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India, China top Kearney's Global Services Location Index
New Delhi: India and China get the first and second position respectively in AT Kearney's Annual Global Services Location Index.

The study ranked locations on parameters such as financial structure, people and skills availability and business environment. With cost advantages being the primary aspect behind offshoring, financial factors constituted 40 per cent of the total index weight. People and skills availability and business environment each received a 30 per cent weighting

Among other countries in Asia Malaysia maintained its third position while Singapore remained at the fifth slot, the same as last year. Philippines broke into the top five league, leaping from sixth to fourth position overcoming issues like continuing political instability and infrastructure weaknesses, and capitalising on factors such as global exposure and English language skills of its workforce. Thailand improved from 13th to 6th place, while Indonesia entered the index at 13th position. Vietnam stood at the 26th position in this year's Index.

The UK interior regions, represented by Belfast, were ranked 28th out of 40, but were better than offshore locales like Ireland and South Africa. Germany, the Leipzig area, and France, the Marseille area, ranked 31st and 35th, respectively, largely due to higher costs and weaker business environments.

AT Kearney had added four lower-cost cities in the US, UK, Germany and France during 2005 to gauge how they compare with more traditional offshore locations.
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AP evolves integrated urban development strategy
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Government is evolving an integrated urban development strategy to improve the business climate to attract investors. The integrated plan includes improving the basic civic amenities and to create employment opportunities in the urban areas.

According to Koneru Ranga Rao, minister for municipal administration, urban development and sericulture, the development plan has the backing of both the World Bank and the UK. He said the Bank would contribute Rs1,290 crore to implement the project in all the municipalities and municipal corporations.

The DFID (Department for International Development, UK) had agreed to grant Rs745 crore for the Rs1,407 crore AP Urban Services for the Poor (APUSP). The State Government would share the rest of the burden.

The Union Government has also approved the Rs339.08-crore project for conserving the Musi river and four STPs (sewage treatment plants) would be setup in this regard.

The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) would develop 22 new townships along the proposed Outer Ring Road around the twin cities.
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Tax revenues of VAT-implementing States up 14.3 per cent in H1
New Delhi: The 23 states that implemented value added tax have achieved 14.3 per cent higher tax revenues in the first half of the current fiscal compared with the same period last year.

The tax revenues of the 23 VAT-implementing States during April-September 2005 stood at Rs33,400 crore as against Rs29,200 crore collected as tax revenue during April-September 2004.
Official sources said that the tax revenues for the current fiscal include sales tax collections on petroleum products. They, however, do not include Central sales tax collections.

The Centre has disbursed Rs687.66 crore towards VAT compensation claims raised by five States. Maharashtra has received Rs259.89 crore (April-June 2005), and Kerala received Rs181.77 crore as VAT compensation for April-July 2005.

The other three States that have received VAT compensation claims are Andhra Pradesh (Rs193.8 crore), Bihar (Rs47.31 crore) and Tripura (Rs4.89 crore).

Maharashtra, which accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the sales tax collections of the country, had submitted a compensation claim of Rs259 crore for the first quarter (April-June).
Uttaranchal had introduced VAT from October 1 through the ordinance route.
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Share of food as percentage of consumer expenditure continues to fall: NSSO
New Delhi: The share of food as a percentage of total consumer expenditure continued to fall, according to the latest findings of the National Sample Survey Organisation.

According to the 60th round of the National Sample Survey released today the trend continues both in rural and urban households. During January-June 2004, the share of food in total consumer expenditure was 54 per cent in the rural areas, compared to 64 per cent in 1987-88, and 42 per cent in the urban areas, against 56 per cent during 1987-88.

The share of cereals was 18 per cent in rural India (26 per cent in 1987-88), and for urban areas, the corresponding figures were 10 per cent and 15 per cent.

For the rural population, the average monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) was Rs565, out of which non-food expenditure stood at Rs260. It included fuel and light, clothing and footwear.

For the urban population, the average MPCE stood at Rs1,060 out of which Rs619 accounted for non-food expenditure.

The survey found that in the rural sector, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar had an MPCE of less than Rs450 while Kerala had the highest (Rs990), followed by Punjab (Rs947).
In the urban areas, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh had an MPCE of less than Rs800, while Kerala had the highest MPCE of Rs1,372, followed by Maharashtra with Rs 1,259.
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Hewitt study: Indian employees to get fatter pay packets next year
Bangalore: According to a survey by global human resource firm, Hewitt Associates, out of the 270 organisations in the country from where it collected information, only one per cent reported a salary freeze during 2005 and 2.6 per cent expected to do so in 2006.

The annual Asia-Pacific Salary Increase Survey found that employees at supervisory/technical level received the highest average increase of 15.7 per cent and were expected to do so again next year at the same rate.

Employees from the ITES sector enjoyed the highest average salary increase (17.9 per cent) across the five employee groups studied. The employee groups ranged from top management to manager, professional, clerical and manual workers.

Philippines and China followed with 8.2 per cent and 8.1 per cent increases respectively.
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Italy for strategic tie-ups to attract Indian tourists
Bangalore: Italy is tying up with private and government agencies in India to attract more Indian tourists. This is part of the concerted effort made by both Government and private agencies to sustain the 20 per cent growth of tourist flow from India. The Italian State Tourist Board (ISTB) is also exploring the possibility of a tie-up with a leading Indian tour operator for tapping the potential of operating chartered flights to Italy.

Apart from campaigns and road shows in the last five years, the economic boom and low-cost international fares coupled with increased direct flights to many European destinations, including Italy, are expected to help Italy reap a rich dividend in the coming years.

Against an overall tourist flow of 40 million this year, mostly from the US, Japan and Germany, a 100 per cent growth from 70,000 in 2001 in five years signalled India's potential.
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Railways to attain self sufficiency in wheels demand
Bangalore: A new manufacturing plant at Chapra in Bihar and a capacity building proposal for the rail wheel factory here will not only make the railways self sufficient but also allow it to export its goods to other countries.

Sudha Chaubey, general manager Rail Wheel Factory, Bangalore, said, "We are in the process of preparing a proposal for capacity building and we will soon send it to the Railway Board," she said.

The rail wheel factory fulfils over 50 per cent demand for wheel sets while the rest are supplied by the Durgapur plant and are imported.

According to railway sources, the plan, still in the initial stages, will cost about Rs100 crore and will augument the capacity of the Bangalore plant, which now manufactures nearly 1.10 lakh wheels per annum, by another 50,000.
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