Corporation bank is one of the leading & oldest public sector banks in India. Present across India, the bank has over 1100 networked branches & around 1100 ATMs.As part of recruitment 2010-11, Corporation bank is recruiting 1250 clerks.
Position – Vacancies – Payscale :
Clerk – 1250 posts (state-wise) – Rs.9500
Dates : Online Registration : 01.07.2010 to 31.07.2010
Written examination : 12.09.2010
Eligibility : Candidates interested to apply for clerk post in Corporation bank ,
* Age Limit : 18 - 28 years as on 1.06.2010
* Degree in any discipline with 40% or more from recog. university,
* Should be able to read/write/speak official language of the state applied.
* Knowledge of computers is also essential.
Selection : The recruitment for Corporation bank clerk recruitment has Written test & Interview.The Written exam has 4 objective papers & those with high marks will be called for Interview.Shortlisted candidates from the objective test shall have to appear for Computer literacy test.
Application : Candidates have to pay Rs.50(SC/ST) & Rs.200(all others) at any of the corporation bank branches before 31.07.2010, using the payment challan given at the website.After payment, application has to be submitted through the website www.corpbank.in mentioning your payment and personal details.Note down the generated Registration number & Password for future use.
for more information click here
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Canada urges action on major Doha issues
Members of the World Trade Organization must find answers to bilateral squabbles if they want to achieve any global breakthrough in free-trade talks, Canada’s Trade Minister said on Friday.
In an interview, Peter Van Loan said he would not point fingers at which WTO members are holding up the Doha round but warned that political populism could slow progress toward any kind of free-trade deal.
“I think the key issue is that some of those countries that are seen as impediments show some movement,” said Mr. Van Loan, who is visiting Romania as part of a wider European tour.
“I really think the focus of those at the WTO has to be to find a way to get critical movement on the key issues,” he said.
“You need to have a sustained effort in the places where rocks need to be moved.”
The Doha talks, launched in 2001, aim to break down barriers to global trade but remain deadlocked over differences between the United States and emerging economies.
Washington wants China, India and Brazil to make a bigger contribution to a deal and says talks so far have concentrated on agriculture and manufactured goods, with little progress in services such as insurance and express delivery.
China, India and Brazil retort that with hundreds of millions of their citizens still living in poverty, they cannot give all that it will take to clinch a deal in the Doha round.
The United States and China have accused each other of stalling progress.
“I know that there have been many who have said the answer is another ministerial meeting or ministerial meetings, or making it the major topic of discussion at the G20 conference,” Mr. Van Loan said.
“I think that, quite frankly, puts at risk the credibility of the Doha round ... I think those trying to advance the agenda would be well advised to be focused in their efforts.”
Canada is negotiating a trade deal with the European Union, which Mr. Van Loan said would likely be completed by the end of 2011, boosting trade and investment flows.
Speaking to reporters later on Friday via teleconference, Mr. Van Loan shrugged off critics who say Ottawa picked a bad time to negotiate with the EU as the global crisis has led to more protectionism and has weakened the euro.
He said a 2008 study that estimated the deal would boost Canadian gross domestic product by €8.2-billion ($11-billion) by 2014 is likely overly conservative.
“There are a number of factors that don’t take full account of the potential of the agreement,” he said.
“One of the significant assumptions of that study was that the Doha round would have been completed and all of its benefits would already have been accrued. Right now it looks far more likely that this agreement would come into place before the Doha round would reach a satisfactory conclusion.”
Mr. Van Loan said there is a tendency among some politicians to use trade disputes to aid their popularity.
“In some ways disputes can serve as an incentive to work towards a resolution, in others they may just politicize and poison the environment and fuel some populist tendencies,” he said.
“I think the current political environment in the United States may be a bit more of the latter.”
In an interview, Peter Van Loan said he would not point fingers at which WTO members are holding up the Doha round but warned that political populism could slow progress toward any kind of free-trade deal.
“I think the key issue is that some of those countries that are seen as impediments show some movement,” said Mr. Van Loan, who is visiting Romania as part of a wider European tour.
“I really think the focus of those at the WTO has to be to find a way to get critical movement on the key issues,” he said.
“You need to have a sustained effort in the places where rocks need to be moved.”
The Doha talks, launched in 2001, aim to break down barriers to global trade but remain deadlocked over differences between the United States and emerging economies.
Washington wants China, India and Brazil to make a bigger contribution to a deal and says talks so far have concentrated on agriculture and manufactured goods, with little progress in services such as insurance and express delivery.
China, India and Brazil retort that with hundreds of millions of their citizens still living in poverty, they cannot give all that it will take to clinch a deal in the Doha round.
The United States and China have accused each other of stalling progress.
“I know that there have been many who have said the answer is another ministerial meeting or ministerial meetings, or making it the major topic of discussion at the G20 conference,” Mr. Van Loan said.
“I think that, quite frankly, puts at risk the credibility of the Doha round ... I think those trying to advance the agenda would be well advised to be focused in their efforts.”
Canada is negotiating a trade deal with the European Union, which Mr. Van Loan said would likely be completed by the end of 2011, boosting trade and investment flows.
Speaking to reporters later on Friday via teleconference, Mr. Van Loan shrugged off critics who say Ottawa picked a bad time to negotiate with the EU as the global crisis has led to more protectionism and has weakened the euro.
He said a 2008 study that estimated the deal would boost Canadian gross domestic product by €8.2-billion ($11-billion) by 2014 is likely overly conservative.
“There are a number of factors that don’t take full account of the potential of the agreement,” he said.
“One of the significant assumptions of that study was that the Doha round would have been completed and all of its benefits would already have been accrued. Right now it looks far more likely that this agreement would come into place before the Doha round would reach a satisfactory conclusion.”
Mr. Van Loan said there is a tendency among some politicians to use trade disputes to aid their popularity.
“In some ways disputes can serve as an incentive to work towards a resolution, in others they may just politicize and poison the environment and fuel some populist tendencies,” he said.
“I think the current political environment in the United States may be a bit more of the latter.”
IMF: Expects Thailand's 2010 GDP To Expand 7-8%
-The International Monetary Fund said Friday that it expects Thailand's economy to normalize along with the global economy, although problems in Europe and domestic political uncertainty has the potential to damper its growth.
For 2010, the IMF expects the country's GDP to grow 7% to 8%, as the Thai economy recovers due to ...
For 2010, the IMF expects the country's GDP to grow 7% to 8%, as the Thai economy recovers due to ...
Foreign 'power' behind Chandrayan failure
ISRO has lost two of its satellites earlier -- Chandrayaan in 2009 and INSAT-2D in 1997 -- and INSAT-4B partially now.
Scientists of the Indian space agency are working to fix the power snag that switched off 12 transponders of the INSAT-4B communications satellite on Wednesday night.
Chandrababu Naidu refuses to take bail, sits on dharna
Nanded: Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, who was arrested on Friday by Maharashtra Police for allegedly violating prohibitory orders in Nanded district, refused to take bail. Naidu was arrested along with five MPs and seven MLAs of his party when they tried to reach Babhli project in Maharashtra, Home Minister R R Patil told the Legislative Assembly.
The TDP chief, who was taken to Industrial Training Institute in Dharmabad, the AP Maharashtra border town, sat on a dharna after refusing to take bail, police said.
While Naidu was detained in the Dharmabad police station, his party MPs, MLAs and MLCs were detained in the government Industrial Training Institution (ITI).
After refusing to take bail he sat on a dharna at the ITI campus along with his party activists detained there. Additional police force has been deployed at the ITI as tension prevailed following Naidu's refusal for bail, authorities said.
Nanded District Collector Ajay Gulhane imposed prohibitory orders in Babhli project premises, but Naidu and his activists entered the premises, around 3.15 pm, in about 20 to 25 cars and jeeps and violated the orders.
They broke down the barricades in their attempt to enter the project premises.
Naidu demanded that the administration should permit him to see the present situation at the project site. They shouted slogans in Telugu against Maharashtra for "using extra water."
Prior to that, the TDP men staged a protest in Bidrai village of the Dharmabad tehsil.
Around 1,000 police personal including senior police officers were present when Naidu was arrested. Even an SRP battalion was pressed into service.
Citing possible law and order problems, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday night telephoned his Andhra Pradesh counterpart K Rosaiah requesting him to deter Naidu and other leaders from undertaking a bus yatra to the project site, but this request was outrightly turned down.
The TDP chief, who was taken to Industrial Training Institute in Dharmabad, the AP Maharashtra border town, sat on a dharna after refusing to take bail, police said.
While Naidu was detained in the Dharmabad police station, his party MPs, MLAs and MLCs were detained in the government Industrial Training Institution (ITI).
After refusing to take bail he sat on a dharna at the ITI campus along with his party activists detained there. Additional police force has been deployed at the ITI as tension prevailed following Naidu's refusal for bail, authorities said.
Nanded District Collector Ajay Gulhane imposed prohibitory orders in Babhli project premises, but Naidu and his activists entered the premises, around 3.15 pm, in about 20 to 25 cars and jeeps and violated the orders.
They broke down the barricades in their attempt to enter the project premises.
Naidu demanded that the administration should permit him to see the present situation at the project site. They shouted slogans in Telugu against Maharashtra for "using extra water."
Prior to that, the TDP men staged a protest in Bidrai village of the Dharmabad tehsil.
Around 1,000 police personal including senior police officers were present when Naidu was arrested. Even an SRP battalion was pressed into service.
Citing possible law and order problems, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday night telephoned his Andhra Pradesh counterpart K Rosaiah requesting him to deter Naidu and other leaders from undertaking a bus yatra to the project site, but this request was outrightly turned down.
Bihar court summons Sonia for 'insulting Hindus'
A Bihar court on Saturday summoned Congress President Sonia Gandhi to appear before it on July 29 in connection with a complaint alleging that her depiction in posters in Uttar Pradesh in 2007 as Goddess Durga was an "insult to Hindu religion".
Additional District and Sessions Judge (Muzaffarpur) A K Srivastava ordered issue of the summon after hearing the complainant and senior advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha.
The judge asked Gandhi to appear either in person or through her lawyer in the court to explain her position.
He also issued a separate summon to Uttar Pradesh Congess Committee president Rita Bahuguna and the party's Muradabad district president to appear before the court the same day in the case.
Ojha in his petition alleged that a photograph had appeared in the Muzaffarpur edition of a Hindi daily on June 21, 2007 of the Congress president allegedly depicted as Goddess Durga which was "an insult to Hindu religion and the Hindu community."
The picture was also displayed in the office of he Muradabad Congress.
Ojha alleged that Gandhi and others had connived to have the picture displayed "to insult the religion of the Hindu community".
Additional District and Sessions Judge (Muzaffarpur) A K Srivastava ordered issue of the summon after hearing the complainant and senior advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha.
The judge asked Gandhi to appear either in person or through her lawyer in the court to explain her position.
He also issued a separate summon to Uttar Pradesh Congess Committee president Rita Bahuguna and the party's Muradabad district president to appear before the court the same day in the case.
Ojha in his petition alleged that a photograph had appeared in the Muzaffarpur edition of a Hindi daily on June 21, 2007 of the Congress president allegedly depicted as Goddess Durga which was "an insult to Hindu religion and the Hindu community."
The picture was also displayed in the office of he Muradabad Congress.
Ojha alleged that Gandhi and others had connived to have the picture displayed "to insult the religion of the Hindu community".
The 'chai' factor
The omnipresent Chinese character 
, pronounced “chai” and meaning ‘demolish’, has been a leitmotif in the architectural rise and rise of China.
Using big-ticket international events to recast cities is not an exclusively Chinese phenomenon. For more than 150 years, World’s Fairs, the precursors of Expos like the one currently underway in Shanghai, have provided governments with the incentives to push ahead with public works and prestige projects.
But perhaps nowhere has a city been wrought anew to the extent of Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics. In total, the Chinese capital developed some 25 million sq mt of property between 2002 and 2008. The pace of the change was such that the municipal authorities were forced to release new maps of the city every three months for a number of years.
Beijing is a city steeped in a 900-year history, haunted by the ghosts of warlords and khans, revolutionaries and poets. In the years leading up to the Olympics, however, it seemed more like a city overrun by predatory cranes and bulldozers, as entire swathes of the ancient capital were torn down to make way for a slew of mega construction projects.
Consequently, for much of the last decade Beijing had all the charm of a construction site. Its architectural mishmash of styles lent it an atonal look. Concrete warehouses peeled in the shadow of zooming skyscrapers; a few unyielding traditional homes crushed up against white bathroom-tiled office spaces. Bauhaus, baroque and bathroom all jostled together uneasily and the only unity the city had was the omnipresent Chinese character
, pronounced chai and meaning: demolish.
Painted in big red strokes on the walls and doors of select homes, its presence signified a place on construction death row. All of Beijing was filled with these marked buildings; it was less a city and more an execution ground. The most tragic victims of Beijing’s demolition spree were the hutongs, the narrow tree-lined alleyways that used to make up the entire 62 sq km area surrounding the Forbidden City. Hutongs have been the lifeblood of Beijing since Mongol times, or the 13th century, representing an organic connection between the present and multi-layered past of China’s capital.
Hutongs are flanked on either side by traditional courtyard-style homes which were the quintessence of wealth and privilege in imperial China. They were obvious targets for the Communists who deplored them as symbols of feudal decadence. From 1949, following the Communist accession, all hutong homes were expropriated by the State and handed over to work units which then allocated accommodation to workers.
Over the next few decades, formerly grand homes became dilapidated with single dwellings coming to house a dozen or so families, But though the hutongs no longer exuded the elegance of imperial times, they continued to be the fulcrum of ‘lao Beijing’ or ‘old Beijing’ society. The Beijingers or ‘lao Beijingren’ that lived here were the inheritors and safe-keepers of all that made the city unique: the growling local accent, the warming street snacks, the sense of being connected to the city by roots that ran deep.
But following the Olympic-scented development frenzy of the last several years, up to three quarters of these hutongs were torn down. Estimates of families forced to relocate as a result of this redevelopment vary between 350,000 and 500,000.
Although government officials tend to characterise these relocations as popular, there was a spree of suicides in 2003 to protest the demolitions. In September of that year a Beijing resident Wang Baoguang set himself on fire while forcibly being evicted from his home. Less than a month later one hutong dweller, 43-year-old Ye Guoqiang, jumped off a bridge in the Forbidden City to protest the razing of his family's home and restaurant to make way for a shopping arcade. He survived the fall only to be arrested and jailed. Since the height of the protests in 2003 the situation has taken a turn for the better. The mass discontentment created by the evictions raised a red flag for the ruling communist party, which slowly began to clamp down on untrammeled property development.
Yet there was a ceaseless impermanence to life in Beijing which made living there a surrealist’s paradise. Old, bent men in Mao suits taking their caged song birds for a walk along an expressway or a group of elderly women practising Tai Chi surrounded by bulldozers were common sights.
More frightening was how Beijing’s remorseless embrace of modernity erased memory. Where once communal-style housing created dense networks of friendships with the elderly gathering in the evenings to waltz slowly or play mahjong into the long, summer nights, entire neighbourhoods were supplanted by glittering malls.
These new behemoths were usually context-less and place-less, tree-less, mahjong-less. Temples to consumerism, they were the core of the New Beijing that the Olympics created.
What was frightening was the ability to walk through these spaces and not find a single link to the thriving, organic clusters of people and places that had occupied the same geography for decades, only a year or so ago. A slate had been wiped clean.
For the Chinese government, this clean slate was a desired outcome; one that kept people from asking too many uncomfortable questions about the past, given that this past was now architecturally obliterated.
But for the “lao Beijingren”, who had been turned out of their homes and exiled to characterless new developments on the outskirts of the city that had once defined their very essence, the fact that the “New Beijing” of the Olympics had little place for them, was a constant, painful reality.
And so, while Indian visitors to modern Chinese cities might understandably marvel at the eye-catching architectural feats on display, the stories that lurk beneath their glittering surfaces are a sobering reminder of the social cost of these “new clothes”.
, pronounced “chai” and meaning ‘demolish’, has been a leitmotif in the architectural rise and rise of China.Using big-ticket international events to recast cities is not an exclusively Chinese phenomenon. For more than 150 years, World’s Fairs, the precursors of Expos like the one currently underway in Shanghai, have provided governments with the incentives to push ahead with public works and prestige projects.
But perhaps nowhere has a city been wrought anew to the extent of Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics. In total, the Chinese capital developed some 25 million sq mt of property between 2002 and 2008. The pace of the change was such that the municipal authorities were forced to release new maps of the city every three months for a number of years.
Beijing is a city steeped in a 900-year history, haunted by the ghosts of warlords and khans, revolutionaries and poets. In the years leading up to the Olympics, however, it seemed more like a city overrun by predatory cranes and bulldozers, as entire swathes of the ancient capital were torn down to make way for a slew of mega construction projects.
Consequently, for much of the last decade Beijing had all the charm of a construction site. Its architectural mishmash of styles lent it an atonal look. Concrete warehouses peeled in the shadow of zooming skyscrapers; a few unyielding traditional homes crushed up against white bathroom-tiled office spaces. Bauhaus, baroque and bathroom all jostled together uneasily and the only unity the city had was the omnipresent Chinese character
, pronounced chai and meaning: demolish.Painted in big red strokes on the walls and doors of select homes, its presence signified a place on construction death row. All of Beijing was filled with these marked buildings; it was less a city and more an execution ground. The most tragic victims of Beijing’s demolition spree were the hutongs, the narrow tree-lined alleyways that used to make up the entire 62 sq km area surrounding the Forbidden City. Hutongs have been the lifeblood of Beijing since Mongol times, or the 13th century, representing an organic connection between the present and multi-layered past of China’s capital.
Hutongs are flanked on either side by traditional courtyard-style homes which were the quintessence of wealth and privilege in imperial China. They were obvious targets for the Communists who deplored them as symbols of feudal decadence. From 1949, following the Communist accession, all hutong homes were expropriated by the State and handed over to work units which then allocated accommodation to workers.
Over the next few decades, formerly grand homes became dilapidated with single dwellings coming to house a dozen or so families, But though the hutongs no longer exuded the elegance of imperial times, they continued to be the fulcrum of ‘lao Beijing’ or ‘old Beijing’ society. The Beijingers or ‘lao Beijingren’ that lived here were the inheritors and safe-keepers of all that made the city unique: the growling local accent, the warming street snacks, the sense of being connected to the city by roots that ran deep.
But following the Olympic-scented development frenzy of the last several years, up to three quarters of these hutongs were torn down. Estimates of families forced to relocate as a result of this redevelopment vary between 350,000 and 500,000.
Although government officials tend to characterise these relocations as popular, there was a spree of suicides in 2003 to protest the demolitions. In September of that year a Beijing resident Wang Baoguang set himself on fire while forcibly being evicted from his home. Less than a month later one hutong dweller, 43-year-old Ye Guoqiang, jumped off a bridge in the Forbidden City to protest the razing of his family's home and restaurant to make way for a shopping arcade. He survived the fall only to be arrested and jailed. Since the height of the protests in 2003 the situation has taken a turn for the better. The mass discontentment created by the evictions raised a red flag for the ruling communist party, which slowly began to clamp down on untrammeled property development.
Yet there was a ceaseless impermanence to life in Beijing which made living there a surrealist’s paradise. Old, bent men in Mao suits taking their caged song birds for a walk along an expressway or a group of elderly women practising Tai Chi surrounded by bulldozers were common sights.
More frightening was how Beijing’s remorseless embrace of modernity erased memory. Where once communal-style housing created dense networks of friendships with the elderly gathering in the evenings to waltz slowly or play mahjong into the long, summer nights, entire neighbourhoods were supplanted by glittering malls.
These new behemoths were usually context-less and place-less, tree-less, mahjong-less. Temples to consumerism, they were the core of the New Beijing that the Olympics created.
What was frightening was the ability to walk through these spaces and not find a single link to the thriving, organic clusters of people and places that had occupied the same geography for decades, only a year or so ago. A slate had been wiped clean.
For the Chinese government, this clean slate was a desired outcome; one that kept people from asking too many uncomfortable questions about the past, given that this past was now architecturally obliterated.
But for the “lao Beijingren”, who had been turned out of their homes and exiled to characterless new developments on the outskirts of the city that had once defined their very essence, the fact that the “New Beijing” of the Olympics had little place for them, was a constant, painful reality.
And so, while Indian visitors to modern Chinese cities might understandably marvel at the eye-catching architectural feats on display, the stories that lurk beneath their glittering surfaces are a sobering reminder of the social cost of these “new clothes”.
Will Nokia get back on track in the Indian market?
As one of the new entrants, Naveen Paul of Spice Mobile recalls “people were carrying one CDMA and one GSM handset, using the former for outgoing and the latter for incoming calls.”
The smaller companies worked with vendors to create dual SIM handsets that could switch between CDMA and GSM and later between two GSM cards. It was a bet that paid off for them. The demand for dual SIMs went through the roof, driven by a flood of new operators offering telephony at the lowest prices in living memory. Everyone from relative newcomer Micromax to Samsung leapt aboard the dual SIM bandwagon.
But it’s a reality that market leader Nokia is yet to react to. Its first dual SIM models C1 and C2 are still a few months away from launch. The brand that seemed to know India almost as well as its native Finland has not been able to cash in yet on the biggest handset trend of the last couple of years.
Dual SIM phones are growing at 40%, the fastest expanding segment in the category. It’s hard to ignore the increasing tide of opinion that suggests Nokia’s dream run in the country may be losing steam.
Apart from missing out on key innovations, it has been losing share. According to Voice & Data figures, Nokia’s marketshare in India has fallen from 64% in 2008-2009 to 52.2% in 2009-2010. Globally, its net sales fell in 2009 to Euro 40,984 million from Euro 50,710 million in 2008.
An observer close to the company believes, “There is a challenge at the product level. It’s not that people don’t love the brand. But they want more from it and have been spoilt by the value end of the market.”
D Shivakumar, managing director and vice president – sales, Nokia, admits that the marketer has not been as nimble as it could have: “This is a high innovation, high failure business. Even if you are the best you will always miss two or three.” He adds, “A year and a half is a significant time lag (on dual SIM). But I don’t think it is something that has weakened the brand. The consumer wants to see these features on Nokia.
He considers other brands only if there is no Nokia product that meets his needs, which means we have to move in quickly and be a fast follower.”
Nokia is of course still a formidable presence. Almost all the 40 to 50 odd phones on its annual release schedule make it to stores in India, its second largest market. According to Shivakumar, “We launched the 2690, aimed at the small town or rural consumer, six to seven weeks before we did anywhere else. In a month’s time, it has become a top 10 model.” But winners like 1100 and N72 are not coming as thick and fast as they used to off Nokia’s product line.
Many of the newcomers in the market have been able to crack the same distribution model Nokia relied on for rural markets: piggybacking on kirana stores or any other regular shopping destination to make themselves available. Micromax for instance fanned out to the urban areas from the hinterlands. Its first model launched two and a half years ago came with a 30-day battery backup.
The Micromax portfolio also features a phone that doubles up as a universal remote for television sets and air conditioners. The Korean electronics major Samsung launched Marine, a phone powered in part by solar energy. Spice Mobile threw in an ultra violet torch that would help detect counterfeit currency and has recently come up with a model with two memory cards that serve like double cassette decks of yore, allowing for easy transfer of data.
It was this unique consumer insight driven innovation that spun off winners like Nokia’s 1100 also known as the ‘Made for India’ phone, which came bundled with a flashlight. Many of these new products are definite proof of marketers with their ears to the ground, ready to exploit any opportunity, any niche, without wasting time. While Nokia has to adhere to a regimented global launch schedule decided well in advance, the decision making and go to market in many of these companies is a lot faster.
The newcomers seem to be fighting Nokia at a game it played very well, when it first fused cameras and FM radios to its phones. The mobile category has always led its consumers. Many features are articulated strongly only after they’ve been experienced.
And it’s a strategy that’s yielding rich dividends to the new innovators just as it did for Nokia. Vikas Jain, business director, Micromax, says it accounts for a million of the 10 million handsets sold every month in India, with 60% of its off-take coming from the rural markets. “There’s a whole ecosystem waiting to be addressed,” he observes.
Even the top and the middle of the market, Nokia’s mainstay, is under threat. The perceptual highground on touchphones was taken over by the iPhone even as Blackberry grew synonymous with business phones. While Nokia was slow to launch touchscreen phones, Samsung, which claims to have a 16% volume and 20% value share of the mobile market, went to town with these models.
According to Ranjit Yadav, director – mobile and IT, Samsung, “We began with Jet Star and expanded into Corby.” Spice too claims to be moving up the value chain with a camera phone that has a 12 megapixel lens powered by a separate processor. According to Vivek Bali, group president – global branding and marketing, Spice Mobile, “While not headquartered in Helsinki, we are getting on, given the changing preferences of Indian consumers.”
Part of the reason Nokia missed the bus on dual SIMs and a few other innovations could be because the company’s attention has been consumed by its drive into the apps and services space — a global strategy. Previously thought to be the domain of mobile service providers, a lot of senior management time at Nokia has been spent focussing on this area.
In an interview with The Economic Times, Nokia global CEO Olli Pekka Kallasvuo outlined his vision: “We will be adding the services layer on top of the handset, and with it, we’re adding the context, the social dimension and the location dimension. For Nokia, this is a major transformation.
We’ve been talking about the target of 300 million subscribers, or active users, by 2011. That’s a target we could not have imagined earlier when we were simply selling devices.”
India obviously plays a huge role in this sphere. Shivakumar says, “The urban market is penetrated completely. The next 200 or 300 million consumers will automatically have to come from rural markets.
The phones have moved from basic voice to much more. The business model will also have to move.” What he’s gunning for is the internet and application space, something he considers “the mother of all convergences.”
Nokia in 2006, commissioned a project with the Boston Consulting Group which studied India, China, South East Asia and Africa and asked consumers what they would like from a mobile phone in terms of service. The answers were commerce, health, education, information and entertainment.
In spite of a much publicised pilot, Nokia has finally kept payment aside, along with health. “There are regulatory issues,” Shivakumar says.
Nokia’s Life Tools aimed primarily at rural and semi urban populations offers entertainment, education and crop prices. Shivakumar says, “A lot of people tried this and nobody succeeded. We’ve been able to build an ecosystem which gets the right information and are able to do it via SMS.”
Another focus area has been music. Nokia currently offers four million songs for free download from its Ovi store. Of these, one million are Indian, a library it obtained after copious negotiations with content owners.
Shivakumar says, “The biggest innovation is taking music away from piracy. We have doubled the size of the music industry in this country. More people listen to music on the mobile phone than on the radio or television.” And with the full range of Ovi store features to be launched in the months to come, he expects Indian subscribers to add to 1.7 million strong users globally.
However, the app space is fraught with its own set of challenges. Besides service providers, other players like Micromax and Samsung are waiting in the wings. Micromax is gunning for a simultaneous launch of apps with the onset of 3G. Says Jain, “We would like to release something very Indianised in terms of solution and content. A couple of brands have come up with overseas content that’s not relevant.”
He sees this space having the potential to become a revenue generator. Samsung’s Yadav adds, “Apps ensure the consumer gets the full benefit from the product. We are working to make sure they have a choice. We do monetise a little of it; a very small percentage less than single digits at the moment. But for us it’s an investment. Most companies are moving beyond the hardware piece.”
The ultimate test for Nokia will be if it can replicate the tenacity, speed and consumer insight that won it leadership status in the handset space. And this time, it doesn’t have the luxury of an extensive first mover advantage.
Nokia raced to reach Rs 25,000 crore in 15 years flat. The next big leap will depend on whether the Indian consumer wants to go where the Finnish marketer is taking them.
When will Repee Symbol be on my computer?
BANGALORE: Now that the Indian rupee has an identity, the question is: how soon will our computer keyboards start reflecting it? Very quickly, it seems. Vendors say they will roll out the symbol as soon the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) sets the guidelines, since it takes only a minor software change to incorporate it.
Techies say what is required is simple internal coding to assign an additional function to any one of the existing keys that currently holds a single function. The IT industry is awaiting standards from BIS on where and how the new function has to be allocated.
“We are fully equipped to integrate the rupee symbol; it requires only a software code change. It would not take more than three months once the standard guidelines for adoption of the same are introduced,’’ said an HCL Infosystems spokesperson.
It would be interesting to see which single-function key (Insert, Page Up, Page Down, Delete or some function key) will bear the rupee symbol. According to S Rajendran, chief marketing officer, Acer India, technically it’s an almost inconsequential issue. “We just have to tell our manufacturers to make the plastic injection moulds with the new symbol. We can bring out a changed keyboard almost immediately. But it’s important that the entire ecosystem first accepts it and starts using it.’’
Keyboard supplier Intex Technologies has launched talks with vendors to incorporate the new symbol in their products. “This will gain momentum as soon as we receive the authenticated design. Similarly, we have asked mobile handset vendors to incorporate the new symbol in their software,’’ said Ramesh A Vaswani, executive vice-chairman of Intex.
Nasscom and MAIT will play an active role in compliance.
“We will ask our member companies to incorporate the rupee symbol in their operating platforms, either as a new programme or as an update,’’ said Ameet Nivsarkar, vice-president, Nasscom.
Techies say what is required is simple internal coding to assign an additional function to any one of the existing keys that currently holds a single function. The IT industry is awaiting standards from BIS on where and how the new function has to be allocated.
“We are fully equipped to integrate the rupee symbol; it requires only a software code change. It would not take more than three months once the standard guidelines for adoption of the same are introduced,’’ said an HCL Infosystems spokesperson.
It would be interesting to see which single-function key (Insert, Page Up, Page Down, Delete or some function key) will bear the rupee symbol. According to S Rajendran, chief marketing officer, Acer India, technically it’s an almost inconsequential issue. “We just have to tell our manufacturers to make the plastic injection moulds with the new symbol. We can bring out a changed keyboard almost immediately. But it’s important that the entire ecosystem first accepts it and starts using it.’’
Keyboard supplier Intex Technologies has launched talks with vendors to incorporate the new symbol in their products. “This will gain momentum as soon as we receive the authenticated design. Similarly, we have asked mobile handset vendors to incorporate the new symbol in their software,’’ said Ramesh A Vaswani, executive vice-chairman of Intex.
Nasscom and MAIT will play an active role in compliance.
“We will ask our member companies to incorporate the rupee symbol in their operating platforms, either as a new programme or as an update,’’ said Ameet Nivsarkar, vice-president, Nasscom.
US Senators welcome Exim Bank's decision on Reliance project
WASHINGTON: Two Senators representing the Wisconsin State in the US have welcomed the Exim Bank's preliminary approval to Reliance's power project in Madhya Pradesh, saying that this will create hundreds of jobs in the United States.
"We did not want to see jobs in our state jeopardised and did all we could to be effective advocates for Bucyrus International's workforce", Senator Herb Kohl said in a statement.
The US Exim Bank's approval for USD 600 million in loan guarantees for Reliance Power's 3,960 MW power project at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, will support the sale and export of equipments by Wisconsin firm Bucyrus International, for the plant.
"I am pleased the Export-Import Bank Board approved the revised proposal, and kept this deal alive," Senator Russ Feingold said.
Early this week, the Export-Import Bank had voted to provide loan guarantees that, deal supporters say, will save jobs in Milwaukee and could allow Bucyrus to manufacture equipment for Reliance coal plant in India.
This is the first in a series of three votes the Exim Bank will conduct before the Reliance-Bucyrus deal is finalized.
Following the approval, there will be a vote, possibly in late August, on financial aspects of the deal, then a 35-day period when the deal will be sent to Congress for review, and then a final vote by the Exim Bank board in fall.
Hochberg notified the Senators on June 30th that the Exim Bank would reconsider its decision if Reliance could present a new proposal including an increase in the amount of renewable energy produced in India, with a preference for American-made equipment.
"With Wisconsin unemployment already near double digits, killing this deal would have only made a bad situation worse while effectively sending even more American jobs to China", Feingold said.
"When given a level playing field, American businesses and American workers can compete with anyone in the world. I will continue to be a strong advocate for Wisconsin's manufacturing base, and for the level playing field that Wisconsin's workers deserve", he said.
"We did not want to see jobs in our state jeopardised and did all we could to be effective advocates for Bucyrus International's workforce", Senator Herb Kohl said in a statement.
The US Exim Bank's approval for USD 600 million in loan guarantees for Reliance Power's 3,960 MW power project at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, will support the sale and export of equipments by Wisconsin firm Bucyrus International, for the plant.
"I am pleased the Export-Import Bank Board approved the revised proposal, and kept this deal alive," Senator Russ Feingold said.
Early this week, the Export-Import Bank had voted to provide loan guarantees that, deal supporters say, will save jobs in Milwaukee and could allow Bucyrus to manufacture equipment for Reliance coal plant in India.
This is the first in a series of three votes the Exim Bank will conduct before the Reliance-Bucyrus deal is finalized.
Following the approval, there will be a vote, possibly in late August, on financial aspects of the deal, then a 35-day period when the deal will be sent to Congress for review, and then a final vote by the Exim Bank board in fall.
Hochberg notified the Senators on June 30th that the Exim Bank would reconsider its decision if Reliance could present a new proposal including an increase in the amount of renewable energy produced in India, with a preference for American-made equipment.
"With Wisconsin unemployment already near double digits, killing this deal would have only made a bad situation worse while effectively sending even more American jobs to China", Feingold said.
"When given a level playing field, American businesses and American workers can compete with anyone in the world. I will continue to be a strong advocate for Wisconsin's manufacturing base, and for the level playing field that Wisconsin's workers deserve", he said.
Nano drive gets costlier by Rs 6,000
Tata Motors has handed over nearly 45,000 Nanos since it started delivery last July. It plans to deliver cars to the remainder of 1 lakh customers who were selected through a lottery last year from 2.06 lakh bookings before December.
The Mumbai-based company said it has begun intimating the price rise to customers who did not make the cut, but held on to bookings.
"Despite a steep increase in input prices, their Tata Nanos are being priced only 3-4 % higher, depending on the model, than the price announced at launch," the company said in a statement.
With the price rise, which it called ‘fairly nominal’ , Tata Motors joins a handful of carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India that have raised prices by nearly four times in a year to offset galloping input costs.
The company also announced it would reward customers for bearing with the company through a delay in delivery due to capacity constraints.
"As a gesture of goodwill, the company has announced a choice of one-year free annual maintenance contract, or free accessories worth Rs 4,000, or an extended warranty," the statement added. Tata Motors has been steadily increasing the Nano’s production after its Sanand plant began running since June. The plant can produce 2.5 lakh units a year.
Taj Mahal declared most popular Asian attraction
Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is grand winner of the voter’s choice for most popular Asian destinations.
The announcement in this regard was made by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) at the Asian Attractions Awards ceremony held during Asian Attractions Expo (AAE) 2010 in Kuala Lumpur.
Asian attractions were promoted throughout May and June on Star TV Network, a subsidiary of Fox International, which has 80 million cable subscribers in Asia.
The awards were broken into six categories, and a total of 94,099 votes cast by the public through the AAA website and social media outlets, determined the winners.
While the Taj Mahal was declared the Grand Winner, it was followed by Large Attraction (Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore), Medium Attraction (Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia), Small Attraction (Sentosa 4D Magix, Singapore), Waterpark (Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia), W ildlife Park (Night Safari, Singapore), and Theme Park (Universal Studios Japan, Japan).
Economy to grow 9% in first quarter: Basu
The Indian economy will grow around 9 per cent in the first quarter this fiscal, Dr Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Advisor to the Finance Ministry, has said.
Also, the economic growth in 2010-11 is expected to be higher than the 8.5 per cent projected by the Finance Ministry in February this year, Dr Basu told reporters here on Friday. This growth forecast comes close on the heels of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raising its India GDP growth estimate for 2010-11 to 9.4 per cent from 8.8 per cent earlier.
Dr Basu, however, declined to comment on whether the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would go in for further policy rate hike at its upcoming policy meeting on July 27 to bring down inflationary expectations in the economy.
Inflation scenario
“We do expect that the RBI has had a gradual policy measure that it has been taking over a time. I have no idea what RBI will do in its next round. But the policy of slow exit from the earlier stimulus set of measures that the RBI had put together is broadly the trajectory we are on. We are broadly on the right policy track,” he said. On inflation, Dr Basu said that he expects the overall inflation to be around 5 per cent by end March 2011.
“The two rounds of fresh data on inflation that have just come in – on July 15 (weekly food inflation) and on July 14 (monthly WPI inflation) – confirm what we have been seeing now in recent weeks – food inflation continues to slow down and non-food inflation is on a slow pick up,” he said.
On food inflation, Dr Basu said that it would be reasonable to predict that the food price inflation that will be announced two weeks from now, on July 29, will be substantially lower than what the inflation is right now.
An analysis of the data reveals that the overall food price index rose rapidly last year from June to November 2009. It peaked in the week ending November 27 when it reached 296.
The latest weekly data on food just released pertain to the week ending July 3, 2010, The index now stands at 296.
“This means that, on average, food price inflation has been zero since the end of November 2009. Of course, there are certain food items for which prices have risen (but these are matched by others for which prices fell). Also, the average price now compared to one year ago shows an inflation of 12.81 per cent. This is much less than the inflation of over 21 per cent at the end of November 2009, but nevertheless the inflation (year-on-year) is high,” Dr Basu noted.
Petro decontrol
On the effect of petroleum decontrol on overall inflation, Dr Basu said that the immediate term upward pressure on prices that was expected from this move has already partly registered in the June inflation figures.
“We will see more of this in the July figure. Thereafter the benefits of the decontrol should begin to set in and, I continue to maintain that six to nine months from now the overall price index would be lower than it would be if there were no decontrol of petroleum and diesel,” he said.
TCS will look off-campus to hire fresh engineers
After upping its hiring target for the fiscal, Tata Consultancy Services will now recruit entry level engineers even through the off-campus route for the first time in two years.
This is largely due to the rebound in demand for IT services which, in turn, has also led to an increase in attrition within the company. The country's largest software exporter recently increased its gross hiring numbers for the fiscal by 10,000 to 40,000.
“Of the incremental 10,000, 65 per cent will be engineering freshers who will come through the off-campus hiring programme. We will start with ‘walk-in interview' drives around the September timeframe to meet the requirements for freshers in our projects,” Mr Ajoy Mukherjee, Vice-President, Head, Global Human Resources, told Business Line here on Friday.
Generally, top IT companies prefer to hire entry level staff directly from leading engineering colleges. They go in for off-campus hiring — which refers to the process of picking qualified, yet inexperienced engineers directly from the job markets — only when their requirements are not met by campus recruits alone.
Hiring trends
TCS, which writes software applications and manages back-office functions for large multinational companies such as GE, Ferrari and AC Nielsen, is now opting for that route given that growth is back both for the software industry and the company. And it is in addition to the 20,050 offers made to campus recruits for joining in the current fiscal itself.
It may be recalled that through off-campus placements, TCS had hired 6,240 employees in fiscal 2008 and 5,430 in fiscal 2007. However, the practice was discontinued during the last two years as companies struggled with excess manpower and fewer outsourcing projects.
For the 20,050 offers for the year, the company expects a joining ratio of 70-72 per cent. While it has already started the intake of these campus recruits, majority of them will come on board from the current quarter onwards.
Approaching colleges
In order to hire freshers for the next fiscal, the company will approach engineering colleges starting October, said Mr Mukherjee. It may be recalled that until 2009, IT companies used to give out campus offers to students in the penultimate year of engineering.
However, Nasscom asked top colleges last year to postpone their placement season to the final semester. This was done to ensure that software firms would go in for just-in-time hiring so that they did not over hire in an environment where new IT projects were hard to come by.Recently, there were reports that Accenture has begun placements in some colleges a semester ahead.
Does that mean that companies will revert to the earlier regime?
“Sticking to campus recruitment in the eighth semester is ideal for everybody, including the students. Having said that, if people start going in advance, then we will also have to do the same since campus recruitment is very important for us to get the right kind of talent that can be groomed for the company,” said Mr Mukherjee.
SEBI powers: Judge recuses from hearing Price Waterhouse plea
Mr Justice D. D. Sinha of the Bombay High Court, one of the judges on the Division Bench hearing audit firm Price Waterhouse's petition against Securities and Exchange Board of India, recused himself from hearing the case on Friday, without assigning any reason.
Today was the fourth day of the hearing of the petition for admission; the plea was filed last week. A counsel appearing for one of the parties said that when the case was called in the afternoon, the judge said the ‘the matter is not before this Bench', meaning the Bench cannot hear the case. The case will now have to be heard by another Bench, counsel said.
“We are surprised that the judge recused himself without giving any reason after hearing the matter for four days,” a lawyer arguing for one of the parties said.
Price Waterhouse had filed the petition last week challenging SEBI's jurisdiction to investigate its role in the multi-crore-rupee Satyam fraud. Its contention is that audit firms are not regulated by SEBI. They are registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and are accountable to it for any professional lapses.
SEBI has been investigating the case for the past few months. In fact, it had issued a show cause notice to the audit firm and the hearing is still going on at SEBI.
Price Waterhouse moved the court seeking a stay on the SEBI proceedings. The parties were expecting a decision on the petition today, the lawyer said.
Since the judge has recused himself from hearing the case, the matter has to be heard by another Bench. This would further delay the admission of the case, he said.
If the case is admitted, it would delay the SEBI proceeding against the audit firm that had allegedly overlooked the accounting manipulations by Mr Ramalinga Raju, founder and Chairman of Satyam Computers.
Mercedes drives in Rs 2 crore sports car
"Its the ultimate statement in style and performance," said Wilfried Aulbur, MD of Mercedes-Benz India as he launched the car in India, weeks after the right-hand drive versions made their debut in other markets.
Mercedes had showcased the SLS-AMG — that boasts of a top speed of 317 kms per hour — at the Delhi Auto Expo in January this year and said it had proved a big hit right from then. "Even at this steep price, it was not difficult to find buyers for this car as its breathtaking design and performance features are something that just sweep you off the floor," Aulbur said.
The car, that has an aluminium body shell to give it a lighter weight, has competitors in Audi's R8 and Porsche 911 Turbo. "The demand has been phenomenal, and while we have already sold 10 cars in just a few months of its unveiling, the interest has been strong that gives us the confidence that sales will be higher next year."
However, the car's popularity across the globe and its limited production means that it was not easy to get allotments for the Indian market fast. "We had to fight hard to get substantial numbers for the initial allotments for the Indian market," said Aulbur.
Debashish Mitra, sales & marketing director for Mercedes-Benz India, said anyone booking the car now would have to wait at least 6-8 months before getting delivery. "The deliveries of the first lot of 10 cars will be made before December this year," Mitra said, adding that customers for the sports car are from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Bangalore
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Indian rupee gets a symbol, joins elite currency club
The Indian rupee will soon have a unique symbol — a blend of the Devanagri 'Ra' and Roman 'R' — joining elite currencies like the US dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.
The new symbol, designed by Bombay IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar, was approved by the cabinet today — reflecting that the Indian currency, backed by an over-trillion dollar economy, was finally making its presence felt on the international scene.
"It's a big statement on the Indian currency... The symbol would lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and global face of the Indian economy," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
Though the symbol will not be printed or embossed on currency notes or coins, it would be included in the 'Unicode Standard' and major scripts of the world to ensure that it is easily displayed and printed in the electronic and print media.
Among currencies with distinctive identities, only the pound sterling has its symbol printed on the notes.
Unicode is an international standard that allows text data to be interchanged globally without conflict. After incorporation in the global and Indian codes, the symbol would be used by all individuals and entities within and outside the country.
The symbol will be adopted in a span of six months in the country, and within 18 to 24 months globally, Soni said, adding that it will feature on computer keyboards and softwares for worldwide use.
Soni said that the symbol, which reflects the Indian ethos and culture, would help distinguish the currency from the rupee or rupiah of other countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Besides this, state governments would be asked to proactively promote the use of the new symbol, she added.
Kumar's entry was chosen from 3,000 designs competing for the currency symbol. He will get an award of Rs 2.5 lakh.
"It is a perfect blend of Indian and Roman letters — capital 'R' and Devanagri 'Ra' which represents rupaiah, to appeal to international and Indian audiences... My design is based on the tricolour, with two lines at the top and white space in between," a visibly-happy Kumar said.
The jury, which had sent the five short-listed entries for the cabinet's approval, was headed by a Reserve Bank Deputy Governor.
Navi Mumbai airport: What the mess is all about
What was supposed to be Mumbai's answer to Delhi's swanky Terminal 3, is yet to get the necessary clearance from the concerned ministry. It's deadline was year 2012, and even in July 2010 no one knows if the project will ever see the daylight.
But Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has high hopes. In a recent press conference held in Pune he announced that he hoped to throw open the first phase of the Navi Mumbai airport by 2013. How, Mr Minister, can you set a deadline? Besides the environment clearance there are other problems too that is plaguing the project.
The new airport proposed over 2,000 hectares has been planned near Panvel, about 35 km away from the Mumbai airport.
The cost of the project, which is being developed through the public-private partnership route, was estimated at between Rs 3,200 crore (Rs 32 billion) and Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion). Though according to CIDCO, the total cost of the airport will be about Rs 9,970 crore (Rs 99.7 billion).
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