Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Industry

  • Crucial spectrum telecom auction to begin

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    The finance ministry is expected to closely watch the e-auction of radio frequency spectrum, our airwaves, for telecom operators that commences, seen as crucial for the government to be able to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP. A mock auction was conducted Tuesday. “It went off smoothly. We are all set…

  • Is Ajit Jain to succeed Buffett?

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    By Arun Kumar  As Warren Buffett revealed that someone from the Berkshire Hathaway itself would succeed him as the company’s CEO, media speculated on two likely successors – India-born Ajit Jain and Greg Abel. “Both the board and I believe we now have the right person to succeed me as CEO, a successor ready to…

  • India’s growth pegged at over 8%

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      India’s economic survey pegged growth at more than 8 percent for the next fiscal and said inflation was now declining, while also setting the agenda for reforms needed to further drive the expansion, prune wasteful expenditure and promote productive investment. Tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and authored by a team led…

  • RBI lifts gold coin ban

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    The World Gold Council (WGC)  said the RBI’s decision to lift a ban on import of gold coins and medallions by banks and allowing them to import gold on a consignment basis was a right move. “These are important clarifications in the right direction, following removal of 80:20 import restriction and definitely positive for the…

  • India seeks global investment in aerospace

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    By Fakir Balaji  Taking up the Narendra Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign avidly, the defence ministry is pulling all stops to ensure global firms invest in the fledgling aerospace industry so it can reduce imports and achieve self-reliance. “In line with the government’s policy to promote greater indigenisation in the defence sector, the thrust…

  • Apple planning a Google?

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    There perhaps isn’t anything that a Google search cannot find, but all of us who have only been ‘googling’ for information and knowledge may soon be “appleing” for them. The Daily Mail, in a report Monday, referred to an Apple job advertisement posted earlier this month, calling for a professional to develop “a search platform…

  • India’s growing appetite for luxury brands

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    By Nivedita A growing clientele with an appetite for luxury products makes India a conducive market for global fashion designers to make inroads, says British designer Alice Temperley, whose creations have been worn by the likes of The Duchess of Cambridge, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez. She has launched her fashion brand Temperley London in…

  • FDI liberalisation sought in e-commerce

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    By Arun Kumar   Ahead of President Barack Obama’s trip to India, two US lawmakers have asked him to request Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to liberalise foreign direct investment (FDI) restrictions on e-commerce sector. “Such a move would benefit the economies of both India and the United States,” wrote senators Mark R. Warner and John…

  • US looking forward to Obama visit

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    US corporate honchos are looking forward to President Barack Obama’s visit to India to understand market accessibility after the BJP-led government came to power, an Assocham CEOs’ survey in India and the US, released here, said. The industry chamber said the survey was done between Jan 6 and Jan 16 among major Indian corporates and…

  • Twitter buys Indian startup ZipDial

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    Microblogging site Twitter has acquired Indian startup ZipDial, a mobile value added services company based out of Bangalore, a statement by Twitter said here. The statement added this is Twitter’s first ever acquisition in India. However, the deal size has not been mentioned. ZipDial has built a mobile platform that lets people follow and engage…

  • The mirage of defence indigenisation

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    By Avishek Rakshit  While the hike in defence sector FDI to 49 percent and the ‘Make in India’ campaign have opened up newer possibilities for both indigenised equipment makers and joint ventures with foreign partners in the defence segment, the MSMEs are hamstrung by their inability to meet defence tender parameters and shortcomings in technology…

  • Indian economy to grow by 7% in 2016: WB

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    By Arul Louis   Helped along by falling oil prices and by lower interest rates in developed countries, India’s economy is expected to grow by seven percent next year and these two factors can be a game-changer if the nation were to seize the opportunity to implement fiscal and structural reforms, World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik…

  • India and Britain, making great things together

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    Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and David Cameron jointly welcome the launch of the GREAT Collaborations campaign between the UK & India. In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to the world to Make in India, the UK is launching a campaign to celebrate and inspire GREAT Collaborations between the UK and India. The campaign…

  • JLR to create 1,300 UK jobs

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    Jaguar Land Rover says it will create 1,300 new jobs to build Jaguar’s first sports utility vehicle (SUV) at its Solihull plant in the West Midlands. The firm has already invested £1.5bn in the Solihull plant to enable it to increase production, and it said its workforce there had almost doubled over the past three…

  • ‘Make in India’ see good response

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    The central government announced that “Make in India” has become its largest and fastest growing digital initiative with 2.1 billion impressions on social media. In the process, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion initiative has “left behind every other government department like the MEA (ministry of external affairs), home ministry or the ministry of…

  • Banking sector need reforms: Jaitley

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      India needs to conceive several reforms in the banking sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said here. “There is a need to get the best talent into the system. There is a need for far greater autonomy being given to them (public sector banks),” Jaitley told reporters on the sidelines of the two-day banking retreat.…

  • Opportunity awaits in gold in 2015

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    By Vatsal Srivastava Market participants are yet again headed into a New Year with a bearish outlook on gold. This reflects the ongoing adjustments in the US interest rate cycle. It is the consensus view that the US Federal Reserve will start tightening monetary policy by June, which will push real interest rates higher and…

  • Microsoft keen to partner in Make in India

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      Global IT giant Microsoft’s chief executive officer Satya Nadella  said the company is looking forward to partner with the Digital India and Make in India programmes of the government. “It’s always fantastic for me personally to be in India and the conversation I had with the minister was wide ranging,” Nadella said here after…

  • Air India’s turnaround alliance

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    By Rohit Vaid   Air India stands to gain upto $100 million (over Rs.600 crore) in the first year of its membership of Star Alliance, the the world’s largest airline accord that brings together 27 carriers for increasing passenger share and earnings, the top official of the grouping has said. It’s an infusion that would greatly…

  • ? Indian aviation in turbulence

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      By Rohit Vaid   India’s civil aviation industry faced turbulent weather in 2014 even as two new airlines with foreign collaborators joined the five scheduled operators to trigger a price war that squeezed margins further, with falling fuel costs giving some respite in later months. The Tatas-promoted AirAsia, in collaboration with the Malaysian budget carrier…

  • ‘Smart eHome’ is here

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    Adapting the smart home concept, Technopark incubated Ronds Innotech launched “Smart ehome” — an intelligent power management system that automatically controls the home appliances in a house. “Smart ehome” uses home automation technology and advanced energy saving techniques to control and optimise the power utilisation of home appliances, such as lights, fans, television, refrigerator, washing…

  • Shriti Vadera to chair Santander UK

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    Shriti Vadera, an Indian-origin minister in former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government, has been named by the Spanish banking group Santander to chair its British business. Vadera was a minister in the British government during the days of the global financial crisis. She will replace Terence Burns in March, who had announced his plan…

  • Falling oil prices devalue green power

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    Falling global oil prices threaten to devalue the renewable sources of energy, thereby derailing the revolution in the sector, experts have warned. Oil prices tumbled below $60 a barrel for the first time in more than five years Thursday – a fall of 44 percent since June – and are forecast to fall further, The…

  • Modi to visit Hannover trade fair

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Germany in April to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and to jointly open the Hannover trade fair where India is the official partner country. The Hannover Messe 2015, the world’s largest industrial trade fair, is to showcase the ‘Make in India’ concept. The Hannover Fair, which will run from…

  • 4G helped Europe’s mobile industry

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      Europe’s rapid transition to 4G service has helped the recovery of the mobile industry, according to a new GSM Association (GSMA) report “Mobile Economy: Europe 2014”, published . The financial outlook of the mobile industry showed signs of improvement in 2014 because of the positive impact from 4G deployments after years of significant revenue declines,…

  • ‘Modi-Obama summit reignited business interest’

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      Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s summit meeting with US President Barack Obama in September signal a paradigm shift in bilateral ties? Was it a ground-breaking moment in Indo-US ties that had seen a slump over the years? Experts, including former diplomats, do not think it was a paradigm shift, but agree the visit was…

  • Indian growth story attracts Americans

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    Lured by the growth potential of the Indian market, the American Society for Metals (ASM) International, the world’s largest association dealing in metal-centric materials scientists and engineers, is for the first time hosting MET-14, an international conference on emerging materials and processes for industrial applications, in India. ASM is a very popular name worldwide with…

  • Northeast is Natural Economic Zone: Modi

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      A new resurgent, stronger and more prosperous India and Nagaland needs to be built, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, adding that the region is a Natural Economic Zone (NEZ) and it is his priority to tap it. “There are SEZs in some parts. Here it is NEZ – Natural Economic Zone. My priority is…

  • Kashmir’s meagre saffron production spikes prices

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    By Vishal Gulati   More than 70 percent of Kashmir’s saffron cash crop, one of the costliest spices of the world, has lost its purple bloom this season due to the hostile weather. Its prices have increased 60 to 80 percent. To optimise revenues, trade representatives say, cheaper saffron imported from Iran is mixed with the…

  • Modi magic working on the economy?

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    By Arvind Padmanabhan  An area that evoked much expectation from the people when the Narendra Modi-led majority government took the reins over six months ago was economic revival, as it was seen as spurring growth, creating jobs, stabilizing prices and boosting incomes. India was faltering on all the four counts. As we take stock of…

  • More Indians now shop online

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     India will have 100 million online shoppers and the country’s e-tailing sector will become a $15 billion market by 2016, a study said . The annual online shopping growth report was compiled by Forrester Consulting and Google search trends. The number of online shoppers in India is projected to be 35 million in 2014 and…

  • Kashmir’s solar potential

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    By K.S. Jayaraman   Which is a better place for locating a solar power plant? Hot and sunny Rajasthan or snow-clad Kashmir? If your answer is Rajasthan, you are wrong. A recent study by Indian researchers has identified the eastern parts of Jammu and Kashmir and the eastern part of Uttarakhand — in the chilly shadows…

  • Peach King of California honoured

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      Didar Bains, a farmer known as the “Peach King of California”, was honoured by California Governor Jerry Brown for his service to society, media reported. Brown praised Bains and thousands of other immigrants from India who he said have enriched the US with their culture and work ethic, The Sacramento Bee reported. “It’s an…

  • Khadi goes chic

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    Khadi, once the dowdy sartorial symbol of India’s independence movement, is now trendy and makes the cash registers ring. Designers are rocking the ramp with khadi collections and brands are seeing profit by selling their range made from hand-woven cotton fabric. The khadi collection by Fabindia, a brand that retails handcrafted clothing and home furnishings,…

  • India ends WTO impasse

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      Announcing an end  to the impasse over the WTO accord to ease global customs rules, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that an agreement has been reached with the US on the issue of food stockpiling. The deal opens the way to implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) which had eluded the World Trade Organisation…

  • Modi invites Malaysia to make in India

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    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi  invited Malaysian companies to come to India as part of his “Make in India” initiative during talks with his Malaysian counterpart Najib Tun Razak. “I am giving lot of emphasis to @makeinindia & want to invite Malaysian companies to come to India. There are lot of opportunities,” said a tweet…

  • Burger King lands in India

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      Miami-based fast food chain Burger King said that it will enter the Indian market by opening its first outlet in the national capital’s south Delhi up-market Select Citywalk mall in Saket on Sunday. According to the company, which is a part of quick service restaurant (QSR) major Burger King Worldwide, it plans to operate…

  • Indian oil sector looks for Saudi investment

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     India has invited Saudi Arabian oil companies, including Aramco, to invest in crude oil storage facilities and downstream industries in the country, the petroleum ministry said here . Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan invited Saudi investments in India’s hydrocarbons sector during his ongoing official visit to the kingdom. He held talks with Saudi minister of petroleum…

  • India to develop Iranian port

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      The union cabinet Saturday gave its approval to India’s plan to ugrade the Chahbahar port in Iran, a move which will pave the way for improving India’s trade with Afghanistan and other central Asian countries. The upgradation would be effected through the framework inter-governmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is to be finalised by…

  • Participate in India’s growth story: Sushma

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    Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Sushma Swaraj  urged the Indian diaspora in Britain to invest in India as the country offers tremendous opportunities and participate in India’s growth story. “As we rejoice in the success of the Indian diaspora, we also invite you to actively participate in India’s growth story,” Sushma Swaraj, who is also…

  • India to invest big in Africa

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     India aims to boost investment in industrial, economic and social sectors of Africa as the 54-nation continent tries to ramp up development to alleviate poverty, the UN General Assembly was told . “Scaled-up investments in infrastructure, both economic and social, as well as in productive capacity for industrial development are needed,” Amit Narang, a Counsellor…

  • Tata to sell its British steel plants

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      Indian steel giant Tata Steel is planning to sell its Long Products division in Europe to Geneva-based Klesch Group, a company statement said here Wednesday. “Tata Steel has today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Klesch Group to undertake detailed due diligence and negotiations for the potential sale of its Long Products…

  • Will Modi reform defence or bite the bullet?

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    By C. Uday Bhaskar  Former Indian Navy chief, Admiral D.K. Joshi, who had resigned in February this year after a number of accidents on naval platforms, has dwelt on the background to his unprecedented decision in an extended media interview and in the process shed much needed light on the deeply embedded institutional flaws that…

  • Air Kerala might take off soon

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    By Sanu George   The next few days could prove decisive for Kerala’s dream project, Air-Kerala, the southern state’s very own airline. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that he along with his cabinet colleague K. Babu, who looks after airports and the proposed airline, will discuss the floating of the airline with the aviation ministry in New…

  • Sikka reboots Infosys

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    By Fakir Balaji   Global software major Infosys Ltd. aspires to be the “bellwether of the Indian IT industry once again”, said its first non-founder chief executive Vishal Sikka. “We aspire to be the bellwether of the Indian IT industry once again in the next 18 months,” Sikka said in an interview here. It’s been just over…

  • US to fund strategic tech projects in India

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    With the India-US Defence Trade and Technology Initiative regaining momentum after the Indian elections, the US has set aside $20 million for strategic cooperative science and technology projects with India, according to a top US official. During the Indian elections there was a time-out on the initiative, but now progress has resumed, US Undersecretary for…

  • Next generation of Ambani’s join board

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    Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and director Nita Ambani’s twin children Isha and Akash are set to join two of the groups arms, making them the third generation of founder Dhirubhai Ambani’s family at the helm of the $66-billion group. Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani have been appointed on the board of the group’s broadband…

  • Vodafone wins tax case in India

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    Britain-based global telecom major Vodafone got a major verdict in its favour, with the Bombay High Court ruling  that it need not pay the tax claim of Rs.3,200 crore ($530 million) slapped on it for buying shares in its Indian arm. The case pertains to Vodafone’s outsourcing arm in Pune issuing shares to its parent.…

  • Corporate America vows to boost trade with India

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      The US-India Business Council (USIBC) has reaffirmed its faith and hope in the future of the US-India trade relationship with its members committed to making $41 billion investment in India. “There’s never been a better nor a more vital time for the US and India to work togetherthan right now. Let us seize a…

  • Infosys posts robust growth

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      Beating market estimates, IT bellwether Infosys Ltd Friday reported robust net profit and revenue growth in rupee and dollar terms for the second quarter (July-Sep) of this fiscal (2014-15). Net profit for the quarter (Q2) under review increased to Rs.3,096 crore, posting growth of 28.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) from Rs.2,407 crore year ago and…