NFCG approves institutes as corporate governance centres
New Delhi: The Governing Council of the National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG) approved the accreditation of six premier institutions on an ad-hoc basis as National Centres for Corporate Governance (NCCG). According to an official communication, these institutes are the four Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Lucknow) along with the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, and the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

The NFCG envisages setting up NCCG to provide training to directors and undertake research and advocacy in corporate governance. The NFCG is a trust set up by the Government in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Company Secretaries of India. The objectives of setting up the NFCG are: discussing issues relating to corporate governance, sensitising corporate leaders on the importance of good corporate governance, self regulation and directorial responsibilities, and providing research and training in corporate governance. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies Ltd, was nominated as the second Vice-Chairman of the Governing Council.
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Major fire guts Godrej warehouse
Hyderabad: A major fire broke out at the local warehouse of Godrej & Boyce early this morning, resulting in a property loss of about Rs.7 to 8 crore. Entire records of the unit were also gutted. The fire broke out at 2.30 a.m. at Godrej's unit at Kukatpally. However, there was no report of any injury as the incident occurred at night. It took nearly 14 hours to put out the fire completely. The entire facility that housed the office and godown was gutted in the incident.
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i-flex Solutions Q1 net up at Rs.41.5 crore
Mumbai: i-flex Solutions Ltd has recorded a 9.2 per cent growth in net profit at Rs.41.5 crore for the first quarter-ended June 30, 2004 as compared to Rs.38 crore registered during the previous year's corresponding quarter. Revenues rose by 22.64 per cent at Rs.224.2 crore (Rs.183.4 crore) for the quarter-ended June 30, informed a company release. During the quarter, i-flex added 17 new customers taking the total number to 497.

The company had several customer wins across its product lines including 8 new customers for Flexcube, a strategic account with a major US bank for Reveleus and two significant accounts in the US for DayBreak. Geographically, the contribution of the US market has grown to 49 per cent, up from 42 per cent last year's corresponding period while Europe has declined to 18 per cent (23 per cent). The APAC region stood at 19 per cent (17 per cent), West Asia/Africa at 13 per cent (16 per cent) and Latam (Latin America) market at 1 per cent (2 per cent).
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VSNL net zooms 93 pc
Mumbai: VSNL has reported a 92.7 per cent jump in net profit at Rs.126.8 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 against Rs.65.8 crore recorded during the corresponding previous period. Total expenditure showed a 23.63 per cent decline at Rs.569.5 crore (Rs.745.8 crore).
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Tata Elxsi net up at Rs.4.39 crore
Bangalore: Tata Elxsi, the technical computing arm of the Tata Group, announced a 132 per cent jump in net profits to Rs.4.39 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2004, compared to Rs.1.89 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenues for the quarter grew by 13 per cent to Rs.38.25 crore (Rs.33.78 crore).
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Software for treasury ops
Chennai: VKC Software Solutions (P) Ltd has launched its software TRIAD, a web-based solution that can handle all complexities of a modern treasury. It is also an integrated multi-currency and multi-entity treasury management system with complete front, middle and back office functionalities integrated with each other, said a company official. TRIAD automates a number of treasury operations, including collection and tracking of data, trade exposures (exports/imports), spot and forward settlement contracts, bonds, equity and mutual funds, money market instruments such as T-Bill and currency swaps. The software is priced at about Rs.10 lakh. This is compared to an SAP solution that costs about Rs.1.5 crore.
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Sierra in partnership with RightNow
Hyderabad: Sierra Atlantic and RightNow Technologies, a company focussed on Customer Relationship Management (CRM), have announced a partnership to provide Global 2000 organisations with integrated CRM solutions. The partnership enables Global 2000 organisations to leverage RightNow's on-demand customer service solutions in conjunction with other enterprise applications. According to Sierra Optima, RightNow is a powerful platform for improving the quality and efficiency of communication with customers and the openness of its Web-based architecture makes it ideal for integrating customer-facing business processes - in addition to a wide range of back-office tasks.
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TCS issue oversubscribed 1.43 times on second day
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Service's initial public offering was sold out on the second day of the issue, according to data from the stock exchanges. The issue received bids for 7.96 crore shares as of 5 p.m. on Friday, which is an over subscription by 1.43 times. Majority of the bids were in the range of Rs.800 and Rs.825. Nearly 30,000 applications have been received so far, according to book running lead managers to the deal.
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IA introduces lower fares on eight sectors
New Delhi: Indian Airlines (IA) has introduced a limited-time lower fare offer on eight sectors such as Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Bangalore and Chennai-Kolkata, among others. Passengers availing of the lower fares, which are being offered as part of the D-28 Apex scheme, will have to book their tickets at least 28 days before travel. A passenger availing of the offer will be charged Rs.3,500 for a one-way travel on five sectors, including Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi-Bangalore, Delhi-Chennai and Chennai-Kolkata. Similarly, a passenger availing of the D-28 fare on the Delhi-Mumbai sector will be charged Rs.2, 500. The fares would be available for sale till October 15 this year.
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Muralitharan signs on with Showdiff
Mumbai: Showdiff Worldwide, the talent management agency promoted by Ravi Shastri and Rediffusion DYR, has signed an agreement with Sri Lankan cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan. The deal marks the first instance of a Sri Lankan cricketer exploring commercial interests in India. Under the agreement, Showdiff will handle all commercial endorsements and marketing commitments for the bowler in India. Muralitharan is currently the joint world record holder for the maximum number of wickets (527) taken in Test matches.
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