext’ event, held in Pune, inJune 2013, with a commitment tolaunch its CNG range in a phasedmanner in FY 14. The Nano emax wasthe first in the range.

Tata Motors launchesnew CNG versions

Tata Motors launchesnew CNG versions


ne year back, he opened Guwahati’s first professionaltattoo studio cum school, and embarked on a journeytowards the revival and promotion of the region’s rich artand cultural heritage through tattoos. Today, after months oftravelling and research through the various states of thenorth east, Mo Naga returns to Guwahati. He carries withhim numerous unpublished stories, photos, videos disclosingthe truth behind the misinterpretations about the age oldtribal communities and the signature tribal art of the Nagaheadhunters, the Apatanis and more. At a recentlyconducted press meet in Guwahati, Mo Naga reintroducedan ancient, yet unique way of passing on our knowledge andidentity to our future generations- tattoos. Mo alsointroduced a new logo that is a perfect representation of hismission to revive and restore the tribal tattoos of the regionto its original glory.

As a Naga youth growing up in Manipur, Mo noticedthat though the tribes of north east have a very unique formof body art, yet the stories behind this form of art has neverbeen published or projected to the outer world. The fewstories that have been circulated about the Nagas and theApatanis, have portrayed a twisted or misinterpreted versionof the truth. Hence, after gaining substantial popularity andsuccess in Delhi as a tattoo artist Mo decided to return to hisroots and delve into the depth of all the information on tribalart and tattoos through an extended research trip in theeasternmost corner of the country. Today, Mo Naga is a manon a mission- a mission to dig out the old and blend in thenew. Mo has found out the significance of various tattoos

sported by the tribal communities, manyof which have never even beenrecorded. He is recreating these motifsin a more contemporary style so that theycan be sported by the present generation to proudlyrepresent their rich cultural heritage. Speaking on theoccasion, Mo Naga said, “A Naga tattoo has always beenmark of achievement in the headhunting clans. A headhunterused to get a tattoo whenever he demolished his enemy andsuccessfully collected his head. The more the number ofheads he collected, the more tattoos he got on his body. Fora woman, different stages of life- puberty, marriage,motherhood, used to be marked with a tattoo ofachievement. But with the onset of Christianity and the banon headhunting, these tattoos lost their significance. I wantto revive this form of art and restore it to its old glory.”

Mo further added, “I envision a day when a Naga tattoowill once again, be seen as an internationally recognizedbenchmark of achievements and Naga beauty. I believe, theday is not far when people from all around the globe will beflying in to the easternmost corner of India to mark theirvarious achievements with a Naga tattoo symbolizing histriumph in life.”

On the occasion, Mo also spoke about the variousmisconceptions that have been thriving in the absence ofproper information about the significance of the tribal tattoosof the region. Besides, many motifs have never beenportrayed or published anywhere before. During hisresearch trip to Arunachal Pradesh, Mo had the opportunityof meeting the Chief Priest of the Apatani tribe and he cameto know that the history of the Apatani women have, veryunfortunately, been distorted to their utter disadvantage.Apatani women are known for sporting nose studs and facial

Mo Naga unravels thetruth behind the tribaltattoos of the region

O

Successstory


FINER had organized a Seminar on Food ProcessingIndustries in the State of Assam during 2013-14 underthe Scheme of National Mission on Food Processing(NMFP) 2012-13 on the 19th November,2013at HotelGateway Grandeur. The main objective of the seminarwas to promote development of food processing, provideemployment opportunities for the upcomingentrepreneurs of the State. The seminar was held withsessions like Enabling 1st Generation Entrepreneur’sand Exploring Export Opportunities. The seminarstarted at 3.00 pm with the welcoming of the Dignitariesby Ms. Indrani Chaudhury, Deputy Director General,FINER which was followed by the felicitation of the ChiefGuest/ Dignitaries. The inauguration of the seminar wasdone by Shri. Shio Shankar Singh, Chairman, AssamGramin Vikash Bank. Shri. S. Bhattacharjee, Chairman,Food Processing, Agro, Forest, Rural IndustryCommittee, FINER addressed the Theme of theprogramme. Other dignitaries like Mr. Subir Ghosh,Managing Director, Annapurna, Mr. Raj Kaoor,Managing Director, Assocom Institute of BakeryTechnology & Management, Mr. Champak Deka, StateCo-ordination, NERAMAC, Mr. P.K. Bagchi, LeadAuditor, Food Safety Management ,Mr. Kaushik Dutta,Management Executive,FIEO, Ms. Leena Bora Saikia,Managing Director, Frontal Agritech Pvt. Ltd. alsomarked their presence at the seminar. The seminar wasalso attended by different groups of people from NGO,Self help group, entrepreneurs, members, colleges etc.

An MoU was also signed between Assocom Instituteof Bakery Technology & Management and FINER. TheMoU was signed by Mr. Raj Kaoor, Managing Directorand Ms. Indrani Chaudhury, Deputy Director General,FINER. An interactive session was also conductedbetween the distinguished guest and members of tradeand commerce and food processing industries whichturned out to be successful in the overall session.

Seminar on Food ProcessingIndustries in Assam

tattoos. The common notion prevailing in thecontemporary Arunachali society, particularly theApatanis, is that the women were forced to weartattoos to make them ugly so that the enemies fromneighboring tribes would not abduct them. However,the Chief Priest informed him that this is a heresytheory, a false understanding of Apatani historyresulting from lack of proper research.

Mo narrated a story he heard from the ChiefPriest- about a beautiful and skillful girl called AmiNwdo Bunyi, who was unable to get a groom. As perthe advice of the Apatani God Popee she startedwearing nose studs, ear rings and wore tattoos on her

face to become morebeautiful and was able toattract a handsome groomfor herself. As a result, allthe young Apatani girlsstarted wearing ear rings,nose studs and tattoos ontheir faces.

Mo says, “Thelearned priests of theApatanis, the Chief Priesthimself, and otherscholars express theirdismay as to how asymbol of beauty came tobe considered as ugliness.They were all clear that

there is only one story behind the tattoos adorned by theApatani women and that is the foresaid one. Apart fromthe learned few, the current generation has noknowledge of the real meaning of the tattoos. Evenmany of the women who have the tattoos are unawareof its proper significance. I want the entire world toknow the true stories behind the tattoos of the region,just as we know about the tattoos of the Polynesian andthe other South Asian countries today.”

Taking Mo’s mission a step further, Headhunters’Ink organized a 3 day educational seminar cumworkshop at the Academy Hall, Kohima from 21st to23rd November, 2013.

“With my research, I am now trying to give backthe knowledge that I have earned back to my society.I plan to create a series of patterns inspired from theregion’s tribal art and culture, but with acontemporary twist. Each new motif that I designfrom the primal pattern will carry with it the richlegacy that it represents. When someone gets a tribaltattoo now, he will not do it just because he likes thepattern, he will do it because he knows the storybehind it”, Mo Naga concludes.

Vodafone India, one of India’s leadingtelecommunications service providers and ICICI Bank,India’s largest private sector bank, recently announcedthe launch of ‘M-Pesa’ - a unique mobile moneytransfer and payment service in Assam and NorthEast. ‘M-Pesa’ is the trademark of Vodafone. Theservice was formally launched by senior officials fromVodafone India viz. BJAS Murthy, Operations Director– East, Pushpinder Singh Gujral, Business Head –Assam & North East and Suresh Sethi, Business Head–M-Pesa.

‘M-Pesa’ empowers the unbanked and under-banked sections of the population gain access tofinancial services via the mobile phone. ‘M-Pesa’effectively leverages the combined strengths of

Vodafone’s global expertise in the domain of mobilepayments and significant distribution reach in Indiaplus the security of financial transactions provided byICICI Bank. This service will now be available across350+ towns, 130 Tehsils, 40 Districts through 1200+specially trained authorized agents and across 91Vodafone exclusive retail stores & mini stores inAssam and North East.

The innovative use of mobile technology makes itpossible for customers to enjoy a fast, simple andsecure way to transfer money and makepayments. Using their ‘M-Pesa’ account,customers can at their convenience:" Deposit and withdraw cash from

designated outlets" Transfer money to any mobile phone in

India" Remit money to any bank account in India" Make payments to recharge mobile, clear

utility bills and for DTH servicesubscription

" Shop at select shops

" Participate in e-commerce/m-commerce.Highlighting the relevance of ‘M–Pesa’ for the

residents of Assam and North East, Pushpinder SinghGujral, Business Head – Assam & North East,Vodafone India said, “Vodafone is always at theforefront to introduce innovative products andservices that enrich the lives of our customers. Weare delighted to bring to Assam and North East, ‘M-Pesa’, a world class mobile banking service, inpartnership with ICICI Bank. ‘M-Pesa’, is a safe,secure and convenient service to transfer money andmake payments beyond the reach of traditionalbanking channels. For households where the earningmembers migrate to larger cities for earninglivelihood, ‘M-Pesa’ will be the best way to sendmoney back home to their families.”

Added Suresh Sethi, Business Head - M-Pesa,Vodafone India, “Vodafone is the world’s largest andleading provider of mobile payment services through‘M-Pesa’, which offers millions of people including theunbanked and underserviced sections of society, basicfinancial services. Today,

less than 5 percent of villages in India have abanking outlet. Financial inclusion is a national priorityand we believe that with ‘M-Pesa’, we now have theideal offering to facilitate the same across the countryin compliance with all applicable regulations.”

Apart from Assam & North East, ‘M-Pesa’ hasbeen rolled out in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, West Bengal,UP East, UP West, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan,Maharashtra and Goa and will be made available acrossthe country in a phased manner.

‘M-Pesa’ facilitates moneytransfer and payments

via mobile phone


VODAFONE AND ICICIBANK BRING ‘M-Pesa’ TO

ASSAM AND NORTH EAST

VODAFONE AND ICICIBANK BRING ‘M-Pesa’ TO

ASSAM AND NORTH EAST

n an effort to train unemployed youths in Assam so that they will be more eligiblefor different jobs, the National Hydro Power corporation (NHPC) is taking up seriesof programmes for training such youths under various vocational trainings, and thecorporation has started this venture by training unemployed youths from theGerukamukh area in the Dhemaji district. Recently the NHPC sponsored 20unemployed youths for Logistics and Transportation Management training program inKolkata by InSkills (Skill Ventures Pvt. Ltd.)

The programme was held under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)scheme of NHPC’s Subansiri Hydro Electric Project. It may be pertinent to mentionhere that altogether 20 unemployed youths of the nearby villages of Subansiri LowerHE Project were identified by InSkills (Skills Ventures Pvt. Ltd) Kolkata for training onLogistics and Transportation Management at Kolkata through the Skill DevelopmentWorkshop for Employability and Entrepreneurship that was sponsored by SubansiriLower HE Project of NHPC Ltd. As a part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)SD-Scheme, Subansiri Lower HE Project shall bear the expenditures towards the 2month long training program of the 20 identified youths at Kolkata. InSkills will trainthe candidates to deal with customers, understand documentation, receive and bookitems, maintain records, supervise loading and unloading of vehicles, manage vendors,ensure timely delivery and pick-up, data entry in ERP, besides communication skills,teamwork, ethics and introduction to computers. Rakesh, Executive Director, SLHEPcongratulated the youths and their parents for the courage and determination shownby them by moving out of the area and undergoing training at a distant place, for whichsuccessful candidates would be aptly rewarded in the form of secured jobs.

Free Medical Camp organized by Subansiri Lower ProjectA one day Free Medical Camp was organized recently by Subansiri Lower HEProject in association Gram Burhas of Rupahi Mising Gaon and School Authoritiesof Nalanda ME School, Chawalduwa, NLP covering 16 villages and 4 wardsunder NHPC Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainable DevelopmentScheme (2013-14). Sh. Rakesh, Executive Director, Subansiri Lower Projectinaugurated the medical camp in the presence of gaon burhas and schoolauthorities. Many senior officials of NHPC Ltd. were also present on theoccasion. Around 350 patients took advantage of the medical camp and medicineswere distributed free of cost to the patients. Also free distribution of vitaminstablets & syrups were made especially to school children & old aged.

– Business Positive Bureau

Training Programmefor unemployed youths

IICICI Prudential AssetManagement Company, one ofIndia’s largest AMCs, hasannounced the launch of ICICIPrudential Value Fund Series Fund 1,a close ended equity fund thatfocuses on investing in stocks thattrade at a discount to their truevalue. The fund aims at adopting the‘value investing’ approach wherelow priced stocks with justifiablehigher fundamentals are identifiedand invested in with the aim of long– term capital appreciation.Speaking on the launch of this fundand the thought behind it, Mr.Nimesh Shah, MD & CEO, ICICIPrudential Asset ManagementCompany said, “Value investing, oneof the most popular investmentthemes globally, is a far biggertheme than any other opportunity inIndia in prevailing market situation.We are in an interesting period forinvestment in Indian equities. Havingsaid that, if we take the long termview, whenever we have been in asituation where GDP growth is low,investing in equities during thisperiod has historically proven tooffer good returns. For instance,2001-02 and 2002-03 were years oflow GDP Growth which offered agood investment opportunityyielding attractive returns. Asagainst this, 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 were the best years to sellequities and book profits.


ICICI Prudential AMClaunches ICICI

Prudential Value Fund


fter a gap of about three years, theCabinet is likely to take up a proposal toset up a Rs 5,500-crore Indian InclusiveInnovation Fund (IIIF).

The fund will be under the Ministryof Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSME). Officials saidthough the Planning Commission

wanted the fund to be set up under theDepartment of Science and Technology,not MSME, the issue had now beenresolved. MSME has floated a Cabinetnote in this regard. The fund proposesto invest in a new generation of Indianentrepreneurs who are either building orwill build world-class enterprises thatfocus on the problems of the poor,without compromising on economicsuccess. It will operate as a for-profitentity, with a focus on socialinvestment. Earlier, then financeminister Pranab Mukherjee had

GM Indiarecords 14 per

cent sales growthGeneral Motors India has sold7,715 vehicles in the month ofOctober 2013 against 6,754 unitssold in the corresponding period lastyear, recording a growth of 14 percent. These include 2,679 units ofBeat, 1,965 units of Chevrolet Enjoyand 1,837 units of Chevrolet Sail.

Commenting on the sales, Mr.P. Balendran, Vice President, GMIndia said, “The marginal salesrebound seen last month is onaccount of the festival seasoncombined with the emergingdemand for new entries. Discountsare at its peak and sales of dieselvehicles are tapering off as the pricedifferential between the two fuels isdropping sharply.” Going by themarket scenario, we expect thechallenging times to continue as thegeneral economic conditions havenot improved. The buoyancy in themarket is completely missing and wedon’t see any sustained marketupturn before a new governmentassumes office after generalelections,” he added.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit,Chevrolet is now one of the world’slargest car brands, doing business inmore than 140 countries and sellingmore than 4.5 million Chevrolet carsand trucks alone in a year. TheChevrolet brand was introduced inIndia in 2003 and is now one of thefastest-growing automotivenameplates in the country. Chevroletprovides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that featurespirited performance, expressivedesign and high quality. TheChevrolet portfolio in India includesthe Spark, Beat, Chevrolet SAIL,SAIL U-VA, Cruze, Tavera,Chevrolet Enjoy and Captiva.

sanctioned initial seed capital of Rs100 crore for the fund. Officials said20 per cent of the total funds for IIFFwould be provided by thegovernment, while the rest wouldcome from banks. In 2011, PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh hadannounced setting up of the fund tohelp the bottom half of the countryseconomic pyramid. We have made

innovations in areas such asspace technology, atomicenergy and automobiles. Butinnovation in our country hasfocused mostly on the needsof rich, not adequately onsolving the problems of thepoor. We wish to change thisstate of affairs, Singh had

said. Innovation, he had said, could bea game-changer to move fromincremental change to radical change.He added the country needed modelsof innovation to address problems inareas such as poverty alleviation, healthcare, rural communications,agriculture, animal husbandry andgreen energy. In its approach paper tothe 12th five-year Plan, the PlanningCommission had supported the idea forsuch a fund, which would specificallyfocus on encouraging grass-rootinnovations to help the poor.

Cabinet’s proposalon Indian InclusiveInnovation Fund

A

Make North East centre for trade& business : Pranab Mukherjee

Projecting availability of huge pool of natural resources and qualitymanpower, President Pranab Mukherjee said the North East region haspotential to be a key investment destination and a centre for trade. “There islittle time to be lost. Considering the huge pool of natural resources and thequality of its human resources, North East of India has the potential of beingan important investment destination and a centre for trade and business. “Wemust harness the opportunities that are emerging from the rise of Asia andIndia’s growing economic integration with the region,” Mukherjee said in hisfirst address to Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. No longer should thisregion be considered remote, he said. “The Centre and the state governmentshould together rapidly build the infrastructure linkages and connectivity withthe rest of India that is required and this Legislature and the people ofArunachal should extend every assistance possible to this venture,” said thePresident. Mukherjee, who is on his maiden two-day visit to Arunachal Pradeshsince becoming the President, asked the state and central governments tocomplete hydro power projects worth 46,000 mega watts in time.


IDBI Bank Ltd, through its DIFC Branch in Dubai, has signed a loan agreement forUSD 340 million with KfW, Germany. The loan has a maturity of 10 years and carriesa competitive rate of interest. Shri Melwyn Rego, Deputy Managing Director of IDBIBank Ltd. represented IDBI Bank Ltd. and Dr. Norbert Kloppenburg, Member of theExecutive Board of KfW represented KfW at the signing ceremony held in New Delhi.The loan would be availed by IDBI Bank Ltd. for funding loans to the micro-, small-and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) directly or indirectly through MicrofinanceInstitutions (MFI’s) and Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFC’s). Part of the loanis dedicated for selected infrastructure projects to support municipalities andcommunities to improve health and living conditions. Commenting on theoccasion, Shri Melwyn Rego, Deputy Managing Director, IDBI Bank Ltd. statedthat the Bank is committed to provide financial support to the MSME sector whichis one of the thrust areas of the Bank. This loan from KfW would provide furtherimpetus in our endeavor of meeting the growing financial needs of this sectorwhich plays a vital role in the country’s economic growth. Shri N.S. Venkatesh,Chief General Manager, IDBI Bank Ltd., while speaking at the event, said thistransaction with KfW is the testimony to the long standing relationship betweenIDBI Bank Ltd. and KfW which goes back to more than two decades.

Tata Sky, India’s leading DTHservice and market leader in the HDsegment announced a pricing milestoneby reducing the price of its HD boxfrom Rs.3100 to Rs.2000. By doing soTata Sky will now offer a Highdefinition set top box at the price of aStandard definition set top box. Sincethe launch of its HD service in 2010,Tata Sky has championed the cause ofHD adoption in the country and hasacquired a dominant market share inthe HD segment. A Tata Sky HD settop box gives viewers an enhanced TVviewing experience with 1080iresolution picture quality, aspect ratioof 16:9 and Dolby Digital 7.1 surroundsound. Over the last few years, anumber of communication campaignsby Tata Sky have helped in increasingawareness about HD services, alsoeducating consumers about the superiorviewing experience that HDprovides. With more and more peoplebuying HD TVs, the move of pricing HDboxes at SD price will ensure that allthese people now get the most out of

ZICA to AwardScholarships

Zee Institute of Creative Art (ZICA),an active player in promoting thegrowth of animation industry in India,is once again rewarding performancewith its ‘Zee Vidyanidhi Scholarship’.Through initiatives such as this, ZICAis trying to take steps toward makingit easier for young talented students tofulfill their dreams of being a worldclass animator. With the ‘ZeeVidyanidhi Scholarship‘, 1000 talentedstudents can get up to 100%scholarship for all courses at anyZICA center across India. This is thethird consecutive year when ZICA isrewarding performance with the ZeeScholarship campaign. Application forthe scholarship opens from November11 and runs till 31st December , 2013.The scholarship is provided across allthe 30 ZICA centers in India and isvalid for all the courses offered at thecentre. ZICA provides practicaltraining in 2D Animation, 3DAnimation, Visual Effects, Graphic &Web Designing & Gaming, coveringall the stages of visualization, Pre-production, production and post-production. The Scholarshipexamination will test the students’creative abilities, enthusiasm andmotivation to become a creativeprofessional. With a unique questionpaper prepared for this purpose and apersonal interview following the test,the candidates will be evaluatedthoroughly to ensure that they deservethe award. Talking about the initiative,Mr. Anshuman Choudhary, BusinessHead of ZICA, said, “At ZICA, webelieve in promoting creative talent.We want to encourage talented peopleto pursue their dreams of making it tothe creative industry by eliminatingany barriers that may come in theirway. Scholarship is one such meansof helping all potential students realizetheir dreams.”

Tata Sky putsHD in the hands

of Everyonetheir TVs. Moreover even if someonedoesn’t have HD TV, he can now futureproof his box by going for Tata Sky HDbox as it will not only work on hiscurrent TV but also on HD TVwhenever the customer decides toupgrade. On the latest pricing initiative,Vikram Mehra, Chief CommercialOfficer, Tata Sky, elaborated, “Tata Skyhas been a strong believer in thepotential of the HD segment in Indiaand has played a pioneering rolein growing it. Equating the price of theHD box to an SD box will furtheraccelerate the adoption of HD service.This new HD pricing also reiterates TataSky’s philosophy of offering great valuefor money offerings to its subscribers.”

IDBI joinhands with KfW

The North East Fest 2013, Delhi organized by Home Ministryof India, North East division and NTC (National TextileCorporation) that started on the 26th October 2013 came to a

TheNorthEastFest2013Delhi

grand close at the NSIC Grounds. The final day of the festembraced a fresh gust of fashion and cultural progammes alongwith interactive seminars and conferences and an electrifyingRock Show.Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi sizzled on therunway with her attitude in an outfit by the seasoned designer-Krishna Mehta. The evening kick started with a commendablefashion show by Bambi K and Tonu Riba. Bambi K designsunder the label ‘Bambi K’, and is renowned in Nagaland for herwork in Bridal Couture. Known for her clean, ‘understated-elegant’ design style, she is also the designer for the ready-to-wear label and boutique, ‘Gold Dust’. But the garments that shedesigns with Naga textile and motifs are to her, the mostsatisfying expression of herself as an artist. Whereas TonuRibas’s collection was a true reflection of tribal jewelry andvibrant hues. Up next was Soumitra Mondal’s collection whichwas all about weaving and craft. He used the 200 fine countkhadi and silk in his collection and an array of Jamdani fabrics.A lot of gold and thread embroidery was used to get the festivelook. Yellow, Red, Black, Grey, Green and Gold were thedominant colours of his collection. This was followed by theResort wear label by designers Mayank Anand and ShraddhaNigam. Their signature style is deconstructing silhouettes fromthe past and reconstructing them to suit modern sensibilities.The fashion fest ended with Huma Qureshi taking the ramp inher stride.Patronizing the Northeastern culture, Bihu theAssamese folk dance was also showcased on the fourth day ofthe fest. The weavers who had come from North East alsojoined them which created a beautiful atmosphere of celebrationand festivity. During the day, a single session seminar was heldon a very significant topic of ‘Marketing tool for national andinternational markets’. This seminar was hosted by the Expertsfrom Handicrafts and Handloom Export Corporation Pvt Ltd.educating the weavers from the Northeast.


Bp december 2013

Business

Transcript of Bp december 2013