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This Blog is all about Black Untouchables,Indigenous, Aboriginal People worldwide, Refugees, Persecuted nationalities, Minorities and golbal RESISTANCE.
The Bengali daily Sanbad Pratidin of 27 June 2009 carried a front-page news item which clearly shows that US intelligence agencies and the Indian space research centre, the ISRO are very much involved in this war declared by the central and WB state government against the people of Lalgarh. The report is captioned 'Chemical dyes and foreign technology used to locate Mao', and written by Rajarshee Dasgupta. This is a free translation.
"Goaltore: A literally 'high tech' war has started in Lalgarh.The names of both the US intelligence satellite and the Indian space research centre, ISRO have been tagged with this war preparation for regaining the areas held by the Maoists. On the other hand, in order to trace the Maoist guerrillas who have kept themselves mixed with the villagers, the administration has taken the help of the most modern technology. At the beginning of the second round of the 'Operation Lalgarh', the air force has dropped special chemical dyes over Murarka village adjoining the Burishol forest where 1,500 Maoist guerrillas are supposed to be holed up. In case that dye falls on the bodies of the guerrillas, that colour will last for one year. It means that after they are driven out from that area by the forces, they would take shelter in another village; it would thus be easy to identify them. As a result, the Maoists, on the one hand, would not be able to get themselves mixed up with the villagers; on the other hand, the police forces would not be accused of arresting innocent people while going for the Maoists. The first part in this 'high tech' war was successful on Friday(i.e,26 June). There will be a fresh expedition on Saturday. On that day, the administration has taken the decision to apply this special method.
For the last eight months, the police were totally in the dark about what had been taking place in the interior. It was only after decision was taken to undertake joint expedition that the state home department woke up from its slumber. They requested the central government to help them know about the whereabouts, base area, the location of the forces etc of the Maoist guerrillas inside the 'core area'. After a lot of discussion, it was decided that foreign technological assistance would be taken. The central home department also thought about satellite pictures. Accordingly, the government turned towards the ISRO and US technology. It was through RI Sat-2 and US intelligence satellite that areas such as Baroperlia, Kantapahari, Ramgarh, Mahultal, Kadashol, Pingboni, Goaltore on one side and Dhrampur and Jhitka on the other came under the satellite scanner. After continuous scanning, the two institutes started sending still pictures. Then army intelligence officers were called upon to analyze the data. The army intelligence officials sat down at the eastern army headquarter at Fort William, Kolkata and noticed the movement of a massive guerrilla army inside the Kadashol forest. They could also identify the movements of armed squads in Ramgarh-Narcha region. The news of a red Maruti van being parked in Ramgarh bazaar was communicated to police officials in charge of operations. On the basis of this information, the expedition started from Goaltore towards Ramgarh. More companies of the central forces were brought in. After that, order was given to those leading police supers, deputy supers and CRPF commandants for march. Ultimately, the expedition started on Friday(i.e, 26 June). As the forces had prior knowledge about the area, the joint forces could, with ease, capture the 6-km area from Goaltore to Kadashol by overcoming the difficulty posed by 12 landmines and the Maoist guns.
In course of the expedition, time and again did debate broke out over the question of how to separate Maoists from the villagers. It was to overcome this problem that the decision to drop one particular chemical from the helicopter was taken. On Friday, it was dropped on the Maoist guerrillas on an experimental basis. On different occasions in foreign countries and in many a war, this method was applied. It is in Lalgarh that for the first time in a state-led expedition, such things were applied against the secessionists(sic!). On the whole, it can be stated that from the satellite pictures to the dropping of helicopters—everything in the 'Operation Lalgarh' is 'high tech'".
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By a margin of 219 to 212, the House of Representatives has passed a landmark bill that would establish a federal cap-and-trade program for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The legislation proved divisive among Democrats, however, and gained the support of only eight Republicans. The Senate will now take up its own version of climate legislation.
For more details, see this article by my colleague John Broder. Readers, we welcome your reactions to the bill, below.
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country's top automaker, Tata Motors, Sunday launched its marquee car brands Jaguar and Land Rover in India, which it had acquired from the US car maker Ford.
I have already written Tara Chandra Tripathi, my GIC Teacher in Nainital and his experiences during japan tour on Japanese Economy Resources and Oil Consumption!
The most INDUSTRIALISED Society and the Economic super Power make up the limited available land and resources in the cluster of Barren Islands in most ECO Friendly way as they have managed to MINIMISE Oil Consumption despite being the leader in Auto Industry worldwide!
Who would DRIVE the Joy Ride and where, only God may say! Indian Road conditions tell the TRUTH. Cut and Paste Photos of Smooth Roads would never help. cities are so dense and so occupied, so overlapped and crowded, enchroached, that any WELFARE state should Ban ENTRY of Motors and Heavy Traffic in Urban and semi Urban Areas! You may not get roads to ply on the Branded cars in Rural areas either!
I would rather add some personal experiences!
India's Tata Motors said Friday that it suffered a loss of Rs 25.05 billion ($521.8 million) after taxes in the past fiscal year as the global meltdown exacted a toll on the auto industry worldwide.The loss came after a year in which the company recorded a profit of Rs 21.67 billion ($451 million) after taxes, the company said in a statement.
Auto Mobile Boost is the theme song of India Incs Ruling India and running the Periphery Colonial Government of India Incs led by Extra Constitutional elements like Montek and Nilekani violating Constitutional Propriety and Killing the Constitution as well as Parliamentray Dilects responsible to the People of this country!
Prime Ministers Council on Disinvestment lheaded by Private Sector ICON GP Goenka and the Disinvest commisions highlighted the Inefficieny of PSU Management and emphasised on Disinvestment or SELL OFF quoting Foreign Borrowing as the major cuase of the Balance of Payment Crisis. But it no where mentioned OIL Economy, automible consumption of energy for the Effluents as well as DEFENCE EXPENDITURE and Indian shooping list for the GLOBAL ZIONIST arms market while listing 84 PSUs and finalising the STRATEGIC Sale strategy, undrestandably!
It is quite an Amusement to read this Reuter story as follows:
UPDATE 1-India says rising oil prices a cause for concern
NEW DELHI, June 15 (Reuters) - Rising oil prices are "a cause for concern" for India and the government is exploring options, including an increase in retail prices to minimise its impact, Oil Minister Murli Deora told reporters on Monday.
Imports contribute over 70 percent of India's oil consumption. Oil prices, which fell from a peak near $147 a barrel last July to the low $30s late last year, have been buoyed recently by hopes of economic and demand recovery. By 0948 GMT, U.S. crude CLc1 was trading at $70.92 a barrel while London Brent crude LCOc1 for July, which expires later in the day, dipped $0.93 to $69.99.
"We are seriously concerned about that crude oil prices are going up in the international market," Deora said, adding this could be met by raising prices, issuing bonds and also the possibility of contributions from oil producers.
"These are the issues which finance ministry will decide," he said.
Deora said his ministry had also sought seven-year tax holiday for natural gas production. (Reporting By Nidhi Verma and Manoj Kumar; Edited by Ranjit Gangadharan)
Oil was first discovered in the U.S. in 1859. At the beginning of the 20th century it supplied only 4% of the world's energy; decades later it became the most important energy source.Today oil supplies about 40% of the world's energy and 96% of its transportation energy. Since the shift from coal to oil, the world has consumed over 875 billion barrels. Another 1,000 billion barrels of proved and probable reserves remain to be recovered.
From now to 2020, world oil consumption will rise by about 60%. Transportation will be the fastest growing oil-consuming sector. By 2025, the number of cars will increase to well over 1.25 billion from approximately 700 million today. Global consumption of gasoline could double.
The two countries with the highest rate of growth in oil use are China and India, whose combined populations account for a third of humanity. In the next two decades, China's oil consumption is expected to grow at a rate of 7.5% per year and India's 5.5%. (Compare to a 1% growth for the industrialized countries). It will be strategically imperative for these countries to secure their access to oil.
Hundred days` agenda of the Illuminati GOI India Incs makes Top Priority of DIVESTMENT, Deportation Drive, War against Terror and so on as per schedule of ethnic cleansing and Mass Destruction AGENDA under new Power axis emerging which consiosts of Pranab, Buddha as well as Mamata Chidambaram and SIBAL, Adwani and RSS, Nilekani and Montek and so on..
Proved oil reserves are those quantities of oil that geological information indicates can be with reasonable certainty recovered in the future from known reservoirs. Of the trillion barrels currently estimated, 6% are in North America, 9% in Central and Latin America, 2% in Europe, 4% in Asia Pacific, 7% in Africa, 6% in the Former Soviet Union. Today, 66% of global oil reserves are in the hands of Middle Eastern regimes: Saudi Arabia (25%), Iraq (11%), Iran (8%), UAE (9%), Kuwait (9%), and Libya (2%).
This morning I slept long hours as no phone call could wake me. My son Excalibur returned home from Morning walk and informed me that an accident occured just down the FLY Over on barasat Road, near Kanch Kal, near my home. Two persons were spot dead and several injured badly. It is nothing new. Since the Kalyani highway is connected to Barasat road two KM away from our place in sodepur, ALL Heavy Vehicles DIVERT via this Road avoiding crowdy BT Road and Barrackpur. But the Traffic remains same. We witness loss of Lives time to time.
But today the Overloaded Truck ran through a Book Shop breaking the Lamp Post as well as telephone post. It Disrupted Electricity, Cable Link and Water Supply in the area and all Telephones went DEAD. I could not get my Cell Phone recharged because we had no Electricity!
Indian Traffic is the most DEREGULATED sector. You may go through anywhere with Full Load RDX provided you pay everyone on duty!
The Local residents were agitated and we stopped the TRAFFIC for hours demanding DIVIDER and Speed breaker. It happens everytime. After some time, the Road becomes CLEARED and Overloaded heavy Vehicles run through the hearst of the people spreading the ULTIMATE Pollution. Auto Rickshaws have captured all roads run by Unemployed educated youths surrendering loyality to the Ruling Party. They make the REGIMENTED Gestapo! Doctored OIL KANTA Oil is used to pump poison in our Lungs. They may knock us anytime anywhere, and we may not protest.
On the DIWALI night, my son Steev was knocked by a MOTORBIKE while crossing BT Road. He was Injured but saved losing only four teeth as luckily the road was EMPTY and he was not RUN OVER!
That time, we got the informations that only during durga Puja festivals more than FIFTY Thousand new Motorbikes of different barnds take the roads without any valid licence or driving license. ZERO down payment and Finance available, make every family proud to have a MOTOR BIKE. On this line, the Marxist Capitalists tried their best that all Bengalies should have a car, the NANO. You know the History!
Following 9/11 and in light of the rise of radical Islam many have called for reduction of the dependency on Middle East oil. To offset the growing influence of Middle East producers, non-OPEC countries in Africa and Former Soviet Union have increased their production considerably. Many have even suggested that Russia could take on OPEC and help shift global oil supply away from the Middle East. The Washington Post even claimed that Moscow is "on its way to becoming the next Houston—the global capital of energy." And indeed, Russia's oil production increased to the point that it became the second largest exporter behind Saudi Arabia. But Russia's prospects of being a key player in the oil market in the long run are dim. Russia ranks seventh in proven oil reserves, holding only 5%. Its oil production peaked around 1999 and its reserves have been steadily declining since. That means that at current production rates, Russia will be out of the running by 2020.
Washington's search for reliable oil suppliers outside the Middle East has brought about an oil boom in many African countries like Angola, Nigeria, Guinea and Chad. But like Russia, Africa is hardly a bonanza. Its total reserves amount to 7% and its largest producer, Nigeria, will peak by the end of the decade. Africa will be out of the running by 2025.
Now, Leading the ambitious Unique Identification Database project, Nandan Nilekani, former Infosys co-chairman, is keen to take the "best people" from the government and outside in his core team.
"I am happy that the Prime Minister has reposed the trust in me," he told PTI.
On the flexibility of drawing resources to build his core team, he said, "It is a national effort. I would look for the best people. It could be from the government, from outside".
Asked whether his former colleagues would form part of the team, he said it was too early to say. "I want the best talent," he added.
The Unique Identification Database deals with "creating one large data base of record of a billion residents in India", including the biometric details and enrollments.
"It could be used for verification of antecedents of any person in India," he said.
On whether he would write some more books, he said: "I will be more busy now. It is a huge complex project. Where is the time to write books".
I have written about the experience of my GIC teacher Tara chandra Tripathi about the minimum OIL Consumption by the GREATEST producer of auto mobiles worlwide, JAPAN! Let me add some more personal experiences!
Tata Motors reported a consolidated gross revenue of Rs 741.51 billion ($15.44 billion) in 2008-2009. India's financial year runs from April 1 to March 31.
"The consolidated financial performance of the company is not comparable to 2007-08 on account of the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover in June 2008," it said.
The company said Jaguar Land Rover made a profit in 2007 and continued to do so in the first half of 2008.
But as the global meltdown caused vehicle financing and demand to dry up, Land Rover sales "fell considerably," the statement said. Jaguar, however, fared better with the launch of its XF sedan.
The company has taken several urgent and long term measures, including cutting costs drastically and working to align production with demand and control cash flows.
In May, the company said it had spent RS 78.1 billion ($1.7 billion) to fund the acquisition from Ford Motor Co.
Demand for creation of 10 new states before home ministry
Meanwhile,the Centre has received demands for creation of at least 10 new states, including a separate Mithilanchal in Bihar, Saurashtra in Gujarat and Coorg in Karnataka. A senior home ministry official said the demands were mostly received from organisations like Telengana Rashtra Samiti and Gorkha Janamukti Morcha and some other organisations and individuals.
The most vocal organisation TRS has placed its demand for creation of Telengana state, comprising Telengana region in Andhra Pradesh, a few years back while the GJM has been putting pressure to carve out Gorkhaland state out of Darjeeling and its adjoining areas in West Bengal.
The demand for creation of Bundelkhand state, comprising districts like Banda, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Sagar of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have been pending for long with the ministry, the official said, adding, though no state government has given any recommendation, which is mandatory for carving out a new state, the demands continue to pour in.
A demand for creation of Bhojpur state comprising areas of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh has also been received by the Ministry. Another demand for creation of a new state comprising Saurastha region of Gujarat, one of the most prosperous states, has also been pending with the Ministry for several years now. The Centre has received representations for creation of Harit Pradesh or Kisan Pradesh consisting several districts of Western Uttar Pradesh, the official said.
The Home Ministry has also received demands for creation of Mithilanchal or Mithila state comprising territories in Bihar, a new Greater Cooch Behar state out of parts of West Bengal and Assam, a Vidarbha state in Maharashtra and a state for the Coorg region of Karnataka. However, no decision has been taken by the Home Ministry in any of the representation for creation of a new state.
"Government takes decision on the matter of formation of new states after taking into consideration all relevant factors. Action by the government would depend on the felt need and general consideration," the official added.
Just read this:
India eyes tax holiday to lift energy sector
By Joe Leahy and Varun Sood in Mumbai
Published: June 23 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 23 2009 03:00
India's cabinet is trying to resolve a dispute over whether to grant all operators in the oil and gas industry a seven-year tax holiday in a bid to get its exploration industry off the ground again.
The finance ministry last year excluded natural gas from the tax holiday offered to other exploration companies in a step that affected Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani , which is developing the country's biggest gas discovery, the KG Basin.
"The cabinet is looking at this issue now," said a person familiar with the negotiations. India urgently needs to develop its oil and gas reserves to lessen its dependence on imports, which account for nearly three-quarters of domestic consumption.
There have been seven rounds of auctions by the government of exploration blocks, in a scheme known as the National Exploration Licensing Policy.
The Nelp scheme has been lauded forrevolutionising oil exploration in India because it provided operators with a transparent way to tender for blocks. Bidders were further encouraged by the seven-year tax holiday provided to exploration companies under the scheme.
But last year, the seventh round of the Nelp auctions ran into trouble after the removal of the tax holiday for natural gas exploration companies.
The move affected state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation as well as Reliance, whose KG Basin is seen as the poster boy of India's modern exploration efforts.
The field, which began production earlier this year, will provide 40 per cent of India's domestic hydrocarbon production when it reaches full capacity of 80m standard cubic metres a day of production.
The government is now contemplating launching an eighth round of Nelp auctions but first needs to sort out the tax issue.
The issue comes as Mr Ambani's Reliance Industries is also locked in a court battle with Reliance Natural Resources, a company controlled by his estranged younger brother, Anil Ambani, over the price of the gas. The Bombay High Court has ordered the pair to discuss an out-of-court settlement to a dispute in which Reliance Industries is seeking to provide gas to Reliance Natural Resources at a higher price than the brothers had allegedly earlier agreed.
The other predicament facing the government and state-owned oil companies as they try to get India's oil industry into shape is whether to raise domestic oil prices. With the price of crude having recently increased to about $70 a barrel from about $50 a barrel in late April, the Indian government is facing a huge bill for fuel subsidies.
The high-powered committee set up by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to look into the multi-crore fraud at erstwhile Satyam Computer will submit its report on July 9.
"We will submit the report to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on July 9 after we finalise the report at the final internal meeting by the committee on July 4 at Agra," ICAI President U P Agarwal told PTI.
He was in the city for the convocation programme of the institute's eastern region chapter held today.
Agarwal heads the high-powered committee, which has six other members, and it looks into financial reporting, accounting and auditing aspects with regard to the Satyam fiasco, reviews the shortcomings and recommends plugging loopholes against such frauds.
Declining to go into the report aspects, he said, "We want that chartered accountants should be empowered so that they can force the management to change the accounting of a company if they think it is not in best of the practice."
Speaking about the profession at the current economic scenario, Agarwal said, "Recession has no impact on our profession." In the campus placement this year, total 600 students were placed. The average salary had increased to Rs 6.91 lakh from Rs 5.7 lakh last year.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Tata Motors launches Jaguar, Land Rover brands in India
Chairman Tata Group Ratan Tata, left, walks on the stage during the India launch of Jaguar and Land Rover at right as Jaguar Land Rover CEO David Smith, centre, and Land Rover Managing Director, Phil Popham, right, look on in Mumbai, India, Sunday, June 28, 2009. India's Tata Motors said Friday that it suffered a loss of Rs. 25.05 billion ($521.8 million) after taxes in the past fiscal year as the global meltdown exacted a toll on the auto industry worldwide. Tata had acquired Jaguar Land Rover in June 2008.
Mumbai: The country's top automaker, Tata Motors, Sunday launched its marquee car brands Jaguar and Land Rover in India, which it had acquired from the US car maker Ford.
"It's quite a memorable day in the history and heritage of Tata Motors... JLR has been well received and well established in India (in the past), but over the years this brand has been disconnected from India," Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata told reporters here announcing the launch. "Now, we have decided to extend the penetration of the two brands in India," Tata said.
"I think the cars will exhibit the levels of technology and levels of performance here," he said, adding the two brands would give Indian public an opportunity to experience the "pleasure of driving the superior technology".
Tata Motors completed the acquisition of the two British marquee car brands last year for $2.3 billion. To fund this, Tata Motors had taken $3 billion bridge loan.
Asked about the current status of JLR asking for financial assistance from the UK government, Tata said: "We are in discussion with the UK government on loan guarantee. We are hopeful that we will find a solution to it. Our funding plans for JLR will progress further...."
Government hiring the services of corporate honchos to improve the quality governance is common in the West, but it was unheard of in India until 1987 when the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi appointed a reputed technocrat Sam Pitroda to head the National Knowledge Commission which heralded the Telecom revolution in the country. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh followed Rajiv's precedent in appointing Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani, the Indian IT industry's global face, to head the most ambitious e-governance initiative of the UPA, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). In picking Nilekani for the post, Manmohan was influenced not only by his impressive corporate record, but also by Nilekani's recent book `Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation'. In this book, Nandan discusses topics such as the future of India, its recent history, the ideas and attitudes that evolved with the times and contributed to the country's progress, its young population and infrastructure. Manmohan was keen to induct Nilekani into his Cabinet to take care of a ministry like HRD, but he couldn't do so as Sonia Gandhi wanted Caninet posts to go to politicians so as to ensure accountability to the people.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Country's top-10 cos add Rs 17,562 cr in a week
Mumbai: The countrys top-10 firms added over Rs 17,000 crore to their market capitalisation last week, with Larsen & Toubro contributing the major chunk.
The coveted club, which comprises of four private sector and six public companies, turned positive after two weeks and added Rs 17,562 crore to its total market value at Rs 15,72,541 crore.
Last week, total market cap of the companies stood at Rs 15,54,979 crore.
Private sector engineering major Larsen and Toubro was the biggest gainer during the week ended June 26, adding Rs 6,748 crore to its market-cap, taking its total valuation to Rs 94,457 crore.
Shares of L&T surged nearly 8 per cent to settle at Rs 1,611.20 at the end of the Friday's trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Last week, the firm's market-cap stood Rs 87,709 crore.
Nifty resistance seen at 4,450
Smart gains on Friday helped the Sensex close the week on a positive note. The index dropped to a low of 14,017 in the early part of the week due mainly to significant weakness in the Reliance and ONGC scrips. However, the index rallied to a high of 14,782, up 765 points from the week's low.
The Sensex finally closed the week with a gain of 1.7 per cent, or 243 points, at 14,765. More action was seen on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) with futures & options expiry on Thursday and the Nifty going free-float a day later.
Among the Sensex stocks — Jaiprakash Associates was the major gainer, up nearly 10.5 per cent. Larsen & Toubro, ACC, HDFC, Grasim, ICICI Bank and Bhel were the other major gainers. On the other hand, Sun Pharma crashed 13 per cent. Ranbaxy, Tata Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra were the other prominent losers.
With the Railway Budget to be presented by the next weekend, and the Union Budget a couple of days later, the entire focus is likely to be on these major events. A clear direction for the markets may emerge after the presentation.
Technically, the Sensex looks set to re-test the 15,000-mark, and is likely to show strength above the 15,250-level only. On the downside, the index may find support around 14,300-14,470.
The NSE Nifty moved in a range of 209 points, from a low of 4,413, the index moved up to a high of 4,352, before settling with a gain of 62 points at 4,376.
The Nifty is likely to face some resistance around its short-term (20-days) daily moving average at 4,450. The mid-term trendline support is seen around 4,050. This week, the index may find support around 4,300-4,250.
Source: PTI, Business Standard
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Leaving India was my biggest challenge: L N Mittal
"The biggest crisis or challenge I faced I believe is when I left India. I did not have any exposure to the global market global situation and I landed up in a country (Indonesia) I never knew about. That was the biggest challenge," Mittal, chairman and CEO of steel behemoth ArcelorMittal, told private broadcaster CNBC TV18.
However, admitting that ArcelorMittal did not anticipate a crisis of this magnitude, Mittal maintained that the company acknowledged the slowdown and was the first one to resort to cost-cutting measures.
Mittal, 58, born in Sadulpur in Rajasthan, parted ways with his father and brother and took over the international affairs of the family business and left for Indonesia a little more than three decades ago. Mittal had founded the Mittal Steel Company in 1976.
The London-based industrialist, who has received many international and national honours including the Padma Vibhushan in January last year, guided his company's strategic development, culminating in the more than $32 billion merger deal with Arcelor, in 2006.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
5 more US banks fail, toll mounts to 45 this year
Washington: Five US banks with total assets of about $1.04 billion were seized by regulators, pushing this year's tally of failures to 45 as a recession drives up unemployment and home foreclosures.
Community Bank of West Georgia, in Villa Rica, Georgia; Neighborhood Community Bank of Newnan, Georgia; Horizon Bank of Pine City, Minnesota; MetroPacific Bank of Irvine, California; and Mirae Bank of Los Angeles were closed yesterday by state regulators, according to statements from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC). The FDIC was named receiver of the four banks.
Wilshire Bancorp's Wilshire State Bank will take over all of Mirae's $362 million in deposits, and will purchase $449 million of assets, the FDIC said in a statement. Sunwest Bank of Tustin, California, acquired most of MetroPacific's $73 million in deposits and $80 million in assets, the FDIC said.
Stearns Bank of St Cloud, Minnesota, bought Horizon Bank's $69.4 million of deposits. Stearns will purchase $84.4 million of Horizon's assets, the FDIC said.
Source: Business Standard
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Pakistan remains among top 10 'failed states'
Washington: Pakistan, split in the middle with terrorist attacks and facing an economic crisis, remains among the top 10 failed states, says an index prepared by the renowned Foreign Policy journal.
The country, placed ninth among all countries last year in terms of its overall achievement, has improved its position only by a notch - it is placed 10th in the index for 2009 published in the July-August issue of the journal.
The annual exercise, now in its fifth year, is carried out by the journal and Fund for Peace, an independent research organisation.
The ranking is done on the basis of the following factors: demographic pressure, refugees/internally displaced persons (IDPs), group grievance, uneven development, economic decline, delegitimisation of the state, public service, human rights, factionalised elites and external intervention.
The top 10 failed states in the latest list are: Somalia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Guinea and Pakistan.
India is placed 87th among the 177 countries under study, with its score showing an improvement over the previous year. But its neighbours fare badly in this ranking, with Sri Lanka placed 12th, Bangladesh 19th and Nepal 25th.
At the other end of the spectrum, the bottom 10 in the list are the top achievers: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands.
Foreign Policy noted that it is "a sobering time" for the world's most fragile countries, what with the global financial meltdown, natural disasters, and government collapse.
"Yemen may not yet be front-page news, but it's being watched intently these days in capitals worldwide. A perfect storm of state failure is now brewing there... Many worry Yemen is the next Afghanistan: a global problem wrapped in a failed state.
"It's not just Yemen. The financial crisis was a near-death experience for insurgency-plagued Pakistan, which remains on IMF life support...All indications are that 2009 will bring little to no reprieve," the journal said.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Oil & Gas
India is one of the top 10 oil-consuming countries in the world. Oil and gas represent over 40 per cent of the total energy consumption in India. The consumption of petroleum products in the country is on the rise and demand already far exceeds domestic supply. Therefore, the country has to depend largely on imports.
• The country's existing annual crude oil production is peaked at about 32 million tonnes as against the demand of about 110 million tonnes.
• With inadequate crude production, the country is heavily dependent on imports. Crude is the single largest item on India's import list. Estimates show that the demand is likely to grow at a faster pace over the next decade if India is to maintain the GDP growth target of 8 per cent. This implies larger imports unless new domestic oil reserves are found. With this in view, the government announced the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 2000. With a view to ensure long term energy security, the government is also building oil and gas equity abroad.
Table: Imports of Crude Oil
Year Crude oil Import
Quantity (MMT) Value (INR bn)
1996-97 33.90 183.37
1997-98 34.49 158.72
1998-99 39.81 199.07
1999-2000 57.80 400.28
2000-01 74.10 659.32
2001-02 84.90 781.16
Source: Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Source:
1 US$ = INR 48 approx.
• The country's refining capacity is currently at around 115 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). The refinery sector has witnessed a capacity enhancement with the commissioning of the 27 million tonne Reliance Petroleum refinery going on-stream, as well as expansion of existing refineries belonging to the state-owned oil company, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The Reliance Petroleum Refinery at Jamnagar is the world's largest single stream refinery. A number of refineries both in the public and private sectors are currently under construction.
• Natural gas production in 2000-01 was 29.48 billion cubic metres and this has increased marginally in 2001-02. Currently, public sector companies like Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), Oil India Limited (OIL), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), IOC and others dominate gas production and marketing. The country does not currently import gas but is set to become a major LNG importer in 2004 with commissioning of LNG terminals in Gujarat.
• India has a very strong retail infrastructure comprising over 17,000 petrol stations, around 6,500 kerosene depots and over 5,500 domestic LPG dealers.
• The Reliance group which was awarded off-shore blocks under the NELP has struck (October, 2002) significant gas reserves of approximately 5 trillion cubic metres in the Krishna-Godavari basin which can produce about 40 MMSCMD. This is the largest gas find the world over in 2002 and the biggest in India over the past decade.
Policy Initiatives
• The deregulation of the petroleum sector has been completed on schedule (March 2002) with the government completely dismantling the administered pricing mechanism for all petroleum products except kerosene and LPG. As a result, the petroleum product prices will be market determined and the marketing companies will be free to set prices.
• The government offers both off-shore and on-shore exploration blocks under the NELP for Indian and foreign private participants. Several exploration blocks have already been given out in the first two rounds of NELP. Currently the third round NELP III of bidding out blocks is on. A total of twenty-seven blocks, covering eleven on land, seven shallow-water offshore and nine deep-water offshore have been offered by the government for exploration. So far, contracts with private investors have been signed for 47 blocks in the two rounds of licensing. The recent Reliance discovery of major natural gas reserve has given a major impetus for new explorations.
• The government has also decided to bid out coal bed methane (CBM) blocks. The government has invited bids from both foreign and domestic companies for 7 CBM sites. Custom duty concessions have been extended by the government on import of equipment used for exploration of CBM.
• The government allows 100 per cent foreign equity in private refining ventures. However, FDI in refineries promoted by public sector companies is restricted to 26 per cent. Foreign equity participation in petroleum product marketing has been capped at 74 per cent. Foreign equity investment in oil and gas pipeline projects is currently restricted to 51 per cent.
• The government has allowed private companies to market petroleum products in the country provided that the private company either produces 3 million tonnes or more per annum of crude or has invested over US$ 400 million in the country's oil and gas related infrastructure sector.
• In order to improve the viability of stand-alone refineries, the government has linked them to the major public sector oil companies.
Opportunities
• The entire gamut of exploration & production, refining, transportation & distribution and retail marketing activities present opportunities for FDI:
• Production sharing contracts for oil and gas exploration under NELP
• Supply of crude oil
• Supply of gas
• LNG import and transportation
• Setting up refineries
• Marketing petroleum products including LPG
• Setting up of petroleum infrastructure like storage facilities, pipelines, etc
• Retail marketing of transportation fuels
• As part of its divestment strategy, the government is likely to privatise some of the major public sector oil companies in the near future. This provides a good investment opportunity for entrepreneurs looking at investing in this sector, or entering the petroleum retail market.
US president Barack Obama has set in motion a national policy that is expected to make cars and trucks in the country 30 per cent more fuel efficient by 2016.
The policy is also expected to cut 900 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vehicles between 2012 and 2016. This is equal to taking 177 million cars off America's roads. The move has come after two decades of allowing oil-guzzling in the auto sector.
The target is to reduce GHG emissions from the current fleet-wide average of 219 grammes/km for new vehicles to 155 g/km by 2016. The fuel economy level of passenger vehicles will be increased to 35.5 miles per gallon (15.09 km/litre) between 2012 and 2016. This will compel auto makers to improve fuel efficiency by 5 per cent every year. The previous administration had put off the implementation of these targets to 2020.
It is the first time the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will control GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act. Until now the Act was controlling only health-threatening air pollution. Now it will control not just the CO2 exhaust directly linked to fuel burnt, but also other warming gases. These include methane, nitrous oxide emissions from catalytic converters, CO2 emissions from car air-conditioning and HFC or refrigerant emissions due to leakage from car air-conditioners. Emissions associated with the production of fuel used by vehicles will also be regulated.
The administration expects to save 1.8 billion barrels (208 billion litres) of oil over the life of the programme. The saving represents seven-eight per cent of the fuel consumed by vehicles in 2016. As old vehicles are replaced with new ones, fuel savings will increase further.
Even after meeting these targets the US in 2016 will not catch up with the levels Europe and Japan have already achieved. It will only match the current fuel economy level of China. This is evident from the comparison of GHG emissions from new vehicles across regions done by the US-based International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) that has been pushing for these regulations.
"The US is starting the push from far behind in the race. New cars in the country are still, on average, 50 per cent heavier than Europe's cars, and have 75 per cent more power than Europe's," Lee Schipper, transportation expert at the University of California, Berkeley, said. Cheap fuel, obsession with big, powerful cars and weak climate mitigation had blocked the country's progress towards fuel efficiency. Despite taking the lead in setting fuel economy standards in the wake of the 1973-74 oil crisis, the US lost ground after the 1980s. It failed to update and tighten the standards with new technologies.
Transportation experts point out the key element of the new rules is that they require sharp improvement in a short period. Said John German of ICCT: "The Federal government may not have done anything in quite a while. But it is now on track. From 1995 to 2015, while Europe will increase the fuel economy of its fleet by 42 per cent, the new US rule will bring a 30 per cent improvement in five years." If the air-conditioning improvement is not taken into account the US annual improvement during 2011 - 2016 will be 5 per cent, against 1.8 per cent for Europe between 1995 and 2015. "That's close to three times the rate of Europe," said German.
The new policy has helped resolve a dispute that marred progress towards GHG emission standards in the US. California has stayed ahead of the rest of the US in air quality regulations, thanks to a special permission given by EPA under the Clean Air Act to set tougher than national standards. The state has also pushed for imposing its own GHG limits. But EPA denied permission, saying California did not experience any unique or unusual risk from climate change. Some states sued EPA for failing to limit GHG emissions. In 2007, in response to the lawsuits the country's top court directed that GHG emissions are air pollutants and can be regulated under the Act. But EPA will have to determine that GHGs endanger public health. California still needed the permission.
Negotiations over the new rules resolved this tangle. EPA has put out a draft that examines public health risks from climate change and proposes to set national GHG standards, which are the same as California wanted. California agreed to defer its demand to set own targets. Auto makers, who did not like California's proposal to set its own GHG standards for vehicles, have had to accept the new federal laws. The auto industry had sued California, claiming the state had overstepped its authority. It argued that CO2 emissions are linked to global warming and such standards are tantamount to having fuel economy standards, which only the federal government can impose. It also sued other states that opted for California's proposal.
The industry opposition is now partly diffused because the new rules will be uniformly enforced across the US. "Sharp emissions cuts needed in a short period in the US market, dominated by big petrol vehicles, will need significant technological advancement," US vehicle technology expert Michael Walsh said. This is a little different from other markets that tend to have smaller and less powerful vehicles, including the diesel ones, that make their fleet more fuel efficient. US auto makers will have to work on gasoline engines, bring more hybrids as the rate of improvement needed is high. Vehicles may also get lighter with lower power and acceleration.
Diesel cars that are relatively more fuel efficient may see a moderate growth in the US. European manufacturers are pushing diesel vehicles. American and Japanese manufacturers are less aggressive on diesel vehicles in the US market. Limited supply of diesel and diesel prices that can be more than gasoline have prevented growth in the number of diesel cars in the US. In India and Europe diesel is cheaper. "Indeed, Ford, GM, Chrysler, all have strong positions in the European market, meeting their tighter CO2 emission limits. Therefore, their challenge is selling a European-style mix of power and weight in the US market," Schipper said.
While major vehicle-producing regions, including China, have begun to regulate fuel economy or CO2 emissions from vehicles to become energy and climate secure, India is yet to take the first step. The Indian car industry has lobbied to block such regulations. The industry's programme of voluntary declaration of fuel efficiency began in January 2009 to stave off criticism for not sharing fuel economy data with consumers. This is not backed by an official programme. India has an advantage: its overwhelmingly small-car fleet. The CO2 equivalent of its fleet efficiency is estimated at 140-145 g/km by industry and research bodies. This is better than the current European level. But India is on the verge of losing this advantage since the number of cars is exploding and there is a shift towards bigger cars and SUVs. To make it worse, the auto industry has mounted pressure on the government to waive off the special excise duty on SUVs. If the government gives in, the fuel economy of the fleet will plummet, shooting up oil consumption.
Early this year concerned Union ministries decided to have mandatory fuel economy standards and a fuel efficiency labelling programme for cars to strengthen energy security. The consensus could be reached after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) intervened. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, an autonomous regulator under the power ministry, will develop the standards and the labelling programme. Enforcement will be the responsibility of the shipping, road transport and highways ministry. In early June the PMO sent a letter to the power ministry asking it to expedite fuel economy standards.
The Indian auto industry cannot escape these regulations. But it is insisting on having them on the basis of CO2 emissions and not mileage that consumers understand. The National Climate Action Plan and National Energy Policy have attached primacy to energy security and asked for fuel economy standards in mileage terms. This will also help in climate mitigation.
The regulations need to be hastened. Most increase in India's fuel consumption by 2030 will be driven by light-duty vehicles, mainly cars growing at an annual rate of 10 per cent. The challenge in India is to protect the current baseline and not get isolated in the global race.
Stock market traders are keenly aware the finance minister has a tough time ahead of him on budget day, but so far, they've been reluctant to bet against him pulling a rabbit out of his hat.
Given the well-known difficulties the government faces in expanding the fiscal deficit, there has been a remarkable reluctance by the bears, who were badly burnt after the election results, to build up short positions ahead of the budget. That is why the rollover in Nifty futures was so low.
As a note by Anagram Securities Ltd points out, "Short side traders are wary of losing money on a positive budget, like they lost it on election results. If the budget is positive, there will be a rush to close long derivative positions and if it disappoints, there won't be a buying support which usually exists from short sellers." That means the downside risk in case the budget disappoints is high.
The chart shows that of the 18 Union budgets presented since liberalization, the market was lower in 14 instances a month after the budget. Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint
On the other hand, it can be argued that much of the expectations from a good budget have already been factored in. A large part of the liquidity that rushed to Indian markets after the election results was riding on hope that the verdict would unleash a raft of policy changes. For instance, analysts have been predicting a rise in spending on infrastructure, but that seems to be already built into the price, with the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) Capital Goods Index rising 51% from its close on 15 May (before the election results were announced), compared with a 21% rise in the Sensex.
The BSE Power Index, reflecting the renewed emphasis on the power sector, is up 31% since 15 May.
The broad expectations from the budget are well-known: spending on both physical and social infrastructure, possibly higher food subsidies and the provision of low-cost housing to meet election promises, some sectoral sops, a possible withdrawal of sops on sectors doing well such as services, a plan for disinvestment, some reforms such as hiking foreign direct investment limit for insurance and much talk on reining in the fiscal deficit in the future.
The key dilemma for the government, of course, is how to give another dose of fiscal stimulus without raising an alarm about the deficit. Since it's necessary to give a signal to international investors that the government is serious about wanting to curb the deficit and since capital inflows are important in keeping interest rates low, it's important for the government not to stretch the deficit. At the same time, much of the recent improvement in the economy has been on the back of government spending. How will they reconcile these objectives? HSBC economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde says, "The finance minister will attempt to square the circle by arguing that the various programmes will be financed from stronger economic growth (expect some bullish growth projections), with the sale of government stakes in some state-controlled companies also helping out. The trouble with this approach is that many of the spending measures are likely to be permanent in nature while the divestments are one-off. In other words, the structural budget deficit is in danger of rising when it should be falling."
Higher than previously estimated receipts from the auction of third-generation telecom licences will also help and the government is likely to try and fund a part of the infrastructure push through the private sector by offering more incentives.
Consumption is likely to be shored up through the various rural spending programmes. Morgan Stanley estimates show that extra government spending in FY09 amounted to 8.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), with an additional fiscal stimulus of 2.4% of GDP, the Sixth Pay Commission largesse of 0.4% of GDP, a farm loan waiver amounting to 1.1% of GDP, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme spending of 0.6% of GDP and fertilizer and oil subsidies of 2.1% and 1.9% of GDP, respectively.
Nevertheless, as Macquarie economist Rajiv Malik points out, "The improving outlook also diminishes the need for a big-bang stimulus package."
As the chart shows, of the 18 Union budgets presented since liberalization, the market was lower in 14 instances a month after the budget. But as Morgan Stanley's India strategist Ridham Desai has argued, "This time—since we expect the finance minister to deliver a reform-oriented budget—history may not necessarily be relevant." That's what the bears are afraid of.
Developed and manufactured in India, the Hyundai i10 is a symbol of the technological prowess of the Indian automotive industry.[1]
The automobile industry in India—the tenth largest in the world with an annual production of approximately 2 million units—is expected to become one of the major global automotive industries in the coming years.[2] A number of domestic companies produce automobiles in India and the growing presence of multinational investment, too, has led to an increase in overall growth.[3] Following the economic reforms of 1991 the Indian automotive industry has demonstrated sustained growth as a result of increased competitiveness and relaxed restrictions.[3] The monthly sales of passenger cars in India exceed 100,000 units. [4]
In 1953, the government of India and the Indian private sector initiated manufacturing processes to help develop the automobile industry, which had emerged by the 1940s in a nascent form.[8] Between 1970 to the economic liberalization of 1991, the automobile industry continued to grow at a slow pace due to the many government restrictions.[8] A number of Indian manufactures appeared between 1970-1980.[8]Japanese manufacturers entered the Indian market ultimately leading to the establishment of Maruti Udyog.[8] A number of foreign firms initiated joint ventures with Indian companies.[8]
Following the economic reforms of 1991, the automobile section underwent delicensing and opened up for 100 percent foreign direct investment.[3] A surge in economic growth rate and purchasing power led to growth in the Indian automobile industry, which grew at a rate of 17% on an average since the economic reforms of 1991.[3] The industry provided employment to a total of 13.1 million people as of 2006-07, which includes direct and indirect employment.[3] The export sector grew at a rate of 30% per year during early 21st century.[3] However, the overall contribution of automobile industry in India to the world remains low as of 2007.[3] Increased presence of multiple automobile manufacturers has led to market competitiveness and availability of options at competitive costs.[3] India was one of the largest manufacturers of tractors in the world in 2005-06, when it produced 2,93,000 units.[3] India is also largely self-sufficient in tyre production, which it also exports to over 60 other countries.[3] India produced 6.5 crore tyres in 2005-06.[3]
Pran Tiku (2008)—on the subject of automobile industry in India—holds:
India's car market has emerged as one of the fastest growing in the world. The number of cars sold domestically is projected to double by 2010, and domestic production is skyrocketing as foreign makers are setting up their own production plants in India. The government's 10-year plan aims to create a $145 billion auto industry by 2016.
According to McKinsey & Company, the auto sector's drive to lower costs will push outsourcing. The auto sector could be worth $375 billion by 2015, up from $65 billion in 2002. McKinsey thinks India could capture $25 billion of this amount. Out of 400 Indian suppliers, 80 percent have the ISO 9000 certificate—the international standard for quality management.[10]
The production of automobiles in India is largely aimed at local consumers.[10] Several Indian manufacturers also export a diverse variety of auto components.[11] Tiku (2008) predicts a sale of 42 lakh four wheeler automobiles in India by 2015.[12] Indian passenger vehicle exports are also expected to rise from 1,70,000 in 2006 to 5,00,000 in 2010.[11]
A number of car plants in India export some of their cars from there to generate greater volumes of production in order to achieve the economies of scale and be profitable. These are:
Ashok Leyland is a commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Chennai, India. In 1948, Ashok Motors was set up in what was then Madras, for the assembly of Austin Cars. The Company's name changed soon with equity participation by British Leyland and Ashok Leyland commenced manufacture of commercial vehicles in 1955. Ashok Leyland has six manufacturing plants: a plant at Ennore near Chennai, two plants at Hosur (called Hosur I and Hosur II, along with a press shop), and the assembly plants at Alwar and Bhandara.
18 seater to 82 seater double-decker buses, 7.5 tonne to 49 tonne in haulage vehicles, special application vehicles, and diesel engines for industrial, marine and genset applications.
Force Motors, formerly Bajaj Tempo, is a Pune-based manufacturer of a number of commercial vehicles
Gas-cylinder carrier, copied from 3-wheel Vidal & Sohn Tempo-Werke (German) Hanseat; Matador, a version of Hanomag van and light-truck (1.5 tonne payload); Tempo-traveller, Indian version of Daimler-BenzT-1 transporter; Man-Force Trucks, licensed version of MAN AG trucks; and UV's copied from Daimler-Benz.
Hindustan Motors is one of the oldest Indian car manufacturers in India. It is perhaps best known for the Ambassador which has remained virtually unchanged for about 30 years. It is still very popular as a taxi and is widely used by Indian politicians.
Trekker (discontinued), Landmaster (discontinued), Contessa (discontinued)—5th generation Vauxhall Victor, and the Ambassador—a version of the 1950s Morris Oxford.
The automotive section of Mahindra started off when a first batch of seventy five Utility Vehicles (UVs) was imported in CKD condition from Willys in 1947. It presently manufactures Jeeps along with agricultural equipment and light trucks.
Maruti Suzki (formerly Maruti Udyog) was formed as a partnership between the Government of India and Suzuki of Japan. It brought India its first "affordable" car, the Maruti 800. It is the biggest car manufacturer in India and especially dominant in the small car sector. Then it brought out the Maruti 1000, made by Maruti Udyog was the first ever contemporary sedan-type car launched in India. The car (which Suzuki sold in other countries as the Cultus/Swift/Geo Metro with a 1.3 L or 1.6 L engine) was introduced in October, 1990. Sold at Rs. 3.81 lakh, it was back then the costliest car released in the Indian market. Then the company replaced it with Esteem and from that days on a line of Suzuki cars rolled out in the Indian market.
Walchand Hirachand started Premier Automobiles Ltd. (PAL) in 1942. They assembled DeSoto and Plymouth cars in 1946 in association with Chrysler from the United States. They also manufactured the Premier Padmini which was a version of the Fiat 1100.
REVA Electric Car Co. is the producer of the Reva (G-Wiz), an electric car intended for use as a City car. More REVAs have been produced than any other currently selling electric car and sales are increasing. It is currently the world's leading electric car manufacturing company.
Tata Motors, formerly known as TELCO, is the largest automobile manufacturer in India and commands more than 70% of the commercial vehicle market in India and has also increased its share of passenger vehicle market. It was responsible for developing India's first indigenous vehicle, the Indica. It has proved to be a success in the market after initial quality problems. The company also exports the car to many countries. Tata owns major stake in Jaguar and Range Rover.
BMW is a manufacturer of sport sedans. BMW enjoys good brand recognition in India. It has set up a plant in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to manufacture cars locally exclusively for the local market with no plans for export. It set up the plant to circumvent high import duties.
It roped in Sachin Tendulkar as one of its brand ambassadors. Even Michael Schumacher appeared in an ad for the Palio. It has entered now into an alliance with Tata Motors to jointly manufacture cars at its plant in Ranjangaon, near Pune. The facility will enable the two companies to make about 2,00,000 cars per annum, and also house an engine manufacturing unit with a capacity of 2,50,000 units per annum. The alliance will also see Tata Motors use Fiat's diesel technology—the 1.3 litre multijet diesel engine—for its own vehicles. The two companies also have a distribution and service partnership.
The Fiat Uno was one of the first products to be introduced. The Fiat Palio/Fiat Siena was later introduced and was initially a success with its style and ride comfort coupled with solid build but has slowly lost its sheen due to low fuel efficiency. Other models were introduced such as the Palio Weekend, Palio Stile and Adventure. Fiat tried re-branding of the Fiat Siena to Fiat Petra without much success. Fiat Bravo—sold in collaboration with Tata Motors, Fiat 500—sold in collaboration with Tata Motors, and Fiat Linea—sold in collaboration with Tata Motors.
Chevrolet has been a recognized brand in India for several decades. The model lineup consists of vehicles from cheaper sister brands like Daewoo. General Motors initially entered India with the Opel brand, but the Opel brand was dropped in March 2006 because sales were at an all time low due to high prices and General Motors wanted to focus more on their Chevrolet brand. Since the Chevrolet brand was introduced in India, there have been no new Opel products. GM's Indian operations were originally a JV between Hindustan Motors and GM, with most of GM's vehicles assembled at Hindustan's plant in Halol, Gujarat. Since then, GM India is now wholly owned by GM.
Tavera—rebadged Isuzu Panther,[[First Generation Subaru Forester, Aveo—second Generation Daewoo Kalos sedan, Aveo UV-A—first Generation Daewoo Kalos hatchback, Optra—rebadged Daewoo Lacetti, SRV—rebadged Daewoo Lacetti, Spark—formerly Daewoo Matiz in India, and Captiva—recent launch in India.
Honda Siel Cars entered India in 1995. It sells 4 cars in India—the City, Civic, Accord, and CR-V. The manufacturing plant of Honda Siel is located in Greater Noida. The model of Accord sold in India is the 2003 model. The most inexpensive car from Honda—The City. The most expensive—The Honda Accord V6.
When Hyundai entered India, the brand was virtually unknown in the Indian market. But now Hyundai has good market because of its models like SANTRO, Accent etc..
Santro—second generation Hyundai Atos, Accent—second generation Hyundai Accent sedan, Sonata—sold as the Sonata Embera, Verna—third generation Hyundai Accent sedan, Getz—sold as the Getz Prime, Elantra—3rd generation Hyundai Elantra sedan, Terracan (discontinued), Tucson, i10—brand new small car, global launch in India in 2007, and i20.
Mercedes-Benz has had to cater to the ever gowning luxury segment in India, especially after the arrival of the other luxury German manufacturers. Now, Mercedes-Benz cars are launched in India soon after the worldwide launch and homologation as opposed to earlier, when Mercedes-Benz had monopolized the niche Indian market. In 2007 they launched the SLK-Class and CLS-Class.
Škoda Auto is an important car manufacturer of India. It recently launched the Laura, the Octavia still continues to exist. Škoda also offers the Superb in India but it's not too popular.
Toyota Kirloskar sells 4 car models in India. It stopped producing the Toyota Qualis to make way for the Toyota Innova, which was launched in India in 2005. The most expensive car from Toyota is the Land Cruiser Prado. Toyota Kirloskar Motors Ltd. is a joint venture between Toyota and the Kirloskar Group.
Toyota Qualis, Camry—7th generation Toyota Camry (the latest generation Camry), Corolla—9th generation Toyota Corolla, Innova, and Land Cruiser Prado VX—latest generation Toyota Land Cruiser (PRADO).
The list of foreign cars sold in India as CBU is given below:
Tiku, P. (2008). Six Sizzling Markets: How to Profit from Investing in Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, and Mexico. United States of America: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-0-470-17888-1.
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In economics, the balance of payments, (or BOP) measures the payments that flow between any individual country and all other countries. It is used to summarize all international economic transactions for that country during a specific time period, usually a year. The BOP is determined by the country's exports and imports of goods, services, and financial capital, as well as financial transfers. It reflects all payments and liabilities to foreigners (debits) and all payments and obligations received from foreigners (credits). Balance of payments is one of the major indicators of a country's status in international trade, with net capital outflow.[citation needed]
The balance, like other accounting statements, is prepared in a single currency, usually the domestic. Foreign assets and flows are valued at the exchange rate of the time of transaction.
The IMF definition: "Balance of Payments is a statistical statement that summarizes transactions between residents and nonresidents during a period."[1] The balance of payments comprises the current account, the capital account, and the financial account. "Together, these accounts balance in the sense that the sum of the entries is conceptually zero."[1]
The current account consists of the goods and services account, the primary income account and the secondary income account.
The financial account records transactions that involve financial assets and liabilities and that take place between residents and nonresidents.
The capital account in the international accounts shows (1) capital transfers receivable and payable; and (2) the acquisition and disposal of nonproduced nonfinancial assets.
In economic literature, "capital account" is often used to refer to what is now called the financial account and remaining capital account in the IMF manual and in the System of National Accounts. The use of the term capital account in the IMF manual is designed to be consistent with the System of National Accounts, which distinguishes between capital transactions and financial transactions.[2]
Current Account = Capital Account + Financial Account + Net Errors and Omissions
This is a convention of double entry accounting, where all debit entries must be booked along with corresponding credit entries such that the net of the Current Account will have a corresponding net of the Capital and Financial Accounts:
where:
X = exports
M = imports
Ki = capital inflows
Ko = capital outflows
Rearranging, we have:
,
yielding the BOP identity.
The basic principle behind the identity is that a country can only consume more than it can produce (a current account deficit) if it is supplied capital from abroad (a capital account surplus).[3]
Mercantile thought prefers a so-called balance of payments surplus where the net current account is in surplus or, more specifically, a positive balance of trade.
A balance of payments equilibrium is defined as a condition where the sum of debits and credits from the current account and the capital and financial accounts equal to zero; in other words, equilibrium is where
This is a condition where there are no changes in Official Reserves.[4] When there is no change in Official Reserves, the balance of payments may also be stated as follows:
or:
Canada's Balance of Payments currently satisfies this criterion. It is the only large monetary authority with no Changes in Reserves.[5]
Historically these flows simply were not carefully measured due to difficulty in measurement, and the flow proceeded in many commodities and currencies without restriction, clearing being a matter of judgment by individual private banks and the governments that licensed them to operate. Mercantilism was a theory that took special notice of the balance of payments and sought simply to monopolize gold, in part to keep it out of the hands of potential military opponents (a large "war chest" being a prerequisite to start a war, whereupon much trade would be embargoed) but mostly upon the theory that large domestic gold supplies will provide lower interest rates. This theory has not withstood the test of facts.
As mercantilism gave way to classical economics, and private currencies were taxed out of existence, the market systems were later regulated in the 19th century by the gold standard which linked central banks by a convention to redeem "hard currency" in gold. After World War II this system was replaced by the Bretton Woods institutions (the International Monetary Fund and Bank for International Settlements) which pegged currency of participating nations to the US dollar and German mark, which was redeemable nominally in gold. In the 1970s this redemption ceased, leaving the system with respect to the United States without a formal base, yet the peg to the Mark somewhat remained. Strangely, since leaving the gold standard and abandoning interference with Dollar foreign exchange, the surplus in the Income Account has decayed exponentially, and has remained negligible as a percentage of total debits or credits for decades. Some consider the system today to be based on oil, a universally desirable commodity due to the dependence of so much infrastructural capital on oil supply; however, no central bank stocks reserves of crude oil. Since OPEC oil transacts in US dollars, and most major currencies are subject to sudden large changes in price due to unstable central banks, the US dollar remains a reserve currency, but is increasingly challenged by the euro, and to a small degree the pound.
The United States has been running a current account deficit since the early 1980s. The U.S. current account deficit has grown considerably in recent years, reaching record high levels in 2006 both in absolute terms ($758 billion) and as a fraction of GDP (6%).
India's foreign exchange reserves stand at $252.97 billion as on April 10, 2009
BALANCE OF PAYMENT Widening trade deficit
INDIA's trade deficit on a balance of payments (BoP) basis has widened significantly by 52.04 percent to $ 105.33 26 billion in the nine months (April-December) of fiscal year* 2008-09 from $ 68.28 billion in the comparable period in previous fiscal. The widening trade deficit is attributed to significant growth in imports. During the nine-month period (April-December, 2008) imports were up 30.60 percent to $ 238.86 billion from $ 182.89 percent in the comparable period in fiscal 2007-08.This is revealed in a report of the country's central banking authority Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on India's Balance of Payments Developments during the Third Quarter (April-December 2008) of fiscal 2008-09.
The key features of India's BoP that emerged at the end of Q3 of fiscal 2008-09 were: the key features of India's BoP that emerged in April-December 2008 were: (i) widening of trade deficit led by high growth in imports and slowdown in exports, (ii) increase in invisibles surplus, led by remittances from overseas Indians and software services exports, which financed about 65 per cent of trade deficit, (iii) higher current account deficit due to large trade deficit, (iv) lower net capital flows mainly led by large net outflows under portfolio investment and large repayments under short-term trade credit, and (v) sharp decline in reserves.
Major Items of India's balance of Payments (April-December, 2008) (In $ million)
April-December (2008-09) (P)
April-December (2007-08) (PR)
Exports
133,527
113,614
Imports
238,864
182,894
Trade Balance
-105,337
-69280
Invisibles, net
68,868
53772
Current Account Balance
-36,469
-15508
Capital Account*
16,089
82,682
Change in Reserves# (+ indicates increase;- indicates decrease)
20,380
-67,174
Including errors & omissions; # On BoP basis excluding valuation; P: Preliminary, PR: Partially revised. R: revised
SOURCE: Reserve Bank of India Report
Invisibles Both invisibles receipts and payments recorded negative growth, though marginal, during Q3 of 2008-09 reflecting the impact of global economic slowdown.
(ii) Invisibles receipts registered a marginal decline of 0.6 per cent in Q3 of 2008-09 (as against an increase of 33.2 per cent in Q3 of 2007-08) on account of a decline in travel, transportation and insurance receipts in the services category and private transfers and investment income receipts. Overall services exports, however, witnessed a marginal increase of 0.5 per cent during the quarter (compared with a higher growth of 33.4 per cent in Q3 of 2007-08) due to increase in software exports.
Private transfer receipts declined marginally during Q3 of 2008-09. Software services receipts, on the other hand, increased by 11.8 per cent during the quarter.
(iv) Invisibles payments also recorded a marginal negative growth of 2.1 per cent during Q3 of 2008-09 mainly led by sharp decline in payments under travel, software and business services account. There was also a marginal decline in payments under investment income in the form of interest payments and dividends.
(v) With the decline in invisibles payments higher than the receipts, the net invisibles (invisibles receipts minus invisibles payments) rose moderately to US$ 21.7 billion in Q3 of 2008-09. At this level, net invisibles surplus financed 59.7 per cent of trade deficit in Q3 of 2008-09 (82.6 per cent in Q3 of 2007-08).
Current Account Deficit On account of large trade deficit and with moderate increase in net invisibles, the current account deficit rose sharply to US$ 14.6 billion in Q3 of 2008-09 (US$ 4.5 billion in Q3 of 2007-08). This level of CAD was the highest quarterly deficit since 1990.
Capital Account and Reserves Capital account balance turned negative showing outflows of US$ 3.7 billion during the Q3 of 2008-09 (net inflows at US$ 31.0 billion during Q3 of 2007-08) for the first time since Q1 of 1998-99 mainly due to net outflows under portfolio investment, banking capital and short-term trade credit.
(ii) The gross capital inflows to India during Q3 of 2008-09 amounted to US$ 70.0 billion (US$ 127.3 billion in Q3 of 2007-08) as against gross outflows from India at US$ 73.6 billion (US$ 96.3 billion in Q3 of 2007-08). Other components of the capital account which recorded a fall during the quarter were inflows and outflows under foreign direct investment and external commercial borrowings, while inflows under short-term trade credit also declined during the quarter.
(iii) Net FDI flows (net inward FDI minus net outward FDI) amounted to US$ 0.8 billion in Q3 of 2008-09 (US$ 2.0 billion in Q3 of 2007-08). Net inward FDI stood at US$ 6.7 billion during Q3 of 2008-09 (US$ 7.9 billion in Q3 of 2007-08). Net outward FDI remained buoyant at US$ 5.9 billion in Q3 of 2008-09 (US$ 5.8 billion in Q3 of 2007-08).
(iv) Portfolio investment primarily comprising foreign institutional investors' (FIIs) investments and American Depository Receipts (ADRs)/Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) continued to witness net outflows at US$ 5.8 billion in Q3 of 2008-09 (as against net inflows of US$ 14.9 billion in Q3 of 2007-08). Outflows under portfolio investment were led by large sales of equities by FIIs in the Indian stock market and slowdown in net inflows under ADRs/GDRs due to drying-up of liquidity in the overseas market. Another feature observed in the context of portfolio flows was that not only net flows remained negative but both inflows as well as outflows reduced sharply during the quarter.
(v) Net External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) remained lower at US$ 3.9 billion in Q3 of 2008-09 (US$ 6.2 billion in Q3 of 2007-08) due to drying up of liquidity abroad and increased cost of borrowings.
(vi) Short-term trade credit to India witnessed a net outflow of US$ 3.1 billion (as against inflows of US$ 4.1 billion in Q3 of 2007-08) mainly due to lower disbursements reflecting tightness in the overseas market and increased repayments as roll over was difficult.
(vii) There was a turnaround in the inflows under the non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits to US$ 1.0 billion during Q3 of 2008-09 (outflow of US$ 0.9 billion during Q3 of 2007-08) responding to the hike in ceiling interest rates on NRI deposits.
(viii) The foreign exchange reserves on BoP basis (i.e., excluding valuation) declined sharply by US$ 17.9 billion in Q3 of 2008-09 as against an accretion of reserves of US$ 26.7 billion in Q3 of 2007-08. The decline in the reserves was due to widening of current account deficit combined with outflows under the capital account. The largest decline in reserves on a BoP basis during any one quarter in earlier years at US$ 4.7 billion was observed in the Q3 of 2005-06. Even during the balance of payments crisis of the early 1990s, a decline of US$ 1.5 billion was seen in the third quarter (October-December 1990), while a decline of US$ 1.1 billion was observed during April-June 1991.
Balance of Payments (BoP) for April- December, 2008
Merchandise Trade (April-December, 2008)
(i) On a BoP basis, India's merchandise exports posted a growth of 17.5 percent during April-December 2008 (21.9 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year).
(ii) According to the commodity-wise data available for April-November 2008 from the DGCI&S, the exports of engineering goods and petroleum products showed high growth, while growth in textile products, ores and minerals, and gems and jewellery registered sharp slowdown. The exports of marine products, raw cotton, iron ore and handicrafts declined during the period.
(iii) Import payments, on a BoP basis, remained higher and recorded a growth of 30.6 percent during April-December 2008 as compared with 28.3 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
(iv) According to the DGCI&S data, while oil imports recorded a significant growth of 43.3 percent in April-December 2008 (24 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year), growth in non-oil imports slowed down to 25 percent from 29.3 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year. In absolute terms, oil imports accounted for about 34.7 percent of total imports during April-December 2008 (31.7 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year).
(v) According to the DGCI&S data, out of the total increase in imports of $ 52.8 billion in April-December 2008 over the corresponding period of the previous year, oil imports contributed an increase of $ 23.6 billion (44.6 percent as against 28.4 percent in April-December 2007), while non-oil imports contributed an increase of $ 29.2 billion (55.4 percent as against 71.6 percent in April-December 2007).
(vi) According to the commodity-wise DGCI&S data available for April-November 2008, the items under non-oil imports which showed a high growth were fertilizers, paper and paper products, manufactures of metals, project goods, export related items like pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, chemicals, and coal, coke and briquettes, while imports of items like pulses, electronic goods, and gold and silver declined.
(vii) The sharp increase in oil imports reflected the impact of the increase in oil price of the Indian basket of international crude (a mix of Oman, Dubai and Brent varieties), which had increased to an average of $ 132.5 per barrel in July 2008, but came down subsequently to an average of $ 40.6 per barrel in December 2008. The average oil prices were higher at $ 95.5 per barrel in April-December 2008 as compared with an average of $ 74.7 per barrel in the corresponding period of the previous year
INDIA's cumulative value of exports for the period April- February, 2009 stood at $ 156597 million (Rs.705231 crore) as against $ 145878 million (Rs.586233 crore) registering a growth of 7.3 percent in Dollar terms and 20.3 percent in Rupee terms over the same period last year. Imports during April-February 2009 were valued at $ 271687 million registering the growth of 19.1 percent and in Rupee terms it stood at Rs. 1223213 signifying a growth of 33.4 percent.
EXPORTS & IMPORTS (April-February, FY 2008-09)
In $ Million
In Rs Crore
Exports including re-exports
2007-2008
145878
586233
2008-09
156597
705231
Growth 2008-09/2007-2008 (percent)
7.3
20.3
Imports
2007-08
228081
917179
2008-09
271687
1223213
Growth 2008-09/2007-2008 (percent)
19.1
33.4
Trade Balance
2007-08
-82203
-330946
2008-09
-115090
-517982
Figures for 2007-08 are the latest revised whereas figures for 2008-09 are provisional
The trade deficit for April- February, 2009 was estimated at $ 115090 million which was higher than the deficit at $ 82203 million during comparable period of fiscal 2007-08.
Source: Federal Ministry of Commerce, Government of India
Trade Deficit
i) On a BoP basis, the merchandise trade deficit widened sharply to US$ 105.3 billion during April-December 2008 from US$ 69.3 billion in April-December 2007 on account of higher growth in imports coupled with the slowdown in exports
Invisibles
Invisible Receipts i) Invisibles receipts witnessed a lower growth of 18.8 percent during April-December 2008 (30.1 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year) mainly due to slow pace of growth in travel, business services and investment income receipts.
(ii) Travel receipts at $ 8.2 billion during April-December 2008 rose moderately by 6.2 percent (26.2 percent in April-December 2007) reflecting slowdown in tourist arrivals in the country.
viii) Private transfers are mainly in the form of (i) Inward remittances from Indian workers abroad for family maintenance, (ii) Local withdrawal from NRI Rupee deposits, (iii) Gold and silver brought through passenger baggage, and (iv) Personal gifts/donations to charitable/religious institutions.
(iv) Private transfer receipts, comprising mainly remittances from Indians working overseas, increased to $ 36.9 billion in April-December 2008 from $ 29.3 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. Private transfer receipts constituted 14.4 percent of current receipts in April-December 2008 (13.5 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year).
(vii) Under Private transfers, the inward remittances for family maintenance accounted for about 50.4 percent of the total private transfer receipts, while local withdrawals accounted for about 44 percent in April-December 2008 as against 49.7 per cent and 43.3 per cent, respectively, in April-December 2007.
viii) Software receipts at US$ 34.6 billion showed a steady growth of 26 per cent in April-December 2008. The NASSCOM has projected a growth rate of 16-17 per cent during 2008-09 with a target of software services export revenues at around $ 47 billion for the financial year.
(ix) Miscellaneous receipts, excluding software exports, stood at $ 22.4 billion in April-December 2008 ($ 20.6 billion in April-December 2007).
(x) The key components of the business services receipts and payments were mainly the trade related services, business and management consultancy services, architectural, engineering and other technical services, and services relating to maintenance of offices abroad. These reflect the underlying momentum in trade of professional and technology related services. While receipts under trade related and business and management consultancy services increased, the receipts under architectural, engineering, and other technical services declined during April-December 2008.
(xi) Investment income receipts amounted to $ 10.3 billion in April-December 2008 as compared with $ 9.3 billion in April-December 2007.
Inflows & Outflows from NRI Deposits and Local Withdrawals (In $ million)
Inflows
Outflows
Local Withdrawals
2006-07 (R)
19914
15593
13208
2007-08 (PR)
29401
29222
18919
April-December 2007 (PR)
18,683
19614
12669
April-December 2007 (PR)
27760
25645
16236
P: Preliminary, PR: Partially revised. R: Revised
SOURCE: Reserve Bank of India Report, 2009
Invisible Payments (i) Like invisibles receipts, invisibles payments also showed a lower growth of 8.7 percent in April-December 2008 (13.2 percent in April-December 2007) mainly on account of slowdown in payments relating to travel, software services and a number of business and professional services.
(ii) Travel payments growth remained lower at 5.9 percent during April-December 2008 (31.1 percent in April-December 2007) reflecting a sharp reduction in outbound travels. According to the International Transport Association, international passenger volumes increased marginally by 1.6 percent in 2008 led by a 1.5 percent decline for Asia-Pacific region.
(iii) Investment income payments, reflecting mainly the interest payments on commercial borrowings, external assistance and non-resident deposits, and reinvested earnings of the foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises operating in India declined marginally to $ 13.3 billion in April-December 2008 ($ 13.5 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year) mainly due to decline in interest payments on NRI deposits and reinvested earnings of FDI companies in India
Invisibles Balance (i) Net invisibles (invisibles receipts minus invisibles payments) stood higher at $ 68.9 billion during April-December 2008 ($ 53.8 billion during April-December 2007) mainly led by receipts under private transfers and software services. At this level, the invisibles surplus financed about 65.4 percent of trade deficit during April-December 2008 as against 77.6 percent during April-December 2007.
Current Account Deficit (i) Despite higher net invisibles surplus, the large trade deficit mainly on account of higher growth in imports coupled with slowdown in export growth in the third quarter led to higher current account deficit at $ 36.5 billion in April-December 2008 ($ 15.5 billion during April-December 2007)
Capital Account
(i)The gross capital inflows to India during April-December 2008 decreased to $ 246.4 billion ($ 291.8 billion in April-December 2007) as against an increase in outflows to $ 231.1 billion ($ 209.8 billion in April-December 2007)
(ii) Net capital flows, however, at $15.3 billion in April-December 2008 remained much lower as compared with $ 82.0 billion in April-December 2007. Under net capital flows, all the major components except FDI and NRI deposits, showed decline during April-December 2008 from their level in the corresponding period of the previous year. The decline was sharp in the case of portfolio flows and short-term trade credits to India.
(iii) Net inward FDI into India remained buoyant at $ 27.4 billion during April-December 2008 ($ 20.0 billion in April-December 2007) reflecting relatively better investment climate in India and the continuing liberalization measures to attract FDI. During April-December 2008, FDI was channeled mainly into manufacturing (21.4 percent) followed by financial services (14.1 percent) and communication services (12 percent).
(iv) Net outward FDI from India continued to remain high at $ 12.0 billion during April-December 2008 even in the current economic situation. However, it was marginally lower than that of $ 13.1 billion invested during April-December 2007. Due to large inward FDI, the net FDI (inward FDI minus outward FDI) was higher at $ 15.4 billion in April-December 2008 as compared with $ 6.9 billion in April-December 2007.
(v) Portfolio investment comprising mainly foreign institutional investors (FIIs) investments and American depository receipts (ADRs)/global depository receipts (GDRs) witnessed large net outflows of $ 11.3 billion during April-December 2008 (net inflows of $ 33.3 billion in April-December 2007) due to large sales of equities by FIIs in the Indian stock market reflecting bearish market conditions and slowdown in the global economy. The inflows under ADRs/ GDRs slowed down to $ 1.1 billion in April-December 2008 ($ 8.4 billion in April-December 2007).
vi) Net external commercial borrowings (ECBs) inflow slowed down to $ 7.1 billion in April-December 2008 ($ 17.4 billion in April-December 2007) mainly due to tight liquidity conditions in the overseas markets.
(vii) Banking capital (net), including NRI deposits, turned marginally negative to $ 0.1 billion during April-December 2008 as against net inflows of $ 5.9 billion during April-December 2007. Among the components of banking capital, NRI deposits witnessed a net inflow of $ 2.1 billion in April-December 2008, a turnaround from net outflow of $ 0.9 billion in April-December 2007.
(viii) Gross disbursement of short-term trade credit stood at $ 31.4 billion during April-December 2008 ($ 32.2 billion in April-December 2007). Repayments of short-term trade credit were high at $ 30.8 billion during April-December 2008 (as compared with $ 21.5 billion during April-December 2007) due to some problems in rollover observed during the third quarter. Net short-term trade credit stood at $ 0.5 billion (inclusive of suppliers' credit up to 180 days) during April-December 2008 as compared with $ 10.7 billion during the same period of the previous year.
(ix) Other capital includes leads and lags in exports, funds held abroad, advances received pending for issue of shares under FDI and other capital not included elsewhere (n.i.e.). Other capital recorded net inflows of $ 1.9 billion in April-December 2008.
Variation in Reserves
(i) The decline in foreign exchange reserves on BoP basis (i.e., excluding valuation) was $ 20.4 billion in April-December 2008 (as against accretion to reserves of $ 67.2 billion in April-December 2007). Taking into account the valuation loss, foreign exchange reserves recorded a decline of $ 53.8 billion during April-December 2008 (as against an accretion to reserves of $ 76.1 billion in April-December 2007).
(ii) At the end of December 2008, outstanding foreign exchange reserves stood at $ 256.0 billion.
Reconciliation of import data (i) During April-December 2008, based on the records of the DGCI&S imports data and the BoP merchandise imports, the difference between the two data sets works out to about $ 14.4 billion
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I don't have a motorbike licence in England but have always wanted to drive a big bike, so in India how could I resist the Enfield? Not really a performance ... www.greylizard.net/royalenfieldindia.php - Cached - Similar -
Search India Motorbikes - Indian Motorbikes & Two Wheelers Dealers. ... MotosIndia, Mumbai - Exporter of motorcycles made in India... www.searchindia.com/search/Autos/Two.../index.shtml - Cached - Similar -
24 Jun 2009 ... Bajaj shifts gears to motorbikes. ... especially Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), has seen volumes go through the roof. ... timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../India...motorbikes/.../4694231.cms - Cached - Similar -
TVS Motor Bikes, India, Bike Models, Automobile, Two Wheelers in India, Manufacturers wise listing, Two Wheeler Models. auto.webindia123.com/models_bike.asp?manuf=TVS... - Cached - Similar -
Jun 28, 2009: Tata Motors on Sunday launched recently acquired Jaguar and Land Rover cars in India. Tata launched XF and XKR models of Jaguar ranging ...
Leading premium car manufacturer in India offering all new Honda City, Honda Civic, Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Accord Honda CR-V latest modes. www.hondacarindia.com/ - Cached - Similar -
Information of prices, owners feedback, technical specifications, car comparsons, standard equipment, road test, surround video galleries of cars... www.indiacar.com/review_new.asp - Cached - Similar -
Facilities and information on buying cars, two-wheelers, and also finance, insurance, spare parts and service assistance. www.indiacar.com/ - Cached - Similar -
Check out the cars in India for all car makes, including the technical specifications, features, prices for the new cars in India and much more on ... www.automobileindia.com/cars/ - Cached - Similar -
Car industry in India is growing at a rapid pace and is attracting major car players from all around the world. www.iloveindia.com/cars/ - Cached - Similar -
Chevrolet India offers latest car models India, new cars in India, new launched cars from Chevrolet cars in India, Aveo UVA, Optra Magnum, Spark, Optra SRV, ... www.chevrolet.co.in/ - Cached - Similar -
Formation of Traffic System Division of CMS Computers. Development and introduction of Polycarbonate Aspects first time in India. ... www.cms.com/cmstraffic/miles.asp - Cached - Similar -
25 Sep 2005 ... BANGALORE: The Bangalore police will set up an intelligent traffic management system as a long-term plan to handle growing traffic. ... timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...traffic-system/.../1241667.cms - Cached - Similar -
India's rail network is the longest and fourth most heavily used system in the ....Traffic in Indian cities generally moves slowly, where traffic jams and ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_India - Cached - Similar -
17 Apr 2009 ... Many cities in India are asking for the system too. ... Add 'Soon, a smart traffic system for Pune' to Del.icio. ...Indian Traffic News ... www.indiantrafficnews.com/.../soon-a-smart-traffic-system-for-pune/ - Cached - Similar -
29 Dec 2008 ... Cut to Delhi in 2010 and the above might soon become reality with the Intelligent Traffic Management System — an integrated project that ... www.expressindia.com/latest...set...traffic-system/404069/ - Cached - Similar -
India Crash Brings Attention To Dated Air Traffic System. By Barry Bearak Los Angeles Times NEW DELHI, India. The how and why of the world's worst midair ... tech.mit.edu/V116/N59/collide.59w.html - Cached - Similar -
24 Sep 2008 ... Education System in India: Related Issues and Poli. ... should be strict laws for the pedestrians too, in case they violate traffic rules. ... eindia2007.blogspot.com/.../silly-joke-on-delhis-traffic-system.html - Cached - Similar -
"It was rush-hour traffic. The last battery had begun blinking. I called the hospital and asked them to place their life-support system at the gate of the ...
MUMBAI: The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, an example of engineering marvel in India, which was one of the major element of the much-talked about Mumbai Makeover ...
Johny Lever even created an Indian counterpart including "Mai-ka Lal Jaikishan" (Mother's pet, Lord Krishna) for one of his comic routines and everybody in ...
... the human eye-the air traffic controller's-which has to spot such goof-ups as none of the Indian airports has a ground-based collision warning system. ...
New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India has revived a proposal to change the financing method for highway projects that are not attracting ...
New Delhi (PTI): Leading air transport communication specialist SITA is working with Airports Authority of India to upgrade IT systems in major Indian...
Joining the league is the Bangalore Traffic Information System, which offers minute-to-minute alerts about traffic in the city, along with a map of the ...
He also said growth in vehicle sales as well as a pick up in rail freight traffic were encouraging. "But as I said, this is not a complete picture and there ...
It is a two-seat aircraft designed to take off and land at local airports and drive on any road. Transforming from plane to car takes the pilot less than 30 ...
Amidst slowing US and Europe markets, the company is looking to tap the emerging markets like India, as JLR is set to hit Indian roads in a few days time.
NEW DELHI: Wednesday's launch of Honda Jazz in India will mark the start of a superhatch show on Indian roads, with at least four others set to take off ...
Bridgestone has launched the Indian chapter of safety campaign titled 'Think Before You Drive', as part of its continued efforts towards road safety. ...
The KUIDFC said it was unable to meet the Indian Road Congress (IRC) specifications on the Dakkan Park approach, and it could not meet the International ...
However, most portion of this road stretching from the Indian Press Crossing to the Fort crossing has been left out, due to which the commuters are still ...
Speaking on the occasion, Michael Boneham said, "I am extremely excited as this drive has been in real Indian road conditions and the new Ford Ikon has come ...
With over one million cars being added to India's roads every year, experts worry the country's creaky infrastructure won't keep up with the volume of ...
The government must promote concrete roads instead of bitumen roads. The maintenance cost of concrete roads is quite low compared to the bitumen roads, ...
The site throws light on road accidents in India and underlines the importance of safety measures for roads in India. www.indiandrivingschools.com/accidents-on-indian-roads.html - Cached - Similar -
Latest Indian Traffic News and Special Reports on Metros and NCR with road traffic information in India and ... 20 killed, 21 injured in two road accidents... www.indiantrafficnews.com/ - Cached - Similar -
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML accidents and fatalities on Indian roads. 9. Relationship with the Ministry: The Committee also deliberated at length on the extent of autonomy that the ... morth.nic.in/.../Road_Safety_sundar_report4006852610.pdf - Similar -
According to the experts at the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NTPRC) the number of road accidents in India is three times higher ... nitawriter.wordpress.com/2006/.../what-causes-road-accidents/ - Cached - Similar -
"Nearly 1.05 lakh people die in road accidents in India. It is the highest in the world," Brahm Dutt, secretary of the department of road transport and ... www.hindustantimes.com/.../storypage.aspx?...Road+accidents+-+India... - Cached - Similar -
15 Jun 2009 ... Car accidents are also a major concern. India's road toll is one of the worst in the world with about 100 000 people killed in road... www.mg.co.za/.../2009-06-15-used-cars-congest-indian-roads-as-sales-spike - Cached - Similar -
New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) Over 100000 people were killed in road accidents in India in 2006 and nearly half a million were injured, ... www.thaindian.com/.../one-fatal-accident-every-five-minutes-on-indian-roads_10061260.html - Cached - Similar -
Police suspect the buses were speeding. Road accidents kill hundreds of Indians every year. Most are blamed on reckless driving, old vehicles and bad roads.
Medics from Columbus Regional Hospital and the Fruitdale and Morgantown fire departments could not revive Robison at the accident scene. Indian Creek ...
The number of vehicles on Indian roads has grown at an average pace of 10.2 percent annually over the last five years, it said, adding that 50 percent of ...
There are about 25 such plying on the roads now. We want to ramp up this segment, albeit slowly, because there are certain challenges in the Indian market. ...
PUNE: The social cost of road traffic accidents taking place in India amounts to almost over Rs 50000 crore annually, which accounts for 3 per cent of Gross ...
Meanwhile, a Syrian expatriate in his 40s sustained serious injuries on his right leg during a traffic accident on King Faisal Road towards the airport. ...
That's a huge number of people exposed to the risks of accidents and fatalities, thanks to zero-facilities for walking," said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, ...
While speaking at a seminar on "Road Infrastructure and Security Challenges", organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), north Orissa zonal ...