Indian rupee gets a symbol, joins elite currency club

The Indian rupee will soon have a unique symbol — a blend of the Devanagri 'Ra' and Roman 'R' — joining elite currencies like the US dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.

The new symbol, designed by Bombay IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar, was approved by the cabinet — reflecting that the Indian currency, backed by an over-trillion dollar economy, was finally making its presence felt on the international scene.

"It's a big statement on the Indian currency... The symbol would lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and global face of the Indian economy," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

Though the symbol will not be printed or embossed on currency notes or coins, it would be included in the 'Unicode Standard' and major scripts of the world to ensure that it is easily displayed and printed in the electronic and print media.

Among currencies with distinctive identities, only the pound sterling has its symbol printed on the notes.

Unicode is an international standard that allows text data to be interchanged globally without conflict. After incorporation in the global and Indian codes, the symbol would be used by all individuals and entities within and outside the country.

The symbol will be adopted in a span of six months in the country, and within 18 to 24 months globally, Soni said, adding that it will feature on computer keyboards and softwares for worldwide use.
Soni said that the symbol, which reflects the Indian ethos and culture, would help distinguish the currency from the rupee or rupiah of other countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Kumar's entry was chosen from 3,000 designs competing for the currency symbol.

"It is a perfect blend of Indian and Roman letters — capital 'R' and Devanagri 'Ra' which represents rupaiah, to appeal to international and Indian audiences... My design is based on the tricolor, with two lines at the top and white space in between," Kumar said.

India unveils prototype of $35 tablet computer

It looks like an iPad, only it's 1/14th the cost: India has unveiled the prototype of a $35 basic touchscreen tablet aimed at students, which it hopes to bring into production by 2011.
If the government can find a manufacturer, the Linux operating system-based computer would be the latest in a string of "world's cheapest" innovations to hit the market out of India, which is home to the 100,000 rupee ($2,127) compact Nano car, the 749 rupees ($16) water purifier and the $2,000 open-heart surgery.

The tablet can be used for functions like word processing, web browsing and video-conferencing. It has a solar power option too — important for India's energy-starved hinterlands — though that add-on costs extra.

"This is our answer to MIT's $100 computer," human resource development minister Kapil Sibal told reporters when he unveiled the device.
In 2005, Nicholas Negroponte — co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab — unveiled a prototype of a $100 laptop for children in the developing world. India rejected that as too expensive and embarked on a multiyear effort to develop a cheaper option of its own.

Negroponte's laptop ended up costing about $200, but in May his nonprofit association, One Laptop Per Child, said it plans to launch a basic tablet computer for $99.
Sibal turned to students and professors at India's elite technical universities to develop the $35 tablet after receiving a "lukewarm" response from private sector players. He hopes to get the cost down to $10 eventually.

The tablet doesn't have a hard disk but instead uses a memory card, much like a mobile phone. The tablet design cuts hardware costs and the use of open-source software also adds to savings.
"Depending on the quality of material they are using, certainly it's plausible," said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst at Forrester Research. "The question is, is it good enough for students?"
Profitability is also a question for the $35 machine.

Epps said government subsidies or dual marketing — where higher-priced sales in the developed world are used to subside low-cost sales in markets like India — could convince a manufacturer to come on board.

The project is part of an ambitious education technology initiative by the Indian government, which also aims to bring broadband connectivity to India's 25,000 colleges and 504 universities and make study materials available online.

So far nearly 8,500 colleges have been connected and nearly 500 web and video-based courses have been uploaded on YouTube and other portals, the Ministry said.

Indian govt plans $900 export price for premium non-basmati

The government of India is likely to fix the minimum export price (MEP) on shipments of premium non-basmati rice at $900 a tonne, on a par with the basmati rice, in the upcoming meeting of the empowered group of ministers (EGoM). It is also considering partial lifting of the two-year-old ban on export of non-basmati rice. The government is looking at relaxing the ban on particular varieties of non-basmati rice such as Sugandha and Sharbati from northern India and Pooni, Sona-Masuri, Matta from the southern part of the country. These varieties enjoy very high demand in the US, the UK and West Asia. “There is a strong case for lifting the ban, only partially, on the premium variety of non-basmati rice because it is in demand overseas. Moreover, here, there is not much demand for such rice. Hence, there is no question of this affecting the common man or the normal ration system. The MEP for non-basmati would be decided based on the prevailing international prices,” a senior official said. Officials in the agriculture ministry also said that the exports could be permitted from October 1. Both the ministries of commerce and industry as well as agriculture have discussed the matter, and a final decision would be taken by the EGoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, that is expected to meet next month. “The MEP should be fixed at around $900 a tonne at par with that of basmati rice as that would then ensure that only the premium or the expensive range is being exported and not the ordinary ones. There is a growing demand for such varieties, particularly Pooni and Sona Masuri, wherever there is a heavy concentration of Indian population,” said A K Gupta, head – cereals division, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda).

Glenmark unit bags USFDA nod for generic contraceptive drug

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said it has received health regulator's nod to market and distribute generic contraceptive pills, Norethindrone Acetate, in the US market.
The approval for Norethindrone Acetate tablets in 5 mg strength, is granted by the US Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA) to Glenmark Generics Inc, a subsidiary of group firm Glenmark Generics, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said in a statement.

The company will commence marketing and distribution of the product immediately, it added.

Norethindrone Acetate is the generic version of Duramed Research Inc’s 'Aygestin' and is also indicated for the treatment of secondary amenorrhea, endometriosis and abnormal uterine bleeding due to hormonal imbalance, it added.

"Today's approval marks the second product approval by the USFDA from Glenmark's hormone facility located in Goa," the company said.

According to IMS health, Norethindrone Acetate tablets garnered approximately $27 million in sales for the 12-month period ending March 2010. The US contraceptive market recorded sales of $4.5 billion in the 12 months ended December 2009.

The company's current portfolio consists 57 products authorized for distribution in the US market. It has over 50 Abbreviated New Drug Applications pending approval with the US health regulator.

GE signs licensing agreement for oil and gas compressors with BHEL of India

Further expanding its technology presence in India and the region, GE has signed a 10-year licensing agreement with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) of India. According to the agreement, signed through GE Oil & Gas' Italian entity Nuovo Pignone, GE's advanced range of high performance, high efficiency centrifugal compressors will be manufactured under license at BHEL's production site in Hyderabad, India, for sale in India and in other South Asian territories.

John Flannery, president and CEO, GE India said: "This agreement builds on our strategy of bringing world-class technology to the Indian marketplace. It strengthens GE's 'company to country' approach by creating growth opportunities and developing local skills and expertise. BHEL is an excellent partner for us, consistent with GE's high standards in performance engineering and customer service."

GE's compressor units are vital to infrastructure development projects, including oil and gas production and transportation, refinery and petrochemical industry applications and fuel gas boosting. The technical scope of the licensing agreement provides for the licensing of GE's advanced range of centrifugal compressors, specifically several models of horizontally-and vertically split, pipeline and integrally gear compressors.

Bharti Wal-Mart to train Delhi's youth

The Delhi government signed an agreement with Bharti Wal-Mart under which the wholesale chain will offer short-term vocational courses to the capital's youth to improve their employability.
'There is a shortage of skilled manpower in the capital, but the state government is committed to overcome the shortage. The agreement was signed to help youth get employment in Delhi,' Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who was present on the occasion, told reporters.

Dikshit launched the Bharti Wal-Mart training centre, which will run from the Veer Savarkar basic training centre on Pusa Road in west Delhi.
An official said all the enrolled candidates will be awarded 100 percent scholarships.

'The training centre is expected to train about 25 candidates every month,' he added.
Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, said the retail sector is emerging as an engine of growth and initiatives like this will help create a skilled talent pool for the sector.

As per the agreement, the company will provide free training to the students, on all working days between 4 pm and 8 pm and from 9.30 am to 6 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
'The company will also endeavor to ensure that certified candidates obtain employment on successful completion of the training,' the official said.
Bharti Wal-Mart is a joint venture between Wal-Mart Inc of US and Bharti Enterprises.

Wipro net beats forecasts; Europe concern rises

Strong demand for outsourcing helped Wipro Ltd to handsomely beat estimates in the June quarter, though a softening in Europe's revenue contribution raised concerns about profits ahead. India's No.3 software services exporter's Europe revenue share fell mainly due to currency volatility, but it continued to see a strong business pipeline from the region.

Europe is the second-biggest market for Wipro, which develops software applications, integrates IT systems and manages call centres, and the $60 billion Indian outsourcing sector, after the United States.

An indicator of the troubles facing the region came when a newspaper reported on Friday that several of Spain's 18 savings banks, including some that have been involved in recent mergers, have failed tests to see how they would cope with worsened economic conditions.

"The demand for outsourcing services continues to be healthy at this point of time but Europe is a concern in the near term for these companies," said K.K. Mital, head of portfolio management services at Globe Capital. "Pricing may continue to be an issue till there is some stabilization in Europe," Mital said.

Wipro's results mirrored the strong growth of sector leader Tata Consultancy Services, while it fared better than No. 2 Infosys, which posted a surprise fall in quarterly profit.
"The situation in EU is uncertain, but we continue to see good traction in terms of pipeline as well as deal closure," said K.R. Lakshminarayana, Wipro's chief strategy officer for IT business.
"At the customer level, decision making as well as deal flow continues to be robust," he told the Reuters Trading India chatroom, responding to a query on business prospects in Europe following the economic uncertainty.

Wipro Chief Financial Officer Suresh Senapaty told reporters the company was seeing a good business pipeline in the United States and the pricing environment for its services was stable.
Wipro, majority-owned by billionaire Chairman Azim Premji, who mostly travels economy class, forecast revenue from its IT services business at $1.25 billion to $1.28 billion in the September quarter, up 4.1-6.1 percent from April-June when it grew 3.2 percent sequentially.

The company said Europe accounted for 25.4 percent of its revenue in April-June, down from 26.3 percent in the March quarter. The United States brought in more than half of its revenue.

SBI raises $1 bn via US bonds issue

The country's largest public sector lender, State Bank of India, has raised USD 1 billion through an issue of bonds to qualified institutional buyers.
State Bank of India, acting through its London Branch, successfully priced an offering of USD one billion of senior unsecured bonds due 2015, the bank said.
"This is a signature deal, despite market turbulence and volatility. In terms of deal size, order book multiple, diversification into new investors in the US, and number and quality of investors, we achieved our objectives with this issuance,"

"We believe the success of this transaction will also allow Indian issuers to more easily access the US markets," SBI Chairman O P Bhatt said.
SBI's debut issuance allows it to broaden its debt investor base and to access large, highly capitalized US institutional investors in the private placement market, the bank official added.
The offering was priced at a coupon rate of 4.50 per cent per annum.

In terms of allocations, US-based investors received 55 per cent of the allocation while Asian investors were allocated 28 per cent and the balance 17 per cent across European investors.
In terms of investor type, asset and fund managers subscribed for 63 per cent of the deal, commercial and investment banks subscribed for 9 per cent, private banks subscribed for 15 per cent and insurance/pension funds subscribed for 4 per cent.

Strong interest from the US-based investors underscores SBI's strong credit profile and its position as India's largest bank.

M&S Reliance India to open 15-stores in 2 yrs

Marks and Spencer Reliance India, a joint venture between Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance and UK-retailer Marks and Spencer Plc intends to open 15 new stores, mainly in metros, in two-years time, a top company official has said today.

"We're aiming to open larger stores which will showcase a fuller range of our product catalogue," Marks and Spencer Reliance India, Head of Marketing, Nandini Sethuraman told. "Though there are opportunities in smaller towns and cities, we want to make deeper inroads in metros and strengthen our base there as there is a lot more potential to grow in these places," she said.

Marks and Spencer at the time of forming joint venture with Reliance Retail in 2008 had announced plans to open 50 stores in India in next five years. The retailer said the target remained intact.
"By 2014, our aim is to have 50 stores. It all depends on momentum and right locations", Sethuraman said.

Presently, the company has 18 stores across the country including Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai with an average size of about 5,000 sq ft to over 22,000 sq ft.

"We have six stores in Delhi and we plan to open a couple of more stores here -- one will be opened near the new international airport in Delhi," Sethuraman said.

Besides, the company has three stores in Mumbai, two stores each in Bangalore and Chennai and one each in Pune, Kolkata and Amritsar, she said.

"We will continue to open stores in the existing markets. The stores that are to come up will be in both malls and in the stand-alone formats,” she said. 

[ BY LAVANYA GARIKINA ]