document.writeln("

Tatas to set up 1,000 mw power plant at Delhi
Calcutta: Tata Power is planning to set up a 1,000-megawatt thermal power plant in Delhi, in addition to the 1,000-mw power plant in Mumbai and a 600-mw hydel power project that the firm intends to build at Shrinagar in Uttaranchal.

According to Tata Power officials the Delhi plant is under consideration and is yet to be approved by the board. They said that the plant will be a thermal power plant and the cost per megawatt will be less than Rs4 crore.

The company has already undertaken due diligence on the proposed coal-based power plant in Mumbai. The fuel for this unit will be imported. For its 600-mw hydel power project in Uttaranchal, Tata Power has earmarked an investment of about Rs1,500 crore. This will include the cost of rehabilitation of the people who may be displaced for the project.

Tata Power has an installed power generation capacity of 2278 mw. Its thermal power station at Trombay and the hydroelectric power stations at Bhira, Bhivpuri and Khopoli, account for 1797 mw power generation.

Tata Power has also applied for five coal blocks - three in Jharkhand, one in Andhra Pradesh and one in Orissa. The total reserve of these blocks is estimated at 2,500 million tonnes.

Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) are also developing the 1,000-mw Maithon Right Bank project jointly. Tata Power holds a 74 per cent stake, while DVC holds the remaining 26 per cent in the joint venture. The cost of setting up of the 1,000-mw Maithon Right Bank Project may come down to Rs3,600 crore. Earlier, the cost was projected at Rs4,000 crore. Officials said a due diligence study of the project is currently on.
Back to News Review index page  

Reliance to strengthen audit
Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd has said that it will increase the number of auditors to match the company's growth. It has also said that it is planning to raise the remuneration of non-executive directors to Rs1 crore annually.

"The size of the company has grown tremendously over the years. Multiple products, being manufactured at various locations, have substantially increased the activities and operations," the Mukesh Ambani-controlled company said in its annual report.

In another significant observation, the report says the time devoted and contribution made by directors, including non-executive directors, have increased. It said the total commission payable to such directors should not exceed one per cent of net profit. The board took this decision at its meeting on April 27.

During the year, Reliance has bought 28.69 lakh shares at an average price of Rs521.38 per scrip of Rs10 each for a consideration of Rs149.61 crore. The company had announced the buyback programme in December and allocated Rs2,999 crore for this.

Consequent to this, the paid up capital of the company as on March 31 stood at Rs1,393.50 crore.

RIL has incurred a capital expenditure of Rs5,093 crore during 2004-05, primarily on exploration and production, retail marketing network and expansion of petrochemicals business, the report said.

However, fixed assets of the company were reduced by Rs2,240 crore, which included certain assets acquired by RIL for the marketing of Reliance Infocomm services, and as part of retail infrastructure, integral to the Infocomm business. These assets have been transferred to the respective companies.

RIL has discontinued the marketing of Infocomm services with effect from October 1, 2004.
Back to News Review index page  

Bloomberg survey: Indian IT majors profits to rise with increased orders
New York: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Technologies Ltd. and Wipro Ltd., India's top software makers, may declare higher first-quarter profits rose, by as much as 39 per cent, with customers placing additional orders.

Tata Consultancy's net income probably rose 26 per cent to 6.3 billion rupees ($145 million) in the three months ended June 30, according to the median estimate of 11 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Infosys profit probably rose 39 per cent to 5.4 billion rupees, and Wipro's profit may have gained 38 per cent. Satyam Computer Services Ltd. may say profit will increase to 2 billion rupees from 1.64 billion rupees, according to the survey of analysts. Sales may increase to 10.4 billion rupees from 8.11 billion rupees.

The survey says that Alstom, Pfizer Inc. and General Electric Co. are among companies that have increased orders from India to take advantage of low software development costs. According to the survey, the nation's software makers are using acquisitions to expand services, helping them compete for larger projects with rivals including Accenture Ltd. and International Business Machines Corp.

Estimates for Tata Consultancy and Wipro are based on U.S. accounting rules, while those for Infosys and Satyam are based on Indian standards.

Bangalore-based Infosys is scheduled to announce its earnings tomorrow. Wipro, based in the same city, will report on July 22. Tata Consultancy plans to announce earnings on July 15 and Hyderabad-based Satyam is scheduled to report on July 21.

Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy, India's biggest software company, may say sales rose 29 per cent to 27.6 billion rupees in its first quarter. Infosys, the second biggest, may report a 39 per cent jump in sales to 21.1 billion rupees, according to the survey.

Wipro's profit is expected to rise to 4.5 billion rupees from 3.25 billion rupees a year earlier. Sales at India's third- largest software company may gain 28 percent to 22.7 billion rupees, the survey showed.

India's software and services exports may expand as much as 32 per cent to $22.5 billion in the year ending March 31, from $17.2 billion the previous year, the National Association of Software and Service Companies said on June 6.

General Motors Corp., ABN Amro Holding NV and Wachovia Corp. are among companies that will probably award orders to Indian software companies, Thomas Weisel Partners analyst David Grossman said in a July 6 report.
Back to News Review index page  

General Motors taps call centres and BPOs to boost sales
Mangalore: In a bid to achieve higher volume growth of its popular multi-utility vehicle, Tavera, General Motors India has embarked upon a strategy to target the BPO and call centre companies to further boost its sales.

The auto major has struck a tripartite alliance with Vertex, a leading call centre in Gurgaon, and Orix (Business Transportation Solutions Group), whereby Vertex has entrusted its entire transportation requirement, to shift the Tavera, to one vendor - ORIX. Vertex will be pushing the Tavera in the market, while GM would extend a 24/7 maintenance and repair facility to the partner.

General Motors India sales registered a growth of over 42 per cent in the first half of 2005 as compared to same period last year. It sold 15,297 cars between January and June 2005 as compared to 10,737 in the first six months last year. Tavera accounted for the largest number with 9,703 units followed by its luxury car Optra with 3,638, Corsa 1,932 and Forrester (SUV) with 24.
Back to News Review index page  

Reliance Telecom net profit at Rs.11 crore
Mumbai: Reliance Infocomm's sister concern, Reliance Telecom Ltd, a GSM wireless operator, has reported a net profit of Rs11 crore in the last fiscal and has expansion plans in the pipeline.
The company has drawn up plans to expand services in another 500 towns in the coming months in its circles of operation, according to the Annual Report (2004-2005) of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

RIL and its subsidiaries hold 35.6 per cent of Reliance Telecom after the 10 per cent holding of Nynex International (Asia) Ltd was acquired in April 2004, the report said.

Reliance Telecom has seven telecom circles across 11 States, concentrated mainly in the North East. With the recent launch of its Kolkata GSM operation, the company has been able to fill up the gap in the eastern corridor, said the report.

Reliance Telecom's subscriber base grew by 3.25 lakh during the year to reach 1.12 million, reflecting a growth of 41 per cent. It is increasing its radio capacity to cater to increased traffic as a result of increase in usage and subscriber base.
Back to News Review index page