Tata AIG Insurance to tap rural market
Bangalore: Tata AIG Life Insurance Company is planning to launch a life insurance product for the rural market by March this year. The product will be introduced in Tamil Nadu.

The product has already been designed and developed and the company is currently in the process of training agents.

Tata AIG has tied up with The Bridge Foundation (TBF), a Bangalore-based NGO engaged in micro enterprise development, to help create insurance awareness in the rural sector.

Through its rural credit programme, The Bridge Foundation has already disbursed micro loans to the tune of Rs 95.5 lakh to 18,215 households across 1,540 villages in the country during the last fiscal.
Back to News Review index page   Currency converter

IA eyeing Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia
Dubai: The Indian Airlines is eyeing Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia as potential destinations to expand its international air network.

Indian Airlines launched its Jaipur-Delhi-Dubai flight on 9 February.

With a population of over 80,000 people from Rajasthan residing in the UAE, the IA is hoping to tap the trade potential in precious gems and metals and tourism in the exotic desert state with the daily flight.

With the Indian carriers barred from flying over Pakistani airspace, the A 320 will have to take a detour and fly over the Arabian Sea costing an extra half-an-hour flying time.

The introductory fare of the new route will be Rs 10,000 return till 31 March.

The weekly operations will go up to 43 flights between India and UAE where 1.5 million Indians reside today from 500,000 in 1992. At present, Indian Airlines has 50 departures a day on its international network, besides 225 takeoffs spanning the 68 domestic stations.

The airline operates over 22 flights a week to UAE, seven flights a week to Doha, Bahrain and Oman each and six flights per week to Kuwait. The international operations of IA started in 1953 when the airline started flying to Singapore and Jakarta.
Back to News Review index page   Currency converter

Global energy majors eye Tatas, BSES
Mumbai: Tata Power Company and BSES Ltd, lead contenders for Enron's Dabhol Power Company, are now most sought after power utilities by global energy majors like Gaz de France, TotalfinaElf and Royal Dutch Shell as potential partners for consortia bidding to buy 85 per cent foreign equity of the 2,184 power project.

Though the eight companies have submitted Expression of Interests (EOI) separately, both TPC and BSES are now in a commanding position as five of these potential bidders are energy companies and will have to associate themselves with either of the power companies for a joint-bid due to Enron's unwillingness to bifurcate its project.

Apart from TPC, BSES and Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has received EOIs from Reliance Industries Ltd, British Gas, Royal Dutch Shell, Totalfina Elf and Gaz de France.

The official said Gaz de France had already initiated talks with TPC and BSES, while Totalfina is weighing an option to either re-approach its former INDIGAS partner or BSES.
Back to News Review index page   Currency converter

HCL Tech, Answerthink form JV
New Delhi: HCL Technologies has formed a joint venture with US-based Answerthink to boost outsourcing from its development centres in India.

HCL Technologies, India's fifth largest software exporter, said Answerthink brought to the venture "formidable business transformation and technology integration skills" along with a prestigious client base.

The proposed new company, christened HCL-Answerthink, will outsource the IT requirements of these clients to HCL Technologies' offshore development centres.

HCL-Answerthink will offer custom application development services, on-going production support, application maintenance services and application reporting services.

The venture, to be headed by Answerthink's Chief Risk Management Officer Ken Coppins, will draw professionals mainly from the US firm's management team.
Back to News Review index page   Currency converter

Essar bags Tumkur-Haveri highway project
New Delhi: A consortium of Essar Projects and United Engineers (Malaysia) Berhad, has bagged the Rs 717 crore project for four-laning of Tumkur-Haveri national highway stretch on National Highway-4.

The EPL-UEM consortium bagged three out of the five packages carved for the four-laning of 265-km Tumkur-Haveri on NH-4 connecting Bangalore and Pune.

Part of the Rs 28,000 crore Golden Quadrilateral project, the 265-km stretch starts at Tumkur, some 75-km off Bangalore and ends at Haveri, 340 km away from Bangalore.
Back to News Review index page   Currency converter