Industrial growth beyond expectations

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Contents January 2010
Editorial............................................................................................................. 3
CovEr story
Industrial growth beyond all expectations......................................................... 4
EConomy
oECD wants India to further liberalise FDI policy ...........................................11
InFrastruCturE
Highways expansion by 35,000 km in five years ............................................ 13
stEEl
Easier route for global steel giants to set up base in India ............................. 15 4
GsBa- top rankers Excellence award to saIl Finance Director .................. 16
InsuranCE industrial growth beyond all
lIC business up by 35 per cent ..................................................................... 17 expectations
life Insurance Industry registers robust growth.............................................. 18
BankInG & InvEstmEnt
newgen asv system to reduce bank transaction risks .................................. 19
CapitalVia’s new service schemes ................................................................. 19
It InDustry
How ramco onDemand ErP caters to growing smE sector needs ............. 20
- By s. sunderaraj, ramco systems
salEs & markEtInG
‘value creators key to propel growth in marketing’ ......................................... 22
EnvIronmEnt
‘End to extractive relationship with nature unavoidable’ ................................ 24
26
PowEr relianCe auTozone
Wind industry viewed as strategic sector for Europe’s future ......................... 25 forays into Bangalore
CorPoratE
reliance autozone forays into Bangalore....................................................... 26
Rane Groups’ ambitious turnover target of Rs. 1,500 crores this year........... 27
metalman-Cellino Jv to make components for global market ........................ 28
WABCO-TVS ABS focus on vehicle safety and steerability ........................... 30
41
HNG Group foray into float glass making ....................................................... 31
kBl’s yamuna awarded lEED Platinum rating for green buildings ............... 32
Siemens partners EKO Diagnostics to provide PET biomarkers in Kolkata ... 33
Philips’ focus on healthcare products ............................................................ 34
High output water purification system from Shivsu......................................... 35
Electrotherm launches largest induction melting furnace ............................... 36 Paramount airways joins hands
Raj Petro launches India’s first branded speciality lubricants......................... 37 with Budget rent-a-Car
towers Perrin-watson wyatt merger complete .............................................. 38

SubScribe to
Zen mobile launches QwErty Z 77 ............................................................. 39
avIatIon
Qatar Airways extending service to Copenhagen and Barcelona .................. 40
Paramount airways joins hands with Budget rent-a-Car ............................... 41
tourIsm
China tourism award for InorBIt tours ....................................................... 42
EvEnts
versatile allma CC3 Combi will be on show at tire technology 2010 ............ 43
CeBIt 2010 to attract new target groups ....................................................... 44
tourIsm
Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei focus on business traveller comfort .................... 45
For details turn to page-23
mEn at tHE HElm ....................................................................................... 47

Business and Travel Times January 2010

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(Formerly Industrial Herald)
Editorial
exports turn positive
From the publishers of MOTORINDIA

Publishers:
Gopali Co.,
Quanta Zen Building, No.38, (Old No. 2)
Thomas Road, 2nd Street, Off. South Boag Rd., Of late there are clearer signs of econom-
T.Nagar, Chennai - 600 017.
Ph: 044-24330979, 42024951. ic revival, the most notable among them be-
Fax: 044-24332413 ing the country’s exports turning positive for
Email: businessandtraveltimes@gmail.com
the first time in November 2009 after a pro-
Founder:
M. Rajagopalan tracted downtrend for 13 months. Besides
Publisher: the surprise GDP growth of 7.9 per cent in
R. Kalidasan (M: 9962025545) the second quarter of the current fiscal, the
Managing Editor: export growth of 18.2 per cent at $13.19 bil-
R. Natarajan (M: 9381062161 (R) 24343475)
lion in November against $11.16 billion in
Assistant Editor:
K.N. Ananthanarayanan (M: 9445121493) the same month of 2008-09 marked a dis-
General Manager (Mktg): tinct reversal of the falling trend. At the same
R. Natarajan, Managing Editor time, imports during the month declined by
K. Gopalakrishnan (M: 9840897542)
Manager (Advt.):
B. Vijaya
2.6 per cent at $22.88 billion, resulting in a
Designer:
narrower trade gap of $9.69 billion against $12.32 billion in November last
E. Marimuthu fiscal. The overall trade deficit in the current fiscal is estimated at $66 bil-
Mumbai: lion which is much lower than that of $100.15 billion in April-November
R. Balasubramanian 2008. FIEO is confident that exports would pick up further if the UPA
G 102, Srinagar Co.Op., Housing Society,
Off. P.L. Lokande Marg, Chembur (West),
Government continues with its stimulus packages for industry, particularly
Mumbai-400089. Ph: 022-25252377. the interest subsidy for the export sector.
Cell: 9323711291. The general mood is really upbeat, going by the steady rise in share prices
Email: r.balagopali@gmail.com
Bangalore:
and the accelerated activity in stock markets. Buoyed mainly by the higher
J. Saravanasundhar influx of both foreign institutional and direct investment, market opera-
BS 23, 2nd Floor, Block ‘B’ Ittina Neela, Near tors are sure that India would remain a preferred destination for equity
Gold Coins Club, Andapura, Electronics City P.O.,
Bangalore-560100. Cell: 9880974765 investors across the world. Minor daily fluctuations notwithstanding, the
Email: saravanam_j@yahoo.co.in Bombay Sensex keeps rising. It closed the year just gone by at 17464.81,
Allahabad: up 7817.50 points from the year ago level. According to market analysts, it
Shoubhik Sarkar,
196-A, Chak Raghunath, Jail Road, won’t be unreasonable to expect the gradual return of stock market prices
(Behind Asha Hospital), Naini, to the January 2008 level when the Sensex touched 21000. All indication is
Allahabad-211008 (U.P.)
Ph:0532-2696873 Cell: 9936245032
that, with the ever growing trade volume, the index will pierce the 17500-
Email: sarkarshoubhik@rediffmail.com mark sooner than later and soar further.
Member: INS / AINEC / IFSMAN It is against this backdrop of robust industrial revival that the Finance
Allied publications: Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, has predicted that the economic growth
MOTORINDIA (Eng. Hindi)
The Textile Magazine
this fiscal won’t be less than seven per cent. With a fresh push to reforms
Owned, Printed Published by as proposed by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and the resilient
R. Kalidasan from Gopali Co., and printed at Gopali fiscal system capable of providing funds for general industrial expansion,
Printers, Quanta Zen Bldg., No.38, Thomas Road,
2nd Street , T.Nagar, Chennai-600017. Ph: 42024952 particularly infrastructural development, a growth of 10-12 per cent in a
couple of years is also well within reach. All this presupposes retention of
The views presented herein are those of the authors. the stimulus packages as desired by all the leading industry associations. In
They are not necessarily the views of the editor.
All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor
fact, they have gone a step further and have sought additional excise and
any part of it may be reproduced in any form or by other tax reliefs in the forthcoming Budget. The Government will neces-
any means, nor may it be printed, photocopied or
stored on microfilm without the written permission
sarily have to concede their demand if it is really serious about growth
of the publisher. sustenance.


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cover story

industrial growth beyond
all expectations
T
he Indian econ- The significance of the num-
omy recorded a bers could be gauged from
growth of 7.9 per the fact that the Government
cent in June-Septem- as well as the Plan panel ex-
pected slower growth in the
ber 2009, the highest in
second quarter than the first
six quarters, triggering
quarter, and most economists
hopes that the recovery pegged it in the range of 6.1-
has all come and the 6.6 per cent. For the first half,
Reserve Bank should the economy grew by seven per
now turn its focus on cent against 7.8 per cent a year
combating inflation. ago, prompting the Finance
However, it would be too Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukher-
early to come to such a defini- jee, to expect over 7 per cent
tive conclusion, as economists growth this fiscal.
worldwide warn that any strat- For the current fiscal, the
egy to withdraw from monetary Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan
and fiscal stimuli should be a Singh, had expected the econ-
cautious decision and must not omy to grow by 6.5 per cent,
be based only on one data. RBI by 6 per cent and the Plan-
Mr. Anand Sharma
Catapulted by stimuli-pow- Minister for Commerce and Industry ning Commission by 6.3 per
ered strong industrial growth, cent.
the Indian economy grew not only higher than a mere “...this performance does suggest that there may
6.1 per cent in Q1, but also more than the previous well have to be an upward revision in GDP growth of
six quarters. The growth rate was much higher than 6.5 per cent, which has been projected so far”, the
5.8 per cent recorded in the last two quarters of 2008- Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr. Montek
09 when the global financial crisis deepened after the Singh Ahluwalia, said.
collapse of the US financial services major Lehman While Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn
Brothers in the middle of September 2008. said “clearly this is better news than we could have
Besides industry, the services sector is on an upswing expected and we will have to review the forecast for
with community, social and personal services expand- the year as a whole,” the Prime Minister’s Economic
ing by 12.7 per cent during the reporting quarter and Council Chairman, Mr. C. Rangarajan, too said the
the farm sector logging in a growth of 0.9 per cent target of 6.5 per cent GDP growth for the current fis-
against a contraction that was projected due to the cal may have to be revised upwards following the ro-
weak monsoon. bust second quarter numbers.


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cover story

to prevent food inflation from having a
contagion effect on manufactured items.
“Food prices must be controlled, otherwise
they have a tendency to lead to manufac-
turing inflation...this will require monetary
action by RBI, especially (money) supply
management”, Mr. Rangarajan added.
In fact, the RBI Deputy Governor also
said it would reassess its soft policy stance.
“Clearly now going forward, it (accommo-
dative monetary stance) will have be to re-
assessed.
According to HDFC Chief Economist Ab-
heek Barua, a case for an interest rate hike
remains. “With respect to monetary policy
action, clearly this strong GDP number
gives a green signal for some tightening,
and we maintain our earlier call of a CRR
hike by 50 bps by December-January”.
However, industry is not impressed with
these talks. In a pre-Budget meeting with
Revenue Secretary P V Bhide, a FICCI
delegation suggested that RBI should not
restrain money supply as economic recov-
ery is still at a nascent stage. The FICCI
President, Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, said
the current food inflation should be tackled
with supply side management and not with
tightening money supply, as it would choke
the growth process.
With this, India continues to be the second fastest Mr. Montek also said RBI’s traditional monetary
growing large economy in the world after China, which tools may not be effective in curbing food inflation,
recorded 8.9 per cent in July-September of 2009. Mr. Singhania cautioned the Government not to roll-
Even as growth seems to be reviving, food inflation back stimulus measures unless recovery is on a firm
continued to surge ahead beyond 19 per cent. The footing. Any reversal of duty cuts would also push up
climbing food inflation has its economic connotations, inflation further.
but also implifications for society at large. It might lead The Government has cut excise duty by six per cent
to cynicism among the larger public as food inflation and service tax by two per cent in phases, besides
affects them the most, while the benefits of growth are stepping up Plan expenditure to prop up the economy.
not easily understandable. On the economic front as However, many economists feel that the government
well, there is always a danger that food inflation might may now think of withdrawing the fiscal stimulus. “The
spread to manufactured items. government could withdraw stimulus (excise duty cuts)
Apprehending this, the Prime Minister’s economic for fast-growing sectors as the Centre’s revenue posi-
advisory panel has said monetary actions are required tion does not look too good,” Crisil principal econo-


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cover story

mist DK Joshi said. of this year.
But the Government has given the assurance that India has been witnessing sensational growth in fac-
fiscal stimulus would be there at least for some time. tory production, which reflects in its stupendous 7.9
“My views have always been that we should look at the per cent GDP expansion in the second quarter. The
position (stimulus) at close to February,” Mr. Montek quarterly growth numbers have fuelled optimism that
observed. economic growth would top seven per cent.
In fact, some believe that the stimulus should be The country’s GDP expansion had declined to 6.7
withdrawn with a caution as GDP number might seem per cent in 2008-09 after three straight years of over
quite encouraging there are some indicators of per- nine per cent growth. This poor showing was attribut-
sisting weakness in the economy which is still propped ed to the global recession, which hit the export sector
up largely by the step-up in government expenditure the hardest. Overseas shipments have been falling for
and not private consumption. 13 straight months, but the consolation is the pace of
Private final consumption, in fact, fell to 54.9 per decline is slowing down.
cent in the second quarter of this fiscal Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma
against 55.5 per cent a year ago. told Parliament that exports would
In this situation, any raising clock 15 per cent growth next fiscal,
of interest rates might further giving a sneak peak into the shape
curtail private demand and of things to come. This is exactly
again push the economy why the country’s top econo-
back to slow growth. mists, including Mr. Ahlu-
As such, the Govern- walia, believe that recov-
ment has to do a tight- ery is here to stay.
rope walking to keep Great depression
propping up the econ- days
omy and manage food Compare this with the
inflation. It should, in 1920s, the decade of the
fact, concentrate on the Great Depression that
supply side management stretched until the late
of food items, instead of RBI 1930s. The recession ac-
tightening money supply as credit tually started in 1920 when
offtake anyway is not picking up much in the government decided to cut
the economy. back on spending (which was thrice the
Global economic scene size of its revenue collections).
The year 2009 has panned out quite well in terms The years that followed saw skewed growth and the
of how the world has picked itself up within a year bubble was punctured on October 24, 1929, when
of this century’s worst economic crisis. India too the stock markets crashed. In the 1920s, an average
has done remarkably well so far, although these of 600 banks failed each year. In fact, 1932 and
are early days to assess the impact of a credit crisis 1933 turned out to be the worst years of the reces-
brewing in the Middle East. Like aftershocks that fol- sion, with the economy witnessing severe contrac-
low earthquakes, every crisis is bound to have ripple tion. It was not until 1934 that the first turnaround
effects and the crisis in Dubai could be one such. was seen.
One sure sign of global recovery is that the pace of Us exits recession
vanishing employment has come down as against Given this backdrop, the US, the world’s largest
an average 9,000 job losses daily in the beginning economy, surprised pundits in the July-September


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cover story

quarter when its GDP expanded by 3.5 per cent. A a year ago.
quarter before that, the world’s second largest econ- Inflation trouble
omy, Japan, had posted 0.9 per cent growth to exit Just as aftershocks are certain to follow earthquakes,
recession. inflation will follow rapid growth. Although Indians saw
While the initial days of recovery were one of jobless the cost of living contract, on paper, for the first time in
growth, even this situation has started correcting. The over three decades, the low inflation numbers couldn’t
rate of unemployment is falling in the US. conceal high food prices for long, as the common
Elsewhere, Australia’s central bank hiked key policy man cut back on potato, onion and pulses now and
rates saying the worst of the recession is over. The Re- again during the year.
serve Bank has too hinted it is time to exit the easy Food inflation touched 19.05 per cent as of the
money policy unleashed in 2008 to cushion the econ- fourth week of November, largely due to supply side
omy from the global financial crisis. constraints, first caused by drought and then floods
Although the recovery is largely due to the $4-5 tril- across many parts of the country. The Congress-led
lion worth stimulus measures, it is acknowledged that UPA, which returned to power for the second term on
these are early days to remove the prop. the plank of “Aam Admi”, was naturally concerned by
Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has made it clear that he political parties both inside and outside Parliament
would watch the situation before taking a call on exit- for the rising cost of living – a development that may
ing the stimulus measures announced during Decem- prompt RBI to tighten money supply.
ber-January last. The Government’s stimulus steps It is acknowledged that monetary policies cannot
had shaved off thousands of crores from its indirect do much about stepping up supply of essentials, but
tax revenues, thus inflating the country’s fiscal deficit the central bank feels tightening the policy would
to an ugly 6.8 per cent of GDP . help put the lid on inflation. RBI Governor D Sub-
But not all of this growth is using the crutches called barao had said that while monetary policy is an “in-
‘stimulus’. The country’s auto industry, which was effective instrument” to rein in growth in food prices,
consumed by fear at the height of the crisis that peo- such tools may be needed to dampen inflation ex-
ple would shun cars, posted a stunning 61 per cent pectations.
growth in November. This followed the 10.3 per cent Not long before the economic crisis set in, the Gov-
growth in factory production in October. ernment and the central bank had outlined controlling
Mr. Ahluwalia said: “To get a growth rate well above inflation as their priority. However, this took a back
10 per cent is not just a base effect. There is an ele- seat despite a steady rise in food prices all through the
ment of growth that is taking place which I hope will crisis days. Now that growth appears to be back on
be sustained.” road, the authorities have the luxury of using the lasso
For the first seven months of the fiscal, the Index of on inflation.
Industrial Production (IIP), which measures industrial - PTI Economic Service
growth, expanded by 7.1 per cent against 4.3 per cent

10 Business and Travel Times January 2010

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economy

oecD wants India to further
liberalise FDI policy

t
he organisation of economic cooperation and Development
(oecD) wants India to liberalise its foreign investment pol-
icy, especially in retail, banking and insurance sectors, the
key areas of interest to global investors. the demand comes on the
back of India’s FDI in equity touching $125 billion in september last
since 2000.

India has managed to attract ance and progress in the past year Industry Ministry said India has al-
huge foreign equity despite “poor has been particularly strong, even ready indicated its willingness to
infrastructure” and ceiling on FDI in a very tough global environ- liberalise the FDI policy in the in-
inflows in certain sectors. OECD’s ment. This is a vote of confidence surance sector. A Bill to raise the
investment policy review of India in India.” ceiling on FDI from the present 26
says New Delhi has designed poli- While OECD and global retail per cent is lying in Parliament.
cies to encourage investment as giants like Walmart Stores want In- The investment policy review lists
part of market-oriented reforms dia to open its multi-brand retail for a series of recommendations for
since 1991 that have paved the FDI, it does not appear that New India:
way for improved prosperity. Delhi would make any change in l Further relaxing restrictions on
“Restrictions on large-scale in- the policy, at least in the near fu- inward FDI in sectors such as bank-
vestment have been greatly re- ture. “The policy on multi-brand ing, insurance and retail trade.
laxed. Many sectors formerly re- retail (i.e., ‘no FDI’) acts as a so- l Regularly reviewing the remain-

served to the public sector have cial security net for millions of small ing FDI restrictions in other areas to
been opened up to private enter- retail traders in the country,” Com- ensure that their costs do not out-
prise,” the OECD report notes. merce and Industry Minister Anand weigh their expected benefits.
But further reforms are needed, Sharma had said while launching l Developing a system of com-

the report prepared by the club of the report along with OECD Sec- parable FDI statistics for the States
30 rich nations said. “India’s policy retary General Angel Gurria in the and Union Territories as a basis for
framework for FDI still remains re- first half of December. cross-State monitoring of FDI per-
strictive compared with most OECD A parliamentary panel has al- formance.
countries.” ready suggested a blanket ban on l Strengthening corporate trans-

In recent years, India has be- FDI in the retail sector. parency and responsibility to align
come a major global player with On OECD’s suggestion of open- India more closely with the interna-
high economic growth rates and ing up of the banking sector for tionally-recognised standards and
is today an important destination FDI, Mr. Sharma said foreigners practices.
for FDI. However, OECD suggests can invest up to 74 per cent in the India’s special steps
removal of “red tape” for more sector. “Isn’t it enough,” he asked. The first OECD Investment Pol-
investments. “India’s FDI perform- Officials in the Commerce and icy Review of India shows great

Business and Travel Times January 2010 11

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economy

progress in building a successful many bilateral investment promo- Last but not the least, India is
policy environment to encourage tion agreements and double taxa- rightly proud of its long tradition
investment and the resulting action avoidance agreements since of the rule of law. But for inves-
celeration in FDI inflows and eco- the mid-1990s. Foreign-owned tors, both domestic and foreign,
nomic growth. companies are now taxed the significant delays in justice can
India has taken huge steps for same as domestic enterprises. mean bankruptcy, and hence a
improving its regulatory investment However, according to OECD, risk too big to take. Strengthening
environment: the “license raj”, many challenges remain. The de- the capacity of the judicial system
which shackled industry with nu- velopment of high-quality infra- could make a big difference to in-
merous unnecessary permits, has structure is an essential require- vestment.
been largely dismantled. Crucial ment for India’s rapid growth. The India is doing a lot to bring in
issues for investors have started Investment Policy Review suggests more FDI. It is continuously sim-
to be tackled by the Indian Gov- a further easing of the remaining plifying it FDI policy. Invest India,
ernment, such as IPR protection FDI curbs to support the Gov- a non-profit making joint venture
which has been strengthened. The ernment’s important social and of the Government and industry,
Competition Commission has just development goals. Many of the has been launched to help foreign
started work this summer, and the remaining FDI restrictions apply investors, especially those in the
corporate governance framework to sectors where productivity and small and medium enterprises.
has been improved. growth need to be enhanced, such Different ministries like Road and
Much of the economy has been as banking, insurance and retail Textiles are holding roadshows in
opened to foreign investment. distribution. different parts of the world to at-
Since 2000, the FDI regime has Another major challenge in In- tract foreign investment. A Bill to
been an OECD-type “negative dia is to realign economic growth liberalise FDI policy in the insur-
list” approach in which all sectors with equality perspectives. “While ance sector is in Parliament.
not on the list are open to foreign national economic growth has The Government is in the proc-
investment. been impressive since 1991, the ess of relaxing FDI norms for the
Public ownership of industries gap between the richer and poor- promising real estate sector by do-
has been substantially reduced as er Indian states has widened.” This ing away with the three-year locks
many sectors which were previ- trend needs to be reversed if the in period for foreign investments.
ously reserved for the public sec- Government is to reduce inequali- An e-project has been launched
tor have been opened to private ties. to integrate the FDI procedures in-
enterprises, including foreign in- While the Central Government cluding approvals.
vestment. has reduced the number of ap- There are also plans to set up a
Experimental economic zones provals needed for new invest- panel of State industrial ministers
have been set up to test further in- ment, administrative procedures to encourage State-level reforms
vestment liberalisation measures. need to be streamlined at the to attract FDI.
The Government has concluded State level. - PTI Economic Service


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InFrastructure

Highways expansion by
35,000 km in five years
Unrolling one of the most ing for double-laning of 6,300
ambitious plans for the Indian km of single-lane highways,
highways, the Government, it out of a total of about 19,000
seems, wants a complete make- km single-lane highways in the
over of the roads indicating that country.
the country could add impres- Under the viability gap
sive 35,000 km of highways in scheme, funds and concessions
the next five years, besides long are provided to the developers
stretches of expressways, if all to make the projects viable,
goes well as per plans. while annuity is a financing
Taking a string of measures model where the developer fi-
to remove regulatory and other nances, builds and maintains
bottlenecks besides to ensure the highways contract in ex-
financing for the sector, the change of annual grants by the
Government says it is close government.
to getting $3 billion from the The World Bank chief, in-
World Bank while looking at teracting with the media, had
an additional $2 billion. said the agency could increase
An Empowered Group of funding for India after con-
Ministers (EGoM) compris- sulting shareholders and is in
ing the Finance Minister, Mr. Mr. Kamal Nath,
talks with the Finance Ministry
Pranab Mukherjee, the Road Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways for funding highways. “There
Transport and Highways Min- are so many different projects
ister, Mr. Kamal Nath, and the Ministry is also looking at various in India... but there is even more
Deputy Chairman of the Planning options to raise Rs. 3 lakh crores that we can do for India. My chal-
Commission, Mr. Montek Singh that would be invested in road lenge is to go back to some of our
Ahluwalia, has already started development projects over 2010- shareholders so that we can give
deliberating on financing plan for 11. more in India. We know that the
the ambitious National Highway The World Bank has already national highways programme is
Development Project (NHDP). agreed to look at newer ways to very important. So we are also in
The EGoM at its maiden meet raise its funding commitment for talks with the Ministry of Finance,”
on December 7 deliberated on the highways projects. Mr. Kamal he said.
getting a $2 billion further bor- Nath had said after meeting the Responding to Mr. Nath’s re-
rowing from the World Bank for Bank chief Robert Zoellick on De- quest for assistance from the
road projects spread over the cember 2. “The World Bank has World Bank and IFC in formu-
next two-three years. agreed to look at funding viability lation of mega projects, he had
The EGoM was constituted fol- gap and in the annuity projects said, “as he (Nath) said it is partly
lowing the Prime Minister-ap- not only in terms of financing but a question of financing and it is
pointed B K Chaturvedi Commit- in terms of institutional support as also a question of trying to apply
tee recommending its need for well”, Mr. Nath had said. the experience being followed in
fast-tracking highways projects in The Ministry has sought a projects around the world recog-
the country. At the same time, the $2.96-billion World Bank fund- nising, of course, that India has


BTT-Jan-10.indd 13 1/12/2010 4:50:24 AM

InFrastructure

its unique circumstances.” plans inviting bids for 10 mega tlenecks in land acquisition, the
“We propose working with the highways projects under public- Government has already set up
International Finance Corpora- private partnership, and is in the 61 special land acquisition units
tion for our Expressway Authority process of making feasibility re- (SLAUs) and is in the process of
right from the beginning on what ports. constituting more such units to
should be viable projects because “The National Highways Au- address the problems relating
it is new to us”, Mr. Nath had said thority of India (NHAI) has made to delays in land acquisition for
earlier. initial identification of 10 mega highway projects.
The Government plans to take projects in various States for im- The said units under NHAI have
advantage of the World Bank’s plementation in a phased man- been delegated power for prepa-
and IFC’s experience in projects ner,” the Minister of State for ration of notification for land ac-
not only in terms of financial re- Road Transport and Highways, quisition and finalising the com-
sources but also on a wide spec- Mr. R.P .N. Singh, told the Lok pensation package, disbursement
trum of issues which they have Sabha. of compensation to land owners
dealt with globally. Sources said that these mega and mutation of land acquired
The Transport Ministry has set projects, under the public-private under the Act. So far 61 SLAUs
an ambitious target of construct- partnership, entail an investment have been constituted in Kerala,
ing 35,000 km of highways in five of Rs. 45,000 crores to build Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka,
years and has already announced more than 4,800 km of modern Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.
Rs. 2 lakh crore investments in the highways. The projects include Over 100 more such SLAUs will
sector in the next two years. In six-laning of highway stretches in be set up across the country and
addition, the Government is also Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra would be for a specific period of
considering the options suggest- Pradesh, four-laning of highway one year, headed by ADM/SDM
ed by the Chaturvedi Committee stretches in Gujarat, Maharash- level officers and will have 20-25
to raise finances by issuing bonds tra and Madhya Pradesh and members.
with longer tenure, and availing two-laning with paved shoulders With the new system, senior lev-
a line of credit from LIC and pen- of stretches in Punjab and Rajas- el revenue officer (ADM level) will
sion funds for raising finances. than. The other stretches to be be required to co-ordinate with
The Ministry is looking at issu- built under the mega projects are SLAUs in the States, the Minister
ing a new type of bonds and rais- in Goa, Bihar and West Bengal. said, adding that the States have
ing money from banks for financ- The development of highways also been requested to constitute
ing road projects. Apart from this, would cost about Rs. 3,76,000 high-level committees under the
it is looking at long-term sources crores in the next four years, and chairmanship of chief secretar-
of finance such as pension funds about 50-60 per cent of this is ex- ies to remove the bottlenecks for
and insurance funds for post-con- pected to come from the private the projects and expedite the land
struction risks like maintenance of sector, according to government acquisition process.
roads. estimates. - PTI Economic Service
Meanwhile, the Government Meanwhile, to remove the bot-


BTT-Jan-10.indd 14 1/12/2010 4:50:25 AM

steel

easier route for global steel giants
to set up base in India
Partnering a domestic company partner to enhance its position at steel maker Uttam Galva, to mark
to set up base in India is the best the global podium. There is more its first operational presence in In-
option available to the global steel in the offing. The companies are dia. The company has been strug-
giants in the current scenario, in- exploring options of mutual stock gling to give shape to its Rs. 1-lakh
dustry experts say. holding, a move likely to fetch JSW crore projects in Jharkhand and
Visa Steel, promoted by the Kolk- the much-needed cash to reduce Orissa amid problems in acquiring
ata-based Visa Group, which is its debt among other things. land and regulatory hurdles. Fed
partnering China’s Baosteel Trad- “The option of mutual sharehold- up with the pace of the progress
ing Co. for its ferro-nickel plant in ing is part of our larger discussion, in the two States, it has even ap-
Orissa, says the inorganic route of which will evolve over time,” JSW proached Karnataka for setting up
expansion would be an attractive Steel Vice-Chairman and Manag- a plant.
option for global steel companies ing Director Sajjan Jindal said. The world’s fifth-largest steel
mulling setting up a base in India. JFE Steel Chief Executive Officer producer Posco has also failed to
“If you are hungry and want to Hajime Bada observed that the kickstart its Rs. 54,000-crore India
join the India party, this is the route company wanted to secure a local project due to widespread tribal
for you,” Visa Group Chairman Vi- production base in India, which is protest against its acquisition of
shambar Saran told PTI Economic now possible through JSW Steel. land in Orissa for the proposed
Service. The Japanese firm is also consid- venture. It is also awaiting clear-
According to him, any steel com- ering other options of investing in ance of the mining lease.
pany would like to invest in a ven- India, but nothing has been final- Both the steel giants have even
ture where it finds “more value”, ised as yet. The company is also threatened to move out of the cur-
and in such a scenario the ongoing likely to partner JSW in developing rent sites of the proposed green-
projects of a domestic company its Rs. 35,000-crore West Bengal field projects.
would be more attractive than set- project. Against such a backdrop, industry
ting up a new project. “Its hard to Recently, steel behemoth Arcelor- experts say the global firms would
fork out value in greenfield projects Mittal bought stake in secondary look at the inorganic route to en-
immediately in India. There are ter the growing Indian market.
numerous delays,” he added. Companies like Outokumpu
The diversified Kolkata con- and Japanese Steel Works too
glomerate claims to be the have evinced interest in having
leader in bringing a foreign an Indian partner.
company to India and says The Tokyo-based Japan Steel
that its move showed the way Works is focusing on emerging
to the peers in the industry. economies like India to expand
On November 19, the coun- its overseas operations as ma-
try’s largest private steel firm jor markets like the US are
by domestic capacity, JSW yet to recover from the blues
Steel, joined hands with Ja- of the global economic slow-
pan’s JFE Steel, to jointly tap down. “In our overseas focus,
the growing market for auto- India is very important to us,”
grade steel in the country. The the company’s Representative
tie-up gave JFE entry into the Director and President Ikuo
burgeoning Indian market Sato told PTI Economic Serv-
and JSW a world leader as a ice. The company is famous


BTT-Jan-10.indd 15 1/12/2010 4:50:25 AM

steel

for its forging and engineering steel major Outokumpu, which had saIl’s record
equipment supplies. scrapped its India plans last year, is
Asked if the company plans to set again planning its India entry. December sales
up a manufacturing base in India, Experts see the trend continuing Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL)
Sato said: “It all depends on de- in times to come and also antici- achieved sales in the domestic mar-
mand volumes. Presently, India op- pate reforms furthering foreign di- ket of 1.3 million tonnes during
erations of the Japanese firm are rect investment (FDI) in the country. December, registering a growth of
carried through JSW India Pvt. Ltd. Also, industry observers say India 32 per cent over December 2008
The global economic slowdown will see more foreign players plan- and a growth of 23 per cent in the
and its impact on the Japanese ning new integrated projects in the third quarter over the corresponding
economy has weakened the per- country with the announcement of period last year. Sales of SAIL TMT
formance of several global steel the new mineral policy, possibly by grew by 33 per cent in the quarter,
giants.” the next financial year. The policy while plates registered a growth of
He maintained that tying up with is aimed to remove regulatory hur- 36 per cent.
an Indian company, may be a steel dles delaying such projects. SAIL also registered record sales of
partner or a vendor, could be a dis- - PTI Economic Service 1.16 lakh tonnes through its dealer
tinct possibility in future. Stainless distribution network in December.

GsBa- Top rankers excellence
award to sail Finance director
Mr. Soiles Bhattacharya, Director (Finance), Steel Au-
thority of India Ltd. (SAIL), was conferred the GSBA- Top
Rankers Excellence Award 2009 under the ‘Best Finance
Professional’ category at a function held in New Delhi re-
cently.
Mr. Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Develop-
ment, presented the Award to Mr. Bhattacharya in rec-
ognition of his multi-faceted entrepreneurial skills and for
his contribution in helping SAIL register a spectacular per-
formance setting new landmarks in physical and financial
performance.
Instituted by the management consultant, Top Rankers,
in association with the Graduate School of Business and
Administration (GSBA), Greater Noida, the Award is con-
ferred annually to top industry professionals for their out-
standing contribution in the fields of HR, marketing and
finance.
During the meltdown in 2008-09, converting challenges
into opportunities, Mr. Bhattacharya helped SAIL to earn a
respectable profit before tax of Rs. 9,403 crores. Under his
able guidance, SAIL and its plants received a number of
awards for excellence in cost management in 2008. The
company also received commendations from the Institute
Mr. Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Develop-
of Chartered Accountants of India for better financial re- ment, (left), presenting the GSBA- Top Rankers Excel-
porting practices and an annual report for 2007-08 in the lence Award 2009 to Mr. Soiles Bhattacharya, SAIL Di-
category of the manufacturing and trading enterprises. rector (Finance)


BTT-Jan-10.indd 16 1/12/2010 4:50:27 AM

insurance

liC business up by 35 per cent
L
ed by the country’s largest insurer Life In- of Rs. 2,391 crores in the first half of this fiscal.
surance Corporation (LIC), the life insur- SBI Life mostly benefited from the huge insurance
ance industry grew by 13 per cent in the premium that it mopped up in September. The com-
first half of the current fiscal by mopping up pany’s new business during the month stood at Rs.
Rs. 30,047-crore first year premium in April- 686 crores against ICICI Prudential’s Rs. 402 crores.
However, when compared to last year, SBI Life’s pre-
September period against Rs. 34,599 crores in
mium declined by around one per cent. In the first six
the corresponding period last year. The rise in
months of the last fiscal, its premium income stood at
the new businesses of life insurance space is
Rs. 2,405 crores.
mainly due to the robust 35 per cent growth In the private insurers’ league, Bajaj Allianz emerged
registered by LIC. third with new business collection worth Rs. 1,439
The largest insurer’s market share increased by over crores in the first six months of this fiscal. However, the
10 per cent to 66 per cent by garnering new busi- insurer saw a de-growth of 29 per cent. On the other
nesses of Rs. 25,814 crores in the first half. Its share hand, Reliance Life collected premium of Rs. 1,249
improved by 11 per cent from 55 per cent at the end crore in the April-September period against Rs. 1,473
of September last year. crore garnered during the corresponding period
During April-September 2008, LIC had mopped up last year.
first year premium of Rs. 19,091 crores against the Private life insurers, despite their lacka-
industry collection of Rs. 34,599 crores, accord- daisical performance during April-
ing to IRDA figures. On the other hand, the private September, are hopeful that the
life insurance industry has registered a decline of second half would be better
15 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal. than the first six months.
The 21 private insurers collected Rs. 13,232- According Reliance Life
crore first year premium during April-September Insurance President Malay
against Rs. 15,507 crores during the corre- Ghosh, “the average pre-
sponding period in 2008-09. mium per policy has im-
Private insurer ICICI Prudential was the proved during the month
worst hit as its premium dipped by 40 (September) and our focus
per cent in the first half of the on retail and non-single
current fiscal from the cor- segment, reduced cost and
responding period last year. enhanced profitability contin-
ICICI Prudential has in the ues.”
April-September period of this Private life insurer Max New
fiscal mopped up first year York Life expects 20-30 per cent
premium of Rs. 2,128 crores growth in new businesses in the
against Rs. 3,464 crores col- current fiscal, the company’s
lected in the corresponding Chief Operating Officer Rajit Me-
period last year. hta said. “In the second half of the
SBI Life, an insurance venture current financial year, business has
promoted by the country’s larg- started looking up. We are hoping
est lender SBI, has regained to report a good growth.”
the top position among private In 2008-09, Max New York
players with a premium income Life collected Rs. 1,843 crores


BTT-Jan-10.indd 17 1/12/2010 4:50:55 AM

insurance

first year premium. In the first six
months of the current fiscal, rise in
premium collection was also seen
Life insurance industry
in the non-life insurance space.
Non-life insurers have collected
registers robust growth
Rs. 16,819 crores as premium dur-
ing the April-September period, up The Indian life insurance indus- single premium policies. For the
by eight per cent over what was try appears to be coming out of April-October period, single pre-
mopped up in the same period last recession if the robust growth in mium policies witnessed a surge
year. the total premium data in the first of around 42 per cent, with inves-
According to figures released seven months of 2009-10 is any tors preferring non-linked policies
by the Insurance Regulatory and indication. As a matter of fact, signifying a clear trend towards
Development Authority (NRDA), the industry grew 18 per cent in traditional policies,” said Mr. S.B.
four public non-life or general the first six months, while in the Mathur, Secretary General, Life
insurers grew by 10.29 per cent first seven months the life insur- Insurance Council, while disclos-
during April-September and per- ance industry has reported a 21 ing the cumulative data for the
formed better than the private per cent growth in total premium seven-month period ended Oc-
players. (new business + renewal), ris- tober 2009.
Public insurers have raised Rs. ing to Rs. 1,20,503 crores in the Total benefit paid to policy-
9,991 crores as premium in the first April-October 2009 period from holders was Rs. 34,021 crores,
half of this fiscal against Rs. 9,059 Rs. 99,310 crores in the corre- an increase of over 25 per cent
crores during the corresponding sponding period last year. as compared to Rs. 27,179
period last year. Among them, As per latest data released by crores the previous year. Private
New India Insurance collected the the Life Insurance Council, re- life companies paid total benefits
maximum. It mopped up Rs. 3,027 newal premiums increased by of Rs. 6,996 crores, an increase
crores against Rs. 2,790 crores, around 24 per cent to Rs. 73,952 of over 101 per cent from Rs.
growing by 8.51 per cent. crores compared to the same pe- 3,469 crores.
In the private non-life insurance riod the previous year, while new Life insurance companies have
space, the largest private non-life business premiums increased more than 11,890 branches, of
insurer, ICICI Lombard, registered by around 18 per cent year-on- which 8,729 branches were set up
a decline of 16.28 per cent with to- year to Rs. 46,551 crores. Total by the private sector. The number
tal premium collection of Rs. 1,611 renewal premiums for regular of agents employed stood at
crores in the first six months of the unit-linked insurance plans (UL- 29,94,856 as of October 2009
current fiscal against Rs. 1,925 IPs) witnessed a growth of 42 compared to 27,64,528. The
crores. Bajaj Allianz premium de- per cent to Rs. 29,738 crores as capital deployed at Rs. 26,734
clined by 14.01 per cent. It col- compared to Rs. 20,878 crores. crores by life insurance compa-
lected Rs. 1,217 crores as against While non-linked premium stood nies has seen almost 25 per cent
Rs. 1,416 crores during the same at Rs. 44,214 crores, up from Rs. jump from Rs. 21,498 crores the
period last fiscal. 38,897 crores, total non-linked previous year.
However, Reliance General grew premiums increased by 27 per The Council’s mission is to play
by six per cent by collecting pre- cent to Rs. 67,685 crores, up a significant and complementary
mium worth Rs. 1,045 crores in from Rs. 53,215 crores. Total role in transforming India’s life
the first six months. Overall, private linked premiums rose by 15 per insurance industry into a vibrant,
non-life insurers have registered a cent to Rs. 52,818 crores, from trustworthy and strong sector
growth of 4.86 per cent. Rs. 46,094 crores. contributing to the overall devel-
- PTI Economic Service “The growth in the industry is opment of the economy.
propelled by low commission w


BTT-Jan-10.indd 18 1/12/2010 4:50:55 AM

banking investment

newgen asv system to reduce
bank transaction risks
Newgen Software Technologies a fake one. It automatically iden- response to the needs of its clients.
has announced introduction of a tifies changes in a person’s signa- The company is recognized by dis-
new feature in its cheque truncation ture and updates these changes in tinguished analyst firms like Frost
system (CTS). The innovative aspect a database to verify the legitimacy and Sullivan as ‘A Hot Company
called automatic signature verifica- of the signature. ASV ensures that to Watch for’ in their global ECM
tion (ASV) is the latest feature of the all cheques undergo the verifica- Market report 2009 and by IDC in
system which comes with increased tion process. its exclusive report “Newgen Soft-
operational efficiency and reduced Outlining the benefits of ASV, Mr. ware: Global Leader in Business
risks for banks. Diwakar Nigam, Managing Direc- Process Management and Docu-
ASV is a unique method to han- tor, Newgen, said this flexible solu- ment Management Solutions”.
dle the bank mandate scenarios tion can handle multiple reference With HSBC and SAP investment,
for the verification of signatures. signatures and manage a variety Newgen is one of the rare product
It extracts the signature from the of cheque formats. This would not companies to have the backing of
cheque and verifies it against ref- only reduce operational costs but both leading financial and tech-
erence signatures using more than also lead to reduced frauds. nology companies of the world.
65 parameters. Newgen has successfully de- Its Quality Systems are certified
This feature discovers intra-per- signed this system in line with the to ISO 9001:2008 and the Infor-
son variations in a signature and client needs and requirements. It mation Security Standard to ISO
enables banks to intelligently dis- has reiterated its position as an or- 27001:2005.
tinguish between an authentic and ganization which believes in quick w

capitalvia’s new service schemes
After recently launching its ‘Analysts Speak’, the breakout levels, etc.
Indore-based CapitalVia Global Research Ltd. has KYS is yet another milestone achieved by Cap-
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KYS is a free service that combines the internet of by visiting the website. By using the online sup-
technology, magic of computer programming and port, a person can chat with the company’s experts
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BTT-Jan-10.indd 19 1/12/2010 4:50:55 AM

it industry

How ramco Ondemand erP caters
to growing sme sector needs
By S. Sunderaraj, Senior Vice President - Enterprise Solutions Indian Operations, Ramco Systems

S
mall and medium market is a major challenge.
enterprises (SMEs) In the current scenario, for an
have become a key SME to sustain in the market and
focus area for a major- remain successful, it is impor-
ity of IT service provid- tant to work meticulously towards
ers who want to tap the streamlining business processes
growth potential of this which need to be innovative and
market. A report by AMI efficient enough to adapt to the
partners early this year market and business require-
has revealed that the ments. These integrated process-
es need not only include internal
SMEs in the country are
departments but also partners,
likely to spend $9.7 bil-
suppliers and customers, and it
lion on IT this year, an
can only be attained by using in-
increase of 22 per cent
formation technology which can
over the previous year. grow at 12 per cent and gen- support and drive business ob-
The dynamic growth in erate additional employment jectives. Consequently, this also
the vibrant SMB seg- of 4.4 million in the current fi- renders it possible to innovate
ment has also made a nancial year. However, some of and respond faster and adapt to
significant contribution the recent developments emerg- the globally changing business
to the GDP industrial
, ing out of the challenges of in- condition – a must for small and
production and exports. creased competition due to glo- mid-sized businesses.
With the aim of creating globalization, liberalization and the The growth and evolution of the
bally competitive enterprises, this pandemic global financial and SME sector has led to an increase
particular sector plays a domi- credit crisis put the targets un- in demand for IT solutions. Many
nant role in increasingly acquir- der stress. SMEs have complex smaller companies are not satis-
ing foreign companies to gain the business scenarios irrespective fied with their existing disparate
advantages of quick scale-up, of their size. One of the most solutions and legacy systems and
technology acquisition and inno- challenging tasks is to lower the are showing a keen interest in IT
vation. Since SMEs play such an total cost of operations and ad- solutions which provide maximum
important role in global mergers dress the market issues and de- business benefits.
acquisitions, strengthening the velopments. Many of the CIOs in the SME
sector domestically is essential so For most of the smaller SMEs, sector feel that hosted IT services
that they can leverage the ben- monitoring global issues and would help them to work more,
efits of globalization. dealing with complexities such spend less and gain remarkable
business challenges as multiple currencies, standards benefits by concentrating on their
The SME sector is expected to and languages prevailing in the


BTT-Jan-10.indd 20 1/12/2010 4:50:55 AM

it industry

businesses, rather than on man- The new generation of Soft- rity for mission-critical enterprise
aging IT. Standard applications ware as a Service offerings have applications has already enabled
enable them to integrate cus- standard features and have been several organizations to reap their
tomers and suppliers, streamline designed to integrate all the busi- benefits.
the supply chain, reduce time for ness processes. The software has Ramco OnDemand ERP is a
project deployment and optimize all the standard applications and powerful and proven growth ena-
portfolio management. Last but industry-specific functions which bler available on a subscription
not the least, integrated solutions otherwise have to be procured at basis, giving you the power to
facilitate better management of a high cost and take a lot of time grow. The solution is within reach
business complexities. and effort to deploy. As already and easy to deploy. Available for
key trends mentioned, success for most of small to mid-sized businesses
Studies reveal that SMBs that the small and mid-sized busi- looking for a low initial invest-
outsource their IT infrastructure nesses depends a lot on IT. Small ment and reduced overhead and
are utilizing the technology re- companies cannot afford to make maintenance, it is used by cus-
sources that bring in additional inappropriate investments in IT as tomers in over 1,000 locations
top-line revenues while improv- a failure may also affect the prof- every day.
ing bottom-line results. SMBs are itability of the company. Best practices built into the
mostly likely to use cutting-edge The new generation SaaS of- business processes in the Ramco
technologies and approaches ferings will enable SMEs to inte- OnDemand ERP solution ensure
such as Software as a Service grate and streamline the business companies leverage the experi-
(SaaS). Analysts are of the opin- processes and reduce the internal ence of hundreds of Ramco ERP
ion that the increase in use of dependency on IT departments. deployments. Configuration of the
hosted infrastructure models is There is no huge capital expendi- application to tailor it to specific
enabling smaller companies to ture involved while installing the company requirements typically
compete on an equal IT footing software, and there is an increase takes less than a week. And, as
with bigger enterprises. in ROI as the model facilitates the company expands, the solu-
SMBs are choosing a hosted in- “pay per user”. Usage of hosted tion can expand to accommodate
frastructure model as it provides applications is gaining momen- multiple locations, currencies and
organizations with software so- tum in the current scenario. In- organizations.
lutions that can be implemented troduction of ERP under the SaaS For details, visit www.ramcoon-
quickly, while avoiding the incre- model with enough functionality, demand.com
mental infrastructure costs and robustness and high level secu- w
eliminating the recurring adminis-
Mr. Sunderaraj heads Ramco Systems’ Business Consulting Group (BCG)
trative resources as in traditional and Indian Operations. BCG provides sales and business consulting serv-
on-premise applications. ices of enterprise application solutions and business analytics for different
The other area where SMEs are industries.
focused is on the issue of com- Prior to joining Ramco, he was heading the Retail - RFID Practice in
pliances. Software as a Service Wipro and has also worked in Oracle Corporation heading applications sup-
offerings ensure compliance with port, industry consulting, development product management and sales
the current statutory require- consulting functions.
Mr. Sunder has over 20 years of experience in the enterprise application
ments. For a solution to meet
software market with the last 10 years focusing on Supply chain Emerging
these requirements, it should be technology solutions like RFID, GPS, Mobile solutions for Global customers
quick and easy to deploy and in- in Retail, CPG, Manufacturing and Logistics Industries.
tegrate smoothly and help keep He holds a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics with specialization in
the cost of ownership as low as Computer Science from the Madras Institute of Technology, Anna Univer-
possible. sity.


BTT-Jan-10.indd 21 1/12/2010 4:50:55 AM

saLes marketing

‘value creators key to propel
growth in marketing’

Mr. B. Santhanam, President - Flat Glass South Asia, Managing Director, Saint Gobain Glass India Ltd., addressing the
convention

There is need for more creators of with each product, which is a key Marketing needs to reinvent it-
ideas in the marketing industry than function of marketing. self though we have added a few
managers themselves, according Marketing is perceived to be more Ps to the existing four four Ps
to Mr. Santosh Desai, Managing small, and there is an urgent need (product, price, place and promo-
Director CEO, Future Brands. to redefine the central purpose of tion), but that will not help market-
In his keynote address at the S’ marketing. A sense of meaning ing have its rightful place in any
Marketing Convention 2009 or- has to be created in people’s life organization. Marketers have to
ganized by the Confederation of through brands which will help the necessarily collaborate and co-ex-
Indian Industry (CII) in Chennai, Mr. company to grow, he added. ist to grow in the industry.
Desai said marketing is all about Mr. B. Santhanam, President - In the current environment, busi-
giving meaning to a product which Flat Glass South Asia, Managing ness strategists are filling the space
will change the life of people. Cus- Director, Saint Gobain Glass India of marketing, and there is an ur-
tomer behavior has to be studied Ltd., who was the chief guest on the gent need for a shift in mindset of
very extensively, and marketing occasion, said that incrementalisa- marketing professionals to re-in-
should play a key role in bridg- tion in marketing has to end, and vent ideas to move beyond com-
ing the gap between the customer there has to be a shift in focus from petition.
and the industry. Further, marketing engaged to non-engaged custom- Mr. K.S. Ramesh, Chairman – S’
professionals should understand ers in order to explore new avenues Marketing Convention, CII Tamil
the symbolic presence associated for growth. Nadu, in his address, said that


BTT-Jan-10.indd 22 1/12/2010 4:50:56 AM

saLes marketing

marketing is going through tough
times - the growth rates are slow,
little innovation is happening, and
hence there is an urgent need for
marketers to innovate and re-in-
vent to reclaim their right place in
industry.
Mr. C.K. Ranganathan, Chair-
man CII - Tamil Nadu, in his ad-
dress, emphasized the need for
a fundamental shift in thinking
among marketing professionals as
consumers have become more in-
telligent.
A few basic principles of market-
ing, however, remain the same, like
basic commonsense to market the A group photo of the industry dignitaries taken on the occasion
product considering the consumer
needs and the attitude towards customer satisfaction is utmost for he added.
marketing. The other important any company, and being simple to Ms. Anita Gupta, Senior Vice
tools are being cohesive by keep- the point where marketing helps President Managing Partner, JWT,
ing the consumer at the centre as gain more consumer acceptance, proposed a vote of thanks. w

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BTT-Jan-10.indd 23 1/12/2010 4:50:56 AM

environment

‘end to extractive relationship
with nature unavoidable’

At the IMC session in Mumbai are seen (from left) Dr. Partha Ghosh, Managing Director, Partha S. Ghosh Associates, Mr.
Dilip Dandekar, Vice President, Mr. Arvind Pradhan, Director General, Mr. P.N. Mogre, Chief Advisor, Mr. Jitendra Sanghvi, Dy.
Director General, and Mr. Dhananjay Samant, Chief Economist, Indian Merchants Chamber

“There is an urgent need to make celebrating scale-oriented thinking humanity. Our mindset is similar to
sustainability the mantra for the at the industrial level”. the one that prevailed before Co-
next 100 years, to create a new He pointed out that there are pernicus, when it was universally
civilization that does not extract currently three kinds of meltdown in believed that the whole universe
resources from the earth, use and progress – global economic crisis, revolved around the planet earth.
then discard them as waste. We an ecological crisis and an ethical For the survival of our planet, and
must change this extractive en- meltdown. To stop the meltdown, our civilization, we will now have
gagement with nature to an enrich- it is necessary to go beyond short- to think differently, engage with the
ing one,” according to Dr. Partha term macro-economic and techno- world differently, re-energize some
Ghosh, Managing Director, Partha logical fixes. of our Vedic thoughts and make
S. Ghosh Associates, a renowned The whole world is looking for a them relevant to the 21st century,”
strategic policy advisor. new leadership. India has to recog- Dr. Ghosh added.
Addressing the Indian Merchants nize that “we are at a point of inflec- Welcoming Dr. Ghosh earlier,
Chamber (IMC) on the theme, ‘To- tion, where everything that we have Mr. Dilip Dandekar, IMC Vice Presi-
wards a New Relationship Between done over the past couple of dec- dent, pointed out that the Cham-
Humanity and Nature’ in Mumbai, ades is quite meaningless”. A new ber motto for the year was ‘A Sus-
he said: “At an individual level, we renaissance in economic thinking, tainable Ecology for a Sustainable
are currently putting self over so- similar to the waves of renaissance Economy’.
ciety and society over nature, and and reformation that happened in Proposing a vote of thanks, Mr.
this is damaging nature. We are the 19th Century Bengal and post Jitendra Sanghvi, Dy. Director
deeply hooked to the ‘buy three get medieval European society, should General of the Chamber, remarked
one free’ model of marketing and set in. that sustainability and development
industrial production. This is dam- “The last 500 years of human en- have always been pitted against
aging the earth, because we need deavour have been human-centric. each other.
only a quarter of what we buy and It has all been about how to tinker
consume. It is now crucial to stop with nature to serve the growth of w


BTT-Jan-10.indd 24 1/12/2010 4:50:57 AM

Industrial growth beyond expectations

Industrial growth beyond expectations

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