Nucleus prepares for DTH dish antennae launch
Chennai: Nucleus Satellite Communications, a domestic manufacturer of DTH dish antenna, has announced that it would shortly launch its product in the country.
Company officials forecast that once the regulations are in place, India would have about 10 million DTH (direct-to-home) subscribers in five years. They said that there are about 40 million households today that are a part of the cable TV network.

In India, Nucleus plans to sell three kinds of dish antennae. The difference would lie in the dish's diameter. One would be of 45 cm, and the other two would span 60 cm and 100 cm. The prices of the antennae would be between Rs.340 and Rs.790 and would be linked to its size.

Nucleus, which registered a turnover of Rs.4 crore in 2003-04, has a manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Chennai. The company's antennae have been exported to the UK, Sri Lanka and West Asia. Nucleus also has an association with Dish TV of the Zee group.

In a DTH service, a large number of channels are digitally compressed, encrypted and beamed directly into homes from satellites. A cable operator is completely eliminated in the system.
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Hero Honda mulls outsourcing parts
New Delhi: Hero Honda Motors Ltd is exploring the possibility of procuring raw materials from the global market to cut costs, the company has said in its annual report.

The Indian automobile industry has come under severe cost pressures over the past year due to rising costs of key raw materials such as steel and plastic.

Hero Honda will increasingly need to focus on the supply of parts and its vendors if it is to achieve cost and quality competitiveness in the Indian market, it said in its 2003-04 report.

Hero Honda had a total of 256 vendors (including 36 ancillaries) in the past year from which it bought parts. The company imported raw material, components, capital goods and spares worth Rs.381.50 crore in the last fiscal, an increase of 16 per cent over the previous fiscal.
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BHEL bags Rs.36 crore order from SAIL
New Delhi: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has bagged an order from Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) for setting up a 15-MW captive power plant at its steel complex in Bhilai. The power unit is slated for commissioning within a tight schedule of 18 months.

The contract, valued at over Rs.36 crore, entails detailed engineering, and suitable interconnection with the existing network of steam, water and electrical systems.

The main equipment is to be manufactured and supplied by BHEL's Hyderabad plant, while the distributed digital control system will be supplied by its electronics division at Bangalore.
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Birlas seek HC consent to submit photocopies of 1982 wills
Kolkata: The Birlas have sought the permission of the Calcutta High Court to submit photocopies of the wills of Mr and Mrs M.P. Birla signed in 1982. The probate application for this set of will was already made two days back.

Addressing a press conference, N.G. Khaitan of Khaitan & Co, the legal firm hired by the Birlas, said a certified true copy had been submitted with the undertaking that the originals would be submitted whenever the court asked for them.

Today's applications were filed by G.P. Birla, K.N. Tapuria, and Pradip Kumar Khaitan. The Birlas have also said that the original wills of 1982 be kept in the custody of the Registrar of the High Court.

The matter was heard by Justice Subhra Kamal Mukherjee but he released the application on personal grounds without hearing it.
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Britannia finds outsourcing a cheaper option
Kolkata: Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL) plans to outsource more rather than increase output at its existing plants, where the cost of production is high on account of higher wages.

The company has already started outsourcing in a big way, and it may continue to do so till its proposed greenfield biscuit plant in Uttaranchal is ready for commercial production.

Though the company at present controlled about 39 per cent share (in value term) of the country's organised biscuit market, it sees immense growth potential in the area provided it can ensure greater availability, affordability and awareness of its brand.

As a part of cost cutting measure, the company closed down its Mumbai plant effective March 2004. However, certain sections of the employees representing the union had approached the Industrial Tribunal against the closure, and the matter was referred to the Mumbai High Court. He expected the process of closing down operation would be completed by middle of 2005.
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L&T outlines strategies for the next five years
Chennai: Larsen & Toubro is looking at setting up a switchgear manufacturing plant in West Asia and a tyre-curing press in "some low cost country as part of its blueprint for the next five years.
A five-year strategy blueprint, the second such, was being prepared with the help of an external consultant and would be finalised by March 2005.

At present, L&T makes mechanical and hydraulic tyre-curing presses with accessories at its Chennai plant. It is a leading manufacturer of low voltage switchgear and control gear.
The first five-year action plan, which runs from 2000 to 2005, saw the company getting out of non-core activities. The plan to hive off the cement unit and later sell it off was also part of this plan. The company says that the next blueprint would look at activities in the company that were working at sub-optimal levels and outline what needed to be done. Every single activity would have to be globally competitive for it to remain within the company.

L&T would also continue to expand its overseas presence, opening offices and getting into construction and engineering projects in more countries. Some of these would be in partnership with a local partner, to satisfy local laws, and wherever possible, L&T would get into the markets on its own. It aimed to get 25 per cent of its sales from international operations by March 2009 against 15-16 per cent now.
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ONGC plans 700 MW gas-based power plant in Tripura
Kolkata: With the company planning to set up a 700 MW gas-based power plant at Sonamura in Tripura, ONGC's drive for vertical integration is taking it towards being an independent power producer (IPP).

Infrastructure Finance and Leasing Services Ltd (IL&FS) will facilitate the development of the project and Power Trading Corporation (PTC) will provide payment security for generation. The project will be financed and managed by ONGC. The techno-economic feasibility study is likely to be over in the next six months.

Currently, ONGC produces roughly 1,000 MW of gas-based power at its different onshore and off shore installations for captive use. Of this generation, close to 100 MW is sold commercially.
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Reliance Info offers colour handset at Rs.4, 999
Mumbai: Reliance Infocomm has followed up its tariff reduction with the introduction of a new colour handset - the LG 5130 - at just Rs.4,999, with a view to further decreasing entry costs for new subscribers.

According to a company press release, it is the only colour handset available in the Indian market which provides 3G experience at an "affordable price point"; the phone has other features such as a speakerphone, a bigger screen, polyphonic ring tones, and a Hindi interface to facilitate SMS in Hindi. The handsets are available to both prepaid and post-paid customers.
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AirTel cuts pre-paid entry cost in Delhi
New Delhi: AirTel has announced the launch of a pre-paid starter kit for Rs.199 for its Delhi customers. With this launch, AirTel has lowered the entry cost into the category by 33 per cent from the existing Rs.299 to Rs.199. In addition, new AirTel pre-paid users will get free airtime worth Rs.50 on the first recharge. The recharge will, however, have to be for a minimum of Rs.324 and will have to be availed within a period of 96 hours of purchase.

This initiative will come into effect from Friday. There is however no change in the airtime rates. Reliance Infocomm had announced 60 per cent reduction in the pre-paid segment dropping mobile-mobile call charges to 99 paise from Rs.2.49 a minute, making it the cheapest pre-paid option in the market. Other operators are expected to follow suit with tariff reductions in the next few days.
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Wipro bags BhOB's consultancy project
Bangalore: Wipro Infotech has announced that it has provided consultancy to Bharat Overseas Bank on Risk Assessment and Disaster Recovery of the bank's information system.

The Consulting Services Division of Wipro Infotech that handled the project analysed the various aspects of security and provided consultancy on the level of information protection required by the bank.

The risk assessment, which was done over a period of two months, ranged from technology devices, vulnerability assessment, processes and policies to contingency plans.
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Emirates offers special fares for US bound students
Mumbai: Emirates has introduced reduced fares for students heading to the US for higher studies over the next two months. The special fare will be open to students travelling via Dubai to the US from all five of Emirates Indian gateways, namely Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai. The offer is valid till September 30, and all outbound students will be able to avail themselves of the offer.

The special fare of Rs.27, 000 will be offered to students travelling Economy Class to New York arriving at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport. In addition, a number of special fares are being offered to students who take onward flights from New York's JFK airport to other destinations within the US.

To avail of these offers, the students would have to book their tickets through a travel agent, and they should ensure that the ticket is issued within 7 days of reservation.
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