TCS bags project from Macau telecom firm

Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services has been selected to deploy a new rating and billing system for CTM, a telecom service provider in Macau.

The solution, which is to be deployed in three years, will allow CTM’s customers to receive faster response to enquiries and enable them to better manage their services and bills, according to a press statement.

“TCS and CTM have an extensive working history and we are excited to expand the range of services TCS is providing to CTM and to develop a roadmap for ongoing future cooperation and success,” said Ravi Viswanathan, President, Growth Markets, TCS.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2013, the company generated 9.6 per cent of its revenues from the telecom sector.

The TCS scrip hit a new 52-week high today at Rs 2,075.85, before settling at Rs 2,065.95, 3.25 per cent higher than yesterday’s closing price.

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Coal India Limited signs FSAs with 16 private power projects

New Delhi: In a major relief to the fuel-starved power sector, state-run monopoly supplier Coal India Limited has signed agreements to supply coal to sixteen private power projects worth Rs 84,500 crore with a generation capacity of over 14,000 mega watts or MW. With these long-pending fuel supply agreements in place, seven of these projects can be commissioned as early as the next quarter (between October and December), while the rest would start power generation between January and September next year.

The coal ministry has expedited the signing of these pacts in view of the Centre's drive to revive investor sentiment by jumpstarting large stalled investments. The ministry is pursuing similar fuel supply pacts for nine more power projects worth Rs 41,200 crore.

"Fuel supply agreements have been signed by Coal India and its subsidiaries with sixteen projects over the last few days," a senior power ministry official said, adding that half of these projects are located in Chhatisgarh and two each are in Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal.

The power ministry has identified 122 plants that are waiting for myriad clearances, including assured fuel supplies, and sought the help of a special cell in the cabinet secretariat set up to resolve lastmile hurdles holding up investment plans. "The development is significant as no private sector power project has got coal linkages since 2009," said a senior government official.

Project developers who can finally start commercial operations thanks to this development, include GMR Energy, Lanco, Adani Power, DB Power and the Avantha group. The coal ministry had earlier set a deadline of August 31 for signing fuel supply agreements, but later sought an extension till September 6 that was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Investments at its last meeting in late August.

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Cotton textile sector to attract Rs 4,000-cr capex in 6 months

Mumbai: The cotton textile industry is set to attract Rs 4,000 crore investment in the next six months, with the sector set to receive the so-called margin money from the finance ministry under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (Tufs).

The government had recently decided to extend Tufs, which aims to make funds available to the textile industry for technology upgrade of existing units as well as to set up new units, to the 12th five-year Plan.

The most labour-intensive sector--spinning--is likely to get the highest benefit of the extension in Tufs. The sectors benefited are spinning, weaving, processing, technical textiles, jute, silk, garmenting, cotton ginning, wool and powerlooms.

“We have been given assurance repeatedly by the textile ministry that the amount will be released by the finance ministry soon. Considering the amount as margin money, the industry can borrow another Rs 3,200 crore as working capital from banks totalling thereby an investment of Rs 4,000 crore in the next six months," said Manikam Ramaswami, chairman, Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council.

Many state governments have offered schemes to attract investment in the sector away from Maharashtra and Gujarat to their states. Until now, the two states were the hot destinations for the textile sector. But looking at the government's incentive schemes and cheap labour, investors have started shifting towards the northeastern states.

Normally, the blackout period (time difference) is three to six months between two subsequent subsidy announcements. This time, however, it was almost 18 months. Consequently, investors during this period awaited announcement of the Tufs for fresh decisions on capital expenditure.

Fresh investment in the textile sector is set to accelerate export growth. Indian exporters would be able to take advantage of the rupee depreciation, which made them more competitive globally. India-made apparels were competitive at the rupee's level of 53 against the dollar, which depreciated around 25 per cent from this level, making exports more profitable.

Texprocil believes India has the potential to grow by at least 50 per cent in apparel exports generating over $5 billion of foreign exchange every year. Being the textile sector labour-intensive, the industry would be able to generate at least 200,000 jobs every year. Tufs was introduced on April 1, 1999. In its first 10 years, the scheme received an overwhelming success and was extended periodically.

In the newly announced Tufs, capital subsidy for new shuttleless looms has been raised from 10 to 15 per cent and the rate of interest reimbursement has been increased from five to six per cent. Further, the margin money subsidy has been increased from 20 to 30 per cent with an increase in subsidy cap from Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore.

"There was no fund available for spinning mills since April 2012. With the inclusion of TUFS in the 12th five-year Plan, the spinning mills will also get encouragement to boost investment to support overall exports," said D K Nair, secretary general, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry.

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DBTL scheme to be launched in 235 more districts by 01. 01.2014; taking total districts to be covered to 289

Rs.222 crore subsidy has been transferred directly to bank accounts of LPG consumers in existing DBTL 54 districts
LPG consumers advised to obtain Aadhaar number and link it to their LPG consumer number and to bank accounts
Government of India has decided to extend the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) Scheme in 235 more districts by 1.1.14 in phases depending on Aadhaar penetration. With this roll out almost half the country, covering 289 districts, will get covered by DBTL by 1.1.14.

The DBTL scheme has already been launched so far in 54 districts of the country covering 21.9 million LPG consumers and Rs.222 crore subsidy has been transferred through 5.3 million transactions into the bank accounts of the LPG consumers so far.

The launch schedule for the country is given below:

Phase DBTL launch on Number of Districts Lists of district at Annexure #
I Over 20 1
II Over 34 2
III 1.10.13 44 3
IV 1.11.13 46 4
V 1.12.13 40 5
VI 1.1.14 105 6
Total 289
The state-wise expansion program schedule is at Annexure 7.

As per the DBTL scheme, cash subsidy is transferred for the LPG cylinders directly into the bank accounts of the LPG consumers while the sale happens at the market price. In order to avail transfer of cash subsidy into the bank account, Aadhaar number of the LPG consumer has to be linked to the LPG consumer number and bank account of the LPG consumer for which a three months grace period from date of launch is being provided. During the grace period all consumers continue to get LPG cylinders at subsidized rate. After the grace period is over, all LPG consumers have to pay for LPG cylinders at market rate. Linkage via Aadhaar number is required for the transfer of cash subsidy. Thus, only those who have linked their Aadhaar numbers to both their bank account and LPG consumer number will be able to receive cash subsidy in their bank accounts. After the grace period is over, consumers will receive cash subsidy as and when they link their Aadhaar numbers for the balance entitlement.

For details about the Aadhaar enabled banks, status of linkage of Aadhaar to your bank account and LPG consumer number, frequently asked questions about the scheme please visit the following website:

http://www.petroleum.nic.in/dbtl/

All LPG consumers of the 289 districts are advised to obtain Aadhaar number and link it to their LPG consumer number and to their bank accounts if they wish to avail of the LPG subsidy at the earliest.

Aadhaar number is not required to avail LPG cylinders at non-subsidized rate.LPG consumers not desirous of availing subsidy on LPG are not required to furnish their Aadhaar numbers.

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ACC plans Rs 3,000-cr capacity expansion in eastern region

Purulia: Cement major ACC Ltd is planning to invest Rs 3,000 crore to expand its capacity by nearly four million tonnes a year in three eastern region States in the next three years.

According to Vivek Chawla, Chief Executive of East, ACC Ltd, while plans are afoot for expanding capacities at two existing plants – Jamul in Chhattisgarh and Sindri in Jharkhand - the company expects to start construction of a 1.5-million-tonne grinding unit at Kharagpur by next January next.

“We will increase our capacity 10 mt a year from the existing 6 mt a year in three years in the East. This will entail an investment of about Rs 3,000 crore,” Chawla told Business Line here.

The projects will be financed through internal accrual. He was speaking to newspersons to announce launch of a new product line at the company’s only (0.6 mt a year) facility in Madhukunda, located near the Asansol-Durgapur industrial belt, in West Bengal.

ACC acquired the sick facility in the middle of the last decade in a bid to enhance its grip on the regional market.

While Damodar Cement still serves as the company’s only facility in West Bengal, Chawla said, the company is now in discussion with the State Government for setting up a Rs 600-crore grinding unit near Kharagpur.

Discussions are also on with the State Government for acquiring about 150 acres for the proposed project.

“We expect to begin work on the project by January 2014. It will take us at least two years to commission the plant,” Chawla added.

The company today also launched its premium cement brand ACC Plus+ in West Bengal. ACC currently manufactures 30 million tonnes of cement from 17 factories in India.

The company posted a 36 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 262 crore during the April-June 2013 quarter against the same period last year.

The shares of ACC closed 0.75 per cent lower at Rs 954.60 on the BSE on Monday.

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Luxury retails with a flourish

Mumbai: The air of confidence that the attendant at the Worli outlet of Swarovski wears sums up the mood at the Austrian company, leaders in precision-cut luxury crystal ware. A delicate piece of Swarovski crystal replete with intricate work would cost nothing less than Rs 1 lakh. Despite the steep tag, the attendant says it has been doing brisk business in the last six months. "On an average I land up having about 75 to 100 customers a month. This is higher during the festive and wedding seasons when gifting goes up. There is no slowdown that I see," he says candidly.

Swarovski is not the only luxury brand to buck the slowdown that has hit consumer spending in other segments of the Rs 1.8 lakh crore FMCG industry. At a Gucci store located at the upscale Palladium Mall in Mumbai, the sales executive says its star products - leather handbags with bamboo handles and clutches in anaconda skin - have been flying off the shelf. The average ticket size of these products is more than Rs 1.3 lakh. "I have walk-ins everyday, and more often than not, we manage converting quite a few of them into sales," he says, choosing not to reveal the number of bags he sells per month.

A similar refrain is heard at a nearby Jimmy Choo outlet. The average ticket size of a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes is Rs 35,000-40,000. Star products and limited-edition collections easily cost a few lakhs, but the sales executive says customers have hardly deserted her store. "While the rupee has depreciated against the dollar and even the pound in the last three months, customers still prefer buying their products from here rather than London or Dubai because the ticket size is steeper there," she says.

Since May, the rupee is down over 20 per cent to the dollar. Last week, it came close to touching Rs 70-a-dollar, but inched up following some timely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India. The British pound has already breached the Rs 100-mark. But the rupee rout as well as the sagging health of the economy matters little to the ultra-luxe shopper. These high networth individuals have an annual income of Rs 4 crore and above.

A recent Kotak-Crisil study says that the number of ultra-high networth households grew 24 per cent in 2012-13 to 100,900 from 81,000 the year before, with the number expected to triple in five years. This happened even as India's economic growth hit a 10-year low of 5 per cent in 2012-13.

Luxury retail has a field day
Executives at Genesis Luxury, which retails luxury brands such as Armani, Canali, Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta in India, says topline growth has been nearly 35 per cent year-on-year. Same-store-sales growth of its exclusive brand outlets were 10-15 per cent, says Sanjay Kapoor, managing director, Genesis Luxury, refering to growth in outlets in business for more than a year.

"Slowdown as a result of the depreciation of the rupee has marginally affected the luxury and premium goods business. Short-term changes in the economic scenario usually do not affect luxury spending as the consumer in this segment has a high disposable income," Kapoor says.

Darshan Mehta, chief executive of Reliance Brands, which retails high-end apparel brands such as Ermenegildo Zegna and Paul & Shark, where the median price-point is Rs 15,000, as well as brands such as Diesel and Thomas Pink in the affordable luxury segment, says the company has not seen the impact of the consumer slowdown yet.

While Mehta declined to put a number to the growth he was seeing in his business, industry sources say the company's same-store-sales growth was over 30 per cent in the last few quarters for most of its exclusive brand outlets.

Uber-luxe lifestyle breezes through
The real estate and automobile markets too have seen the luxe-effect. Super-car Lamborghini, which comes for a hefty Rs 3.5 crore and more, continues to sell nearly 20 units a year, with company executives claiming they have not felt the slowdown. The BMW-owned Rolls Royce, which comes for Rs 2 crore a unit is on its way to achieving the 100-car sales target this calendar year. Aston Martin, another ultra-luxe coveted brand has been comfortably cruising with sales of over 30 units a year.

Herfried Hasenoehrl, general manager, emerging markets - Asia, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars says, "While there is a tendency to hold back purchases in a slowdown, we have not experienced a demand slump for our products. Our products are aspirational. We continue to remain on course to achieving our sales targets in India."

It is no secret that realty developers have been paying greater attention to luxury homes as buyers defer purchases in the lower- and mid-end of the market. "Luxury is a unique market. Even in current market conditions, there is good demand for these homes," says Kruti Jain, director, Kumar Urban Development, a Mumbai-Pune developer. He recently launched a luxury project in Worli named Kumar Coutore priced at Rs 14-16 crore. The project has just 40 apartments. "The response is good. We are looking at selling 20 apartments now and the remaining later," Jain said.

Gaurav Gupta, director at Mumbai-based developer Omkar Realtors said the company has sold properties of 225,000 sq-ft since pre-launch in February in its super-premium project '1973' in Worli, against the annual target of 250,000 sq-ft. The prices are between Rs 15-100 crore for apartments ranging from 2,500-18,000 sq-ft.

Says R Karthik, chief marketing officer, Lodha Group, developers of high-end projects such as The Park, endorsed by actor Aishwarya Rai in Mumbai: "In the luxury residential segment, the response from our customers is extremely encouraging and reinforces our strategy. The interest in luxury housing continues from HNIs in Mumbai and NRIs who are keenly looking for differentiated real estate in the city."

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NSIC inks tech transfer pact with Mauritius counterpart

New Delhi: The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) on Monday signed a pact with Mauritius-based Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority for technology transfer, marketing and finance and training exchange programmes.

The pact, aimed at modernising small and medium industries in both the countries is for a period of three years, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), K.H. Muniyappa, told reporters here.

“The pact will also include technology transfers from India to Mauritius, implementation of strategy for development of incubation centres in Mauritius, exchange of business missions, facilitate fairs and to carry out industrial surveys between,” MSME Secretary, Madhav Lal, said.

The MSME sector in India, which provides employment to about 8 crore people, contributes 8 per cent to gross domestic product and its share in total exports is 36 per cent.

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