document.writeln("
Infosys
rebuts Deve Gowda's charges
Bangalore: A day after its chairman
and chief mentor NR Narayana Murthy put in his papers
as the chairman of Bangalore International Airport Ltd
(BIAL), Infosys Technologies on Friday has made a point
by point rebuttal of the charges levelled against it by
former Prime Minister and Karnataka politician Deve Gowda.
In
a statement issued by the company here, the IT major said
it had neither sought nor got any concessions from the
Karnataka government for the land allotted to it by the
Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) and
had paid market value to purchase these plots.
It
also said that the company had used all the land allotted
by the government as per the norms set by KIADB.
Reacting
to Gowda's comments that the employment generation by
the IT companies, including Infosys, who had got land
at a concessional rate in Bangalore, needs to be examined,
the company said that it had made an investment to the
tune of Rs1,744 crore in the state.
The
land allotted by KIADB had been utilised as per the norms.
Further, out of the total "46,000 employees, 22,000
jobs had been created in Karnataka alone" and Infosys'
software exports amount to 14 per cent of the total IT
exports of Karnataka.
In
Mysore, Infosys said the government had allotted 315.60
acres of land and in the first phase, it had built a Global
Education Center and Infosys Leadership Institute (ILI)
covering an area of 218 acres and eight acres had been
dedicated as green belt. The land has been acquired at
market rates, with no concessions, the statement added.
Stating
that it had approached the government for land elsewhere,
the IT major added that it had been approved on three
different occasions.
Back
to News Review index page
Sony
eyes India for software development and content-driven
sales
Mumbai: Electronics and entertainment group Sony
plans to tap Indian skills to develop more software for
products and also use its popular content to expand its
Indian market share, its chief executive said on Friday.
Sony
Corp., which said last month it would cut about seven
per cent of its global work force, has a software center
in Bangalore that develops technologies for home networks,
digital media platforms and internet-enabled consumer
electronic devices.
Sony
Ericsson, the world's fifth-largest mobile phone maker
jointly owned with Sweden's Ericsson, said earlier this
year it was looking at setting up a facility to make phones
in India, which is the world's fastest-growing major mobile
market.
Sony
also operates India's number two cable network, Sony entertainment
television, which broadcasts three channels of Hindi-language
entertainment, besides cricket.
"Our content here has been so successful, perhaps
more than anywhere else in the world outside the united
states," chairman and CEO Stringer said. "It
is my hope our content here will also drive sales of our
hardware."
Film
studio and distributor Sony pictures on Thursday signed
a co-production deal with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali
for his film 'Saawariya' (Beloved), Sony's first Indian
film deal.
India's entertainment industry revenue is expected to
more than double to 295 billion rupees by 2009, according
to estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Back
to News Review index page
Ranbaxy
banks on new drugs
New
Delhi: Ranbaxy Laboratories is looking ahead to the
possible launch of three drugs in the US market next year..
Dr
Brian W. Tempest, CEO and managing director, Ranbaxy,
said while the price deflation in the US markets is expected
to continue till the end of the current year and maybe
into the next year as well, Ranbaxy will launch a few
drugs in the US in 2006.
The
company, which spent US$25mn on litigation last year,
is spending about US$30mn in legal fees this year, as
it challenges drug patents in the US and Europe. He, however,
maintained that the company would continue to pursue litigations
as part of its overall strategy.
Besides
this, Ranbaxy is also battling companies such as GlaxoSmithKline
Plc in the US to sell generic versions of Valtrex herpes
drug as well as Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd's diabetes
drug, Actos.
Back
to News Review index page
Cisco
to set up US$50mn R&D campus in India
Bangalore:
The president and CEO of Cisco Systems, John Chambers,
has said Cisco will invest US$50mn in a new integrated
research and development campus in Bangalore, which will
also house its local sales and customer support teams.
This
is in addition to the US$1.1bn that Cisco plans to spend
over the next three years to expand its operations in
India and to fund local start-ups. The R&D campus
will be completed by June 2007, and will house about 3,000
engineers in Phase I.
According
to Chambers the R&D Centre will be the largest site
for Cisco outside the US and will be an extension of the
San Jose R&D team.
Cisco
has a 1,400-strong R&D team in India, which will be
tripled over the next three years, he said. About 4,200
engineers work for Cisco with seven key partners in India
including IT majors such as Infosys, Wipro, and Satyam.
Back
to News Review index page
Kalpataru
Power to get carbon credits
New
Delhi: The Rajasthan project of Kalpataru Power Transmission
(KPTL) where it generates electricity from mustard crop
residues, has became the first Indian project and the
third project worldwide to which a UN panel has issued
carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol.
The
executive board of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
issued the first ever carbon credits or certified emission
reductions (CERs) under the Kyoto Protocol. These credits
were issued for two hydroelectric projects in Honduras,
according to a statement.
CERs
are generated by climate-friendly, sustainable development
projects in developing countries and can be used by developed
country Governments and companies to meet their reduction
commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
Back
to News Review index page
Goodyear
Tyre announces $18 m in Indian operations
New
Delhi: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GTRC) based
in the US plans to invest US$18mn (Rs80 crore) in its
Indian operations in 2006 as part of its second phase
of capacity expansion in the country.
The
investment would be utilised to increase production capacity
for tubeless radials in the passenger tyre segment.
Back
to News Review index page
Arcelor
to enter India
Kolkata:
French steel major Arcelor, created in February 2002
by integrating three steel-making companies, Aceralia,
Arbed and Usinor, has decided to enter India.
Alain
Davezac, senior vice-president, International Business
Division of Arcelor confirmed that India was on the growth
agenda of the company and a final decision would be taken
within the next few months.
He
said Brazil was the first country on the global agenda
of Arcelor, with Ukraine second in line. Some 20 per cent
of Arcelor's total production is located in Ukraine.
In
Asia Arcelor with a 30 billion euro turnover in 2004,
is eager to have operations in China and India.
Back
to News Review index page
ONGC
explores energy assets in Central Asia
New
Delhi: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
is looking at acquisitions in oil and gas assets in Central
Asia, especially in Kazakhstan.
ONGC
recently lost out to China National Petroleum Corporation
in its bid to acquire 51 percent stake of Canadian oil
company, PetroKazakhstan, which has sizeable assets in
Kazakhstan.
ONGC
is studying two blocks in collaboration with Kazakhstan's
national oil company KazMunayGas in the Caspian region.
The two companies are expected to get 50 percent stake
each in one of the exploration blocks.
Back
to News Review index page
Kalyani
Brakes to form joint venture with Italian Brembo
Bangalore:
Kalyani Brakes, the Indian subsidiary of Bosch has
entered into a 50:50 joint venture with the Italian Brembo
for manufacture and sale of braking systems for two-wheelers.
Bosch
said the total investment of the two partners will be
13 million euros. The turnover, put at 20 million euros
in the first year, is expected to double in the next four
years.
The
new company, KBX Motorbike Products Pvt Ltd, will be based
in Pune.
In
2004, the Indian Bosch subsidiaries achieved sales of
548 million euros. Brembo has been licensing some design
for motorcycle braking systems, without brand, to Kalyani
Brakes since 1999.
Back
to News Review index page
Auto
spare exports to touch US$20bn
Mumbai:
Exports of auto components from India may go up to US$20bn
in 10 years, while domestic sales could also reach the
same level in the same period, according to Baba Kalyani,
chairman and managing director, Bharat Forge.
According to the latest data, while auto component exports
in 2003-04 stood at US$1bn, domestic sales were US$4bn.
Total investment in the sector is estimated to touch US$18bn
by 2015 from the existing US$3.2bn.
Increasing cost of production, declining profitability,
and the growing confidence of international auto and OEM
(original equipment maker) players on Indian components
are factors spurring further growth in the sector, said
Kalyani.
Back
to News Review index page
Amazon
to open tech centre at Chennai
Bangalore:
Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. has said it will open
a software development centre in Chennai to focus on developing
innovative web site features. It did not reveal the size
of the center.
Amazon
already has a facility in Bangalore.
Back
to News Review index page
Corporate
results: Ranbaxy, Godrej CP, Novartis India
Ranbaxy
reports Q3 loss of Rs.10.77 crore
Price
deflation in the US market, increased R&D spending
and litigation bills, has led to Ranbaxy Laboratories
reporting a loss after tax of Rs10.77 crore in the third
quarter ended September 30, 2005, as against a net profit
of Rs141.3 crore in the corresponding period last year.
For
the nine-month period ended September 2005, the company
has declared consolidated sales of Rs3,790.1 crore (Rs3,909.8
crore), a 3.06 per cent decline. Net profit was down 67.5
per cent at Rs190.5 crore (Rs586.5 crore).
During
the third quarter, the US sales fell by 25 per cent to
US$76mn, while sales in Europea went up by five per cent,
BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) by 16 per cent,
and the rest of the world by 16 per cent.
Commenting
on the results, RLL CEO Brian Tempest said, "It has
not been a good quarter for us. Weakness in the US market
due to price deflation has not only affected our sales
but also our net profit."
He
said the price deflation in the world's largest pharmaceutical
market, which started in the beginning of the year, continued
in the third quarter and was expected to continue through
the year.
"This
is going to carry on through the year and will continue
in the next year as well," he said.
On
Friday, the Ranbaxy scrip fell by 3.11 per cent on the
BSE to close at Rs 389.60.
Godrej
Consumer Products Q2 net up 60 per cent
Godrej
Consumer Products (GCPL) has declared a 60 per cent increase
in profit after tax at Rs27.81 crore for the quarter ended
September 2005, from Rs17.43 crore declared in the year-ago
period.
Sales
revenues during the quarter under review rose by 16 per
cent to Rs157 crore (Rs135 crore). Sales of Godrej brands
grew by 23 per cent to Rs152 crore. PBIDT margins improved
to 21.1 per cent.
Godrej
is now the second largest player in the toilet soaps and
hair colour business.
The
company said all its categories had grown well and all
initiatives taken in terms of logistics, sales and setting
up manufacturing units in excise free locations had helped
profitability.
Increased
consumer spending on the back of a buoyant economy and
good monsoon resulted in all its FMCG categories demonstrating
healthy demand growth.
Novartis
net up 27 per cent in Q2
Novartis
India has reported a 26.75 percent increase in net profit
at Rs27.53 crore for the second quarter ended September
30, 2005 as against Rs21.72 crore in the quarter ended
September 30, 2004.
According
to a release issued by the company to the BSE, total income
increased to Rs156.20 crore in Q2FY06 from Rs135.04 crore
in Q2FY05.
Back
to News Review index page
