BIZ WORLD

AT&T, T-Mobile deal to benefit Indian IT vendors

Indian outs o u r c i n g vendors like Infosys, Cognizant and Tech Mahindra are set to gain new projects worth hundreds of millions from AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile, as the two telcos seek to integrate their systems and lower their operational costs.

While Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra count AT&T among their top customers, MNC rival Cognizant counts both AT&T and T-Mobile among its key clients. Infosys too works with both the telcos, people familiar with recent outsourcing decisions taken by AT&T and T-Mobile said.
New outsourcing projects after AT&T receives regulatory approvals could include integration of billing and customer systems apart from consolidation of other operational support systems. "We are still watching this; as of now, it's business as usual. But consolidation and M&A is a good news for IT business, there are always systems to be stitched together," said a top official at one of the companies working with a USbased telecom customer.

Over past few years, Indian outsourcing vendors have seen business from telecom customers come down as telcos such as BT Plc trimmed their budgets and chose to work with more vendors at lower rates. BT, which once was Infosys' top customer contributing some $300 million every year in revenues is now down to almost $100 million a year.

Outsourcing experts said Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Cognizant are set to benefit from this consolidation. TechM does huge amount of business with AT&T. It is definitely going to be a plus. TechM was also planning to enter into TMobile. In fact, T-Mobile released an Infra RFP some days back.

Over past few months, merger between top US banks helped TCS, Infosys and Cognizant sustain their double digit growth at a time when customers from other verticals shelved many projects.

US healthcare a billiondollar biz for Indian IT

The US healthcare sector offers a multibillion dollar IT and back-office services opportunity, much bigger than the Y2K opportunity which transformed many Indian IT providers.

Recent regulatory changes mandating more inclusive healthcare and standardization in patient records in the US have made the opportunity more attractive and immediate.

Richard S Garnick, who in his previous avatar as Wipro's head of the Americas and enterprise application services helped to grow revenues from millions to billions, now wants to repeat that growth story in the healthcare sector. Wipro in North America in 2001 was only $140 million in revenues. In 2005 it was $2 billion.
Garnick says US government investment in the Healthcare Bill is estimated to be over $1 trillion over 10 years. In the next 4-5 years, Garnick expects staff strength to go up to 12,000-15,000. Back office services could be done 80% from locations such as India, while IT could have a higher onshore component, he says.

NMDC eyes US coal assets to ensure supply

To ensure raw material security for its upcoming steel plants in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, the state-run National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is looking at acquiring coking coal mines in the US. "We are looking at it but it is at a very initial stage. It will take some time," NMDC Chairman Rana Som said when asked about company's acquisition plans in the US.
He, however, declined to name the properties the Navratna firm has targeted or shortlisted for acquisition.

As per reports, the company is in talks with the promoters of some mid-sized coking coal mines in Pittsburg and Alabama in the US to do due diligence.

The first steel venture of the company -- 3 million tonne per annum capacity Chhattisgarh plant, being constructed at a cost of Rs 15,500 crore, is expected to be operational by 2014, while the construction work of the proposed 2 million tonne per annum steel plant in Karnataka is expected to begin in 2012.
For the Karnataka plant, NMDC had inked a pact with Russia's leading steel maker OJSC Severstal in December last year to jointly set up a steel plant with an initial capacity of 2 million tonne per annum, expandable to 5 million tonne per annum later at a cost of Rs 25,000 crore.

The company is also in talks with Tata Steel to ink an equal joint venture for setting up a 2 million tonne per annum steel plant at Bastar in Chhattisgarh.
Last month, the NMDC Chairman had said that the company is close to buying two iron ore mines in Australia, while it is targeting three coking coal assets in Australia, Mozambique and Albania.

"We are precisely targeting six assets, with primarily three iron ores and three for coal in Australia, Mozambique and Albania. We have already located and almost finalized acquisition of two iron ore assets," Som had said.

The PSU, which accounts for 15% of the country's total iron ore production, has targeted to produce 30 million tonne of iron ore this fiscal.

Indian workers willing to move abroad for job

Almost nine-in-ten Indian employees are willing to move for the right job, with many even prepared to relocate to another country or continent in order to secure a preferred position.
According to the latest survey from workforce solutions leader, Kelly Services 63% of baby boomers prepared to travel abroad for the right job, compared with 50% of Gen X and 49% of Gen Y.
A total of 89% of the respondents said that they were willing to move for the right job. Out of these, 39% said that they were prepared to move within the country while 49% were willing to relocate to another country or continent to secure a job of their choice.
Europe turned out to be the most desirable destinations for globetrotting Indians job-seekers 36%, closely followed by Asia Pacific (20%) and North America (19%).
The findings are part of the Kelly Global Workforce Index, which obtained the views of approximately 97,000 people in 30 countries, including almost 2,000 in India.
"In the current market scenario, employers face skill shortages in many areas and are thus turning to global markets to attract the best candidates. There are many skills that are in high demand globally and easily transferable across borders. These include skills in finance and banking, science, IT, and engineering,” the company said in a release.
Many skills that were once specific to a region or country have now become global in its scope, meaning that job mobility becomes important for career advancement. In fast-growing sectors such as engineering, science, finance and healthcare, there is a diverse global demand that can present personal rewards and career opportunities for those willing to travel.

CMIE pegs growth at 8.8% for FY12

The Centre for MonitoringA report by a think tank paints a rosy picture for the Indian economy, citing high GDP growth, low inflation and higher wages in the next fiscal, boosting purchasing power.
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy report says “real GDP will grow by 8.8%” in 2011-12.
“Private final consumption expenditure BIZ WORLD (PFCE) is projected to grow by a healthy 7.5% in the coming fiscal, and gross fixed capital formation by 14.6%. Growing incomes in urban and rural India will drive the robust growth in PFCE,” the report says.

CMIE sees wages and salaries in the corporate sector to rise 14.2%, while inflation at the consumer level is expected to ease to around 7% thanks to cooling food price inflation. This in turn is expected to increase purchasing power of urban consumers.

Rural and semi-urban areas too will see higher incomes with agricultural output pegged at 3- 4%, and foodgrain production at “a record 240.8 million tonne. This, coupled with an increase in the prices of agricultural crops, is expected to bring around 10% more income in the hands of the farming community,” the report says.

Another positive mentioned is the linking of NREGS wages to the consumer price index for agriculture, which means that “the purchasing power of at least one-fourth of rural India will remain unaffected” even if inflation rises beyond expectations.

CMIE also sees higher industrial growth. “The six core industries — cement, steel, electricity, coal, crude oil and petroleum products — are expected to show buoyancy in production in 2011- 12. We project that industrial production will grow at around 10%,” the report concludes.

MIT energy expert to join Tata for power from water

In a first such effort, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata has signed on a leading scientist from the renowned MIT to commercialize cuttingedge research that promises to produce cheap power from water.

Daniel Nocera, a professor of chemistry and energy, and his group of elite scientists at MIT attracted Tata’s attention when he heard they had found a way towards one of science’s holy grails—to imitate photosynthesis, the process by which plants breathe, and produce power while doing so.

As he did with the Nano small car and the Swach non-electric water purifier, Tata hopes Nocera’s solution will be the latest in the group’s effort to serve the “bottom of the pyramid” and turn a profit while doing so, said a Tata group executive who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Tata’s hope is that Nocera’s “personalized energy” can produce a stand-alone, mini-power plant, perhaps a refrigerator-sized box that could reinvent rural electricity supply and bring power to about three billion people worldwide who don’t have it.

Nocera said MIT’s technique has seen more than a year of preliminary research and hopes to produce enough electricity from a bottle-andhalf of water, however dirty, to power a small home. “We hope to have a prototype in a year-and-ahalf,” said Nocera, whose other backers include Bob Metcalfe, co-inventor of the Ethernet and a former director of the CIA.

It is too early to say which Tata company will take MIT’s technology to market. The Swach water purifier was developed by three Tata companies.

The idea of imitating the tiny chemical engines in plants, which essentially generate power from the sun by splitting water molecules, is not new and has energized science since the 19th century. Commercially available electrolyses devices can split water, but they are costly and need clean water. Nocera’s solution can use even human waste water, “from the front and back”, as he put it euphemistically.

Nocera estimates that the world consumes 14 terawatts (TW) of power today. By 2050, it will need 16TW. If his solution works, said Nocera, it would need a mere swimming pool full of water every day to meet the world’s electricity needs.

India to set up 15 mega food parks

The Indian government has approved funds for establishing 15 mega food parks across the country. Speaking at the two-day Food Forum 2011, Food Processing Secretary Ashok Sinha said: 'We are setting up 15 mega food parks initially out of the 30 planned during the 11th Plan. These parks will provide state of art infrastructure for food processing sector.'
'The central government has already approved Rs 50 crore worth grant for each park,' he added. Sinha also expressed his concern over the severe food crisis the whole world is reeling under and the loss of produce due to lack of storage.

'India loses a significant quantity of her harvested produce worth approximately Rs.30,000 crore annually. This staggering loss is severely affecting India's agri-business as well as agro-economy,' he said.
'It is essential, therefore, to build sustainable supply chains, which will link the farmer to the processing and marketing centers. The development of an integrated system of post harvest technology and cold chain management is inevitable,' he added.

Atul Singh, chairman Food Forum India, in his address, highlighted the tremendous growth opportunities in the food industry because of expansion of the middle class and the youth population.

'India is a large economy and with the change in consumer preferences, there will be a huge demand for packaged food and beverages. Thus, innovation in the food sector needs to continue,' he said.

Reliance Broadcast to launch Hindi entertainment channel

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s Reliance Broadcast Network said it is entering the regional entertainment space and will launch BIG Magic, a television channel targeted at the Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, on April 4.

The channel will feature locally relevant entertainment around humor, entertainment and music, the company said in a press release.

Reliance Broadcast Network shares rose and at 11:00 hrs were traded at Rs 75.80, up 2.7% from previous close, on National Stock Exchange. “The Hindi heartland represents 30% of India’s population and by far the most attractive market for advertisers. This underserviced market offers an excellent opportunity to give audiences entertainment tailored to meet their preferences,” Tarun Katial, CEO of Reliance Broadcast said.

The three states together account for 13% of the national advertising spends, which is pegged at Rs 23,000 crore. The new channel will be distributed across all cable operators in the three states. The company’s foray into regional entertainment television comes on the back of its launch of English language entertainment channels in tie-up with US-based CBS Corp, over the last few months. Reliance Broadcast avowedly aims to operate a portfolio of TV channels in tieup with European entertainment network RTL.

Invest in Indian jewelry sector: Anand Sharma

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has urged global jewelry brands to invest more in India if they want to tap its huge market. 'India is the global leader in the diamonds and colored gemstone sector, and is looking forward to greater investment by the world's top watch and jewelry brands into the country,' Sharma said while inaugurating the Baselworld Fair in Switzerland March 24.

Baselworld Fair is a premier global trade fair in the watches and gems and jewelry and attracts most of the leading brands from these sectors. India is the guest country at this year's fair.

India, with its 1.2 billion aspiring population, offers limitless opportunities for manufacturing as well as a market, Sharma added.

The minister also met with chief executives of several leading premier watch brands like Rolex, Tag Heuer, Tissot, Chopard, Swatch and Raymond Weil. India is the largest diamond cutting and polishing center in the world, accounting for about 95 percent share of the global market by number of pieces. The country is also the third largest consumer of polished diamonds after the US and Japan.

[ BY LAVANYA GARIKINA ]