Mumbai: The Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Group is set to launch 20 TV channels in the country as part of its plans to expand the reach in the fast-growing broadcast entertainment business, top company officials said.
The group, which has Reliance Entertainment as a subsidiary, is foraying into the broadcast business through two companies Reliance Big TV Entertainment and Reliance Big TV News, the officials added.
"We are at the planning stage. So we are not revealing the details of the media project right now. At the appropriate time - very shortly perhaps - we will make a formal announcement," a spokesperson for the group said.
"The first of these channels will go on air probably in July-August this year. We have already applied for approval of these channels from the information and broadcasting ministry," the spokesperson added.
Two separate companies are being floated since the government imposes restrictions on foreign direct investment in the news media sector and the group is proposing two general news and two business news channels in Hindi and English.
The group wants to remain open to the idea of roping in an international player in the entertainment TV segment, officials explained.
Although the other 16 channels have not yet been finalised, the idea is for two TV channels catering to Hindi entertainment and regional movies. Besides, plans also include channels for children and on lifestyle and leisure.
The Rs.130-billion Reliance Entertainment Ltd has interests in the production, distribution and exhibition of films, besides foraying into FM radio, Internet and television content.
The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, through its subsidiaries, also has equity stakes in a number of media and entertainment companies. The group also markets music and movies under the labels of Big Music and Big Flicks.
In 2005, the group had also acquired Adlabs Films, which is among the largest entertainment companies in India with interests in film processing, production, exhibition and digital cinema. Through it, the company has forayed into FM radio under the Big 927 FM banner and has licences for 45 stations.
It already runs 12 stations across the country with more planned in the ensuing months.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
IAEA pact only after completion of political process: India
On the eve of his visit to the US, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has indicated that the text of an India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA has been finalised but can only be "initialed" after the political process has been completed.
"Some text has been reached, which only needs to be initialed, and that waits for the political process," he said before leaving for Washington where he will meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The minister is also likely to meet President George W Bush.
Mukherjee, who is on his maiden bilateral visit to the US, made it clear that "the deal will be operationalised only after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) and the US Congress give their approval and the Indian government then signs the agreement".
The minister's comments on the status of the deal come in the backdrop of Left Fronts contention that the nuclear deal would be "operationalised" when the IAEA safeguard agreement is signed.
Mukherjee said the government was pressing ahead with its efforts on the nuclear deal. "We would like the deal to materialise. I am in the process of the dialogue (with the Left) and I don’t know what will be the outcome, he added.
Mukherjee denied there were differences between him and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the nuclear deal and said: "We echoed the same voice (in Parliament). He said we are trying. I said we are trying. That's all."
When asked if he was disappointed the process had taken so long without an agreement, Mukherjee said. "They are our supporters and have stated their opposition we are trying to convince them. If we can do it we'll do it if we can't do it, we can't. The Prime Minister said if the deal doesn’t happen it is not the end of life. Don't forget that."
"Some text has been reached, which only needs to be initialed, and that waits for the political process," he said before leaving for Washington where he will meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The minister is also likely to meet President George W Bush.
Mukherjee, who is on his maiden bilateral visit to the US, made it clear that "the deal will be operationalised only after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) and the US Congress give their approval and the Indian government then signs the agreement".
The minister's comments on the status of the deal come in the backdrop of Left Fronts contention that the nuclear deal would be "operationalised" when the IAEA safeguard agreement is signed.
Mukherjee said the government was pressing ahead with its efforts on the nuclear deal. "We would like the deal to materialise. I am in the process of the dialogue (with the Left) and I don’t know what will be the outcome, he added.
Mukherjee denied there were differences between him and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the nuclear deal and said: "We echoed the same voice (in Parliament). He said we are trying. I said we are trying. That's all."
When asked if he was disappointed the process had taken so long without an agreement, Mukherjee said. "They are our supporters and have stated their opposition we are trying to convince them. If we can do it we'll do it if we can't do it, we can't. The Prime Minister said if the deal doesn’t happen it is not the end of life. Don't forget that."
China releases photos of Tibet riots' suspects
BEIJING: China stepped up its pressure on Tibetan protesters on Friday, releasing photos of wanted suspects who were captured on film in the worst rioting against Chinese rule in Tibet in nearly 20 years.
But with security forces having been poured into Tibet and other Tibetan-populated areas of China, rights groups and activists warned of mass arrests and the possible torture of those taken into custody.
China has responded with a massive clampdown on the affected areas, releasing a most-wanted list of 19 people caught on film taking part in the Lhasa riots, amid warnings by activist groups of harsh reprisals.
The photos, which appeared on top websites, were taken from grainy footage taken during the unrest.
The state-controlled Tibet Daily later said two of the 19 alleged perpetrators had already been taken into custody. It also provided a hotline number for information fr 
om the public on those still at large.
"Lhasa police authorities are going all out to arrest the main suspects," the newspaper said.
The unrest has come at a sensitive time for China's rulers, with the Beijing Olympics fewer than five months away, and they have made huge efforts to stop the world from getting an independent view of their crackdown.
China has sealed off Tibet from foreign reporters and tourists, while releasing images and television footage of violent Tibetans.
Authorities have also sought to stop the foreign press from travelling to areas in Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces where protests have broken out.
However, foreign journalists, as well as Tibetan exiles and activist groups, have reported a huge military build-up in Lhasa and the other hotspot areas in recent days.
18 'innocent' civilians killed in Lhasa unrest: China
China said on Saturday that Tibetan rioters killed 18 "innocent" civilians during violent protests against Chinese rule in the region's capital Lhasa, updating a previous official toll.
"Eighteen civilians and one police officer were confirmed dead by Friday night in the unrest that rocked Lhasa last week," reported Xinhua , the state news agency, citing the Tibet regional government.
"Previously, the official death toll for the innocent was 13," it said. The report added that 241 police officers were injured, 23 seriously, and 382 civilians were injured, 58 seriously.
"Rioters set fire to seven schools, five hospitals and 120 residences," the Xinhua report said. "Eighty-four vehicles were burnt down and 908 shops were looted."
The protests began last week to mark the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Beijing's rule of the vast Himalayan region, amid widespread anger over what Tibetans say have been brutal and repressive policies.
But with security forces having been poured into Tibet and other Tibetan-populated areas of China, rights groups and activists warned of mass arrests and the possible torture of those taken into custody.
China has responded with a massive clampdown on the affected areas, releasing a most-wanted list of 19 people caught on film taking part in the Lhasa riots, amid warnings by activist groups of harsh reprisals.
The photos, which appeared on top websites, were taken from grainy footage taken during the unrest.
The state-controlled Tibet Daily later said two of the 19 alleged perpetrators had already been taken into custody. It also provided a hotline number for information fr
"Lhasa police authorities are going all out to arrest the main suspects," the newspaper said.
The unrest has come at a sensitive time for China's rulers, with the Beijing Olympics fewer than five months away, and they have made huge efforts to stop the world from getting an independent view of their crackdown.
China has sealed off Tibet from foreign reporters and tourists, while releasing images and television footage of violent Tibetans.
Authorities have also sought to stop the foreign press from travelling to areas in Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces where protests have broken out.
However, foreign journalists, as well as Tibetan exiles and activist groups, have reported a huge military build-up in Lhasa and the other hotspot areas in recent days.
18 'innocent' civilians killed in Lhasa unrest: China
China said on Saturday that Tibetan rioters killed 18 "innocent" civilians during violent protests against Chinese rule in the region's capital Lhasa, updating a previous official toll.
"Eighteen civilians and one police officer were confirmed dead by Friday night in the unrest that rocked Lhasa last week," reported Xinhua , the state news agency, citing the Tibet regional government.
"Previously, the official death toll for the innocent was 13," it said. The report added that 241 police officers were injured, 23 seriously, and 382 civilians were injured, 58 seriously.
"Rioters set fire to seven schools, five hospitals and 120 residences," the Xinhua report said. "Eighty-four vehicles were burnt down and 908 shops were looted."
The protests began last week to mark the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Beijing's rule of the vast Himalayan region, amid widespread anger over what Tibetans say have been brutal and repressive policies.
Dalai Lama comes to pray after China Embassy stormed
NEW DELHI: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived in the Capital on Friday to participate in a meditation workshop to be attended by his followers from around the world.
The Dalai Lama flew in from Dharamsala on Friday evening to take part in the meditation workshop being organised by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility.
Hollywood star Richard Gere and actress Uma Thurman's father Bob Thurman are expected to take part in the programme.
The Dalai Lama, who arrived in New Delhi as Tibetans stepped up their protest and barged into the Chinese Embassy complex, will be in the Capital for ten days to take part in the meditation workshop to be held at Hotel Ashoka.
An exhibition is also being organised, which will be opened on Saturday, on the sidelines of the workshop.
Traditional handicraft and garments of Tibet will be on display at the exhibition.
The Dalai Lama was welcomed at the hotel by around 150 people, most of them his followers who wore T-shirts with the message 'Pray for Tibet'.
The organisers said the programme was chalked out three months back and hence could not be seen in correlation with the ongoing protests by Tibetans against the Chinese Government.
They, however, did not rule out the possibility of the Dalai Lama meeting Indian leaders during his stay in Delhi.
Mukherjee to meet Bush on Monday in Washington
NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to meet US President George W Bush on Monday and brief him on the progress in the negotiations with IAEA on Indo-US nuclear deal. Mukherjee, who will be making his maiden visit to the US as External Affairs Minister, will be holding discussions with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top officials of the Bush Administration including the National Security Council.
The visit takes place within days of Mukherjee telling Parliament that India can neither "mend" nor "end" the deal. It is also the first visit at the Foreign Minister's level since the one undertaken by Natwar Singh in April 2005.
Rice and Mukherjee will be meeting at the State Department on Monday morning for a wide ranging discussion on several aspects of the broadening and deepening bilateral relations which will include the civilian nuclear initiative. Mukherjee, who is the Chairman of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal, will call on Bush to review the entire gamut of bilateral ties with special focus on the deal.
Though the nuclear deal is expected to dominate the parleys, officials said a meeting at this level is not restricted to one or two issues.
India seeks help of African nations to bring in reforms in UN
NEW DELHI: India, an aspirant for the permanent membership of UN Security Council, on Friday sought the crucial support of 53 African countries in bringing about reforms in the world body.
New Delhi also impressed upon Africa to join hands with it in the fight against terror, tackle climate change and to ensure that the vision of Doha round of WTO trade talks as a developmental round becomes a reality.
In comments reflecting India's growing interest in the African continent, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India and Africa are "natural allies" and "we eagerly look forward to a comprehensive engagement with Africa".
He emphasised that Africa has always enjoyed an "important position" in India's foreign policy priorities as apart from common civilisational heritage, "we are united by common ideas, ideals and icons".
Noting that reform of the UN remains high on India's agenda, he said "we seek the support of African countries for overall reforms, including democratisation and expansion of the UNSC in both permanent and non-permanent categories". The support of African countries is crucial for India's bid for a permanent seat in the Security Council.
Addressing the valedictory session of 4th India-Africa Project Partnership Conclave, he also spoke about the threat of terrorism and the need for "exercising zero tolerance" and enhancing international cooperation to fight the menace.
"India looks forward to enhancing its cooperation with African countries on this matter, both bilaterally and in various multilateral fora. The conclusion of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism is important in this regard," he said.
With trade ties between India and Africa improving, Mukherjee urged African countries to encourage Indian industry which are already making robust investments in sectors like horticulture, agriculture, power generation and mining.
Two-way trade between India and Africa has registered a five-fold increase in the last five years from $ 5 billion in 2001-02 to $ 25 billion in 2006-07.
He also drew Africa's attention to the strides made by India in manufacturing and technology sector in the context of the enormous demand in Africa for infrastructure technologies, products, engineering services and capacity building.
"We have offered the benefits of our experience to African countries and are committed to continue our support in areas of our strength, including human resource development and capacity building programmes," he said.
On the India-Africa Forum Summit to be held here next month, Mukherjee expressed confidence that it would give renewed thrust to centuries-old partnership.
He said India has in recent years extended many bilateral and regional lines of credit on concessional terms to African countries, most of which have been used by countries for developmental projects.
"We are in a position to do more in this field and our focus will be on fostering sustainable socio-economic development in our partner countries," he said.
"Our ties with Africa are special and we will continue to work with Africa and the international community to create a better world -- a world free of terror, poverty, disease, ignorance and inequality," he said.
Indian fisherman's death in Pak: Delhi seeks release of all
NEW DELHI: India yesterday described as "most unfortunate" the death of a fisherman in a Pakistani jail and asked Islamabad to release all other fishermen by month-end as per the recommendations of a joint judicial committee of the two countries. "The death of the fisherman is most unfortunate," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in response to a question about the demise of Laksman Kanji in a jail in Karachi a few days back.
Sarna said the Indian High Commission in Islamabad is making arrangements for the body to be brought back home. Prison authorities in Karachi said Kanji had died due to 'cardiac arrest' but India is seeking to know the exact cause of the death of the fisherman who was in the jail since February 10, 2006.
"We are ascertaining the cause of the death through Pakistani authorities," the spokesman said. New Delhi also wants Islamabad to release all the 372 Indian fishermen lodged in Pakistani jails at the earliest.
"We hope all fishermen in Pakistani jails will be released by the end of the month as per the recommendations of the joint Judicial Committee," Sarna said referring to the panel set up the two countries to study the conditions of prisoners in the two countries. A Pakistani prisoner Khalid Mehmood died in a prison in Haryana last month apparently due to liver problem.
Pakistan has asked India to investigate the matter.
Obama gets crucial endorsement as race row hits campaign
WASHINGTON: New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has thrown his weight behind Democratic Presidential frontrunner Barack Obama, giving a boost to his campaign that appeared to have suffered following an outcry over his former pastor's sermons.
Obama, 46, who is attempting to be the first African-American candidate to be elected to the Oval office, and rival Hillary Clinton had been actively lobbying Richardson, who was himself a candidate but dropped out of early in the race, for his endorsement.
Obama, 46, who is attempting to be the first African-American candidate to be elected to the Oval office, and rival Hillary Clinton had been actively lobbying Richardson, who was himself a candidate but dropped out of early in the race, for his endorsement.
Obama "will be a historic and great president, who can bring us the change we so desperately need," Richardson was quoted as saying by AP.
"I believe he is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime leader that can bring our nation together and restore America's moral leadership in the world," he said.
Latest delegate tally showed Obama was leading with 1,610 delegates while Clinton had 1,496. A candidate must have 2,025 candidates to win the Presidential nomination at the Democratic party convention in August.
The two candidates face the next major showdown on April 22 in the big-ticket state of Pennsylvania which has 158 delegates at stake.
The endorsement comes as a new opinion poll showed Obama trailing in the race after controversial comments made by his pastor triggered another race row and threatened to damage his campaign.
Clips from sermons by Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, show his vehement denunciations of US policy and history over race.
In one of his sermons, Wright was quoted as saying "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human."
Delhi will have surplus power by 2010
NEW DELHI: Delhi will see the availability of power enhanced to 7000 MW from the present 4000 MW by the Commonwealth Games in 2010, says a top official.
"The city will have surplus power supply in two years. The process of capacity building is under way at full throttle," said R. Narayanaswami, special advisor on the 2010 Commonwealth Games for the Delhi government.
"The expected peak hour demand in the next two years is estimated to be around 5200 MW against the current estimate of 4400 MW in summer." Narayanaswami told.
"The city's power woes will be solved for several years to come."
Capacity building on the electricity front is a priority concern for the city government. The city government intends to spend over Rs.45 billion on energy during 2007-12, while over Rs.6.15 billion would be spent in the new fiscal.
Though the Commonwealth Games are to be held during Oct 3-14, 2010, when the power demand is normally not very high, the government is leaving nothing to chance. It has already secured a plan outlay of Rs.100 billion for the next fiscal.
"The city's peak hour demand is unlikely to cross the 6000 MW mark in the near future. So around 7000 MW power capacity puts us in a very comfortable zone," said Narayanaswami, who had served the state government as its chief secretary.
"In the next couple of years, the city will get power from the Damodar Valley Corp, National Thermal Power Corp, the Dadri power plant, the Jhajhar plant and the Pragati power plant - these total 4240 MW."
The government also intends to get 1800 MW from local sources in addition to the existing installed power generation capacity of 932 MW. The government will also initiate certain corrective measurers to streamline power supply.
"The transmission and distribution loss is being effectively addressed - it was around 49 per cent in 2007-08 against the national figure of 30-31 per cent. We are serious about making Delhi a power surplus city," Narayanaswami said.
The government is also looking at a couple of new projects from the centre's capacity addition programme for the 11th Five Year Plan period (2007-12). At the moment, the city stands to get 750 MW from the upcoming power plant at Jhajhar in Haryana.
Officials also point out that while central government had fixed the capacity addition of 78,577 MW for the 11th Plan period, no project had been earmarked for Delhi.
"Efforts are on to get some projects in the city-state territory," said a senior government official, requesting anonymity.
"Being the national capital, Delhi should get preference so that the basic needs of the people are fulfilled. Electricity is an area where the state government cannot do much if the required support does not come in from other quarters."
US likely to record zero growth in Q2, says OECD
The Paris-based Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has projected zero growth for the US economy in the second quarter of 2008, indicating that America is inching towards a recession.
"It may be premature to declare a recession, but with the pace of activity so far below potential, economic slack is widening rapidly," the OECD said pointing out that economic growth rate was likely to slip from 0.1% in Q1 to zero in the second quarter.
Giving growth projections for the G7 nations (US, Japan, Euro Area, Germany, France, Italy, UK and Canada), the OECD report said Japan and Europe were also likely to witness slowdown in growth. Japan, it added, is expected to grow at 0.3% in the first quarter and 0.2% in the second quarter, it added.
In addition to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the OECD attributed the slowdown in the US economy to factors like soaring energy and food prices.
"The effects (of the crisis) on demand are likely to be significant but are hard to gauge", the report added.
The report said that the residential investment slump shaved off around one percentage point of the US gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past two years and the trend would continue in the current year.
"It may be premature to declare a recession, but with the pace of activity so far below potential, economic slack is widening rapidly," the OECD said pointing out that economic growth rate was likely to slip from 0.1% in Q1 to zero in the second quarter.
Giving growth projections for the G7 nations (US, Japan, Euro Area, Germany, France, Italy, UK and Canada), the OECD report said Japan and Europe were also likely to witness slowdown in growth. Japan, it added, is expected to grow at 0.3% in the first quarter and 0.2% in the second quarter, it added.
In addition to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the OECD attributed the slowdown in the US economy to factors like soaring energy and food prices.
"The effects (of the crisis) on demand are likely to be significant but are hard to gauge", the report added.
The report said that the residential investment slump shaved off around one percentage point of the US gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past two years and the trend would continue in the current year.
GM gets top laurels at JD Power awards
General Motors India has bagged top honours at JD Power's Automotive Initial Quality Study (IQS) awards on the back of its Chevrolet brands.
Three models of the company's Chevrolet badge were awarded and the brand also won the JD Power Automotive Performance Execution and Layout (APEAL) award in the premium luxury segment, the company said in a statement here.
While the Chevrolet Spark topped the IQS in the compact segment, the Chevrolet Aveo topped the midsize segment category. GM's luxury sedan Chevrolet Optra won the Gold in the premium midsize segment in IQS, the statement said.
"The wins in both IQS and APEAL give General Motors India and our customers fantastic reasons to go out and celebrate Chevrolet's fifth anniversary in India. We have put our best efforts behind each car we have built, and with these awards, the results are now here to be seen," said P Balendran, VP at General Motors India.
Balendran said the Chevrolet brand grew by 74% in 2007 against the 14% growth of the industry.
Three models of the company's Chevrolet badge were awarded and the brand also won the JD Power Automotive Performance Execution and Layout (APEAL) award in the premium luxury segment, the company said in a statement here.
While the Chevrolet Spark topped the IQS in the compact segment, the Chevrolet Aveo topped the midsize segment category. GM's luxury sedan Chevrolet Optra won the Gold in the premium midsize segment in IQS, the statement said.
"The wins in both IQS and APEAL give General Motors India and our customers fantastic reasons to go out and celebrate Chevrolet's fifth anniversary in India. We have put our best efforts behind each car we have built, and with these awards, the results are now here to be seen," said P Balendran, VP at General Motors India.
Balendran said the Chevrolet brand grew by 74% in 2007 against the 14% growth of the industry.
Lanka naval vessel sinks in sea blast, 10 missing
The LTTE said it sunk a Sri Lankan naval vessel early Saturday in a suicide attack where three rebels lost their lives.
The Navy however said there was no confrontation with the LTTE and the P438 Fast Attack Craft (FAC) deployed in the north-eastern coastal waters off Nayaru sunk due to a sea mine explosion around 2.00 am.
Six crew members of the vessel including the officer-in charge have been rescued and search operation is underway for other survivors, the Navy said.
The LTTE said it attacked and sunk the FAC between Mullaithivu and Nayaru. "Three Black Sea Tigers were killed in action," the pro-rebel website Tamilnet quoted LTTE sources in Wanni as saying.
However, the navy maintained that no LTTE sea craft was present in the area when its vessel sank.
The boat was caught in the explosion of a sea mine "unscrupulously" laid by the LTTE in a bid to avenge repeated losses in the recent past, navy sources said.
"The impending consequence (of the blast) was unavoidable peril leaving the crew with no alternative other than abandoning the craft," an official said.
"They then got onto life rafts and started drifting and six members of the crew have thereafter been rescued by other boats," he said.
The Navy however said there was no confrontation with the LTTE and the P438 Fast Attack Craft (FAC) deployed in the north-eastern coastal waters off Nayaru sunk due to a sea mine explosion around 2.00 am.
Six crew members of the vessel including the officer-in charge have been rescued and search operation is underway for other survivors, the Navy said.
The LTTE said it attacked and sunk the FAC between Mullaithivu and Nayaru. "Three Black Sea Tigers were killed in action," the pro-rebel website Tamilnet quoted LTTE sources in Wanni as saying.
However, the navy maintained that no LTTE sea craft was present in the area when its vessel sank.
The boat was caught in the explosion of a sea mine "unscrupulously" laid by the LTTE in a bid to avenge repeated losses in the recent past, navy sources said.
"The impending consequence (of the blast) was unavoidable peril leaving the crew with no alternative other than abandoning the craft," an official said.
"They then got onto life rafts and started drifting and six members of the crew have thereafter been rescued by other boats," he said.
Tata Motors to roll out car that run on compressed air instead of fuel
It’s not official yet. But Tata Motors may soon be in a position to roll out cars that run on compressed air instead of fuel. This is because of an agreement the company inked in early 2007 with France’s MDI to deploy the latter’s path breaking air-powered auto-engine technology for the Indian market. The technology was at the development stage when the deal was signed.
Under the terms of agreement, Tata Motors will support further development and refinement of MDI’s technology, its application and licencing for the India market.
Significantly, technology development is nearly complete, especially since MDI is slated to showcase its OneCATs car, which runs on air, at the New York Auto Show. Subsequently , MDI will roll the small car for the French market by end-2008 .
Under the Tata Motors-MDI pact, the Tatas are slated to deploy MDI’s air-powered engine technology in its own cars. When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesperson acknowledged the tie-up with MDI but declined to share any details.
Officials from MDI, France told ET: “We’ve decided to launch OneCATs -the first version of cars with engines that will run on compressed air - in countries other than India by end 2008. The car will also be launched at the New York Auto Show starting from March 21, 2008. In France, the car will be produced in small units. For India, Tata Motors will adopt the technology for its cars.”
According to news agencies, Guy Negre, the CEO and founder of MDI Group, hopes versions of his compressed air car engine will be produced in India. Industry sources said the OneCATs being launched by MDI is likely to cost between e3,500-5 ,500. Additionally, according to MDI’s website, cars powered by the OneCATs engine will literally be zero pollution vehicles once they hit the highways.
MDI is a family-controlled company located at Carros, near Nice in southern France where partners Guy Negre and Cyril Negre, together with their technical team, developed a new engine technology with the purpose of economising energy and respect severe ecological requirements - at competitive costs.
Under the terms of agreement, Tata Motors will support further development and refinement of MDI’s technology, its application and licencing for the India market.
Significantly, technology development is nearly complete, especially since MDI is slated to showcase its OneCATs car, which runs on air, at the New York Auto Show. Subsequently , MDI will roll the small car for the French market by end-2008 .
Under the Tata Motors-MDI pact, the Tatas are slated to deploy MDI’s air-powered engine technology in its own cars. When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesperson acknowledged the tie-up with MDI but declined to share any details.
Officials from MDI, France told ET: “We’ve decided to launch OneCATs -the first version of cars with engines that will run on compressed air - in countries other than India by end 2008. The car will also be launched at the New York Auto Show starting from March 21, 2008. In France, the car will be produced in small units. For India, Tata Motors will adopt the technology for its cars.”
According to news agencies, Guy Negre, the CEO and founder of MDI Group, hopes versions of his compressed air car engine will be produced in India. Industry sources said the OneCATs being launched by MDI is likely to cost between e3,500-5 ,500. Additionally, according to MDI’s website, cars powered by the OneCATs engine will literally be zero pollution vehicles once they hit the highways.
MDI is a family-controlled company located at Carros, near Nice in southern France where partners Guy Negre and Cyril Negre, together with their technical team, developed a new engine technology with the purpose of economising energy and respect severe ecological requirements - at competitive costs.
Financial turmoil raises worries of deeper recession
It has been almost an article of faith: Any recession this year will be mild and brief.
But now the stunning meltdown of a top Wall Street investment bank and stubbornly persistent financial market turbulence has called that into question, raising fears that severe problems in housing and the nation's bedrock financial system could cripple the economy and wallop many millions of Americans.
No less an authority than former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote this week that ``the current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged as the most wrenching'' since the end of World War II.
Other noted economists are also sounding alarms. Harvard professor Martin Feldstein, the former head of the National Bureau of Economic Research, said recently he believes the country is now in a recession and it could be a severe one.
While it will be many months before the bureau's cycle dating committee, the unofficial arbiter of when recessions begin and end, makes its own ruling, a growing number of private economists already have a downturn figured into their forecasts. They are generally calling for a mild recession that will end this summer when the economic stimulus checks going to 130 million households start getting spent.
But the severe credit crisis that erupted last August _ and claimed its biggest victim this past weekend with the forced sale of Bear Stearns Co is raising doubts about those mild forecasts.
``Bear Stearns was a clear wake-up call. It resonates with everybody and highlights the severity of the stresses in the financial system,'' said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.
What got people's attention was how quickly Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth largest investment bank, could go from a stock market value of about $3.5 billion when the market closed on March 14 to being sold at the bargain-basement price of about $236 million two days later.
The Federal Reserve rushed in to take unprecedented actions. It provided a $30 billion line of credit to facilitate the sale and is employing Depression-era provisions that for the first time are providing direct Fed loans to investment banks. Most analysts said the Fed was justified and that its efforts highlighted the severity of the dangers facing the financial system.
The turmoil produced wild swings on Wall Street this week with the Dow Jones industrial average surging on Tuesday after the Fed aggressively cut a key interest rate only to plunge on Wednesday on renewed worries about the economy and then to stage a 262-point gain on Thursday. Markets were closed Friday.
More turbulence is expected in coming weeks because there remains a great deal of uncertainty about how many more victims the credit crisis will claim.
The problems began last year with rising defaults on mortgages as a housing slump intensified, but they have now spread to other parts of the credit markets with institutions growing fearful about making other types of loans.
It is the ability to get credit that makes the financial system and the economy it supports function. When banks stop lending to other institutions that, like Bear Stearns, depend on credit to conduct their day-to-day operations, the results can be catastrophic.
``We can't afford to stagger from one day to the next without knowing what large financial institution might be the next to go down the tubes because of a lack of liquidity. That is way too dangerous a game,'' said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed board member who is now an economist with the Stanford Financial Group. ``It is possible that we could be entering the worst recession of the post World War II period. The threat is certainly there.''
Because of Bear Stearns, many analysts are raising the odds that a 2008 recession could be worse than expected.
``The potential freezing up of the financial system could have pretty negative ramifications on bank lending which would have negative ramifications on consumer and business spending,'' said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at Global Insight, a Lexington, Mass, forecasting firm. He said he had upped the chances of a worse-than-expected recession to 40 percent, up from 25 per cent odds before Bear Stearns.
David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York, said he now has a worst-case-scenario in which the country could endure a double-dip recession in which the economy would briefly recover this summer, helped by the $168 billion in tax relief, only to quickly slip back into a downturn. Under this scenario, the economy's total output, as measured by the gross domestic product, would drop by 2.2 percentage points, making it the third worst recession in the post World War II period.
The worst recession in recent decades, in terms of lost output, occurred in the 1973-75 period of oil shocks, when GDP fell by 3.1 per cent, followed by the 1981-82 recession, when GDP dropped by 2.9 per cent.
By contrast, in the last two recessions output fell by 1.3 per cent in the 1990-91 downturn, and a tiny 0.3 per cent in the 2001 recession, making that slump the mildest in the post-war period in terms of lost output. The 2001 downturn lasted just eight months.
Wyss' baseline forecast calls for the 2008 downturn to trim GDP by just 0.5 per cent and last for nine months, from last November until August.
Under that forecast, unemployment, which hit a low in this expansion of 4.4 per cent and now stands at 4.8 per cent, will rise to around 6 per cent, meaning 1.5 million people will lose their jobs. Under the worst-case forecast, unemployment jumps to 7.5 per cent, meaning 3 million people would be tossed out of work.
``There would be bigger drops in the stock market and in home prices than we are now anticipating and more people out of work,'' Wyss said. ``There would be a lot of pain all the way around.''
But now the stunning meltdown of a top Wall Street investment bank and stubbornly persistent financial market turbulence has called that into question, raising fears that severe problems in housing and the nation's bedrock financial system could cripple the economy and wallop many millions of Americans.
No less an authority than former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote this week that ``the current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged as the most wrenching'' since the end of World War II.
Other noted economists are also sounding alarms. Harvard professor Martin Feldstein, the former head of the National Bureau of Economic Research, said recently he believes the country is now in a recession and it could be a severe one.
While it will be many months before the bureau's cycle dating committee, the unofficial arbiter of when recessions begin and end, makes its own ruling, a growing number of private economists already have a downturn figured into their forecasts. They are generally calling for a mild recession that will end this summer when the economic stimulus checks going to 130 million households start getting spent.
But the severe credit crisis that erupted last August _ and claimed its biggest victim this past weekend with the forced sale of Bear Stearns Co is raising doubts about those mild forecasts.
``Bear Stearns was a clear wake-up call. It resonates with everybody and highlights the severity of the stresses in the financial system,'' said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.
What got people's attention was how quickly Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth largest investment bank, could go from a stock market value of about $3.5 billion when the market closed on March 14 to being sold at the bargain-basement price of about $236 million two days later.
The Federal Reserve rushed in to take unprecedented actions. It provided a $30 billion line of credit to facilitate the sale and is employing Depression-era provisions that for the first time are providing direct Fed loans to investment banks. Most analysts said the Fed was justified and that its efforts highlighted the severity of the dangers facing the financial system.
The turmoil produced wild swings on Wall Street this week with the Dow Jones industrial average surging on Tuesday after the Fed aggressively cut a key interest rate only to plunge on Wednesday on renewed worries about the economy and then to stage a 262-point gain on Thursday. Markets were closed Friday.
More turbulence is expected in coming weeks because there remains a great deal of uncertainty about how many more victims the credit crisis will claim.
The problems began last year with rising defaults on mortgages as a housing slump intensified, but they have now spread to other parts of the credit markets with institutions growing fearful about making other types of loans.
It is the ability to get credit that makes the financial system and the economy it supports function. When banks stop lending to other institutions that, like Bear Stearns, depend on credit to conduct their day-to-day operations, the results can be catastrophic.
``We can't afford to stagger from one day to the next without knowing what large financial institution might be the next to go down the tubes because of a lack of liquidity. That is way too dangerous a game,'' said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed board member who is now an economist with the Stanford Financial Group. ``It is possible that we could be entering the worst recession of the post World War II period. The threat is certainly there.''
Because of Bear Stearns, many analysts are raising the odds that a 2008 recession could be worse than expected.
``The potential freezing up of the financial system could have pretty negative ramifications on bank lending which would have negative ramifications on consumer and business spending,'' said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at Global Insight, a Lexington, Mass, forecasting firm. He said he had upped the chances of a worse-than-expected recession to 40 percent, up from 25 per cent odds before Bear Stearns.
David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York, said he now has a worst-case-scenario in which the country could endure a double-dip recession in which the economy would briefly recover this summer, helped by the $168 billion in tax relief, only to quickly slip back into a downturn. Under this scenario, the economy's total output, as measured by the gross domestic product, would drop by 2.2 percentage points, making it the third worst recession in the post World War II period.
The worst recession in recent decades, in terms of lost output, occurred in the 1973-75 period of oil shocks, when GDP fell by 3.1 per cent, followed by the 1981-82 recession, when GDP dropped by 2.9 per cent.
By contrast, in the last two recessions output fell by 1.3 per cent in the 1990-91 downturn, and a tiny 0.3 per cent in the 2001 recession, making that slump the mildest in the post-war period in terms of lost output. The 2001 downturn lasted just eight months.
Wyss' baseline forecast calls for the 2008 downturn to trim GDP by just 0.5 per cent and last for nine months, from last November until August.
Under that forecast, unemployment, which hit a low in this expansion of 4.4 per cent and now stands at 4.8 per cent, will rise to around 6 per cent, meaning 1.5 million people will lose their jobs. Under the worst-case forecast, unemployment jumps to 7.5 per cent, meaning 3 million people would be tossed out of work.
``There would be bigger drops in the stock market and in home prices than we are now anticipating and more people out of work,'' Wyss said. ``There would be a lot of pain all the way around.''
Subprime, slowdown make IT cos lend helping hands to clients
Barely a quarter back, the biggest frown line on IT services companies was caused by a volatile rupee. Most companies were pushing their case with clients for price revision and experimenting with new forex cover options to minimise the currency shock. But, the scenario has undergone a sea change in just a matter of weeks. With the US subprime crisis and recessionary trends unfolding a story which has led to even more uncertain times, India’s IT services companies, predictably, are prepared for a cautious outlook on rupee.
The IT industry faced the brunt when the rupee rose dramatically and almost gained around 15% in 11 months. However, the rupee has remained stable against the dollar in the last six months, hovering around 40 mark.
By and large, for every one per cent rise in rupee against the dollar, the operating margins of IT companies is hit by 40-50 basis points. At the same time, companies have been able to use various levers to hedge against the appreciating rupee. According to a study done by Tholons, a offshore advisory firm, “Many companies focused on acquiring businesses in other currency geographies and also focusing on domestic business, which were immune to currency fluctuations.”
It further said that in some cases, efforts were made to sign rupee denominated contracts. Organisations also resorted to hedging balance sheets and cash flows. The other lever that organisations are utilising to counter the effect, is one of improving operational efficiency.
A senior executive of a large IT services firm says, “The rupee story is over. It is a wait and watch time. Also, now is the time when we cooperate with our clients who may be in a vulnerable position.” So, IT firms are looking at becoming their partners and also in helping them tide over the tough times.
At a time when there are question marks on IT spends and large offshoring contracts, Indian vendors have little choice but to come up with confidence-winning tricks. Companies may be pushing solutions that not just offer cost arbitrage but also bottom line enhancing outcome. “It will not happen overnight. But, we can, for instance, take over the IT department of a large corporation, and drive down costs and enhance value,” said an executive from India’s top six IT firms.
Such a move will not just put these firms as strategic partners but also land them with far larger budgets compared to a piecemeal contract. Obviously, the premise is that any crisis would actually increase offshoring when the dust settles. The picture will be clearer in the next two quarters, trackers say.
The IT industry faced the brunt when the rupee rose dramatically and almost gained around 15% in 11 months. However, the rupee has remained stable against the dollar in the last six months, hovering around 40 mark.
By and large, for every one per cent rise in rupee against the dollar, the operating margins of IT companies is hit by 40-50 basis points. At the same time, companies have been able to use various levers to hedge against the appreciating rupee. According to a study done by Tholons, a offshore advisory firm, “Many companies focused on acquiring businesses in other currency geographies and also focusing on domestic business, which were immune to currency fluctuations.”
It further said that in some cases, efforts were made to sign rupee denominated contracts. Organisations also resorted to hedging balance sheets and cash flows. The other lever that organisations are utilising to counter the effect, is one of improving operational efficiency.
A senior executive of a large IT services firm says, “The rupee story is over. It is a wait and watch time. Also, now is the time when we cooperate with our clients who may be in a vulnerable position.” So, IT firms are looking at becoming their partners and also in helping them tide over the tough times.
At a time when there are question marks on IT spends and large offshoring contracts, Indian vendors have little choice but to come up with confidence-winning tricks. Companies may be pushing solutions that not just offer cost arbitrage but also bottom line enhancing outcome. “It will not happen overnight. But, we can, for instance, take over the IT department of a large corporation, and drive down costs and enhance value,” said an executive from India’s top six IT firms.
Such a move will not just put these firms as strategic partners but also land them with far larger budgets compared to a piecemeal contract. Obviously, the premise is that any crisis would actually increase offshoring when the dust settles. The picture will be clearer in the next two quarters, trackers say.
Mozilla says Firefox 3 ready for prime-time
A new version of Mozilla’s popular Firefox Web browser is ready for download with improved security and memory use as the tiny company takes a stab at Microsoft Corp’s dominant Internet Explorer.
The program’s creators told Reuters on Thursday that the privately-held company’s trial version of Firefox 3 browser is ready for the masses to use after months of development.
Until now, the company has discouraged average Internet users from moving on from Firefox 2, which was launched in October 2006.
“In many ways it (Firefox 3) is much more stable than anything else out there,” Mozilla Corp Vice President of Engineering Mike Schroepfer said in an interview.
Key rivals to Firefox are market leader Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Apple Inc’s Safari browser. Engineers at Mozilla are still putting the finishing touches on the software and hope to release the final version of Firefox 3 by the end of June, Schroepfer said.
Mozilla is in a battle with Microsoft, which unveiled an experimental version of its Internet Explorer 8 in Las Vegas earlier this month and is looking to expand its presence on the Web through its bid to acquire Yahoo Inc.
Additions boost security and allow users to run Web sites when they are not connected to the Internet. Mozilla also says Firefox 3 uses less computer memory than Firefox 2.
Until now Mozilla has discouraged the typical computer user from exploring these new features. But its developers said on Thursday that the situation has changed and that they will be revising their Web site.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Web site still stated: “We do not recommend that anyone other than developers and testers download the Firefox 3 beta 4 milestone release. It is intended for testing purposes only.”
But they said that as they concluded their fourth round of tweaking their software, they determined it was ready for prime time. A fifth round of changes, due to begin within the next few weeks, will involve “tuning the visual look and feel of the program” and further improving its stability,” Schroepfer said.
The program’s creators told Reuters on Thursday that the privately-held company’s trial version of Firefox 3 browser is ready for the masses to use after months of development.
Until now, the company has discouraged average Internet users from moving on from Firefox 2, which was launched in October 2006.
“In many ways it (Firefox 3) is much more stable than anything else out there,” Mozilla Corp Vice President of Engineering Mike Schroepfer said in an interview.
Key rivals to Firefox are market leader Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Apple Inc’s Safari browser. Engineers at Mozilla are still putting the finishing touches on the software and hope to release the final version of Firefox 3 by the end of June, Schroepfer said.
Mozilla is in a battle with Microsoft, which unveiled an experimental version of its Internet Explorer 8 in Las Vegas earlier this month and is looking to expand its presence on the Web through its bid to acquire Yahoo Inc.
Additions boost security and allow users to run Web sites when they are not connected to the Internet. Mozilla also says Firefox 3 uses less computer memory than Firefox 2.
Until now Mozilla has discouraged the typical computer user from exploring these new features. But its developers said on Thursday that the situation has changed and that they will be revising their Web site.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Web site still stated: “We do not recommend that anyone other than developers and testers download the Firefox 3 beta 4 milestone release. It is intended for testing purposes only.”
But they said that as they concluded their fourth round of tweaking their software, they determined it was ready for prime time. A fifth round of changes, due to begin within the next few weeks, will involve “tuning the visual look and feel of the program” and further improving its stability,” Schroepfer said.
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