BHEL to pay 35 per cent interim
New Delhi: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has declared an all-time high interim dividend of 35 per cent for fiscal 2004-05 as against 30 per cent interim dividend last year.

The full dividend payout last fiscal stood at 60 per cent, according to a company release.

Net income from operations during the first half of current financial year increased 12.69 per cent to Rs3,189.3 crore along with 103.82 per cent increase in PBT and 101.93 per cent increase in PAT, the release said.
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Cabinet clears Rs1,000 crore revival package for ITI
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a Rs1,001-crore revival package for Bangalore-based Indian Telephones Industry (ITI) Ltd.

According to the plan, the government will provide Rs601.53-crore by way of an interest free loan, of which Rs458 crore will be to fund a voluntary retirement scheme, while another Rs50 crore will be for capital. Besides, Rs93.1 crore will be provided for provident fund dues during the current fiscal.

Fresh equity, amounting to Rs 200 crore, would be infused by the government during 2004-05. During 2005-06, another Rs100-crore interest free loan will be given for VRS, apart from providing another Rs100 crore for capital expenditure.
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Reliance Info starts next phase of expansion in AP
Hyderabad: Reliance Infocomm has embarked on Phase II expansion of its mobile telephony services in Andhra Pradesh. It would increase coverage from 104 to 399 towns and extend its optical fibre cable network from 6,500 to 9,000 km, thereby reaching more than 65 per cent area and 17,000 villages across the State.

Officials said this would be part of the company's plans to invest Rs25,000 crore across circles over five years. This countrywide project seeks to expand from 1,100 towns and cities to 5,100, and the optical fibre network is slated to grow from 80,000 km to 1,20,000 km.
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Disney channels to go on air from today
Mumbai: Walt Disney is making a foray into Indian television on December 17 with a simultaneous launch of the channels in four languages - English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Disney Channel will be available in Hindi and English while Toon Disney will be in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu.

Walt Disney has embarked on localisation of content from day one, officials of the media and entertainment company said today at the launch of two channels from its stable. The decision to launch Toon Disney in two South Indian languages stems from the fact that there is a slot available for kid broadcasters. According to the company, eleven per cent of India's population is below the age of four. This makes India the world's biggest pre-school market.

Disney Channel's programming will include 400 episodes of local production. Localisation will help the channels to break down language barriers, allow kids empowerment and draw on Indian stories. Disney channel will be available on Star platform.
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Zee-Turner to launch new bouquet of channels
New Delhi: In order to consolidate its position as a distribution platform, Zee-Turner has decided to launch of a new bouquet of channels from January 1. The new bouquet will comprise of five channels - Pogo, HBO, VH1, Zee Business News and TV18 group's new Hindi business channel, which will be available at a retail price of Rs40 and a wholesale price of Rs25 per subscriber per month.

Also from next month, the price of Zee-Turner's existing bouquet will stand at Rs58.85, incorporating a hike of 7 per cent as announced by the broadcast regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
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J.D. Power: Owners delighted with new models
New Delhi: Owners delight with new vehicles in India improved for the sixth consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2004 India Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study, which has just been released.

The industry improved 15 index points over 2003 to 780 index points out of a maximum 1,000 and seven out of the 11 nameplates measured in the study experienced improvements in their APEAL scores over 2003.

The study, now in its seventh year, measured owner delight with the design, content, layout and performance of new vehicles across eight specific categories during the first two to six months of ownership. The categories studied were engine/transmission; ride, handling and braking; comfort/convenience; seats; cockpit/instrument panel; heating, ventilation and cooling; sound system; and styling/exterior.

"With more than one-third of all models included in the 2004 study being new or redesigned, consumers are responding with high levels of satisfaction with the vehicles they purchased," company officials said in a statement.

The redesigned Maruti Wagon R ranked highest in the premium compact segment, displacing four-time top-ranked Hyundai Santro, which now ranks second. The redesigned Maruti Zen followed closely in third place.

Following its segment-leading performance in the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2004 India Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Maruti Esteem ranked highest in the APEAL study in the entry mid-size segment, with an index score of 806. The Ford Ikon and Tata Indigo followed the Esteem, respectively.

The new Honda City ranked highest in the mid-size segment, followed by Maruti Baleno and Hyundai Accent, respectively. The Toyota Corolla ranked highest in the premium mid-size segment and registers the highest APEAL score in the industry. The recently launched Chevrolet Optra ranked second in the segment, followed by the Skoda Octavia.

The Tata Safari improved its score by 28 points over 2003 to rank highest in the MUV/SUV segment. Toyota Qualis and Mahindra Bolero, respectively, follow the Safari. The study finds that the newly launched SUV models present significantly better APEAL performances than existing models.

The 2004 India APEAL Study is based on evaluations from 3,788 owners of personal-use vehicles covering 12 makes and 31 models, and includes responses from customers who purchased their vehicles between January 2004 and July 2004.

Established in 1990, J.D. Power Asia Pacific conducts customer satisfaction research and provides consulting services in the automotive, information technology and finance industries.
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HMSI and Honda Siel top TNS dealer satisfaction survey
New Delhi: Honda Motorcycle & Scooters (HMSI) and Honda Siel Cars (HSCI) rank highest in dealer satisfaction with their principals in the two- and four-wheeler industry segments, respectively, according to the findings of the `2004 Dealer Satisfaction Study' released on Wednesday by market research agency TNS.

The study represents the responses of more than 1,200 two- and four-wheeler dealers to the key areas of product, management relationship, profit and margin, order and delivery, sales and marketing activities, after-sales and parts support, warranty, sales representatives, after-sales representatives, and training support, TNS said in a statement here.

The manufacturers ranking highest in their respective industry segments for dealer satisfaction are Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India (Pvt) Ltd followed by Hero Honda and Bajaj Auto in the two-wheeler segment. It is Honda Siel Cars India Ltd followed by Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Hyundai in the four-wheeler segment.

The statement said the dealer satisfaction study was conducted from October through December 2004 covering 846 two-wheeler dealers across nine manufacturers and 392 four-wheeler dealers across eleven manufacturers.
It covered over 150 cities to comprehensively capture regional differences.
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