FM sops to hike liquidity
 

New Delhi, Oct. 15: The finance minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Wednesday announced more measures to ease the tight liquidity situation. These include, immediate package of Rs 25,000 crore to banks under farm waiver scheme and increase cap on foreign investment in corporate bonds.ῠ These steps came after a high-powered meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday, which discussed measures further required to be taken in view of the global financial crisis.

“Under the agricultural debt waiver and debt relief scheme, the government had agreed to provide a sum of Rs 25,000 crore as the first installment to the commercial banks, RRBs and cooperative credit institutions . It is felt that this money should be provided immediately,” said Mr Chidambaram.ῠ He said that on the request of the government, the RBI has agreed to provide this amount to the lending institutions immediately. The money made available to the commercial banks is Rs 7,500 crore and to the Nabard Rs 17,500 crore. There will be no requirement of providing collateral, said the finance minister.

Mr Chidambaram said that while Indian banks were well capitalised, they would be given access to funds to raise their capital adequacy ratio up to 12 per cent.ῠ “Our banks are well capitalised. Their CRARs are well above the basel norm of eight per cent and the RBI stipulated norm of nine per cent. No bank has a capital adequacy of less than 10 per cent,” said the finance minister.

He said that the details of the capitalisation scheme are being worked out. Mr Chidambaram said that the limit of FII investment in corporate bonds will be raised from $3 billion to $6 billion. “The Sebi has informed me that it will address any requests for relaxation in the proportion of investment in equity and debt required to be maintained by an FII under current regulations,” he said.

Mr Chidambaram said that after the Reserve Bank of India, the government is also issuing an advisory to public sector banks impressing upon them the need to ensure easy drawdown against sanctioned limits and continued active parti-cipation in the inter-bank call money market.

Sensex tanks 674 pts
 

Mumbai, Oct. 15: Weak global cues saw the market open down 250 points and the Sensex plunge further after the L&T results were out. They were below street expectations and raised fe-ars that the corporate res-ults which are yet to come would be on similar lines.ῠ Short selling in the L&T stock saw the stock loose Rs 110. “The stock was ruling around Rs 950 and a few seconds before the announcement of the results the stock went to Rs 942. There was heavy shorting in the stock and several other stocks like Reliance Infra and RCom,” said Mr Alok Agarwal, head, research, K.R. Choksey Securities.

No merger for Goyal, Mallya
 

Hyderabad, Oct. 15: The Jet Airways chairman, Mr Naresh Goyal and the Kingfisher Airlines chairman, Mr Vijay Mallya, on Wednesday ruled out merger of India’s top two private airlines.ῠ The two airlines account for about 60 per cent of the market share.

“There is no equity swap. Our understanding is for purely commercial all-iance,” Dr Mallya said. Speaking to the media, Mr Goyal said that the alliance is not a marriage of convenience and the consolidation in the aviation industry is inevitable.

He said, “It (alliance) had happened in the US and the Europe and it has happened for the first time in India.” He said that the rationalisation of routes, capacity and costs are essential for survival and that market share was not the answer to profitability.ῠ “There are instances where fighting for market share made the companies go bankrupt in the US,” he added.

Mr Goyal said that the break-even point for the aviation sector is at 90 per cent capacity utilisation, while the companies are operating between 60-70 per cent. “On top of this, international airlines are dumping capacity in India, lowering their prices knowing we cannot match the competition…. therefore we have to work together,” he said. On the lay-off of 850 Jet Airways’ employees, Mr Goyal said those employees were on probation and the company has just not extended the probation.

He said even Air-India can join the alliance, if wants. Later in the day, the Union civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, said the government does not have any details of the deal. “In absence of such details, we cannot comment on it,” he added.ῠ However, he said the government will not have any problem, if the alliance is within the rules and regulations of the aviation ministry.

Crude falls to $76 bbl
 

London, Oct. 15: Oil prices fell on Wednesday to their lowest in 13 months, dragged down by expectations that economic weakness will cut further into demand for crude.ῠ The US crude was down $3.76 a barrel at $74.87 by 11:04 am EDT. It touched a session low of $74.62, its lowest since September last year. London Brent crude was $4.03 down at $70.50 a barrel. Stock markets also fell sharply and the dollar weakened against the yen as global recession fears returned to centrestage after governments around the world pledged trillions of dollars for bank bailouts.

A weak performance from the US retailers provided evidence of the slowdown. The retailers suffered their biggest monthly drop in sales in more than three years in September. Recession in the world’s top consumer the US and other key markets could further dam-pen oil demand.ῠῠ

Lodha’s son to claim Birla assets
 

HARSH VARDHAN Lodha would soon move Calcutta High Court seeking conversion of his father’s proceedings for the over Rs 5,000-crore M.P. Birla group assets, for which late Rajendra Singh Lodha had filed a probate application vide a will by Ms Priyamvada Birla. “Harsh Lodha will apply in the high court for conversion of Mr R.S. Lodha’s proceedings after it reopens following puja vacation,” said Mr Lodha’s counsel, Mr Debanjan Mondal. The Birlas and Rajendra Singh Lodha had been fighting a bitter legal battle over the M.P. Birla group assets with the probate petition pending in the high court.

Tatas to pay Rs 900/sq mt to Gujarat

THE GUJARAT government on Wednesday decided to charge Rs 900 per square meter from Tatas for the 1,100 acre land given for Nano Car Project in Sanand, officials sources said. The state cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister, Mr Narendra Modi, took this decision on the basis of recommendation of state-level land valuation committee of the Gujarat government. Tata Group will have to pay Rs 400.65 crore for the 1,100 acres of the land at the rate of Rs 900 per square metre.

Tata Motors develops LPG trucks

COUNTRY’S BIGGEST truckmaker Tata Motors on Wednesday said its Korean commercial vehicle subsidiary has developed the prototype of the 4.5 tonne LPG truck in association with the Korean government. “The vehicle was developed by Tata Daewoo in association with the ministries of commerce, industry and energy, Korea Energy Management Corporation and a consortium of 12 organisations,” Tata Motors said in a statement. The first Korean LPG medium commercial vehicle would be of 4.5 tonne payload and would conform to EURO V emission norms, it added. The truck is powered with a Liquid Phase Injection engine.

No tax for RNOR
 
By Kamal Rathi

Q. I was a non-resident In-dian for the last ten financial years (1998-99 to 2007-2008) and stayed in India for only 370 days in that period. Further, I stayed for only 307 days in India during last seven financial years. Consider-ing this, can I avail benefit of Resident Not Ordinar-ily Resident (RNOR) status for three fiscal years?

Can I claim the benefit of tax free (as available to an NRI) interest for three financial year on my investments such as NRE deposits and FCNR deposits in view of my RNOR status. Kindly tell me, if such benefits are for two or three years, if I fulfil both the conditions.

I have to inform my banks to treat me as an RNOR and also treat my deposits as the same.

Do I have to file income tax return as Resident Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR) showing interest income and claim rebate or filing tax return is not necessary?

Dwarkanath Narayan, Mysore, Via E-mail.

A. According to Section 6(6) of the Income Tax Act, a person is said to be “not ordinarily resident” in India in any previous year if such person is an individual who has been a non-resident in India in nine out of the ten previous years preceding that year, or has during the seven previous years preceding that year been in India for a period of, or periods amounting in all to, seven hundred and twenty nine days or less.

On the above facts, you will not be liable to tax on the income from investments outside India for two financial years 2008-09 and 2009-10, since you will be able to fulfil at least one condition laid down under Section 6(6), namely being a non resident for nine years during the ten years preceding the relevant financial year.

According to Section 139(1), an individual should furnish a return of income in the prescribed form, if his total income during the previous year exceeded the maximum amount which is not chargeable to income tax.

Hence, if your total income exceeds the threshold limit, you need to file income tax return. You will be entitled to claim the admissible deductions permissible under the provisions of Income Tax Act.

(Kamal Rathi is a chartered accountant, representing Rathi & Malani, a Hyderabad-based accounting firm. Readers can mail their queries on income-tax tokamalrathi.ca@gmail.com)

Honda eyes small car biz
 

Kolkata, Oct. 15: The Indian small car market will see yet another player entering the domain with the Japanese car manufacturer Honda designing a car for domestic consumption, the automobile maker said on Wednesday.  “We are designing a small car which will be launched a few years down the line,”said Mr Jnaneswar Sen vice-president (marketing) Honda Siel Cars India, the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese company said here. The car would be placed in the B, B+ segment, Mr Sen said.

The company would launch a premium hatchback model by 2009 summer. The model has been named ‘Jazz’ and would have a engine capacity of 1200 cc, he said.  Launching the new Honda City, Mr Sen said that the company’s second production base was coming up at Rajashthan and would be ready by the end of 2009.  The company would make an investment of Rs 1,000 crore at its Rajashthan plant. The initial capacity would be 60,000 units per annum, which would be expanded up to two lakh units per annum.  Last year, the company sold 62,000 units across all its models.

Quality’s name of game
 

Bengaluru, Oct. 15: While the old slogan of ‘come to us for cost and stay with us for quality’ still holds good for the Indian IT/ITES sector, it has marched way ahead and today plays a distinct role in enhancing the customers’ business outcome. This is accomplished by increasing the customer’s revenue, collections or market share and delivering a great customer experience. The question is, how important is the role of the ‘quality’ in the business of delivering customer delight? While the question seems like a no-brainer, the answer is somewhat startling, as this correspondent discovered, at the fourth edition of the two-day, Nasscom Quality Summit, 2008 which opened in the city on Wednesday.

Says Arjun Singh, CEO (BFSI), WNS Global Services P Ltd: “While it is clear to most people the world over, that by adopting Six Sigma, corporations can save zillions of dollars by allowing for better product development, quicker time-to-market, improved processes and delivering customer delight, the stark reality in the Indian context is that companies in the BPO space score a measly three out of ten when it comes to adopting the power of Six Sigma. The problem lies in the fact that business leaders seldom buy into the Six Sigma strategy, even when it is obvious that it has the power to transform the way businesses are done.” Six Sigma is a business management strategy that uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, which seeks to identify and remove the causes of defects and errors in business processes.

While most organisations continually implement quality practices, they are faced with practical challenges along the way. “One major issue I have to contend with is the fact that the quality team in my company are mere matrix collectors and do not concern themselves with the nuances of delivering product quality. What is actually required is for them to interpret the matrices and for this they need domain expertise. This is rarely the case, as most experts consider the quality function unglamorous,” said Rajiv Mody, chairman, Sasken. Quality is an absolutely strategic function, even in times of a financial meltdown or a storm in a business cycle, because it ultimately reflects in the value delivered to the customer. Even as most companies consider ‘process quality’ an absolute hygiene factor on which ‘product quality’ is built, there is a dire need for quality to be incorporated at every stage in the product development lifecycle.

“Companies create different departments to handle different functions. But quality as a function cannot be the responsibility of one department alone,” said N Chandrasekaran, COO & executive director, TCS.

Bobby Mitra, MD, Texas Instruments, agrees. “If quality is relegated to one department then checks tend to become sloppy. Quality needs to be a part of every deliverable because there is no God at the end to check it for all defects, which get introduced into the product at every level.”

Belt-tightening ahead for IT
 

New York, Oct.15: On Wall Street, the prices of shares in technology companies have been bouncing around even more than most other industry sectors. Tech stocks were battered on Tuesday, driving down the overall market.

The picture is mixed and uncertain. But based on the early readings before quarterly earnings begin in earnest soon. IBM, surrounded by rumours of weakness, announced its third-quarter results in advance last week, beating analysts’ estimates. Oracle, too, says it is holding up fine. But SAP, the enterprise software maker, and Rackable Systems, which supplies server computers to big Web companies and many smaller businesses, recently lowered guidance for the quarter.

Gartner this week presented its information technology spending projections for 2009, and it sees the souring economy taking a toll. Its worst-case projection (incr-easingly likely, it seems) places worldwide growth in technology spending at 2.3 per cent for 2009, down from 5.8 per cent previously. Stronger Asian markets like China are propping up the overall numbers. In North America, Gartner sees spending growth at half a per cent in 2009, down from 5.3 per cent previously.

In an interview, Peter Sondergaard, Gartner’s senior vice president for global research, explained that information technology was now so integral a part of business operations that spending was no longer going to be much higher or lower than the broad economy. “This isn’t like the 2000 to 2002 period, when much of the world lost confidence in IT,” he said.

Horizons will shorten, and projects that can wait likely will. “CIOs have to learn to think like CFOs,” he explained, using the common shorthand for chief information officers and chief financial officers. At a conference this week, Mr. Sondergaard offered a “top 10″ list for squeezing more out of tight budget dollars. In the spirit of the new austerity, we’ll just give you the top five (the bottom five don’t add much):

1. Reduce headcount and freeze hiring.
2. Curtail data center expansions and “virtualise” servers, putting more software loads on fewer machines. 3. Renegotiate with technology and services suppliers.
4. Consolidate functions and systems to achieve greater economies of scale.
5. Outsource commodity services.

It’s enough to warm any CFO’s heart.

Diagnose biz gains traction
 

Bengaluru, Oct. 15: On a computer monitor in his office in the high-tech hub of Bengaluru, Indian radiologist Arjun Kalyanpur examines a scan of the skull of a six-year-old boy who fell off his bicycle. A few minutes later, thousands of miles away, doctors at a hospital in Philadelphia prepare the boy for surgery after receiving an urgent email from Kalyanpur diagnosing a subdural hemorrhage in the child’s brain.

It’s the middle of the night in the United States, but it’s daytime in Bangalore and Kalyanpur and his team of 35 radiologists are reading hundreds of scans sent by hospitals across the United States during the night shift. “ERs in the U.S. find it difficult to staff at night. There’s a radiologist shortage in the U.S. as well,” Kalyanpur said.

Bangalore, the outsourcing capital of the world, is becoming a global center for telemedicine thanks to a pool of Western educated doctors, extensive outsourcing infrastructure, lower costs and a convenient time zone to diagnose medical conditions during the U.S. night. Teleradiologists in India read X-rays, CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging and other medical images of patients in the United States, Singapore and a host of other countries around the world.

It’s ideal for hospitals facing ballooning costs and a shortage of radiologists. And it’s not just teleradiology, experts say just about every area of medicine that does not require direct patient interaction could be outsourced in the future. This could include scans of pathology samples, ECGs, EEGs and other diagnostic systems used to determine a preliminary diagnosis.

“Telemedicine is on the rise,” said Avinash Vashistha, the CEO of Tholon Inc, a private equity advisory firm, who has written a book about outsourcing. “Once it acquires critical mass in 2 to 3 years, we expect the thrust to come from insurance companies as they recognise the cost benefits and lower premiums for the plans that have components of telemedicine.” There are some concerns, though, that it might lead to dangerous misdiagnosis and even those in the industry admit that regulation hasn’t caught up with technology when it comes to medical malpractice, ethics and legal liability.

Liability, privacy and malpractice issues pose challenges as this new industry expands without a supporting international regulatory framework as well as an ethical code of conduct. “In the end the challenge really is when you’re doing something for the U.S. and something happens, who’s liable for it?,” said Vashistha. The business is lucrative and already there are 10 or more teleradiology firms in India as well as several in the United States, some of which are listed companies.

Deccan Chronicle

One of CellAct’s skincare range is the Blues Away range, which is an anti-stress and hydration formula.

MEENA SREENIVASAN learns about a prototype business system tailored especially for beauty salons.

Lim holding the CellAct Age Renewal serum used in certified CellAct beauty salons.

IF you are interested in a beauty career or aspire to start your own beauty salon, the time has come for you to step up.

CellAct, a well-known Swiss skincare brand used by beauty salons nationwide over the past 10 years, is offering women entrepreneurs and beauty enthusiasts an opportunity to set up their own salon through a prototype business system.

The CellAct business system is convenient, practical and will provide potential salon owners everything they need to operate the business successfully.

Based on an innovative infrastructure, CellAct certified beauty salons will be set up with comprehensive support systems to manage customers, employees and the outlet with ease.
CellAct (M) Sdn Bhd group managing director Jessica Lim disclosed that through years of experience, it found most aestheticians and salon owners are unable to run a salon efficiently without a proper system in hand.

“In order to penetrate the targeted market, they need the right set-up, philosophy and expertise,” she explained, adding that it took the company almost three years to develop a successful, time-tested and franchise-compliant business model.

Lim further added that the business system, which is simple yet rewarding, is available for qualified individuals interested in opening even a chain of beauty salons.

It will include a state-of-the-art CellAct salon management system, preliminary sales and field assistance, renovation and furnishing, operational guidance, visual merchandising and window display, comprehensive training, marketing and advertising, new product development, purchase inventory and equipment, among other services.

“Given the comprehensive support system, CellAct partners will be able to save on capital expenditure required to operate an outlet, besides allowing their business to grow faster using the resources and management support from CellAct Malaysia.”

A capital of between RM180,000 and RM600,000 is required for a start and this will include renovation costs.

As CellAct partners, aspiring individuals who wish to venture into the beauty industry will receive professional business coaching in salon management, customer services and marketing programmes.

“Our ultimate beauty centres are designed to promote beautiful and healthy skin and will offer beauty and spa lovers an exclusive pampering ambience and experience as well as quality skincare products and beauty treatments,” said Lim.

CellAct products are carefully developed based on a blend of plant cells extracts, DNA, pure enzymes, and proteins and uses only pure glacial water in the formulation.

“This is what makes CellAct special and why our products are tagged as ‘The Answer to Beautiful Skin,” said Lim.

The company is set to open 30 more CellAct beauty centres within the next 12 months. For more information, visit www.cellact-swiss.com.

New Straits Times

SINGAPORE: Top leadership and a focus on customers saw nine organisations honoured at the 2008 Business Excellence Awards.

Out of the nine organisations, four were given the Singapore Quality Award (SQA) for excellence in business capabilities.

The SQA has been given out to local companies - from both public and private sectors - which have excelled in areas such as planning, processes, and people development.

Organisers say two qualities in particular set the 2008 winners apart from the pack.

Chairman of SQA Governing Council, Cham Tao Soon, said: “They (the winners) have very good leadership in the organisation - the leadership pervades all the way down, that quality is a very important feature.

“The other thing that they have stood out is… they are all very customer-conscious. That means they are organisations that respond very well to customers needs. So these two are the main features of this year’s winners.”

The winners also attributed their success to a focus on people and innovation.

These included the Housing and Development Board (HDB), which bagged a special award for continuing improvements after it won the SQA in 1997. For example, one of its premier developments, The Pinnacle@Duxton, saw cost savings of nearly S$50 million because of innovation and value engineering.

CEO of HDB, Tay Kim Poh, said: “We emphasize on coming out with new ideas, innovative products in whatever we do. So I think this has helped to encourage our staff to take on various aspects of innovation in their daily work.”

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also made their mark. Avi-Tech Electronics joined the list of SQA winners as the third SME to win the award to date.

CEO of Avi-Tech Electronics, Lim Eng Hong, said: “This award is dedicated to my team of managers and staff. They are the ones that made it happen. They believe in the company. And they always go towards continuous improvement in our business.”

SMEs account for 46 per cent of the economy’s total value added, but only 27 per cent of SMEs enjoy a turnover growth of more than 10 per cent.

One major challenge they face is manpower. To address this, Spring Singapore and the Singapore Workforce Development Authority have launched a package of tools, templates and guidelines to help companies with human resource (HR) issues.

Chief executive of SPRING Singapore, Png Cheong Boon, who is also a member of the SQA Governing Council, said: “I think for SME’s HR, they are not very familiar with HR issues, particularly in terms of recruitment, career development and training of their employees.

“So what the HR package does is really just to provide a simple template, a guidebook as well as some tips… SMEs can use in their various HR practices.”

The package will be available for free from websites of the Singapore National Employers Federation and Singapore Human Resources Institute. The two firms will also offer training by November.

Moving forward, the SQA Governing Council said it will highlight other aspects of the business, including corporate governance, risk management, and business continuity, in the judging for future awards.

The council said this is important, especially in light of the latest developments in the global financial industry.

- CNA/yt

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