Hero MotoCorp to roll out two-wheelers in United States

Come next summer and Hero MotoCorp will roll out its two-wheelers in the United States and Canada in perhaps the most ambitious move in the top Indian bike-maker's race to become a global player.

Hero has appointed its American technology partner Erik Buell Racing as the exclusive distributor and plans to eventually set up manufacturing and assembly plants in the North America in due course, a top trade insider privy to the development told ET.

A "soft launch" of Hero two-wheelers was held last month at the inaugural American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo) in Orlando, Florida, where Hero displayed some of its popular brands such as Hunk, ZMR, the updated HF Deluxe Eco, Splendor Pro and the Pleasure scooter, the person said on condition of anonymity. "Specific details on the range to be offered and pricing details have yet to be determined," the person said.

Pawan Munjal, managing director and CEO at Hero MotoCorp, confirmed to ET last week that a soft launch of its debut products has been made in the US.

At AIMExpo, EBR had issued a press release that quoted Munjal as saying: "EBR will be distributing Hero motorcycles in the United States and Canada on an exclusive basis starting summer of 2014.

"When contacted, the Hero MotoCorp spokesperson said it's too early to share any specific information in this regard. "We will make an official announcement at an appropriate time and will share our plans for the North American market at that time," the person said.

The person quoted earlier said the company is exploring the possibility of setting up assembly units in North America. "If the volumes are good, then it does make business sense to assemble the products locally," the person said. In an interaction after announcing the purchase of a 49.2% equity stake in EBR, Munjal had told ET that the US market holds promise for Indian two-wheelers.

"While the US is primarily seen as a market for heavier bikes, I am convinced that smaller two-wheelers in the range of 100cc to 250cc can also be successful in the US and other North American markets," he had said. "Our fully-owned new overseas subsidiaries such as the one in the US and in the Netherlands will play important roles in our future overseas acquisitions and investments.

"The American two-wheeler market is dominated by big bikes with over 600cc engine displacement. Harley Davidson, Ducati, BMW, Triumph, Yamaha and Honda are the main competitors in the market. Hero is investing $25 million for acquiring EBR stake through its newly incorporated and wholly-owned American subsidiary HMCL (NA). It has already invested the first tranche of $15 million.

This equity partnership was the first definitive indication of Hero's intentions to explore the North American markets," the person quoted earlier said. Munjal is personally driving the new products agenda at Hero and has given a clear brief to the R&D team to develop new models for global customers, the person added.

Since charting its solo journey in 2011, Hero has been expanding its global footprint. It has already commenced its operations in new markets such as Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in Central America, Peru in Latin America and Kenya, Burkina Faso and the in the African continent. It has set up its first Africa assembly plant in Nairobi, Kenya.

In his 'Vision 2020' for the company, Munjal wants Hero two-wheelers to be available in as many as 50 countries across the world by 2020.

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France 24 TV channel signs up with DD, Dish TV

New Delhi: International news channel France 24 has signed new distribution agreements in India and will be now available as a free-to-air channel on Doordarshan’s DTH platform, DD Direct + and Dish TV. It started broadcasting its English version this month.

The company said the new deals would make the channel available to 31 additional TV households, increasing its reach to nearly 38 million TV households in the country. It was earlier available to about seven million households who received the channel through cable networks.

Marc Saikali, Director of France 24, said the channel’s English version was moving into the heart of Indian society and would offer special programming covering political, economic and cultural news in the country.

Eric Cremer, Vice President- Distribution, France 24, added that the channel hopes to increase the reach to about 50 million TV households by next year.

Based in Paris, France 24 is a news channel that is broadcast to about 222 million homes around the world in French, Arabic and English.

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Knorr-Bremse sets up truck braking systems plant in Pune

Pune: German manufacturer Knorr-Bremse has set up a new plant in Pune to make complete braking systems for trucks. It has also established a technology centre for engineering design in the city.

Set up with an investment of €14 million, the facility will address the needs of the domestic market as well as serve as the leading plant worldwide for automatic slack adjusters, said Klaus Deller, a board member at Knorr Bremse. Deller is responsible for the commercial vehicle business globally.

The greenfield plant can build braking systems for 80,000 trucks per year, and production is scalable, Deller said. Referring to the current slowdown in the Indian CV segment, he added: “We don’t care exactly when the demand will pick up, but we know it will pick up. And when it does, we will be there.”

India, at present, accounts for 2 per cent of the company’s global revenue. The target is to double this in the next three years, Deller said.

Knorr-Bremse’s Technical Centre India will have over 200 engineers working on global development projects for both truck and rail systems. The building also houses a software centre for the company’s rail division.

The German company’s entry into the Indian CV component market was via a joint venture with Tata Auto Components (TACO). The alliance was broken around five years ago with the former buying out TACO’s stake. Following this, it has set up its own expanded manufacturing facility.

Later this week, Knorr-Bremse is set to open its greenfield plant for railway systems in Faridabad.

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Whistling Group to set up university in Gujarat in tie-up with Oxford arm

Ahmedabad: In what could see University of Oxford's foray into Indian education scenario through its wholly owned subsidiary Isis Innovation, the renowned institution has tied up with Whistling Group for a private university in Gujarat. To come up in an area of over 50 acres in its first phase, the varsity will be based out of the auto hub of Sanand near Ahmedabad.

The Whistling Group, an industrial group created by Gujarat entrepreneur Parag Shah, has signed a consultancy agreement with Isis Innovation Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Oxford. To be called 'Whistling University', the new university will offer postgraduate training in alternative energy, conventional energy and management, and will establish its own research programmes, aiming to become a national hub for innovation.

"It aims to be an independent, world-class university that will provide an opportunity to a number of under-privileged students who cannot afford or access world-class education, and will promote women's participation in the field of alternative energy. The new university will also establish a policy think tank to influence strategic decisions in the field of energy, environment, and sustainability on a global scale," said Parag Shah, chairman of the Whistling Group.

Isis Innovation Ltd is the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford, which manages consultancy work carried out by the University's experts. The agreement is the first such agreement Isis Innovation has signed in India. Isis Innovation will be engaged as a lead consultant to advice on the creation of an 'Innovation Centre' to facilitate translation of knowledge from the university.

"Oxford University has no plans in the foreseeable future to offer full degree courses anywhere other than Oxford itself, and so has no plans to establish an overseas campus. However, the university has identified increasing global cooperation as a key objective of its 2013-2018 strategic plan. This agreement between the Whistling Group and Isis will broaden overseas ties. We anticipate that the project will make a positive contribution to providing energy security for India," said Loren Griffith, Director of International Strategy at Oxford University.

The Whistling University will offer B.Tech, M.Tech, BBA, MBA, LLB, PhD and post doctoral work programs with the help of both Oxford sourced faculty and Oxford trained Indian faculties. According to Aviruk Chakraborty, director of Whistling Sun Education Pvt. Ltd., the Oxford arm will also offer 100% placement assistance in its eight year long exclusive partnership with the group, after which Isis can enter into partnership with any other group in India.

"We will invest around Rs 290 crore over next four years through 25% equity and 75% debt and will have a fee structure comparable to that of other private universities. We will be applying for a university status under the Gujarat Private Universities Act, University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). We will begin the academic session of the first phase within a year from getting the university status with a batch size of 500 students," said Chakraborty.

In its full strength in the seventh year since inception, Whistling University will have a full-time faculty strength of 400 and a total student strength of 4,000.

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BPCL to invest $4 billion to raise refining capacity

Kochi: Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has lined up investments worth $4 billion (around Rs 25,340 crore today) to increase its refining capacity, a top executive of the state-run company said on Monday.

Capacity expansion and innovation are imperatives to sustain in the present-day business environment, S. Varadarajan, Chairman and Managing Director, said at the Refinery Technology Meet here.

The company had earlier said it would increase its refining capacity from the current 30.5 million tonne a year to 47.5 mt by 2016-17.

The three-day meet, a national conclave of petroleum refinery experts, opened here on Monday with a call to enhance refinery performance to improve margin.

The 18th RTM, jointly organised by the Centre for High Technology and BPCL will see the participation of around 700 delegates and international experts in the petroleum industry.

In his inaugural address, Vivek Rae, Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas, underlined the need for energy security in India considering the over-dependence on crude imports.

The Petroleum Ministry along with other ministries is taking efforts to enhance energy security through exploration, he added.

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Govt to set up joint task force to develop services sector

New Delhi: The Government will set up a joint task force for the services sector together with the industry to prepare an action plan for the development of the sector and increase services exports, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.

Agreeing to the industry’s suggestion of setting up a National Services Competitive Council on the lines of National Manufacturing Competitive Council, Sharma said “We have to have a forum to address the varied needs of the sector and to identify training and other needs of each vertical.”

He was speaking at the ‘Services Conclave’ jointly organised by CII and the Centre for WTO Studies.

The two-day conclave focuses on ways to boost the domestic services industry and increase India’s share in the $4-trillion global services trade from the present 3 per cent.

The Minister said the services sector exports, by and large, were from verticals such as IT, ITES and BPO sectors. There was a lot of scope to diversify in segments such as animation, media and entertainment, legal servicing, architecture, healthcare, tourism and medical tourism.

Sharma asked industry representatives to come forward and help the Government, to take up at various international forums the need for more liberal movement of skilled persons under Mode 4 of World Trade Organisation rules. Often movement of skilled persons is confused with immigration, though such movements are temporary in nature, he said

The Minister also asked the industry to explore new markets such as Africa to boost India’s export of services.

“Even for services sector we need to look at other major markets. We have a strong presence in North America. Regions such as Africa have huge opportunities and there you can be more cost competitive,” he said.

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Knorr-Bremse sets up truck braking systems plant in Pune

Pune: German manufacturer Knorr-Bremse has set up a new plant in Pune to make complete braking systems for trucks. It has also established a technology centre for engineering design in the city.

Set up with an investment of €14 million, the facility will address the needs of the domestic market as well as serve as the leading plant worldwide for automatic slack adjusters, said Klaus Deller, a board member at Knorr Bremse. Deller is responsible for the commercial vehicle business globally.

The greenfield plant can build braking systems for 80,000 trucks per year, and production is scalable, Deller said. Referring to the current slowdown in the Indian CV segment, he added: “We don’t care exactly when the demand will pick up, but we know it will pick up. And when it does, we will be there.”

India, at present, accounts for 2 per cent of the company’s global revenue. The target is to double this in the next three years, Deller said.

Knorr-Bremse’s Technical Centre India will have over 200 engineers working on global development projects for both truck and rail systems. The building also houses a software centre for the company’s rail division.

The German company’s entry into the Indian CV component market was via a joint venture with Tata Auto Components (TACO). The alliance was broken around five years ago with the former buying out TACO’s stake. Following this, it has set up its own expanded manufacturing facility.

Later this week, Knorr-Bremse is set to open its greenfield plant for railway systems in Faridabad.

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Biocon setting up Biotech Training Institute in Bangalore

Bangalore: BioconBSE 1.08 % said it is setting up an institute in Bangalore to train graduates in skills required for finding employment in the fast-growing biotechnology industry. Starting January 2014, the institute will offer a 16-week certificate-programme in partnership with California-based Keck Graduate Institute.

"There is a dearth of skilled expertise in this space, which inhibits our ability to innovate and work on deep domain experiments. Biocon Academy aims to bring world class training programs for biotech students in India through customised programs," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and MD at Biocon. "Given the growing stature of India's life sciences industry, both Biocon and the Indian life sciences sector as a whole will benefit greatly from this collaboration."

The programme-with a course fee of Rs 6 lakh-will cover areas including molecular biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, bio-pharmaceutical quality assurance and introduction to US FDA and European Laws.

India's biotech sector currently is valued at $11billion, growing at an average annual rate of more than 20% over the past ten years. Every year roughly 40,000 biotech students graduate from 725 institutions.

Starting with a batch of 30, the academy aims at enrolling over a hundred students in a year's time. These graduates will find job opportunities in Biocon and other leading biotechnology companies. Biocon has invested about 10 crore in this initiative. This will also include scholarship of up to 75% of course fee on the basis of merit.

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Centre plans 4 solar UMPPs of Rs 90,000 crore

These projects are planned in Rajasthan (4000 MW), Gujarat (4,000 MW), Kargil (2,000 MW) and Ladakh (5,000 MW)
Mumbai: The Centre has proposed four ultra mega solar power projects (UMPPs). These would be in Rajasthan (4,000 Mw), Gujarat (4,000 Mw), Kargil (2,000 Mw) and Ladakh (5,000 Mw). These would cost Rs 90,000 crore.

Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy, said the per Mw capital cost has been estimated at Rs 6 crore against the existing Rs 7-7.5 crore. The per unit rate is estimated at Rs 5.50.

'"The one in Rajasthan would be developed on an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) basis. For this, public undertakings Bharat Heavy Electricals, Solar Energy Corporation of India, Power Grid, Hindustan Salt and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam and Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments will form a joint venture company.”

According to Kapoor, BHEL which will be a lead company in the proposed JVC, will manufacture solar panels needed for Rajasthan project.

Kapoor informed that the first phase of 1,000 MW of Rajasthan UMPP is expected to be operational in three years while the entire project in seven years. The land has already been identified. He said the power to be produced from Rajasthan UMPP will be sold to Solar Energy Corporation which will trade it to various distribution companies.

As far as Gujarat UMPP is concerned, it will be developed with five to six companies. However, Kapoor said the Centre has yet to finalise details in this regard. Further, a lot of private developers have desired to develop 1,000 MW to 3,000 MW on their own.

However, it won't be possible as the project will be tendered, he added. According to Kapoor, transmission is a major issue for the development of Kargil and Ladakh UMPPs.

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PepsiCo to invest Rs 33k cr in India by 2020: Nooyi

Bullish on the India story, company plans to double manufacturing capacity
New Delhi: PepsiCo Inc, along with its partners, would invest $5.5 billion (Rs 33,000 crore) to double its manufacturing capacity in India by 2020, Indra Nooyi, chairperson & CEO of the food & beverage company, announced on Monday.

With arch-rival Coca-Cola’s plan to invest $5 billion in the country by 2020, announced in June last year, PepsiCo’s announcement means India will have received $10.5 billion in investments from the two global giants by the end of this decade.

Nooyi, on a two-day visit to India, revealed her company’s plans after a meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Later, she said in an interview: “Here, we will make investments in innovation, manufacturing, infrastructure, selling & go-to-market strategy and agriculture — in both food and beverage segments. This will double our manufacturing capacity by 2020.”

Explaining her bullishness on India, she added: “We are making this investment as we believe India’s fundamental story is still sound. The demographic dividend is there, the middle-class is growing. India will remain among very important markets for PepsiCo. Today, it is among the top 10 markets for us; I believe it will keep moving up. So far, we’ have only scratched the surface of the long-term growth opportunities.”

VIDEO: PepsiCo to invest Rs 33,000 crore
Last year, Nooyi’s counterpart at Coca-Cola, Muhtar Kent, had announced an investment of $5 billion in the country by 2020. He had said the move would help India climb two notches for Coke to become the fifth-largest market for it in terms of volumes.

Both PepsiCo and Coke, since their respective entries into India in 1990 and 1993, have invested about $2 billion here. PepsiCo India has 42 bottling plants in the country, while Coke has 58.

However, India’s Rs 30,000-crore soft drinks market, where more than 1.2 billion cases are sold annually, still offers the two global giants scope for major expansion. This is because the per-capita annual soft drink consumption in the country stands at a low 20 servings, compared with the international average of 94. Also, these beverages are currently available at only a fourth of the country’s eight million retail outlets.

While Coke controls Sprite and Thums Up, the top two soft drink brands in the country, PepsiCo’s Pepsi is the third. But the latter’s thrust on the foods segment and organic brand-building — through Pepsi, Lay’s, Kurkure, 7UP, Slice, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Aquafina — help it raise an estimated Rs 1,000 crore of annual retail sales.

Also, through NourishCo, its joint venture with the Tatas, the company is targetting the lower end of the market, where pricing is key.

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‘Closet consumers’ of luxury goods an emerging class in India: CII report

New Delhi: The past 10 years of economic growth has given rise to a new wealthy class in India —‘closet consumers’— who are a major force behind the country’s luxury market growth, according to a report.

Published by the Confederation of Indian Industry and marketing firm IMRB International, the report, titled ‘The Changing Face of Luxury in India’, focuses on identifying and understanding India’s closet consumers. These are new generation entrepreneurs, senior corporate executives, farmers who have sold their land to developers and the BPO generation that lives with parents and has money to splurge.

Despite their newfound riches, the report indicates that there is an inherent middle class mindset among this class, even as they can no longer be classified as middle class based on their income.

“The inner conflict between a middle class mindset and the globally rich income level, between conspicuous consumption and a level of luxury is what we call the ‘closet consumer’,” says the report.

It also gives an overview of the luxury goods market, which has witnessed a growth of 15 per cent over the past three years and is estimated to have reached $7.58 billion (around Rs 48,000 crore today) in 2012.

Luxury products have grown the fastest at 22 per cent compared with luxury services at 15 per cent and luxury assets at 9.4 per cent – primarily contributed by slow growth in luxury real estate.

It is luxury categories such as apparel and accessories, perfumes, fine dining and automotive that have contributed to this growth, the report says, adding the Indian luxury market still accounts for almost a negligible 1–2 per cent of the global luxury market.

Industry experts believe multiple factors are contributing to the slow growth – low priority status assigned to luxury goods by the Government, lack of adequate range of luxury goods and service levels that are below par. They also believe Indian culture dissuades customers from flaunting their wealth. Yet they are optimistic about the above factors changing in the coming years and predict that the luxury market will boom in India over the next few years.

Closet consumers are cost-conscious and seek “value” even when buying luxury products. And their definitions, symbols of luxury are often in variance with conventional ones, the report adds.

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RBI allows investors to invest in credit enhanced bonds up to $5 bn

Investment permitted up to $5 bn within overall limit
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow various investors to invest in the credit enhanced bonds up to a limit of $5 billion within the overall limit of $51 billion earmarked for corporate debt, said RBI on Monday.

These investors include Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) registered Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) and long term investors registered with Sebi – Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), multilateral agencies, pension/ insurance/ endowment funds and foreign central banks.

Earlier RBI had said that these parties may purchase, on repatriation basis, government securities and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) / bonds issued by an Indian company subject to norms and limits as prescribed by RBI and Sebi from time to time.

The present limits for investments by FIIs, QFIs and long term investors registered with Sebi in government securities and corporate debt stands at $30 billion and $51 billion, respectively.

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TechM wins deal from Australian firm

Mumbai: Tech Mahindra Ltd has secured an outsourcing deal from Australian financial services firm Perpetual to provide registry services.

As part of the contract, the Mahindra group company will provide technology support for several superannuation and pension products of Perpetual.

“We are looking to see a complete refresh of registry IT infrastructure and applications which will allow us to focus on our core strengths,” Paul Statham, acting Group Executive of Perpetual Investments, said in a press statement. The agreement covers both administration and technology services.

Though the size of the engagement was not disclosed, it is believed to be a multi-million dollar deal. News reports in the Australian media indicate that Perpetual will make 50 roles redundant and transfer a number of positions to the Indian software services company. The Sydney headquartered Perpetual is an investment and trustee group that specialises in investment products, financial advice and corporate service.

The Tech Mahindra scrip hit its 52-week high on BSE before settling at Rs 1,674.05, higher by 5.94 per cent than previous close.

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GE to make India a manufacturing hub for its global markets

Hyderabad: US-based diversified conglomerate General Electric Co says the huge talent pool and lower manufacturing costs in India will drive the company’s plan to make the country a manufacturing hub for its global markets.

Banmali Agrawala, President and CEO, GE South Asia, said its coming plant at Chakan, Pune, is the first major step towards this direction.

"The Chakan plant is expected to be operational by the middle of next year. We will use the facility to manufacture a range of products for our global markets," he told reporters here on Friday.

The Rs 1,000-crore plant will produce diversified equipment for the aviation, energy, oil and gas and transportation sectors.

The $150-billion revenue multinational, which has interests in capital goods, technology and financial services, is now present in 164 countries, earning more than $1 billion revenue each from at least 40 countries and more than $100 million from 60 countries. Agrawala said GE will also start exporting healthcare devices from its Bangalore plant as part of the strategy to make India a manufacturing hub.

The Bangalore plant will make an array of “super-value products”, including ultrasound machines, ECG units, maternal and infant care equipment, which will be exported to Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

He is of the view that India can become a global manufacturing hub, provided the government takes certain policies and cuts regulation.

“We have enough talents here. The government should not see India as a manufacturing hub for India alone, but for the world.

“It should accordingly change its policies and not have excessive regulation. It should play the role of a facilitator.” amitmitra@thehindu.co.in

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Reliance Power to commission second unit of 660 mw at Sasan in December

Mumbai: Reliance Power will commission the second unit of its sasan ultra mega power project ( UMPP) in December after it successfully lit-up the boiler for the unit, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Groups said Friday.

The company had bagged three of the four UMPPs of 4,000 mw each awarded by the government but Sasan is the only one where work has progressed. In March 2013, the first unit of 660 mw at Sasan was commissioned.

The company has already started production of coal from the coal mines attached to the Sasan project.

Reliance Power has an operational capacity of 2,545 mw. At the time of its initial public offer in 2008, R-Power had planned to set up power plants with a combined capacity of 28,200 mw across India, fuelled by coal or gas as well as hydropower. Since then, the company has added a few new projects but also abandoned some. It later revised its capacity addition target to 25,000 mw by 2015, but it now expects to add 20,000 mw by 2020, given the slowdown in the industry.

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India and Japan to strengthen their cooperation in the maritime sector

New Delhi: India and Japan have decided to further strengthen their cooperation in the maritime sector as a part of the overall robust bilateral relations. The two countries agreed to enhance their interaction through the existing forums and through port-to-port exchanges.

These issues came up for a discussion between the Union Minister of Shipping Shri G.K. Vasan, who is on an official visit to Japan and his Japanese counterpart Shri Akihiro Ohta, Minister of land, Industries and Transport & Tourism, Government of Japan.

Shri Vasan explained the developments that were taking place in India in the Ports sector and assured Shri Ohta that concerns regarding infrastructure and connectivity of ports are being addressed expeditiously. In particular, he said that the ports in Ennore and Chennai are catering to the Japanese car exporters like Toyota and Nissan who have so far exported about 42000 and 300000 cars respectively from these ports.

During the talks, Shri Vasan thanked the Japanese government for its support to various Indian Ports and infrastructure projects through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). He also mentioned the possibility of JICA assistance to VOC Port at Thoothukudi for the upcoming Outer Harbour Project.

Japanese Minister Shri Ohta, while acknowledging the existing cordial relationship between India and Japan, assured that Japan will carry forward the momentum. He also thanked Shri Vasan for his efforts in this direction and expressed Japan’s interest in shipbuilding and recycling industries in India.

Shri Vasan later visited the Yokohama port where he was received by Shri Nobuya Suzuki, Deputy Mayor of Yokohama city and Shri Masaharu Ikegami, the Vice Director General of the Ministry of Land, Industries and Transport & Tourism, (MLIT) Government of Japan.

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Airtel launches 3G services in Bangladesh

Mumbai: Airtel Bangladesh, a unit of Bharti Airtel, has launched 3G services in Bangladesh’s Dhaka and Chittagong cities.

“We are excited to offer innovative products and affordable prices for our 3G services with highest speed, innovative contents for all segments, which will mark a major milestone for Airtel in Bangladesh. As the country ushers in an era of high speed mobile telephony, it will be Airtel’s endeavour to be at the forefront of this growth story,” Airtel Bangladesh Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Tobit, said.

“We will continue with our philosophy of bringing unique and world-class services, which will provide value for money for our customers backed by the latest technology. With this offer, I believe Airtel will capture a unique position among its customers in terms of communication in the form of entertainment, infotainment, edutainment, m-health, m-commerce etc.”

Airtel 3G data packs are available for Bangladeshi taka (BDT) 15 for 15 MB. Video calls between Airtel to Airtel customers will be levied at BDT 1 per minute.

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HDFC Bank launches rural financial literacy initiative in Kerala

New Delhi: HDFC Bank Ltd has launched its rural financial literacy initiative in the village of Palakkad Marutha Road, in Kerala, under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

HDFC Bank will conduct financial literacy camps in 39 rural and semi-urban branches across Kerala. As per instructions from the RBI, these branches will serve the Malampuzha block in Palakkad district and the Mathilakam block in Trichur district of Kerala. The camps will enable both adults and school children from 234 Panchayath wards in 26 villages to attain a conceptual understanding of financial products and services.

This initiative is in line with the RBI's recent circular which recommended that banks should scale up financial literacy efforts in rural areas through their branch networks.

HDFC Bank will use the Financial Literacy Guide, provided by the RBI as the standard curriculum while conducting these camps. This material is currently available in Hindi and English.

HDFC Bank has gone a step further in Kerala and is the first bank to translate the guide into Malayalam, which is the local language. This has been done in consultation with the RBI and will greatly increase the impact and efficacy of these camps in Kerala will allow the participants to understand the material in the language they are most comfortable with.

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Rs 100-cr science city project for Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Science and Technology, an autonomous body under the State government, has submitted a proposal to set up a Rs 100-crore science city on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

While the State government is to share Rs 40 crore, the Centre is likely to bear the rest of the cost. “The Centre is considering the proposal and we hope to get the approval soon. We already have a 20-acre plot for the project,” Y. Nagesh Kumar, Member Secretary, told media persons on the sidelines of a CII meeting with Innovation Norway delegation here today.

The council was floated by the State government in 1986 to formulate measures to foster the spirit of science at all levels of society, especially among students, teachers and academicians, apart from transferring new technologies from the laboratories to the field.

The proposed Science City would house interactive exhibits on various topics of science, ranging from astronomy to biology, a planetarium and galleries.

It has also planned a Centre for Creativity within the science city, which will be a facilitator for innovators, including research scholars and teachers. “This centre would cost about $ 50 million. We are in talks with Innovation Norway to participate in the setting up of the centre,” Kumar said.

The council is setting up the second Regional Science Centre at Warangal, after the one in Vijayawada. “The Warangal facility being set up at a cost of Rs 5 crore is expected to be ready next month. It will house science exhibits that will explain science in pictorial forms to the youth,” he said, adding that there were proposals to set up a sub-regional science centre at Rajahmundry at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

Earlier, a delegation from Innovation Norway, which funds and facilitates research in innovative technologies, interacted with industrialists, scienctists and entrepreneurs.

Ole Johan Sandvaer, Regional Director, said Innovation Norway was present in 35 countries, including India. “We are increasing focus on India. We will be opening our second Indian office in Mumbai in the first quarter of next year,” he said.

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CRI Pumps opens unit in China

Coimbatore: Pump manufacturing major CRI Pumps has opened its subsidiary – CRI Pumps Shanghai Co Ltd — in China. This is the pump major's sixth foreign subsidiary company. It has one subsidiary company each in Brazil, South Africa, the UAE, Spain and Turkey.

The Chinese subsidiary is expected to become fully operational in about a month’s time.

G. Soundararajan, Vice-Chairman, said the investment in the China facility would be around $6 million.

CRI China would focus on industrial, mining, process industries, pressure boosting systems, building services segment and projects in the first phase, he said.

“We acquired the industrial pumps business of UK-based Pumps & Process Systems about a year ago. We will be leveraging this acquisition for entering the China market,” he told Business Line.

On the company's foray into China, he said: “Mcilvaine survey has estimated the pump market in China at $8.4 billion by 2015. Around 13.5 million units of various types of pumps are sold there in a year. The market there is undergoing a major transition and we intend to leverage our strength and capitalise on the developments”.

On the company's performance, he said: “Our turnover last year was Rs 1,025 crore, of which Rs 170 crore was from our international business. Exports are growing at 35-40 per cent now. We are targeting to achieve a turnover of Rs 1,300 crore this fiscal, including Rs 230 crore from our international operations.”

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