May raise inventories to mitigate the effects of its US suppliers' fall.
Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co, Japan’s two largest carmakers, may modify their so-called ‘just-in-time’ manufacturing system to avoid possible supplier bankruptcies disrupting production.
General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC are battling to restructure after winning $13.4 billion in emergency federal loans to keep them operating through March. Detroit’s woes could lead to a “supplier shock,” crippling US production at Japanese and other foreign carmakers, according to the Center for Automotive Research.
“We continue contingency planning” even after the bailout, Mike Goss, a spokesman for Toyota’s North American manufacturing unit in Erlanger, Kentucky, said by email. “We hope the loans provided to Detroit will also help to stabilise suppliers, but the very slow market remains a concern for all.”
The Japanese company may work with more partsmakers and increase inventories to mitigate the effects of a collapse among its US suppliers, at least half of whom also work for Detroit automakers, Goss said. US vehicle sales at a 26-year low have forced GM and Chrysler to seek government aid and left as many as a third of North American component-makers at risk of bankruptcy, according to consulting company Grant Thornton LLP.
“Partsmakers may have escaped bankruptcy filings for the next few months, but six months, a year from now, the risk is definitely still there,” said Takeshi Miyao, a Tokyo-based supply chain analyst at automotive consulting company CSM Worldwide.
1938 Adoption: Toyota fell 1 per cent to 2,905 yen at the 11 am close of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. It has fallen 52 per cent this year.
Plunging demand in the US, the world’s biggest auto market, contributed to Toyota on December 22 forecasting its first operating loss since 1938. That was the same year the carmaker fully adopted the “just-in-time” model, according to its website. Under the system, companies avoid stocking inventories, preferring to take delivery of components as they are needed, to cut expenses.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
India Inc's dream run turning sour in UK
Indian companies' dream of turning global by going on an unprecedented acquisition spree in the UK this year seems to have soured after they were severely hit by the global financial crisis and steep fall in steel and auto demand.
The Indian acquisition trend, as the take-overs are labelled by the British stock market, was pioneered by the Tata's take over of British-based global companies Corus Steel and prestigious Jaguar and Land Rover.
It sparked off a serious look out by other companies to acquire strategically placed British firms as India emerged among the first five largest investors in British companies and equities.
The Indian companies' global interest in the British market ranged from auto, steel to companies involved in stock brokering and financial firms, according to Geneva based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
But, the global meltdown and the November 26 terror attacks on Mumbai, the financial capital of India, had a chilling effect on the steady growth of trade and joint ventures between UK and India in 2008.
The global meltdown has forced the Tata group to seek a billion-pound bailout loan from the British government, just nine months after they bought the luxury car marque.
The plea by the group came as a surprise to the British authorities, who expected the Tata group to have deep pockets to ride over the financial crisis.
Tata paid $2.3 billion for JLR and financed the acquisition with a $3 billion bridging loan. Since then sales of new cars have plunged which has caused big problems with the cash flow needed to service debt payments.
It came at a time when Tata — one of India's most successful companies — also faced financial crunch in their other ventures. It paid $11 billion 22 months ago for steelmaker Corus and since then the metal price has collapsed.
Added to that is the terrorists attack on the Taj Mahal Hotel which could have a long-term impact.
Things are turning tight for Tatas is evident from the fact that the British authorities are dithering over the loan and now according to British media, Tatas are injecting "tens of millions of pounds" into the British car company to prevent an immediate cash flow crisis.
The meltdown and the recession in most of the West European countries has put a temporary stop on moves by other Indian companies to enter the British market.
But, Britain still remains the most favoured choice of the Indian investors for foreign acquisition, as British and European companies are busy shifting service operations abroad to escape high administrative and management costs.
But, a silver lining in the Indo-UK relations emerged with a surprise year-end visit by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, aftermath the Mumbai terror strikes where he made it clear that London would stand by New Delhi in this hour of crisis and trade relations between the two countries would not be allowed to be impeded.
The Indian acquisition trend, as the take-overs are labelled by the British stock market, was pioneered by the Tata's take over of British-based global companies Corus Steel and prestigious Jaguar and Land Rover.
It sparked off a serious look out by other companies to acquire strategically placed British firms as India emerged among the first five largest investors in British companies and equities.
The Indian companies' global interest in the British market ranged from auto, steel to companies involved in stock brokering and financial firms, according to Geneva based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
But, the global meltdown and the November 26 terror attacks on Mumbai, the financial capital of India, had a chilling effect on the steady growth of trade and joint ventures between UK and India in 2008.
The global meltdown has forced the Tata group to seek a billion-pound bailout loan from the British government, just nine months after they bought the luxury car marque.
The plea by the group came as a surprise to the British authorities, who expected the Tata group to have deep pockets to ride over the financial crisis.
Tata paid $2.3 billion for JLR and financed the acquisition with a $3 billion bridging loan. Since then sales of new cars have plunged which has caused big problems with the cash flow needed to service debt payments.
It came at a time when Tata — one of India's most successful companies — also faced financial crunch in their other ventures. It paid $11 billion 22 months ago for steelmaker Corus and since then the metal price has collapsed.
Added to that is the terrorists attack on the Taj Mahal Hotel which could have a long-term impact.
Things are turning tight for Tatas is evident from the fact that the British authorities are dithering over the loan and now according to British media, Tatas are injecting "tens of millions of pounds" into the British car company to prevent an immediate cash flow crisis.
The meltdown and the recession in most of the West European countries has put a temporary stop on moves by other Indian companies to enter the British market.
But, Britain still remains the most favoured choice of the Indian investors for foreign acquisition, as British and European companies are busy shifting service operations abroad to escape high administrative and management costs.
But, a silver lining in the Indo-UK relations emerged with a surprise year-end visit by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, aftermath the Mumbai terror strikes where he made it clear that London would stand by New Delhi in this hour of crisis and trade relations between the two countries would not be allowed to be impeded.
Toyota expects first operating loss in history
Japan's top automaker Toyota today said it faced an "unprecedented" operating loss of $1.69 billion for fiscal 2008, the first such loss in the company's history, due to dwindling global auto sales and a surging yen.
The latest projection of an operating loss of 150 billion yen ($1.69 billion) in its second downward revision for the year to March 2009 represents a reversal from the previous estimate of an operating profit of 600 billion yen for the year through next March.
Toyota Motor Corp booked a record operating profit of 2.27 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year.
"We are facing unprecedented emergency circumstances," Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said at a press conference.
Toyota said it is expecting a net profit of 50 billion yen ($555 million) for the business year through next March, down 90.9 per cent from a previous estimate of 550 billion yen made in November and compared with a net profit of 1.72 trillion yen the year before.
"The change that has hit the world economy is of a critical scale that comes once in a hundred years," Watanabe said, adding that the drop in vehicle sales over the last month was "far faster, wider and deeper than expected."
It also revised downward its group global automobile sales target for calendar 2008 by 540,000 units from the previous estimate in July to 8.96 million units due to slowing demand amid worsening economic conditions, Kyodo news agency reported.
The revised sales target will be 4.4 per cent lower than the previous year when it sold 9.37 million vehicles worldwide, including those of two subsidiaries -- compact car maker Daihatsu Motor and truck maker Hino Motors.
The latest projection of an operating loss of 150 billion yen ($1.69 billion) in its second downward revision for the year to March 2009 represents a reversal from the previous estimate of an operating profit of 600 billion yen for the year through next March.
Toyota Motor Corp booked a record operating profit of 2.27 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year.
"We are facing unprecedented emergency circumstances," Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said at a press conference.
Toyota said it is expecting a net profit of 50 billion yen ($555 million) for the business year through next March, down 90.9 per cent from a previous estimate of 550 billion yen made in November and compared with a net profit of 1.72 trillion yen the year before.
"The change that has hit the world economy is of a critical scale that comes once in a hundred years," Watanabe said, adding that the drop in vehicle sales over the last month was "far faster, wider and deeper than expected."
It also revised downward its group global automobile sales target for calendar 2008 by 540,000 units from the previous estimate in July to 8.96 million units due to slowing demand amid worsening economic conditions, Kyodo news agency reported.
The revised sales target will be 4.4 per cent lower than the previous year when it sold 9.37 million vehicles worldwide, including those of two subsidiaries -- compact car maker Daihatsu Motor and truck maker Hino Motors.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
More mobile phone makers back Google's Android
Fourteen of the world's largest mobile phone and chip makers, including Sony Ericsson, Vodafone Group Plc and ARM Holdings Plc ,
joined the Open Handset Alliance on Tuesday to support the Android mobile device platform developed by Google Inc.
The new members' pledge to back the Android software is a significant feat for Google in the mobile phone industry, as its T-Mobile G1 phone takes on rival Apple Inc's popular iPhone 3G.
But despite the big-name additions to the Open Handset Alliance, analysts say what matters is whether the new members introduce more Android-supported smartphones in 2009 and 2010 to edge out competitors who also use open-source Linux software for mobile phones, such as Nokia-owned smartphone software maker Symbian.
"It's great to get these folks on board now (the Open Handset Alliance) has to make sure these licenses actually ship products," said research firm Jupitermedia's vice president of mobile strategy, Michael Gartenberg.
The first company set to introduce a mobile device that uses the Android operating system is Sony Ericsson, a joint venture of Japan's Sony Corp and Sweden's Ericsson. The company said on Tuesday it plans to introduce the Android-supported mobile phone in mid-2009.
"Android is set to become a significant application framework for mobile phones," Ericsson's head of mobile platforms, Robert Puskaric, said in a statement.
The Open Handset Alliance said on Tuesday that each of its members commits to developing applications and services for mobile phones and handsets using the Android platform or designing Android-compatible mobile devices.
Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc, Toshiba Corp and Garmin Ltd also pledged their support, bringing the total number of companies in the Open Handset Alliance to 47, the Alliance said. These companies join earlier members of the Alliance, such as the world's biggest chip maker Intel Corp and mobile phone makers Motorola Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Continued...
Both Google and Apple have wooed developers to create applications for their mobile devices, but Apple keeps a tight grip on the iPhone's hardware and operating software. Google's Android is open to being changed by outside developers.
The addition of new members to the Open Handset Alliance gives Google-developed Android more heft in the battle over who will dominate the mobile phone software market in coming years. Android's biggest competitor is Symbian, which controls half of the market and was acquired by Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, earlier this month.
Nokia contributes Symbian's assets to a not-for-profit organization similar to the Open Handset Alliance, the Symbian Foundation. Members of the Symbian Foundation have royalty-free access to Symbian's software.
So far, 59 companies have said they plan to join the Symbian Foundation, including Japan's third-largest wireless carrier, Softbank. Android also competes with Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, which has been gaining ground.
With a range of companies jumping into the Alliance, such as portable navigation device maker Garmin Ltd, Android has the potential to be featured on devices other than mobile phones. Each mobile phone maker also can modify the Android open source software, which leaves the opportunity open for many future mobile phones.
"What's fascinating about Android is it's this malleable thing. As these phones come out from other carriers it looks and operates differently," said Greg Sterling, a Web analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence. He added, "It seems more people will jump on the bandwagon."
joined the Open Handset Alliance on Tuesday to support the Android mobile device platform developed by Google Inc.
The new members' pledge to back the Android software is a significant feat for Google in the mobile phone industry, as its T-Mobile G1 phone takes on rival Apple Inc's popular iPhone 3G.
But despite the big-name additions to the Open Handset Alliance, analysts say what matters is whether the new members introduce more Android-supported smartphones in 2009 and 2010 to edge out competitors who also use open-source Linux software for mobile phones, such as Nokia-owned smartphone software maker Symbian.
"It's great to get these folks on board now (the Open Handset Alliance) has to make sure these licenses actually ship products," said research firm Jupitermedia's vice president of mobile strategy, Michael Gartenberg.
The first company set to introduce a mobile device that uses the Android operating system is Sony Ericsson, a joint venture of Japan's Sony Corp and Sweden's Ericsson. The company said on Tuesday it plans to introduce the Android-supported mobile phone in mid-2009.
"Android is set to become a significant application framework for mobile phones," Ericsson's head of mobile platforms, Robert Puskaric, said in a statement.
The Open Handset Alliance said on Tuesday that each of its members commits to developing applications and services for mobile phones and handsets using the Android platform or designing Android-compatible mobile devices.
Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc, Toshiba Corp and Garmin Ltd also pledged their support, bringing the total number of companies in the Open Handset Alliance to 47, the Alliance said. These companies join earlier members of the Alliance, such as the world's biggest chip maker Intel Corp and mobile phone makers Motorola Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Continued...
Both Google and Apple have wooed developers to create applications for their mobile devices, but Apple keeps a tight grip on the iPhone's hardware and operating software. Google's Android is open to being changed by outside developers.
The addition of new members to the Open Handset Alliance gives Google-developed Android more heft in the battle over who will dominate the mobile phone software market in coming years. Android's biggest competitor is Symbian, which controls half of the market and was acquired by Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, earlier this month.
Nokia contributes Symbian's assets to a not-for-profit organization similar to the Open Handset Alliance, the Symbian Foundation. Members of the Symbian Foundation have royalty-free access to Symbian's software.
So far, 59 companies have said they plan to join the Symbian Foundation, including Japan's third-largest wireless carrier, Softbank. Android also competes with Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, which has been gaining ground.
With a range of companies jumping into the Alliance, such as portable navigation device maker Garmin Ltd, Android has the potential to be featured on devices other than mobile phones. Each mobile phone maker also can modify the Android open source software, which leaves the opportunity open for many future mobile phones.
"What's fascinating about Android is it's this malleable thing. As these phones come out from other carriers it looks and operates differently," said Greg Sterling, a Web analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence. He added, "It seems more people will jump on the bandwagon."
Lay-off watch: At least one job ticked off every 10 second
Nicolas Cage took just a minute to vanish away with one car in the 2000 Hollywood blockbuster 'Gone in 60 Seconds', but the jobs
seem
Jobs
India 2nd best in hiring intentions
Cos hiring
to be disappearing at a faster rate, with companies laying off at least one employee every 10 second to cut costs and fight the economic crisis.
So far in December, companies across the world have announced at least 1.15 lakh job cuts -- a figure which translates into an average of more than 8,200 people being laid off a day or about six every one minute (60 seconds).
In reel scenes, the plot might have been thrilling but in real sequences, the story is getting gloomy, with lay-offs happening across diverse sectors -- right from finance to electronics to mining, to name a few.
While the financial crisis cost more than 30,000 jobs in the first week of December, the number nearly trebled to touch about 85,000 in the following seven days.
More than one-third of the layoffs happened in the US, which has already seen a stunning 5,33,000 job losses in November alone.
Last week's layoff wave was led by banking firm Bank of America, which announced plans to axe 35,000 jobs in the coming months.
seem
Jobs
India 2nd best in hiring intentions
Cos hiring
to be disappearing at a faster rate, with companies laying off at least one employee every 10 second to cut costs and fight the economic crisis.
So far in December, companies across the world have announced at least 1.15 lakh job cuts -- a figure which translates into an average of more than 8,200 people being laid off a day or about six every one minute (60 seconds).
In reel scenes, the plot might have been thrilling but in real sequences, the story is getting gloomy, with lay-offs happening across diverse sectors -- right from finance to electronics to mining, to name a few.
While the financial crisis cost more than 30,000 jobs in the first week of December, the number nearly trebled to touch about 85,000 in the following seven days.
More than one-third of the layoffs happened in the US, which has already seen a stunning 5,33,000 job losses in November alone.
Last week's layoff wave was led by banking firm Bank of America, which announced plans to axe 35,000 jobs in the coming months.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Kalam appointed IIST Chancellor
The former President and India’s rocket-missile technologist, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has been appointed Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram. The IIST was established by the Department of Space in 2007.
Mr. Kalam was the project director of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) first two SLV-3 (Satellite Launch Vehicles) flights in 1979 and 1980 from Sriharikota. The SLV-3 flight in 1980 was a big success, with the rocket putting the Rohini satellite in orbit. He was also the architect of India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme under which Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag missiles were developed.
The IIST, a deemed university, is the world’s first space university to offer undergraduate programmes. It offers two four-year B.Tech programmes in Avionics and Aerospace, and a five-year integrated post-graduate programme in Applied Sciences.
G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space, said on Monday evening: “I just talked to Mr. Kalam on the phone and he told me that he would like to be a different kind of Chancellor. He will do research on futuristic space technologies.” Mr. Nair said he was “really excited” over the development because Mr. Kalam “is the country’s topmost rocket scientist and to have him as Chancellor of the IIST is a blessing.”
B.N. Suresh, Director, IIST, said: “I am sure with Mr. Kalam as the Chancellor, the IIST will scale great heights.”
Dr. Suresh, who was earlier Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram, said 150 students had joined the IIST’s three courses in 2008 compared to 138 in 2007.
The institute would start three M. Tech. courses in Radio Frequency and Microwave, Adoptive Optics and Soft Computing from the next academic year (2009).
Dr. Manmohan will lay the foundation stone for the new campus at Valiamala, near Thiruvananthapuram, in October, Mr. Nair said.
Mr. Kalam was the project director of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) first two SLV-3 (Satellite Launch Vehicles) flights in 1979 and 1980 from Sriharikota. The SLV-3 flight in 1980 was a big success, with the rocket putting the Rohini satellite in orbit. He was also the architect of India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme under which Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag missiles were developed.
The IIST, a deemed university, is the world’s first space university to offer undergraduate programmes. It offers two four-year B.Tech programmes in Avionics and Aerospace, and a five-year integrated post-graduate programme in Applied Sciences.
G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space, said on Monday evening: “I just talked to Mr. Kalam on the phone and he told me that he would like to be a different kind of Chancellor. He will do research on futuristic space technologies.” Mr. Nair said he was “really excited” over the development because Mr. Kalam “is the country’s topmost rocket scientist and to have him as Chancellor of the IIST is a blessing.”
B.N. Suresh, Director, IIST, said: “I am sure with Mr. Kalam as the Chancellor, the IIST will scale great heights.”
Dr. Suresh, who was earlier Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram, said 150 students had joined the IIST’s three courses in 2008 compared to 138 in 2007.
The institute would start three M. Tech. courses in Radio Frequency and Microwave, Adoptive Optics and Soft Computing from the next academic year (2009).
Dr. Manmohan will lay the foundation stone for the new campus at Valiamala, near Thiruvananthapuram, in October, Mr. Nair said.
Monday, September 1, 2008
MIT class project gets a gold star from Google
'Locale' will let Android cell phones adjust to surroundings
A team of MIT students walked away from their spring-semester course with a lot more than just an A and six credits: They just won a $275,000 top prize from Google for the application they developed for the company's new open-source Android cell-phone system.
The application, called "Locale," lets a cell phone automatically adjust its settings according to the location it's in -- for example, silencing the ringer when it detects that it's at the office or in a lecture hall.
Locale was developed by students in a class called "Building mobile applications with Android," (6.087), taught by Hal Abelson, the Class of 1922 Professor of Computer Science and Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The class is being offered again this fall, but this time is extending to two other cell-phone systems in addition to Google's Android: Nokia and Windows Mobile.
Engineers from Google, Nokia and Microsoft will also work with students in the class to help them develop their concepts. One of the important aspects of this hands-on class, Abelson says, is "to give the students the experience of working with really experienced professionals" as they refine their applications. Professor Alex (Sandy) Pentland of the Media Lab and Eric Klopfer of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning will be co-teaching the class with Abelson. Andrew Yu of MIT's IS&T will also be working with the teams.
Two of the students who developed Locale, Carter Jernigan and Jasper Lin, graduated this June with degrees in computer science and are now working as software engineers. Christina Wright is also a recent graduate in computer science. And Clare Bayley is a junior, majoring in computer science. Jennifer Shu, a recent MIT graduate in computer science who works as a software engineer, was added to the team to help them perfect the product.
The team's application was one of 10 Google selected for the top prizes on Aug. 29, out of 50 finalists that were chosen from hundreds of entries. In addition to the cash prize, each of the winning applications will now be included with every new Android phone. The first such phones are expected to be released before the end of the year. Ten other teams won $100,000 each.
A team of MIT students walked away from their spring-semester course with a lot more than just an A and six credits: They just won a $275,000 top prize from Google for the application they developed for the company's new open-source Android cell-phone system.
The application, called "Locale," lets a cell phone automatically adjust its settings according to the location it's in -- for example, silencing the ringer when it detects that it's at the office or in a lecture hall.
Locale was developed by students in a class called "Building mobile applications with Android," (6.087), taught by Hal Abelson, the Class of 1922 Professor of Computer Science and Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The class is being offered again this fall, but this time is extending to two other cell-phone systems in addition to Google's Android: Nokia and Windows Mobile.
Engineers from Google, Nokia and Microsoft will also work with students in the class to help them develop their concepts. One of the important aspects of this hands-on class, Abelson says, is "to give the students the experience of working with really experienced professionals" as they refine their applications. Professor Alex (Sandy) Pentland of the Media Lab and Eric Klopfer of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning will be co-teaching the class with Abelson. Andrew Yu of MIT's IS&T will also be working with the teams.
Two of the students who developed Locale, Carter Jernigan and Jasper Lin, graduated this June with degrees in computer science and are now working as software engineers. Christina Wright is also a recent graduate in computer science. And Clare Bayley is a junior, majoring in computer science. Jennifer Shu, a recent MIT graduate in computer science who works as a software engineer, was added to the team to help them perfect the product.
The team's application was one of 10 Google selected for the top prizes on Aug. 29, out of 50 finalists that were chosen from hundreds of entries. In addition to the cash prize, each of the winning applications will now be included with every new Android phone. The first such phones are expected to be released before the end of the year. Ten other teams won $100,000 each.
D Subbarao is new RBI chief
Finance Secretary Duvvuri Subbarao, 59, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre who topped the 1972 batch, will be the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will take over from incumbent Yaga Venugopal Reddy, whose five-year tenure ends September 5.
Announcing this here today, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said Subbarao had been appointed for three years, though the norms allow a tenure of up to five years. By implication, Subbarao’s term could be extended by two years.
The appointment comes after considerable speculation over who would take over from Reddy, a retired IAS officer who became governor on September 6, 2003.
A key contender for the job was RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan, who met the finance minister last week. There was also some talk of Reddy being granted an extension.
Today, Chidambaram praised Reddy for his stint at the central bank. “His stewardship of the RBI saw some major changes and improvements. He led the RBI with distinction through a period of change and rapid growth. We warmly thank him for his services,” the finance minister said.
Subbarao has wide experience in public finance and has held important posts in this area. He had joined the finance ministry in May 2007, before which he worked as secretary of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
An IIT Kanpur alumnus, Subbarao was among the first of its graduates to join the civil services. He took a Master’s degree in economics from Ohio State University (1978), was a Humphrey Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1982-83) and later picked up a doctorate in Economics from Andhra University. Among other stints, he was also the lead economist at the World Bank from 1999 to 2004.
Widely seen as a reformer, he is credited with having authored a turnaround of Andhra Pradesh’s finances in the late nineties when the state slipped into an unprecedented fiscal crisis.
He takes charge at Mint Road at a time when inflation is ruling at an uncomfortable high of 12.4 per cent and monetary policy is focused on curbing the price rise and tackling inflationary expectations.
Subbarao is currently overseas on official business and was scheduled to return to New Delhi late tonight.
Subbarao’s appointment as RBI governor means a new secretary, department of economic affairs, will have to be appointed soon because he also held that post. Since he was the senior-most among his peers, he was appointed finance secretary.
Sources said Ashok Chawla, currently civil aviation secretary, may be appointed secretary, economic affairs. Chawla was additional secretary, economic affairs from April 2005 to January 2007. Chawla is an IAS officer of the 1973 batch from the Gujarat cadre.
Meanwhile, Sindhushree Khullar, currently additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been empanelled to pick up the secretary rank. She is an IAS officer of the 1975 batch of the AGMU cadre.
The finance ministry has five secretaries. Revenue secretary P V Bhide and financial services secretary Arun Ramanathan are from the 1973 batch. Disinvestment secretary Vivek Mehrotra and secretary expenditure Sushma Nath both belong to the 1974 batch. Even after Chawla joins, Ramanathan would be the senior-most among the secretaries at North Block. He is slated to retire in April 2009.
Sources suggest Chawla may eventually be appointed the new finance secretary once Ramanathan retires.
Technocrat Mohan joined the RBI as deputy governor in July 2005 for a five-year term. Before joining the central bank, Mohan, 60, worked as secretary, department of economic affairs, finance ministry, for less than a year. In this position, he was alternate governor of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Immediately before this, he was with RBI as deputy governor between September 2002 and October 2004.
It is not yet clear whether Mohan will continue in his present charge. He has two years to go as deputy governor and there is a suggestion that he may be headed to the World Bank at Washington. It is likely that Arvind Virmani, currently the chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, may be appointed as deputy governor in Mohan’s place.
Announcing this here today, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said Subbarao had been appointed for three years, though the norms allow a tenure of up to five years. By implication, Subbarao’s term could be extended by two years.
The appointment comes after considerable speculation over who would take over from Reddy, a retired IAS officer who became governor on September 6, 2003.
A key contender for the job was RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan, who met the finance minister last week. There was also some talk of Reddy being granted an extension.
Today, Chidambaram praised Reddy for his stint at the central bank. “His stewardship of the RBI saw some major changes and improvements. He led the RBI with distinction through a period of change and rapid growth. We warmly thank him for his services,” the finance minister said.
Subbarao has wide experience in public finance and has held important posts in this area. He had joined the finance ministry in May 2007, before which he worked as secretary of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
An IIT Kanpur alumnus, Subbarao was among the first of its graduates to join the civil services. He took a Master’s degree in economics from Ohio State University (1978), was a Humphrey Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1982-83) and later picked up a doctorate in Economics from Andhra University. Among other stints, he was also the lead economist at the World Bank from 1999 to 2004.
Widely seen as a reformer, he is credited with having authored a turnaround of Andhra Pradesh’s finances in the late nineties when the state slipped into an unprecedented fiscal crisis.
He takes charge at Mint Road at a time when inflation is ruling at an uncomfortable high of 12.4 per cent and monetary policy is focused on curbing the price rise and tackling inflationary expectations.
Subbarao is currently overseas on official business and was scheduled to return to New Delhi late tonight.
Subbarao’s appointment as RBI governor means a new secretary, department of economic affairs, will have to be appointed soon because he also held that post. Since he was the senior-most among his peers, he was appointed finance secretary.
Sources said Ashok Chawla, currently civil aviation secretary, may be appointed secretary, economic affairs. Chawla was additional secretary, economic affairs from April 2005 to January 2007. Chawla is an IAS officer of the 1973 batch from the Gujarat cadre.
Meanwhile, Sindhushree Khullar, currently additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been empanelled to pick up the secretary rank. She is an IAS officer of the 1975 batch of the AGMU cadre.
The finance ministry has five secretaries. Revenue secretary P V Bhide and financial services secretary Arun Ramanathan are from the 1973 batch. Disinvestment secretary Vivek Mehrotra and secretary expenditure Sushma Nath both belong to the 1974 batch. Even after Chawla joins, Ramanathan would be the senior-most among the secretaries at North Block. He is slated to retire in April 2009.
Sources suggest Chawla may eventually be appointed the new finance secretary once Ramanathan retires.
Technocrat Mohan joined the RBI as deputy governor in July 2005 for a five-year term. Before joining the central bank, Mohan, 60, worked as secretary, department of economic affairs, finance ministry, for less than a year. In this position, he was alternate governor of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Immediately before this, he was with RBI as deputy governor between September 2002 and October 2004.
It is not yet clear whether Mohan will continue in his present charge. He has two years to go as deputy governor and there is a suggestion that he may be headed to the World Bank at Washington. It is likely that Arvind Virmani, currently the chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, may be appointed as deputy governor in Mohan’s place.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tata threatens to pull out from Singur
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata today threatened to pull out of Singur if the stand off continues with the opponents of its small car plant.
The Government of West Bengal has been holding talks with the Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerji for the last few days to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to the opposition of the villagers to the Tata Motors plant which is to produce the low cost car Nano.
The Government of West Bengal has been holding talks with the Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerji for the last few days to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to the opposition of the villagers to the Tata Motors plant which is to produce the low cost car Nano.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Balance problems? Step into the iShoe
MIT grad student's invention could one day prevent falls
Your grandmother might have little in common with an astronaut, but both could benefit from a new device an MIT graduate student is designing to test balancing ability.
The iShoe insole could help doctors detect balance problems before a catastrophic fall occurs, says Erez Lieberman, a graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology who developed the technology as an intern at NASA.
Falls among the elderly are common and can be deadly: In 2005, nearly 300,000 Americans suffered hip fractures after a fall, and an average of 24 percent of hip-fracture patients aged 50 and over die in the year following their fracture, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Lieberman is now testing the iShoe technology in a small group of patients. The current model is equipped to diagnose balance problems, but future versions could help correct such problems, by providing sensory stimulation to the feet when the wearer is off-kilter.
"By doing that we can replace the sense and thus improve people's balance," Lieberman says.
Lieberman and other iShoe team members have applied for a patent on the technology, to be jointly held by MIT, Harvard and NASA. In April, the company won a $50,000 grant from the Lunar Ventures Competition to help with start-up costs.
Lieberman originally developed the technology to help NASA monitor balance problems in astronauts returning from space.
Zero gravity environments wreak havoc on the vestibular system, one of three body systems that control balance. (The others are vision and sensory receptors called proprioceptors, which tell you where your body parts are in relation to other body parts and the outside world.)
"The change in gravity really screws with their sense of balance. They're falling all over the place," says Lieberman, who is a Hertz Fellow and also receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense.
The effect usually lasts about 10 days, but NASA tests astronauts' balance for 16 days after their return. Astronauts go into a phone-booth-like box, where they undergo a series of balance tests such as platform shifts and wall shifts.
While at NASA, Lieberman developed a new system for gathering data and an algorithm to analyze the data.
"We've developed the first algorithm that is really capable of not just looking at the pressure distribution of proprioceptors on the feet but also analyzing what that's saying," he says.
Lieberman soon realized that the technology could reach a wider audience than just astronauts. His own grandmother suffered a bad fall several years ago, and he theorized that a balance diagnostic could help doctors catch balance problems before such a fall occurs.
"You have a gradual progression of loss of balance, osteoporosis, and other factors that can lead to the fall," Lieberman says.
The iShoe insole would measure and analyze the pressure distribution of the patient's foot and report back to their doctor. The device could also be outfitted with an alarm that would alert family members when a fall has occurred.
Lieberman and his colleagues are now testing the device in about 60 people, hoping to generate data that will help them create a model to predict the risk of a fall.
Other members of the iShoe team are Katherine Forth, a former NASA postdoctoral associate; Ricardo Piedrahita, a graduate of University of California at San Diego; and Qian Yang, a Harvard undergraduate
Friday, July 11, 2008
High-tech cowboy calls the cattle home
Why did the farmer put a Walkman on his cow?
Because an MIT professor told him to.
In a research project aimed at helping cattle farmers corral their herds more efficiently, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the US Department of Agriculture has devised a way to remotely issue commands to cows.
The researchers are still experimenting with exactly what sound will best lead a cow home, but they've tested annoying horns, helicopters, and crooning cowboys.
The "Ear-A-Round" device, which looks like a solar-powered Walkman, allows scientists to track an animal's location and movements. It also keeps information about the cow's body orientation - how its head moves, for example - to understand how it travels individually and with the herd.
"First you have to know what the cow is naturally inclined to do, and then the system is more likely to work," said researcher Daniela Rus, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. "You learn what not to do and what the animals dislike and what goes against their nature."
Rus first got the idea when she went to visit a friend in Australia who owns 500,000 cattle over two ranches. The herds are so big, ranchers have to corral the cows by helicopter to move them to better grazing lands or bring them home. Her friend complained that it was incredibly expensive and time consuming to repair and maintain fences on the ranches, and hard to keep track of the animals. He asked if Rus, a robotics expert, could help.
In August, the researchers will conduct a field test in the USDA's Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces, N.M., using cows that USDA scientist Dean M. Anderson has been training.
"Come on in, girls," he croons in their ears during the training. When they start moving, he stops talking. If they pause for three or four seconds, his voice starts up again. The challenge is whether they can be gathered just by the sound of his voice.
"Animals have very astute hearing," he said. "I had a cat that when you opened a can of pop, it didn't show up, but when you opened up a can of cat food, it was right there."
In an earlier test, the cows did
move when sounds were transmitted into their ears, but a guy in an all-terrain vehicle had to steer them in the right direction.
Although they expect most cows will respond to the sounds, an electric shock can be administered - like a dog's electric fence - if they don't act. Then they learn that they'd better respond to that first command, Rus said.
"The cows do have leaders, so if you instruct the leaders what to do, the herd will follow," said Rus.
Because an MIT professor told him to.
In a research project aimed at helping cattle farmers corral their herds more efficiently, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the US Department of Agriculture has devised a way to remotely issue commands to cows.
The researchers are still experimenting with exactly what sound will best lead a cow home, but they've tested annoying horns, helicopters, and crooning cowboys.
The "Ear-A-Round" device, which looks like a solar-powered Walkman, allows scientists to track an animal's location and movements. It also keeps information about the cow's body orientation - how its head moves, for example - to understand how it travels individually and with the herd.
"First you have to know what the cow is naturally inclined to do, and then the system is more likely to work," said researcher Daniela Rus, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. "You learn what not to do and what the animals dislike and what goes against their nature."
Rus first got the idea when she went to visit a friend in Australia who owns 500,000 cattle over two ranches. The herds are so big, ranchers have to corral the cows by helicopter to move them to better grazing lands or bring them home. Her friend complained that it was incredibly expensive and time consuming to repair and maintain fences on the ranches, and hard to keep track of the animals. He asked if Rus, a robotics expert, could help.
In August, the researchers will conduct a field test in the USDA's Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces, N.M., using cows that USDA scientist Dean M. Anderson has been training.
"Come on in, girls," he croons in their ears during the training. When they start moving, he stops talking. If they pause for three or four seconds, his voice starts up again. The challenge is whether they can be gathered just by the sound of his voice.
"Animals have very astute hearing," he said. "I had a cat that when you opened a can of pop, it didn't show up, but when you opened up a can of cat food, it was right there."
In an earlier test, the cows did
move when sounds were transmitted into their ears, but a guy in an all-terrain vehicle had to steer them in the right direction.
Although they expect most cows will respond to the sounds, an electric shock can be administered - like a dog's electric fence - if they don't act. Then they learn that they'd better respond to that first command, Rus said.
"The cows do have leaders, so if you instruct the leaders what to do, the herd will follow," said Rus.
Dreamworks approaches Eros for stake sale
Hollywood celebrity director Steven Spielberg, who is reportedly in talks for a two-billion-dollar deal with Indian billionaire Anil Ambani, has also approached a UK-listed bollywood distribution and production firm for a possible stake sale.
In an interview to The Times newspaper published today, Chief executive of Eros International Kishore Lulla revealed that he was recently approached by a banker to know whether he would consider buying a stake in Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks studio.
"Lulla says there are no plans for acquisitions, despite revealing that a banker recently asked if he would consider buying a stake in Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks studio, currently the subject of talks with Indian billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Group," the newspaper said in an article published in its online edition.
Noting that the plans are for organic growth, the daily said that while Lulla may want to build a studio on the Hollywood model, he is worried about making the investment.
"Getting too involved with Hollywood is risky at the moment," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Lulla has a family fortune worth 206 million pounds.
In 2007, Lulla joined hands with Sony Pictures to co-produce films and the pair have held meetings with artists and writers in an effort to a new superhero.
"They are planning to create a Spider-Man-type character in Hindi and have hired Charles Darby and a top visual effects team. Darby is the renowned matte artist who has worked on dozens of films from Waterworld to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," The Times said.
In an interview to The Times newspaper published today, Chief executive of Eros International Kishore Lulla revealed that he was recently approached by a banker to know whether he would consider buying a stake in Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks studio.
"Lulla says there are no plans for acquisitions, despite revealing that a banker recently asked if he would consider buying a stake in Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks studio, currently the subject of talks with Indian billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Group," the newspaper said in an article published in its online edition.
Noting that the plans are for organic growth, the daily said that while Lulla may want to build a studio on the Hollywood model, he is worried about making the investment.
"Getting too involved with Hollywood is risky at the moment," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Lulla has a family fortune worth 206 million pounds.
In 2007, Lulla joined hands with Sony Pictures to co-produce films and the pair have held meetings with artists and writers in an effort to a new superhero.
"They are planning to create a Spider-Man-type character in Hindi and have hired Charles Darby and a top visual effects team. Darby is the renowned matte artist who has worked on dozens of films from Waterworld to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," The Times said.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
MIT reports finer lines for microchips
***Advance could lead to next-generation computer chips, solar cells, more***
MIT researchers have achieved a significant advance in nanoscale lithographic technology, used in the manufacture of computer chips and other electronic devices, to make finer patterns of lines over larger areas than have been possible with other methods.
Their new technique could pave the way for next-generation computer memory and integrated-circuit chips, as well as advanced solar cells and other devices.
The team has created lines about 25 nanometers (billionths of a meter) wide separated by 25 nm spaces. For comparison, the most advanced commercially available computer chips today have a minimum feature size of 65 nm. Intel recently announced that it will start manufacturing at the 32 nm minimum line-width scale in 2009, and the industry roadmap calls for 25 nm features in the 2013-2015 time frame.
The MIT technique could also be economically attractive because it works without the chemically amplified resists, immersion lithography techniques and expensive lithography tools that are widely considered essential to work at this scale with optical lithography. Periodic patterns at the nanoscale, while having many important scientific and commercial applications, are notoriously difficult to produce with low cost and high yield. The new method could make possible the commercialization of many new nanotechnology inventions that have languished in laboratories due to the lack of a viable manufacturing method.
The MIT team includes Mark Schattenburg and Ralf Heilmann of the MIT Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research and graduate students Chih-Hao Chang and Yong Zhao of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Their results have been accepted for publication in the journal Optics Letters and were recently presented at the 52nd International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication in Portland, Ore.
Schattenburg and colleagues used a technique known as interference lithography (IL) to generate the patterns, but they did so using a tool called the nanoruler--built by MIT graduate students--that is designed to perform a particularly high precision variant of IL called scanning-beam interference lithography, or SBIL. This recently developed technique uses 100 MHz sound waves, controlled by custom high-speed electronics, to diffract and frequency-shift the laser light, resulting in rapid patterning of large areas with unprecedented control over feature geometry.
While IL has been around for a long time, the SBIL technique has enabled, for the first time, the precise and repeatable pattern registration and overlay over large areas, thanks to a new high-precision phase detection algorithm developed by Zhao and a novel image reversal process developed by Chang.
According to Schattenburg, "What we're finding is that control of the lithographic imaging process is no longer the limiting step. Material issues such as line sidewall roughness are now a major barrier to still-finer length scales. However, there are several new technologies on the horizon that have the potential for alleviating these problems. These results demonstrate that there's still a lot of room left for scale shrinkage in optical lithography. We don't see any insurmountable roadblocks just yet."
The MIT team performed the research in the Space Nanotechnology Laboratory of the MIT Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research, with financial support from NASA and NSF.
MIT researchers have achieved a significant advance in nanoscale lithographic technology, used in the manufacture of computer chips and other electronic devices, to make finer patterns of lines over larger areas than have been possible with other methods.
Their new technique could pave the way for next-generation computer memory and integrated-circuit chips, as well as advanced solar cells and other devices.
The team has created lines about 25 nanometers (billionths of a meter) wide separated by 25 nm spaces. For comparison, the most advanced commercially available computer chips today have a minimum feature size of 65 nm. Intel recently announced that it will start manufacturing at the 32 nm minimum line-width scale in 2009, and the industry roadmap calls for 25 nm features in the 2013-2015 time frame.
The MIT technique could also be economically attractive because it works without the chemically amplified resists, immersion lithography techniques and expensive lithography tools that are widely considered essential to work at this scale with optical lithography. Periodic patterns at the nanoscale, while having many important scientific and commercial applications, are notoriously difficult to produce with low cost and high yield. The new method could make possible the commercialization of many new nanotechnology inventions that have languished in laboratories due to the lack of a viable manufacturing method.
The MIT team includes Mark Schattenburg and Ralf Heilmann of the MIT Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research and graduate students Chih-Hao Chang and Yong Zhao of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Their results have been accepted for publication in the journal Optics Letters and were recently presented at the 52nd International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication in Portland, Ore.
Schattenburg and colleagues used a technique known as interference lithography (IL) to generate the patterns, but they did so using a tool called the nanoruler--built by MIT graduate students--that is designed to perform a particularly high precision variant of IL called scanning-beam interference lithography, or SBIL. This recently developed technique uses 100 MHz sound waves, controlled by custom high-speed electronics, to diffract and frequency-shift the laser light, resulting in rapid patterning of large areas with unprecedented control over feature geometry.
While IL has been around for a long time, the SBIL technique has enabled, for the first time, the precise and repeatable pattern registration and overlay over large areas, thanks to a new high-precision phase detection algorithm developed by Zhao and a novel image reversal process developed by Chang.
According to Schattenburg, "What we're finding is that control of the lithographic imaging process is no longer the limiting step. Material issues such as line sidewall roughness are now a major barrier to still-finer length scales. However, there are several new technologies on the horizon that have the potential for alleviating these problems. These results demonstrate that there's still a lot of room left for scale shrinkage in optical lithography. We don't see any insurmountable roadblocks just yet."
The MIT team performed the research in the Space Nanotechnology Laboratory of the MIT Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research, with financial support from NASA and NSF.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
ISRO to launch youth satellite
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch a dedicated satellite for
scientific experiments pursued by the undergraduate and post-graduate students from various universities in India. Annoucing this project in Bangalore on Thursday, ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said that the launch of this satellite is expected sometimes next year on-board a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) sometimes next year.
The launch vehicle will carry the auxiliary satellite with scientific experiments developed by the undergraduate and post-graduate students from various universities in India, Russia and other countries. Apart from the payload (auxiliary satellite), the launch vehicle will also carry a mini remote sensing satellite.
According to ISRO, this project is the brain-child of A P J Abdul Kalam, who at the same event in Bangalore termed this project as an 'youth satellite.'
Earlier, ISRO had made an announcement of opportunities to institutions and universities to send experiment proposals which can be part of the launch. "We are in the process of building the satellite, a part of which will be dedicated for the youths. We are planning to launch this from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota off the Andhra Pradesh Coast, next year," said Nair, addressing the conference to celebrate the golden jubilee celebrations of the National Aerospace Laboratory.
According to an ISRO spokesperson, this will help the student community conduct experiments in remote sensing and observing outer space. The experiment will also help in galactic observation, atmospheric studies among many other experiments, he added.
scientific experiments pursued by the undergraduate and post-graduate students from various universities in India. Annoucing this project in Bangalore on Thursday, ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said that the launch of this satellite is expected sometimes next year on-board a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) sometimes next year.
The launch vehicle will carry the auxiliary satellite with scientific experiments developed by the undergraduate and post-graduate students from various universities in India, Russia and other countries. Apart from the payload (auxiliary satellite), the launch vehicle will also carry a mini remote sensing satellite.
According to ISRO, this project is the brain-child of A P J Abdul Kalam, who at the same event in Bangalore termed this project as an 'youth satellite.'
Earlier, ISRO had made an announcement of opportunities to institutions and universities to send experiment proposals which can be part of the launch. "We are in the process of building the satellite, a part of which will be dedicated for the youths. We are planning to launch this from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota off the Andhra Pradesh Coast, next year," said Nair, addressing the conference to celebrate the golden jubilee celebrations of the National Aerospace Laboratory.
According to an ISRO spokesperson, this will help the student community conduct experiments in remote sensing and observing outer space. The experiment will also help in galactic observation, atmospheric studies among many other experiments, he added.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Toyota plans series of compact car launches
In a move that seems like making up for its delayed entry into the compact car segment, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), a joint venture between Japan's Toyota Motor and Pune-based Kirloskar Group, is planning to launch a series of models with engines varying between 1.1-1.3 litre over the next two to three years to address the 1-million unit compact car market in India.
Sources close to TKM said that at least four models fitted with 1.1 litre and 1.3 litre engines are in the works. Hatchbacks and sedans are expected to be rolled out with these two engines. The first car in this series, however, will be a petrol sedan with a 1.3-litre engine pitted against the like of Suzuki's Dzire, Ford Fiesta and Hyundai's Verna.
The hatchback TKM plans to sell in India would be pitted against the likes of Suzuki's Swift and Hyundai's Getz.
The new product launches are expected to coincide with the start of commercial production at the second plant that is being built adjacent to the current plant in Bidadi near Bangalore, which can roll out 63,000 vehicles a year. TKM had recently announced that it would be investing Rs 1,400 crore in the new plant which is expected to have an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles. Production is expected to start in the new plant in 2010.
The company also plans to roll out the diesel Corolla, Toyota's popular premium sedan from this new plant.
TKM is also getting ready to launch the sports utility vehicle (SUV) Fortuner in the price range of Rs 16-20 lakh depending on whether it would take route of importing fully built units or bring completely knocked down units to be assembled in India. Experts, however said that the top-end model of Fortuner in India will not cost more than Rs 15-16 lakh. The launch date for this SUV is expected to be between June and September 2009.
Responding to a detailed e-mail from Business Standard on the company's products launch plans, a TKM spokesperson wrote, "I am sure you will appreciate and understand that our future product plans are confidential in nature and as such, we are unable to share details pertaining to them."
Fortuner is based on the international Innovative Multipurpose Vehicle (IMV) platform. The company's popular Innova is also built on the same platform. Fortuner is a popular model in South East Asian markets like Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. This SUV is currently sold in three variants with engine sizes varying between 2.5 to 3.0 litre and also available in both four-wheel drive version and as a 4x2 version.
Sources close to TKM said that at least four models fitted with 1.1 litre and 1.3 litre engines are in the works. Hatchbacks and sedans are expected to be rolled out with these two engines. The first car in this series, however, will be a petrol sedan with a 1.3-litre engine pitted against the like of Suzuki's Dzire, Ford Fiesta and Hyundai's Verna.
The hatchback TKM plans to sell in India would be pitted against the likes of Suzuki's Swift and Hyundai's Getz.
The new product launches are expected to coincide with the start of commercial production at the second plant that is being built adjacent to the current plant in Bidadi near Bangalore, which can roll out 63,000 vehicles a year. TKM had recently announced that it would be investing Rs 1,400 crore in the new plant which is expected to have an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles. Production is expected to start in the new plant in 2010.
The company also plans to roll out the diesel Corolla, Toyota's popular premium sedan from this new plant.
TKM is also getting ready to launch the sports utility vehicle (SUV) Fortuner in the price range of Rs 16-20 lakh depending on whether it would take route of importing fully built units or bring completely knocked down units to be assembled in India. Experts, however said that the top-end model of Fortuner in India will not cost more than Rs 15-16 lakh. The launch date for this SUV is expected to be between June and September 2009.
Responding to a detailed e-mail from Business Standard on the company's products launch plans, a TKM spokesperson wrote, "I am sure you will appreciate and understand that our future product plans are confidential in nature and as such, we are unable to share details pertaining to them."
Fortuner is based on the international Innovative Multipurpose Vehicle (IMV) platform. The company's popular Innova is also built on the same platform. Fortuner is a popular model in South East Asian markets like Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. This SUV is currently sold in three variants with engine sizes varying between 2.5 to 3.0 litre and also available in both four-wheel drive version and as a 4x2 version.
Friday, June 20, 2008
MIT prototype solar dish (Low-cost system could revolutionize global energy production)
A team led by MIT students this week successfully tested a prototype of what may be the most cost-efficient solar power system in the world--one team members believe has the potential to revolutionize global energy production.
The system consists of a 12-foot-wide mirrored dish that team members have spent the last several weeks assembling. The dish, made from a lightweight frame of thin, inexpensive aluminum tubing and strips of mirror, concentrates sunlight by a factor of 1,000--creating heat so intense it could melt a bar of steel.
To demonstrate the system's power, Spencer Ahrens, who just received his master's in mechanical engineering from MIT, stood in a grassy field on the edge of the campus this week holding a long plank. Slowly, he eased it into position in front of the dish. Almost instantly there was a big puff of smoke, and flames erupted from the wood. Success!
Burning sticks is not what this dish is really for, of course. Attached to the end of a 12-foot-long aluminum tube rising from the center of the dish is a black-painted coil of tubing that has water running through it. When the dish is pointing directly at the sun, the water in the coil flashes immediately into steam.
Someday soon, Ahrens hopes, the company he and his teammates have founded, called RawSolar, will produce such dishes by the thousands. They could be set up in huge arrays to provide steam for industrial processing, or for heating or cooling buildings, as well as to hook up to steam turbines and generate electricity. Once in mass production, such arrays should pay for themselves within a couple of years with the energy they produce.
The system consists of a 12-foot-wide mirrored dish that team members have spent the last several weeks assembling. The dish, made from a lightweight frame of thin, inexpensive aluminum tubing and strips of mirror, concentrates sunlight by a factor of 1,000--creating heat so intense it could melt a bar of steel.
To demonstrate the system's power, Spencer Ahrens, who just received his master's in mechanical engineering from MIT, stood in a grassy field on the edge of the campus this week holding a long plank. Slowly, he eased it into position in front of the dish. Almost instantly there was a big puff of smoke, and flames erupted from the wood. Success!
Burning sticks is not what this dish is really for, of course. Attached to the end of a 12-foot-long aluminum tube rising from the center of the dish is a black-painted coil of tubing that has water running through it. When the dish is pointing directly at the sun, the water in the coil flashes immediately into steam.
Someday soon, Ahrens hopes, the company he and his teammates have founded, called RawSolar, will produce such dishes by the thousands. They could be set up in huge arrays to provide steam for industrial processing, or for heating or cooling buildings, as well as to hook up to steam turbines and generate electricity. Once in mass production, such arrays should pay for themselves within a couple of years with the energy they produce.
Monday, June 16, 2008
TN to help Tata Steel with land buy
The Tamil Nadu government has agreed to help Tata Steel procure nearly 10,000 acres of land for its Rs 2,500-crore titanium dioxide project in Tuticorin district, 540 km south-west of state capital Chennai.
This is the first time the state government has officially said it will get involved in the land acquisition process for Tata Steel's ambitious project, which has been on paper for nearly a year.
Tata Steel has been able to do little to see the project off the ground since signing the memorandum of understanding with the state government in June 2007 because it could not acquire the land on its own.
Senior government officials said though the state would not directly buy large tracts of land on behalf of the steel major, it would ensure that the acquisition process was smooth for Tata Steel to do so on its own.
"We have already instructed district collectors and other revenue officials to make sure that clear title deeds were made available for the company to approach legitimate land owners. We will also help Tata Steel by buying small bits of land to let them aggregate continuous land area of 10,000 acres (for mining)," said a senior state official.
Tata Steel had earlier indicated that it may look at alternative locations like Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to relocate the project owing to delays over land acquisition. Tata Steel officials, however, added that such a drastic move would be taken only after extensive negotiations with the Tamil Nadu government.
"We had committed ourselves to bringing this project to Tamil Nadu and will try to honour it as much as we can," a senior Tata Steel executive said.
The land acquisition process was also caught in political crossfire as powerful local interests in Tuticorin had objected to the project with some even claiming that Tata Steel was trying to buy agricultural land.
The state government had then dismissed these charges and said that less than 4 per cent of the land area where Tata Steel proposed to mine came under agriculture. The state continues to support this stance.
This is the first time the state government has officially said it will get involved in the land acquisition process for Tata Steel's ambitious project, which has been on paper for nearly a year.
Tata Steel has been able to do little to see the project off the ground since signing the memorandum of understanding with the state government in June 2007 because it could not acquire the land on its own.
Senior government officials said though the state would not directly buy large tracts of land on behalf of the steel major, it would ensure that the acquisition process was smooth for Tata Steel to do so on its own.
"We have already instructed district collectors and other revenue officials to make sure that clear title deeds were made available for the company to approach legitimate land owners. We will also help Tata Steel by buying small bits of land to let them aggregate continuous land area of 10,000 acres (for mining)," said a senior state official.
Tata Steel had earlier indicated that it may look at alternative locations like Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to relocate the project owing to delays over land acquisition. Tata Steel officials, however, added that such a drastic move would be taken only after extensive negotiations with the Tamil Nadu government.
"We had committed ourselves to bringing this project to Tamil Nadu and will try to honour it as much as we can," a senior Tata Steel executive said.
The land acquisition process was also caught in political crossfire as powerful local interests in Tuticorin had objected to the project with some even claiming that Tata Steel was trying to buy agricultural land.
The state government had then dismissed these charges and said that less than 4 per cent of the land area where Tata Steel proposed to mine came under agriculture. The state continues to support this stance.
Friday, June 13, 2008
NASA Telescope to pursue gamma rays
NASA on Wednesday launched a telescope to scout out elusive, super high-energy gamma rays lurking in the universe.
Glast — a NASA acronym standing for Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope — began its five- to 10-year earth-orbiting mission with a midday blastoff aboard a Delta rocket.
The $690 million telescope will pick up where NASA’s Compton Gamma Ray Observatory left off before its deliberate destruction in 2000, but in a bigger and better way. In addition to the U.S., participating countries include Italy, France, Germany, Sweden and Japan.
With superior technology and insight gained from Compton and other telescopes, Glast will be able to do in three hours, or two orbits of Earth — survey the entire sky — what Compton took 15 months to do. What’s more, Glast and its particle detectors are much more sensitive and precise, and should provide an unprecedented view into the high-energy universe from a 555-km-high orbit.
“In a sense what Glast is doing is giving us a chance to peek behind the curtain or look under the hood for how things are working, and it’s only by doing this sort of exploration that we’re able to learn these things. It’s a form of scientific enlightenment,” said NASA project scientist Steven Ritz.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Super-sensitive and small: New MIT detector uses nanotubes to sense deadly gases
Using carbon nanotubes, MIT chemical engineers have built the most sensitive electronic detector yet for sensing deadly gases such as the nerve agent sarin.
The technology, which could also detect mustard gas, ammonia and VX nerve agents, has potential to be used as a low-cost, low-energy device that could be carried in a pocket or deployed inside a building to monitor hazardous chemicals.
"We think this could be applied to a variety of environmental and security applications," said Michael Strano, the Charles and Hilda Roddey Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and senior author of a paper describing the work published this week in the online edition of Angewandte Chemie.
Strano's sensor has exhibited record sensitivity to molecules mimicking organophosphate nerve toxins such as sarin: It can detect minute quantities as low as 1 femtomole (1 billion molecules), roughly equivalent to a concentration of 25 parts per trillion. "There's nothing that even comes close," he said.
Sarin, which killed 12 people in a 1995 terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway, can kill at very low concentrations (parts per million) after 10 minutes, so highly sensitive detection is imperative to save lives. The new detector is far more sensitive than needed to detect lethal doses.
To build their super-sensitive detector, Strano and his team used an array of carbon nanotubes aligned across microelectrodes. Each tube consists of a single-layer lattice of carbon atoms, rolled into a long cylinder with a diameter about 1/50,000 of the width of a human hair, which acts as a molecular wire.
The nanotube sensors require very little power--about 0.0003 watts. One sensor could run essentially forever on a regular battery. "It's something that could sit in the corner of a room and you could just forget about it," Strano said.
The technology, which could also detect mustard gas, ammonia and VX nerve agents, has potential to be used as a low-cost, low-energy device that could be carried in a pocket or deployed inside a building to monitor hazardous chemicals.
"We think this could be applied to a variety of environmental and security applications," said Michael Strano, the Charles and Hilda Roddey Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and senior author of a paper describing the work published this week in the online edition of Angewandte Chemie.
Strano's sensor has exhibited record sensitivity to molecules mimicking organophosphate nerve toxins such as sarin: It can detect minute quantities as low as 1 femtomole (1 billion molecules), roughly equivalent to a concentration of 25 parts per trillion. "There's nothing that even comes close," he said.
Sarin, which killed 12 people in a 1995 terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway, can kill at very low concentrations (parts per million) after 10 minutes, so highly sensitive detection is imperative to save lives. The new detector is far more sensitive than needed to detect lethal doses.
To build their super-sensitive detector, Strano and his team used an array of carbon nanotubes aligned across microelectrodes. Each tube consists of a single-layer lattice of carbon atoms, rolled into a long cylinder with a diameter about 1/50,000 of the width of a human hair, which acts as a molecular wire.
The nanotube sensors require very little power--about 0.0003 watts. One sensor could run essentially forever on a regular battery. "It's something that could sit in the corner of a room and you could just forget about it," Strano said.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Yunus tells MIT grads they can 'change the world'
2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus told graduating students at MIT's 142nd Commencement exercises on Friday that they "represent the future of the world," and urged them to spend at least part of their time in coming years creating a whole new kind of businesses to help make the world a better place.
Nature cooperated with MIT's Commencement, but only after threatening to put a serious damper on the ceremony: The opening processional was delayed a few minutes by rain that had been pouring down through the early morning, but the skies cleared just in time for the ceremonies to proceed and for 2,335 graduates to receive their degrees.
Citing his own in experiences in going against all conventional wisdom in the pioneering creation of Grameen Bank in his native Bangladesh--the forerunner of what is now a multibillion-dollar worldwide trend in microlending--Yunus said such businesses have a fundamentally different philosophy than conventional companies that see their prime obligation as the maximization of profit.
What's needed, Yunus said, is to "reformulate the concept of a businessman"--not to replace the present model, but to offer another alternative that people can choose to follow. Such new-style businesspeople, he said, would have as their goal not maximum profit but "achieving some predefined social objective."
Creating such alternative socially conscious businesses, he said, "will bring a big change in the world." And for Yunus, this is not just talk, but a history of real action: In addition to his now-famous bank, he has already created partnerships to start a variety of such socially conscious businesses. For example, he created Grameen Phone to bring cell-phone service to Bangladesh and other developing countries, where most homes have no electricity, plumbing or telephone service.
Yunus has also helped to start "social businesses" including one to make yogurt that has added nutrients to help the millions of malnourished children in Bangladesh, another to provide a low-cost health-insurance program, a company to provide safe drinking water "in a sustainable way to all the people who are faced with a water crisis," an eye-care hospital, a shoe company and one to produce insecticide-treated mosquito nets to combat malaria.
Nature cooperated with MIT's Commencement, but only after threatening to put a serious damper on the ceremony: The opening processional was delayed a few minutes by rain that had been pouring down through the early morning, but the skies cleared just in time for the ceremonies to proceed and for 2,335 graduates to receive their degrees.
Citing his own in experiences in going against all conventional wisdom in the pioneering creation of Grameen Bank in his native Bangladesh--the forerunner of what is now a multibillion-dollar worldwide trend in microlending--Yunus said such businesses have a fundamentally different philosophy than conventional companies that see their prime obligation as the maximization of profit.
What's needed, Yunus said, is to "reformulate the concept of a businessman"--not to replace the present model, but to offer another alternative that people can choose to follow. Such new-style businesspeople, he said, would have as their goal not maximum profit but "achieving some predefined social objective."
Creating such alternative socially conscious businesses, he said, "will bring a big change in the world." And for Yunus, this is not just talk, but a history of real action: In addition to his now-famous bank, he has already created partnerships to start a variety of such socially conscious businesses. For example, he created Grameen Phone to bring cell-phone service to Bangladesh and other developing countries, where most homes have no electricity, plumbing or telephone service.
Yunus has also helped to start "social businesses" including one to make yogurt that has added nutrients to help the millions of malnourished children in Bangladesh, another to provide a low-cost health-insurance program, a company to provide safe drinking water "in a sustainable way to all the people who are faced with a water crisis," an eye-care hospital, a shoe company and one to produce insecticide-treated mosquito nets to combat malaria.
Tata Motors doubles fund-raising plan
To raise $1billion abroad; Hikes borrowing limit to Rs 20,000 crore; To seek shareholder's nod. After the successful acquisition of English luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata Motors, the country's largest automobile maker, has said that it plans to raise an additional $1 billion in the international market to fund its expansion plans, which include strategic alliances and acquisitions.
In a release issued to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday, the company stated that it will seek shareholder approval to increase its borrowing limit to Rs 20,000 crore from Rs 12,000 crore announced in the last AGM. The additional capital does not include the firm's temporary loans obtained or to be obtained from its bankers in the ordinary co urse of business.
"The company has big plans for expanding its product range and presence in the domestic and global markets in commercial and passenger vehicle, including through strategic alliances and acquisition opportunities," said the release.
The shareholder approval has also been sought for raising $500-600 million (about Rs 2,600 crore), which would be beyond the purview of the approval sought for raising $1 billion by issuing securities in the international market depending on market conditions.
The company recently completed the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from US auto major Ford Motor Company (FMC) for $2.3 billion (Rs 9,500 crore). The acquisition was the largest overseas takeover by a domestic company in the automobile space. The brands recorded a combined turnover of nearly $15 billion and sales of 286,000 units in calendar year 2007.
The great Indian oil trick: under-recoveries overstated 15%
The under-realisation on fuel sales reported by the country's oil companies is overstated by as much as 15 per cent, according to experts, though this does not mean that the oil companies are making profits on selling subsidised petrol, diesel, cooking gas and kerosene.
"A part of the under-recovery calculations is notional. It does not actually exist," said a Delhi-based analyst, who advises the country's oil companies.
OVERSTATED UNDER-REALISATION
# Oil companies say calculations based on pre-defined government formula
# Calculation assumes import cost of petrol, diesel, LPG and Kerosene
# Imports of petrol & diesel are negligible
# Govt pruned Rs 78,000 cr under-realisation claim of oil companies to Rs 70,000 cr last year
The optimum or "desired" selling price is calculated assuming that the fuel is imported and then processed, transported and marketed when in fact imports accounted for 3 per cent of petrol consumption, 6 per cent of diesel consumption and a quarter of cooking gas and kerosene consumption.
The oil marketing companies calculate the under-realisation of fuel sales by taking the difference between the market price of the fuel and the subsidised selling prices. The market price is benchmarked to the price of the fuel on the Singapore exchange to which expenses such as freight, insurance and customs duty are added.
Refinery margins and processing charges are then added to this to make up what is called the refinery gate price, which is the price at which the refinery sells the fuels to the oil marketers.
The refinery gate price is calculated only for the four subsidised fuels irrespective of whether they are imported or not.
The oil marketers then add transportation charges, marketing margins and dealers' commissions to the refinery gate price to arrive at the desired selling price of the fuel.
"A part of the under-recovery calculations is notional. It does not actually exist," said a Delhi-based analyst, who advises the country's oil companies.
OVERSTATED UNDER-REALISATION
# Oil companies say calculations based on pre-defined government formula
# Calculation assumes import cost of petrol, diesel, LPG and Kerosene
# Imports of petrol & diesel are negligible
# Govt pruned Rs 78,000 cr under-realisation claim of oil companies to Rs 70,000 cr last year
The optimum or "desired" selling price is calculated assuming that the fuel is imported and then processed, transported and marketed when in fact imports accounted for 3 per cent of petrol consumption, 6 per cent of diesel consumption and a quarter of cooking gas and kerosene consumption.
The oil marketing companies calculate the under-realisation of fuel sales by taking the difference between the market price of the fuel and the subsidised selling prices. The market price is benchmarked to the price of the fuel on the Singapore exchange to which expenses such as freight, insurance and customs duty are added.
Refinery margins and processing charges are then added to this to make up what is called the refinery gate price, which is the price at which the refinery sells the fuels to the oil marketers.
The refinery gate price is calculated only for the four subsidised fuels irrespective of whether they are imported or not.
The oil marketers then add transportation charges, marketing margins and dealers' commissions to the refinery gate price to arrive at the desired selling price of the fuel.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
RCom, MTN close to share swap deal
Reliance Communications (RCom) and South African telecom major MTN Group are close to finalising a reverse merger deal under which RCom will become a subsidiary of MTN Group and its chairman Anil Ambani will initially hold 28 to 30 per cent in the merged entity, whicg would make him the largest shareholder.
The deal would create a telecom colossus with 115 million subscribers in 25 countries.
Ambani, who holds 66 per cent in RCom, may then buy another 4 to 6 per cent either through market operations or from shareholders to reach a 34 per cent shareholding in MTN through an all-cash deal. The promoters will have to pay $1.8 billion to $2.5 billion to buy the residual stake.
MTN's promoters will hold the remaining 65 per cent stake in the merged entity.
The Ambanis do not want to exceed a 34 per cent holding in MTN because South African rules mandate that crossing the 35 per cent limit invites a "tender offer" (open offer) for 20 per cent of shares.
The deal would create a telecom colossus with 115 million subscribers in 25 countries.
Ambani, who holds 66 per cent in RCom, may then buy another 4 to 6 per cent either through market operations or from shareholders to reach a 34 per cent shareholding in MTN through an all-cash deal. The promoters will have to pay $1.8 billion to $2.5 billion to buy the residual stake.
MTN's promoters will hold the remaining 65 per cent stake in the merged entity.
The Ambanis do not want to exceed a 34 per cent holding in MTN because South African rules mandate that crossing the 35 per cent limit invites a "tender offer" (open offer) for 20 per cent of shares.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
RPL set to earn revenues this year
The Jamnagar refinery is likely to be completed in record 36 months.
Reliance Petroleum's new export-oriented 29 million tonnes refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat will start generating revenues from this year.
Reliance Petroleum (RPL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani, in an address to its shareholders during the company's third annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday said, "I am happy to announce that the refinery will start generating revenues from this year itself. The RPL team is set to create a world record by constructing the new refinery at Jamnagar in less than 36 months."
Tata explores market for JLR launch in India
Days after completing the acquisition of the luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR), India's largest domestic automobile company Tata Motors is exploring the feasibility of launching the two marques in India.
The company will be conducting a study on the demand for the models of Jaguar and Land Rover, which are priced between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 70 lakh in the United Kingdom, company officials said today at a conference call for analysts.
Prices will double if the models are sold in India through direct imports as completely built-up (CBU) units since they will attract import duties of 114 per cent.
The company, however, did not specify the timeframe for the launch but said the numbers derived from the two brands in India may be low.
Analysts believe that India is a developing market for luxury automobiles with global luxury brands like Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Audi already here. Sales of luxury car brands (priced above Rs 40 lakh) in the first five months of 2008 have already exceeded 2007's whole-year numbers.
The launch of JLR will certainly be a positive step for Tata Motors, which is increasing its market base internationally even as it explores markets like China and Russia, said analysts who were part of the conference call.
In the UK, Jaguar mainly sells four models including X-Type, XF, XJ Series, XK Series, in estate, saloon, open-top and coupe forms. Land Rover sells four models including the Defender, Discovery, Freelander and Range Rover.
Ford Credit has committed to finance the two brands in various markets across the world for 12 months. To supplement this, Tata Motors has signed up with financing companies overseas to supply credit once Ford Credit's term is over.
Tata Motors paid Ford $2.3 billion for JLR early this year. The company had raised $3 billion in the form of bridge loans from a clutch of banks.
The company intends to repay the loan through a Rs 7,200-crore rights issue later this year, the issue price of which will be decided at a later date.
The company will be conducting a study on the demand for the models of Jaguar and Land Rover, which are priced between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 70 lakh in the United Kingdom, company officials said today at a conference call for analysts.
Prices will double if the models are sold in India through direct imports as completely built-up (CBU) units since they will attract import duties of 114 per cent.
The company, however, did not specify the timeframe for the launch but said the numbers derived from the two brands in India may be low.
Analysts believe that India is a developing market for luxury automobiles with global luxury brands like Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Audi already here. Sales of luxury car brands (priced above Rs 40 lakh) in the first five months of 2008 have already exceeded 2007's whole-year numbers.
The launch of JLR will certainly be a positive step for Tata Motors, which is increasing its market base internationally even as it explores markets like China and Russia, said analysts who were part of the conference call.
In the UK, Jaguar mainly sells four models including X-Type, XF, XJ Series, XK Series, in estate, saloon, open-top and coupe forms. Land Rover sells four models including the Defender, Discovery, Freelander and Range Rover.
Ford Credit has committed to finance the two brands in various markets across the world for 12 months. To supplement this, Tata Motors has signed up with financing companies overseas to supply credit once Ford Credit's term is over.
Tata Motors paid Ford $2.3 billion for JLR early this year. The company had raised $3 billion in the form of bridge loans from a clutch of banks.
The company intends to repay the loan through a Rs 7,200-crore rights issue later this year, the issue price of which will be decided at a later date.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Toyota brings fuel cell dream closer to reality
Toyota Motor Corp said today it had developed a new zero-emission fuel-cell vehicle that has a longer cruising distance than previous models and can operate in freezing temperatures.
Japanese companies have been working to create a viable zero-emission car running on fuel cells, which produce electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, leaving water as the only by-product.
Toyota's system "was enhanced to further improve cruising distance and low-temperature starts, which had presented obstacles to widespread fuel-cell vehicle use," the company said in a statement.
Toyota engineers managed to control the amount of water produced inside the fuel-cell system, which previously interfered with electrical generation at low temperatures.
Fuel efficiency was also improved, the automaker said. Toyota said it would continue to strive to improve the durability and reduce the cost of fuel-cell vehicles to bring about their widespread use.
Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe has said previously that it will take years to make eco-friendly cars running on fuel cells commercially viable.
Besides the hefty price, motorists would also need an infrastructure of hyrogen filling stations if they are to take the cars on the road.
Toyota was a pioneer of petrol-electric hybrid cars which are attracting growing interest at a time of soaring oil prices and increasing concerns about global warming.
The International Energy Agency estimated today that nearly a billion electric or fuel-cell vehicles may need to be put on the road as part of an "energy technology revolution" to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Japanese companies have been working to create a viable zero-emission car running on fuel cells, which produce electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, leaving water as the only by-product.
Toyota's system "was enhanced to further improve cruising distance and low-temperature starts, which had presented obstacles to widespread fuel-cell vehicle use," the company said in a statement.
Toyota engineers managed to control the amount of water produced inside the fuel-cell system, which previously interfered with electrical generation at low temperatures.
Fuel efficiency was also improved, the automaker said. Toyota said it would continue to strive to improve the durability and reduce the cost of fuel-cell vehicles to bring about their widespread use.
Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe has said previously that it will take years to make eco-friendly cars running on fuel cells commercially viable.
Besides the hefty price, motorists would also need an infrastructure of hyrogen filling stations if they are to take the cars on the road.
Toyota was a pioneer of petrol-electric hybrid cars which are attracting growing interest at a time of soaring oil prices and increasing concerns about global warming.
The International Energy Agency estimated today that nearly a billion electric or fuel-cell vehicles may need to be put on the road as part of an "energy technology revolution" to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Building India`s highest dam in the heart of Arunachal
The 3,000-Mw Dibang Project will boast the highest dam in the country when it is constructed. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the project in January 2008, but with the land and livelihood of the 12,000-strong Idu Mishmi people of the region at stake, and with the alleged gaps in the approval process, the start of construction in this picturesque region could take its own time, finds Anand Sankar, who visited the valley and met the Idu Mishmi people.
Travelling through the districts of Lower Dibang Valley and Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh is a breathtaking and surreal experience. From Roing — the only town at the base of the Lower Dibang Valley — the road winds its way uphill through dense tropical jungle, following steep ridges that crown rivers whose water is the most emerald green.
The two districts get their name from Dibang river, again a major tributary to the Brahmaputra. The hills in the region are called Mishmi Hills, derived from the name of the indigenous people — Idu Mishmi —who inhabit the area.
The project made news when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of the project on January 31, 2008, during his visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The plaque was, however, set in Itanagar, 200 km away from the proposed site. Not much has happened since then. The proposed dam site at Muli, 45 km from Roing, and accessible only after a three-hour hike through jungle, is as silent as ever.
The peace is broken at the picturesque village of New Anaya, upstream on the banks of the river Ithun, a tributary of Dibang. The village, which has about 300 residents, of whom 109 are registered voters, will be submerged under about 80 metres of water when the dam is built. Says a miffed school teacher of the village, Sikku Mimi: "We will never allow such a large dam to be built on our land."
Travelling through the districts of Lower Dibang Valley and Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh is a breathtaking and surreal experience. From Roing — the only town at the base of the Lower Dibang Valley — the road winds its way uphill through dense tropical jungle, following steep ridges that crown rivers whose water is the most emerald green.
The two districts get their name from Dibang river, again a major tributary to the Brahmaputra. The hills in the region are called Mishmi Hills, derived from the name of the indigenous people — Idu Mishmi —who inhabit the area.
The project made news when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of the project on January 31, 2008, during his visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The plaque was, however, set in Itanagar, 200 km away from the proposed site. Not much has happened since then. The proposed dam site at Muli, 45 km from Roing, and accessible only after a three-hour hike through jungle, is as silent as ever.
The peace is broken at the picturesque village of New Anaya, upstream on the banks of the river Ithun, a tributary of Dibang. The village, which has about 300 residents, of whom 109 are registered voters, will be submerged under about 80 metres of water when the dam is built. Says a miffed school teacher of the village, Sikku Mimi: "We will never allow such a large dam to be built on our land."
Monday, June 2, 2008
Tata Motors completes Jaguar Land Rover deal
The biggest buy-out in the automobile space by an Indian company, Tata Motors, was completed today as it bought the ownership of luxury brands - Jaguar and Land Rover, its manufacturing plants, design centers and worldwide sales network from US car maker Ford Motors Company (FMC).
According to the agreement signed by Tata Motors on March 26, the company will pay cash to the tune of $2.3 billion for the two marquee's, whereas Ford will commit $600 million to pension funds of the two brands.
In a corresponding development, Tata Motors appointed David Smith as the Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), who was also the acting CEO for the two brands after the demise of Geoff Polites, the last CEO of JLR.
Ratan N Tata, chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors was present at the handing over ceremony at the head quarters of Jaguar Land Rover at Gaydon in the UK along with Don Leclair, the executive V-P and chief financial officer of FMC, and Lewis Booth, executive V-P of FMC, who has responsibility for Ford of Europe, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover.
Tata said, "This is a momentous time for all of us at Tata Motors. Jaguar and Land Rover are two iconic British brands with worldwide growth prospects. We are looking forward to extending our full support to the Jaguar Land Rover team to realise their competitive potential. Jaguar Land Rover will retain their distinctive identities and continue to pursue their respective business plans as before. We recognise the significant improvement in the performance of the two brands and look forward to this trend continuing in the coming years. It is our intention to work closely to support the Jaguar Land Rover team in building the success and preeminence of the two brands."
JLR was acquired on a cash free, debt-free basis. The purchase consideration includes the ownership by Jaguar and Land Rover or perpetual royalty-free licences of all necessary intellectual property rights, manufacturing plants, two advanced design centers in the UK, and worldwide network of National Sales Companies.
Tata Motors also entered into long term agreements with FMC for supply of engines, stampings and other components to JLR. Other areas of transition support from Ford include IT, accounting and access to test facilities. The two companies will continue to cooperate in areas such as design and development through sharing of platforms and joint development of hybrid technologies and powertrain engineering.
The Ford Motor Credit Company, the credit providing arm of FMC, will continue to provide financing for Jaguar Land Rover dealers and customers for a transition period lasting for a period of 12 months. Tata Motors is in an advanced stage of negotiations with leading auto finance providers to support the Jaguar Land Rover business in the UK, Europe and the US, and is expected to select financial services partners shortly.
Tata Motors raised $3 billion (about Rs 12,000 crore) through bridge loans for 15 months from a clutch of banks, including JP Morgan, Citigroup, and State Bank of India.
Last week, company charted out plans to raised Rs 7,200 crore through three simultaneous but unlinked rights issue, the proceeds of which will be used to part-finance the JLR deal of Rs 9,228.75 crore. The precise terms of the issue (the ratio at which these securities will be offered, offer price and the conversion price) will be decided when the issue are ready to be made.
The rights issue will raise the equity capital of Tata Motors by 30-35 per cent by March 2009. The company also plans to raise $500-600 million through an issue of securities in the foreign markets. The company will share the date of listing at a later date.
The acquisition of JLR was done through the company's wholly owned subsidiary TML Holdings (UK).
According to the agreement signed by Tata Motors on March 26, the company will pay cash to the tune of $2.3 billion for the two marquee's, whereas Ford will commit $600 million to pension funds of the two brands.
In a corresponding development, Tata Motors appointed David Smith as the Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), who was also the acting CEO for the two brands after the demise of Geoff Polites, the last CEO of JLR.
Ratan N Tata, chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors was present at the handing over ceremony at the head quarters of Jaguar Land Rover at Gaydon in the UK along with Don Leclair, the executive V-P and chief financial officer of FMC, and Lewis Booth, executive V-P of FMC, who has responsibility for Ford of Europe, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover.
Tata said, "This is a momentous time for all of us at Tata Motors. Jaguar and Land Rover are two iconic British brands with worldwide growth prospects. We are looking forward to extending our full support to the Jaguar Land Rover team to realise their competitive potential. Jaguar Land Rover will retain their distinctive identities and continue to pursue their respective business plans as before. We recognise the significant improvement in the performance of the two brands and look forward to this trend continuing in the coming years. It is our intention to work closely to support the Jaguar Land Rover team in building the success and preeminence of the two brands."
JLR was acquired on a cash free, debt-free basis. The purchase consideration includes the ownership by Jaguar and Land Rover or perpetual royalty-free licences of all necessary intellectual property rights, manufacturing plants, two advanced design centers in the UK, and worldwide network of National Sales Companies.
Tata Motors also entered into long term agreements with FMC for supply of engines, stampings and other components to JLR. Other areas of transition support from Ford include IT, accounting and access to test facilities. The two companies will continue to cooperate in areas such as design and development through sharing of platforms and joint development of hybrid technologies and powertrain engineering.
The Ford Motor Credit Company, the credit providing arm of FMC, will continue to provide financing for Jaguar Land Rover dealers and customers for a transition period lasting for a period of 12 months. Tata Motors is in an advanced stage of negotiations with leading auto finance providers to support the Jaguar Land Rover business in the UK, Europe and the US, and is expected to select financial services partners shortly.
Tata Motors raised $3 billion (about Rs 12,000 crore) through bridge loans for 15 months from a clutch of banks, including JP Morgan, Citigroup, and State Bank of India.
Last week, company charted out plans to raised Rs 7,200 crore through three simultaneous but unlinked rights issue, the proceeds of which will be used to part-finance the JLR deal of Rs 9,228.75 crore. The precise terms of the issue (the ratio at which these securities will be offered, offer price and the conversion price) will be decided when the issue are ready to be made.
The rights issue will raise the equity capital of Tata Motors by 30-35 per cent by March 2009. The company also plans to raise $500-600 million through an issue of securities in the foreign markets. The company will share the date of listing at a later date.
The acquisition of JLR was done through the company's wholly owned subsidiary TML Holdings (UK).
Saturday, May 31, 2008
BSNL moots IPO plans
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) might be back on track with its plans for its intial public offer (IPO). The public sector enterprise has put forward a proposal for approval of its IPO to its trade union which is expected to respond in positive by the 3rd of next month.
A statement released by the department of telecom today says " Unions will respond positively to suggestion for listing of BSNL before 3rd June, which will help BSNL in getting Navratna status which is very essential in order to maintain the image of BSNL and its survival and growth."
Meanwhile, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal last month had ruled out an IPO for the company in the near future. "The plan for the IPO is put in backburner right now. If there is a need for it, we will go for it. Right now we have sufficient funds with us," he had said. Earlier, Minister for Communication & IT, Thiru A Raja has also ruled out the possibility of an IPO earlier.
Commenting on the recent development, a BSNL senior executive said, that the plans for the IPO were still stagnant without any new development, however he could not comment on this latest release.
Industry analysts had estimated the BSNL to be valued at over Rs 4,00,000 crore. The plan was to divest 10 per cent through the IPO. The valuation of India's largest telecom company was estimated by analysts to stand at over Rs 4,00,000 crore, larger than the combined market capitalisation of Bharti Airtel Rs 1,16, 342 crore and Reliance Communications (RCom) at Rs1,19,125 respectively the second- and third- largest telecom companies.
The company had earlier attempted to go for the IPO in 2005 which did not happen due to the disapproval of the former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran. The situation is still unclear with the new minister in power. However, according to the BSNL executive the decision is still under consideration as many tricky factors are involved in such a step. The final decision will be taken by the government, since it is a state-owned company.
Earlier this year, Goyal had said, "An IPO might be necessary for us as we will invest around Rs 60,000 crore in the medium-term basis." Regarding the initial public offer,he said before taking a final call on the issue it would be examined by all the stake holders, including the government.
BSNL is a pan-Indian telecom service provider, except for Mumbai and Delhi which is serviced by state-owned MTNL.
BSNL employees, under the banner of Joint Forum of BSNL Unions, have been staging protests against the compnay's management by not merging 50 per cent of IDA with the basic pay. Representatives of Trade Unions of BSNL met A Raja yesterday.
The meeting is understood to have ended on a positive note with a collective decision on some issues which included 50 per cent IDA merger orders that will be issued by BSNL. It was also decided that the promotion policy for non-executives will be decided within 3 months of issues of wage revision orders for executives of PSEs from the government. Such a time frame would help to avoid anomalies and conflicts between executive and non-executive pay scales.
Finally, it was also decided that no dharna or agitation will be held on these issues.
A statement released by the department of telecom today says " Unions will respond positively to suggestion for listing of BSNL before 3rd June, which will help BSNL in getting Navratna status which is very essential in order to maintain the image of BSNL and its survival and growth."
Meanwhile, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal last month had ruled out an IPO for the company in the near future. "The plan for the IPO is put in backburner right now. If there is a need for it, we will go for it. Right now we have sufficient funds with us," he had said. Earlier, Minister for Communication & IT, Thiru A Raja has also ruled out the possibility of an IPO earlier.
Commenting on the recent development, a BSNL senior executive said, that the plans for the IPO were still stagnant without any new development, however he could not comment on this latest release.
Industry analysts had estimated the BSNL to be valued at over Rs 4,00,000 crore. The plan was to divest 10 per cent through the IPO. The valuation of India's largest telecom company was estimated by analysts to stand at over Rs 4,00,000 crore, larger than the combined market capitalisation of Bharti Airtel Rs 1,16, 342 crore and Reliance Communications (RCom) at Rs1,19,125 respectively the second- and third- largest telecom companies.
The company had earlier attempted to go for the IPO in 2005 which did not happen due to the disapproval of the former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran. The situation is still unclear with the new minister in power. However, according to the BSNL executive the decision is still under consideration as many tricky factors are involved in such a step. The final decision will be taken by the government, since it is a state-owned company.
Earlier this year, Goyal had said, "An IPO might be necessary for us as we will invest around Rs 60,000 crore in the medium-term basis." Regarding the initial public offer,he said before taking a final call on the issue it would be examined by all the stake holders, including the government.
BSNL is a pan-Indian telecom service provider, except for Mumbai and Delhi which is serviced by state-owned MTNL.
BSNL employees, under the banner of Joint Forum of BSNL Unions, have been staging protests against the compnay's management by not merging 50 per cent of IDA with the basic pay. Representatives of Trade Unions of BSNL met A Raja yesterday.
The meeting is understood to have ended on a positive note with a collective decision on some issues which included 50 per cent IDA merger orders that will be issued by BSNL. It was also decided that the promotion policy for non-executives will be decided within 3 months of issues of wage revision orders for executives of PSEs from the government. Such a time frame would help to avoid anomalies and conflicts between executive and non-executive pay scales.
Finally, it was also decided that no dharna or agitation will be held on these issues.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Nepal is now a republic
King put on notice: Nepalese on Wednesday celebrate the end of monarchy, outside the convention centre in Kathmandu where the newly elected Constituent Assembly is meeting. The CA has given King Gyanendra 15 days to vacate the palace.
Nepal on Wednesday became a Federal Democratic Republic, ending the 240-year monarchy.
The newly elected 575-member Constituent Assembly (CA) unanimously passed a proposal tabled by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and gave the erstwhile King Gyanendra 15 days to vacate the Narayanhiti Royal Palace, which will soon be turned into a public museum.
The CA will now amend the Constitution and elect a President, along with a new Prime Minister. The political parties are yet to agree on the process to elect the President.
According to the agreement reached among the parties, the President will be the patron of the Constitution and the supreme commander of the army. He will also have the authority to impose emergency rule on the recommendation of the Cabinet.
Though the candidates for President and Prime Minister have not been named, it is almost a foregone conclusion that Maoists will get premiership and the Nepali Congress, President.
The other two largest parties — Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and Madhesi People’s Rights Forum — will bag the posts of CA chairman and Vice-President.
Though the Shah dynasty ruled unified Nepal for the last 240 years, it had been in the throne of the Gorkha kingdom since 1559. King Prithivi Narayan Shah initiated the unification drive in 1742 and conquered the Kathmandu Valley in 1768.
The story of the dynasty is a saga of triumph and tragedy. In the years after the unification of the kingdom, which was fragmented into more than 60 tiny principalities, the dynasty was marred by internal feuds, betrayals and killings.
The people’s faith in monarchy was shattered after the June 1, 2001 Royal Palace massacre that killed King Birendra and his entire family. However, it was King Gyanendra’s seizure of power on February 1, 2005 that triggered a chain of events, culminating in the declaration of the republic.
The People’s Movement in April 2006, jointly declared by the mainstream parties and the Maoists, who had waged a decade-long insurgency, forced King Gyanedra to give power back to people.
Tata Motors net up 6%
Tata Motors posted a 6 per cent increase in net profit for the financial year ended 31, March 2008 at Rs 2028.92 crore as against Rs 1913.46 crore for the previous financial year.
The company's revenues (net of excise) rose by 4.6 per cent for FY08 to Rs 28,730.82 crore compared to Rs 27,470 crore a year ago.
The company's margins were under pressure during the year due to rising interest rates, constraints in availability of vehicle financing from outside sources and increase in input costs.
Tata Motors said that there has been delay in introducing two products in the market.
The company's revenues (net of excise) rose by 4.6 per cent for FY08 to Rs 28,730.82 crore compared to Rs 27,470 crore a year ago.
The company's margins were under pressure during the year due to rising interest rates, constraints in availability of vehicle financing from outside sources and increase in input costs.
Tata Motors said that there has been delay in introducing two products in the market.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Big retail has small impact on mom-n-pop stores: Study
The growth of organised retail headed by large corporations does not significantly impact small mon-n-pop retailers, a long-awaited study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier) concluded.
The study conducted for the government, following allegations that big retail was squeezing neigbourhood retailers out of business, showed that the latter's turnover and profit dropped 8 to 9 per cent initially, but the adverse impact weakened over five years.
Significantly, the report states that a total of 151 small shops have closed down over a period of 21 months, which is about 4.2 per cent of annual closure of retailers. However, only 62 of these shops attributed their closure directly to competition from organised retail.
Icrier Director and CEO Rajiv Kumar said the turnaround occurs as unorganised retailers adapt to the new challenge and formulate their own strategies in terms of technology upgrade and improvements in the supply chain.
The findings are likely to ease pressure on the UPA government, which has been warned by the Left parties not to succumb to the temptation to open up the retail sector to foreign investment.
On the domestic front, organised retailers have been opposed by several groups in states like Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere. In fact, UP had in mid-2007 banned the opening of new stores by retail chains like Reliance Retail, on the grounds that small traders will bear the brunt of the organised retail onslaught.
As much as 49 per cent of 1,999 sampled small retailers reported a decrease in turnover, while others reported no change or even an increase. The highest impact has been felt in west and north India.
In terms of product categories, the impact has been greater in textiles and clothing shops (46 per cent of the sample), and the least in fruit and vegetable hawkers (34 per cent).
The study conducted for the government, following allegations that big retail was squeezing neigbourhood retailers out of business, showed that the latter's turnover and profit dropped 8 to 9 per cent initially, but the adverse impact weakened over five years.
Significantly, the report states that a total of 151 small shops have closed down over a period of 21 months, which is about 4.2 per cent of annual closure of retailers. However, only 62 of these shops attributed their closure directly to competition from organised retail.
Icrier Director and CEO Rajiv Kumar said the turnaround occurs as unorganised retailers adapt to the new challenge and formulate their own strategies in terms of technology upgrade and improvements in the supply chain.
The findings are likely to ease pressure on the UPA government, which has been warned by the Left parties not to succumb to the temptation to open up the retail sector to foreign investment.
On the domestic front, organised retailers have been opposed by several groups in states like Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere. In fact, UP had in mid-2007 banned the opening of new stores by retail chains like Reliance Retail, on the grounds that small traders will bear the brunt of the organised retail onslaught.
As much as 49 per cent of 1,999 sampled small retailers reported a decrease in turnover, while others reported no change or even an increase. The highest impact has been felt in west and north India.
In terms of product categories, the impact has been greater in textiles and clothing shops (46 per cent of the sample), and the least in fruit and vegetable hawkers (34 per cent).
Monday, May 26, 2008
Bartronics deploys RFID wrist band in US
Bartronics America Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyderabad-based provider of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) and radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions Bartronics India Limited, has implemented its patent-winning RFID-based wrist band for automating patient medication process in the US.
The RFID-based wrist band, the first-of-its-kind to be implemented successfully, assists nurses by automating the process of administering patient medication. The device was used in a clinical trial involving cancer patients at the Halifax Health Medical Centre in the US. About 95 percent of the patients involved in the study found the device easy to use and they were better able to control the pain by using it rather than relying on nurses to provide the pills. Almost 84 percent of the nurses involved in the study said it saved them time, Bartronics said.
During the programming process, the data on a patient's oral medication prescription dosage and frequency is entered. Every nurse carries a personal identification card, which is again based on RFID technology. In response to reading the card, the body of the medication-on-demand (MoD) device allows the nurse to remove an empty pill tray or insert a full one.
When the patient holds the wristband up to the device, he selects the number on a sliding dial to indicate the pain level, on a scale of 1 to 10. This prompts the MoD to dispense pain medication.
"Besides healthcare, the leisure and entertainment space, transportation sector and the education sector offer a $2 billion ( Rs 8,000 crore) opportunity for Bartronics in the coming years," Sudhir Rao, managing director of Bartronics India, said. For the financial year 2008-09, Bartronics America expects to generate revenues in excess of $40 million (Rs 160 crore).
The RFID-based wrist band, the first-of-its-kind to be implemented successfully, assists nurses by automating the process of administering patient medication. The device was used in a clinical trial involving cancer patients at the Halifax Health Medical Centre in the US. About 95 percent of the patients involved in the study found the device easy to use and they were better able to control the pain by using it rather than relying on nurses to provide the pills. Almost 84 percent of the nurses involved in the study said it saved them time, Bartronics said.
During the programming process, the data on a patient's oral medication prescription dosage and frequency is entered. Every nurse carries a personal identification card, which is again based on RFID technology. In response to reading the card, the body of the medication-on-demand (MoD) device allows the nurse to remove an empty pill tray or insert a full one.
When the patient holds the wristband up to the device, he selects the number on a sliding dial to indicate the pain level, on a scale of 1 to 10. This prompts the MoD to dispense pain medication.
"Besides healthcare, the leisure and entertainment space, transportation sector and the education sector offer a $2 billion ( Rs 8,000 crore) opportunity for Bartronics in the coming years," Sudhir Rao, managing director of Bartronics India, said. For the financial year 2008-09, Bartronics America expects to generate revenues in excess of $40 million (Rs 160 crore).
Ashok Leyland forms 3 JVs with Nissan
Commercial vehicle maker and Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland and Nissan Motor have formed a joint venture for the light commercial vehicle (LCV) business in India for vehicle manufacturing, powertrain manufacturing and technology development.
This follows the signing of the master co-operation agreement between the two companies in October 2007.
In Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles, the vehicle manufacturing company, Ashok Leyland will own 51 per cent and Nissan Motor 49 per cent. In Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain, Nissan will hold 51 per cent and Ashok Leyland will hold 49 per cent. Both the companies will be equal partners in Nissan Ashok Leyland Techonologies, the technology development company.
The aggregate investment in all three companies will be around Rs 2,415 crore. The enterprise will involve a capacity of 100,000 vehicles in the first phase and will be scaled up subsequently. The plant is expected to start production from 2010-11.
R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland said, "The current growth plans of Ashok Leyland involve not only our slated capacity additions and new product launches but also our entry into fast-growing LCV segment."
This follows the signing of the master co-operation agreement between the two companies in October 2007.
In Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles, the vehicle manufacturing company, Ashok Leyland will own 51 per cent and Nissan Motor 49 per cent. In Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain, Nissan will hold 51 per cent and Ashok Leyland will hold 49 per cent. Both the companies will be equal partners in Nissan Ashok Leyland Techonologies, the technology development company.
The aggregate investment in all three companies will be around Rs 2,415 crore. The enterprise will involve a capacity of 100,000 vehicles in the first phase and will be scaled up subsequently. The plant is expected to start production from 2010-11.
R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland said, "The current growth plans of Ashok Leyland involve not only our slated capacity additions and new product launches but also our entry into fast-growing LCV segment."
Friday, May 23, 2008
Videocan likely to buy Motorola' handset biz
Diversified business group Videocon today said its talks to buy out the mobile handset business of US-based Motorola are at 'initial' stages.
"The talks with Motorola are at very initial stage," group CMD Venugopal Dhoot said at an Assocham seminar here, while declined to give a deadline for the deal.
With Motorola planning to separate its mobile business from other operations, consumer electronics major Videocon had said that it had bid to acquire Motorola's mobile handset business.
According to analysts, Motorola's handset business is worth about $3.8 billion and its handsets account for 15 per cent market share globally.
Videocon is in the race for Motorola's handsets as the company feels the company will have synergy with its upcoming telecom services operations with such a business under its fold.
The company has got licences for 22 circles and will be launching the services in the circles soon, through its subsidiary Datacom.
Videocon recently said it would start rolling out telecom network from mid-August and is eyeing to garner about 10 per cent market share in the Indian telecom market in five years.
Videocon, which has got licence for pan-India operations, has got spectrum in three circles and is awaiting for the rest.
The company is also ambitious about 3G services. "With our technical tie-up with various companies it would be very easy for us to roll out 3G also as soon as the government announces," he added.
"The talks with Motorola are at very initial stage," group CMD Venugopal Dhoot said at an Assocham seminar here, while declined to give a deadline for the deal.
With Motorola planning to separate its mobile business from other operations, consumer electronics major Videocon had said that it had bid to acquire Motorola's mobile handset business.
According to analysts, Motorola's handset business is worth about $3.8 billion and its handsets account for 15 per cent market share globally.
Videocon is in the race for Motorola's handsets as the company feels the company will have synergy with its upcoming telecom services operations with such a business under its fold.
The company has got licences for 22 circles and will be launching the services in the circles soon, through its subsidiary Datacom.
Videocon recently said it would start rolling out telecom network from mid-August and is eyeing to garner about 10 per cent market share in the Indian telecom market in five years.
Videocon, which has got licence for pan-India operations, has got spectrum in three circles and is awaiting for the rest.
The company is also ambitious about 3G services. "With our technical tie-up with various companies it would be very easy for us to roll out 3G also as soon as the government announces," he added.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Numero 'uno' on invention list
Canadian teenager Ben Gulak got a bit of a head start on his training in mechanical engineering. As an incoming freshman in the MIT Class of 2012, he's already been featured on the cover of Popular Science magazine for having come up with one of the year's top 10 inventions.
In fact, his was number one.
Gulak, who is just 18, will also be a guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno later this month, demonstrating his unique electric unicycle-like vehicle. He has been working on the project for two years, initially as a science fair project that made it all the way to second place in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (where he also won a special award for the project with the most marketability).
Gulak first applied to MIT last year, but was waitlisted and decided to take a year off rather than settle for another school. So he spent the intervening year working on his invention--designed to be a practical commuting vehicle for dense urban areas--before applying again to MIT.
"The perspective that MIT brings to engineering is really unique," he says. "I really like the experience that MIT brings to engineering, especially the hands-on approach."
The inspiration for the cycle came when Gulak visited China in 2006 and was amazed at the overwhelming pollution that completely blocked the view of the surrounding country as his airplane came in for landing. He realized that much of that smog was coming from the thousands of motor scooters whizzing through the streets and figured that there had to be a better way.
The design he came up with has two wheels mounted side by side, very close together, and powered by electric motors. A computerized control system keeps the vehicle balanced, in a system similar to the Segway personal transporter. But unlike that vehicle, which is ridden in a standing position and is not considered a street vehicle, Gulak's "Uno" is ridden like a motorcycle and designed for ordinary roads.
Operating the Uno is so simple that it requires no controls at all. There is only an on-off switch. Once it's on, the driver accelerates by leaning forward, stops by leaning back, and steers by leaning to the side. By sitting upright, the driver can balance in one spot.
Gulak, who grew up just outside Toronto, has been tinkering most of his life. He started working with machine tools with his grandfather, who had a fully equipped machine shop in his house, "as early as I can remember, certainly by the time I was 5," he says. When his grandfather died in 2004, Gulak inherited all the equipment. "I only wish he was here now, for all the things that are going on," he says. "The more I get into engineering, the more I miss him."
Gulak knows that despite his achievements so far, he still has a lot to learn, and that's why he was determined to study at MIT, where he plans to take a dual major in mechanical engineering and business. But he's not abandoning his pet project: He has already formed a company to develop the Uno, set up a web site and filed for patents in several countries (the United States, Canada and the European Union for starters). And as a result of the recent publicity he has already started to get calls from "quite a few investors," some able to provide production facilities for the vehicle.
When he found out Jay Leno wanted him on his show, Gulak rushed to complete a whole new version of his prototype bike, incorporating several new features in time to demonstrate it on the program.
Why bother with school with such business prospects already in front of him? Gulak takes the long view. "I think the Uno has a lot of possibilities, and people really seem to like it. The reaction from the public and the press has been quite overwhelming. However, I really wouldn't want to jeopardize my future or limit my options by just going ahead without getting a degree. So I'm very committed to coming in the fall--MIT has a lot to offer and I'm really looking forward to it.
"The Uno has taught me how important it is to have a deep and varied knowledge base and a solid grounding in all the basic engineering principles," he says. "When I was working on the bike, much of what I learned came through through trial and error, so I know first hand the value and importance of increasing my knowledge base through education."
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
FORTUNE America's Most Admired Companies 2008
Rank Company
1 Apple
2 Berkshire Hathaway
3 General Electric
4 Google
5 Toyota Motor
6 Starbucks
7 FedEx
8 Procter & Gamble
9 Johnson & Johnson
10 Goldman Sachs Group
11 Target
12 Southwest Airlines
13 American Express
14* BMW
14* Costco Wholesale
16 Microsoft
17 United Parcel Service
18 Cisco Systems
19 3M
20 Nordstrom
1 Apple
2 Berkshire Hathaway
3 General Electric
4 Google
5 Toyota Motor
6 Starbucks
7 FedEx
8 Procter & Gamble
9 Johnson & Johnson
10 Goldman Sachs Group
11 Target
12 Southwest Airlines
13 American Express
14* BMW
14* Costco Wholesale
16 Microsoft
17 United Parcel Service
18 Cisco Systems
19 3M
20 Nordstrom
Motorola bags $90 mn BSNL order
US based telecom equipment manufacturer Motorola has bagged a $90 million GSM contract from state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.
The US company will provide equipments for BSNL's network expansion in southern India aimed at adding 2.3 million subscribers in the region, it said in a statement.
Under the terms of the contract, Motorola will ship GSM network equipment and provide a network services programme including both software and hardware support, the statement added.
Supply of equipment had already begun in April and would significantly help BSNL in the required capacity enhancement, the statement said.
Subhendu Mohanty, country head for Home and Networks Mobility, Motorola India said, "We will endeavour to grow our market engagements and deliver maximum value to our customers, be it serving their current needs or planning for future growth".
The telecom major's existing network in the southern region already includes 2G equipment supplied by Motorola. Last year, Motorola was disqualified in the mega 23.5 million GSM contract on technical grounds in which Ericsson emerged as the top bidder.
The US company will provide equipments for BSNL's network expansion in southern India aimed at adding 2.3 million subscribers in the region, it said in a statement.
Under the terms of the contract, Motorola will ship GSM network equipment and provide a network services programme including both software and hardware support, the statement added.
Supply of equipment had already begun in April and would significantly help BSNL in the required capacity enhancement, the statement said.
Subhendu Mohanty, country head for Home and Networks Mobility, Motorola India said, "We will endeavour to grow our market engagements and deliver maximum value to our customers, be it serving their current needs or planning for future growth".
The telecom major's existing network in the southern region already includes 2G equipment supplied by Motorola. Last year, Motorola was disqualified in the mega 23.5 million GSM contract on technical grounds in which Ericsson emerged as the top bidder.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
RIL's employee base doubles in 2 yrs
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, the country's most valued entity, has more than doubled its employee base in the past two fiscal years to over 25,000 people.
Besides, in its efforts to make the employees part of its growth story, RIL disclosed having granted close to three crore stock options to over 14,000 employees, estimated to be worth about one billion dollar at the grant price and about $1.9 billion at the current share price.
Its head count rose to 25,487 at the end of 2007-08, up from 12,540 employees two years ago as on March 2006.
However, during the fiscal 2007-08, the head count rose by just about 800 employees from 24,696 as on March 2007, while the company's employee cost rose by about Rs 25 crore during the year, according to RIL's latest annual report to the shareholders.
The company has seen its workforce swelling for four consecutive years now. Prior to that, the head count had fallen in 2003-04 by more than 1,500 employees. While in 2002-03, it rose by close to 50 employees, it had fallen for four straight years between 1998-99 and 2001-02.
RIL said in its annual report that its employee cost rose to Rs 2,119 crore in FY'07-08, up from Rs 2,094 crore.
The previous year's figure includes Rs 376 crore towards expenditure incurred on Voluntary Retirement Scheme/Special Separation Scheme in the erstwhile IPCL's Vadodara unit.
The company, which has become the first private sector company in India to have a cash profit of over Rs 25,000 crore, said that one of the "key" reasons for the exponential growth of Reliance is undoubtedly its "people". RIL figures among 25 largest employers in India.
Besides, in its efforts to make the employees part of its growth story, RIL disclosed having granted close to three crore stock options to over 14,000 employees, estimated to be worth about one billion dollar at the grant price and about $1.9 billion at the current share price.
Its head count rose to 25,487 at the end of 2007-08, up from 12,540 employees two years ago as on March 2006.
However, during the fiscal 2007-08, the head count rose by just about 800 employees from 24,696 as on March 2007, while the company's employee cost rose by about Rs 25 crore during the year, according to RIL's latest annual report to the shareholders.
The company has seen its workforce swelling for four consecutive years now. Prior to that, the head count had fallen in 2003-04 by more than 1,500 employees. While in 2002-03, it rose by close to 50 employees, it had fallen for four straight years between 1998-99 and 2001-02.
RIL said in its annual report that its employee cost rose to Rs 2,119 crore in FY'07-08, up from Rs 2,094 crore.
The previous year's figure includes Rs 376 crore towards expenditure incurred on Voluntary Retirement Scheme/Special Separation Scheme in the erstwhile IPCL's Vadodara unit.
The company, which has become the first private sector company in India to have a cash profit of over Rs 25,000 crore, said that one of the "key" reasons for the exponential growth of Reliance is undoubtedly its "people". RIL figures among 25 largest employers in India.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Jet to discuss Datta's future on May 23
Jet Airways has convened a board meeting on Friday, May 23, which is expected to consider the future of Executive Director Saroj K Datta, who, sources said, may exit the airline after May 31.
Chairman Naresh Goyal, who was in Mumbai last week, reportedly discussed the issue with Datta, a veteran of over 46 years in the airline industry.
Jet Airways has officially strongly denied Datta's exit. In an interview to Business Standard a few weeks ago Datta, however, was non-committal. "I have been in this sector for 46 years. Is that not long enough?" he asked.
On the specific question of whether he was leaving, Datta merely said: "I do not want to comment on speculation. I will talk about it when the time comes.''
Insiders said if Datta leaves it will primarily be for personal reasons and the fact that he has worked for so many decades in Jet rather than reported opposition to the airline's policy to hire expatriate managers.
Chairman Naresh Goyal, who was in Mumbai last week, reportedly discussed the issue with Datta, a veteran of over 46 years in the airline industry.
Jet Airways has officially strongly denied Datta's exit. In an interview to Business Standard a few weeks ago Datta, however, was non-committal. "I have been in this sector for 46 years. Is that not long enough?" he asked.
On the specific question of whether he was leaving, Datta merely said: "I do not want to comment on speculation. I will talk about it when the time comes.''
Insiders said if Datta leaves it will primarily be for personal reasons and the fact that he has worked for so many decades in Jet rather than reported opposition to the airline's policy to hire expatriate managers.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Nano component suppliers ask Tata to up price
Pressure is growing on Tata Motors' ability to hold the price tag of Rs 1 lakh for the Nano with leading auto-component suppliers saying they have approached the company for a price increase.
With steel prices soaring, the company recently set up a special team to look at ways and means to control the car's manufacturing costs.
Now Delhi-based Sona Koyo, which is supplying steering systems for the Nano, and Minda Group, which supplies electrical switches, have confirmed that they and other component suppliers have suggested a price rise to Tata Motors.
"All component suppliers to the Nano are reassessing the price hike and our message will be conveyed to Tata Motors," said Surinder Kapoor, chairman and managing director of the Sona Group.
"We have not heard anything from Tata Motors yet," he added.
Kapoor pointed out that costs have risen substantially since December and the recent cut in steel product prices has brought little relief. "There is hardly any leeway," he said.
A Tata Motors spokesperson, however, declined to comment. "Like any other company, the terms between Tata Motors and its suppliers are confidential," the spokesperson said.
Steel accounts for 15 to 20 per cent of the cost of an entry-level car (about 500 kg of steel is used). Government intervention saw prices of hot- and cold-rolled coils, which are used to make the outer body of the car, being lowered last week by Rs 500 to Rs 750 a tonne.
Prices of alloy steel, which accounts for over 60 per cent of the total steel used in a car, have not been cut. Carbon steel, a type of alloy steel, has seen prices rise 22 per cent to Rs 43,150 a tonne on April 1, 2008, from Rs 33,550 a tonne on October 1, 2007.
Most component manufacturers believe that since the car is yet to go into production – the schedule is Diwali – they are optimistic that Tata Motors will reconsider component prices.
"We are holding discussions with Tata Motors. They have not agreed to our hike in prices but we are optimistic that prices should be revisited once production of the car starts. The hike so far has been unbearable," said N K Minda, chairman, Minda Group.
Vishnu Mathur, executive director, Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), said, "The price cuts by steel players have been largely irrelevant for the auto industry."
"The price rise by the steel industry over the past few months has been much higher than the recent cuts," added an industry expert.
Disappointed by the government's lack of initiative towards the automotive industry, ACMA will send the government a petition in the next couple of days seeking a duty cut on alloy steel.
With steel prices soaring, the company recently set up a special team to look at ways and means to control the car's manufacturing costs.
Now Delhi-based Sona Koyo, which is supplying steering systems for the Nano, and Minda Group, which supplies electrical switches, have confirmed that they and other component suppliers have suggested a price rise to Tata Motors.
"All component suppliers to the Nano are reassessing the price hike and our message will be conveyed to Tata Motors," said Surinder Kapoor, chairman and managing director of the Sona Group.
"We have not heard anything from Tata Motors yet," he added.
Kapoor pointed out that costs have risen substantially since December and the recent cut in steel product prices has brought little relief. "There is hardly any leeway," he said.
A Tata Motors spokesperson, however, declined to comment. "Like any other company, the terms between Tata Motors and its suppliers are confidential," the spokesperson said.
Steel accounts for 15 to 20 per cent of the cost of an entry-level car (about 500 kg of steel is used). Government intervention saw prices of hot- and cold-rolled coils, which are used to make the outer body of the car, being lowered last week by Rs 500 to Rs 750 a tonne.
Prices of alloy steel, which accounts for over 60 per cent of the total steel used in a car, have not been cut. Carbon steel, a type of alloy steel, has seen prices rise 22 per cent to Rs 43,150 a tonne on April 1, 2008, from Rs 33,550 a tonne on October 1, 2007.
Most component manufacturers believe that since the car is yet to go into production – the schedule is Diwali – they are optimistic that Tata Motors will reconsider component prices.
"We are holding discussions with Tata Motors. They have not agreed to our hike in prices but we are optimistic that prices should be revisited once production of the car starts. The hike so far has been unbearable," said N K Minda, chairman, Minda Group.
Vishnu Mathur, executive director, Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), said, "The price cuts by steel players have been largely irrelevant for the auto industry."
"The price rise by the steel industry over the past few months has been much higher than the recent cuts," added an industry expert.
Disappointed by the government's lack of initiative towards the automotive industry, ACMA will send the government a petition in the next couple of days seeking a duty cut on alloy steel.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A startup is planning human trials for a nanostructured material that quickly stops bleeding.
A startup based in Cambridge, MA, says that it plans to soon begin clinical trials of a nanostructured material that stops bleeding almost instantly. A startup called Arch Therapeutics has licensed the technology from MIT and is developing manufacturing processes for making it in large amounts.
The new material can be poured over a site and will stop the bleeding almost at once.
The first application, pending Food and Drug Administration approval, will be for use during surgery to quickly stop bleeding and even prevent it in the first place. Floyd Loop, currently an advisor to Arch Therapeutics, and formerly a cardiovascular surgeon and the head of Cleveland Clinic, says that it could be useful in a wide variety of surgeries, including brain, heart, and prostate. For example, he says that when large tumors are removed, "there's a lot of diffuse bleeding around the site, and you have to spend a lot of time with sponges and cautery stopping it."
Loops says that in addition to saving time, which can improve the outcome of a surgery, the material could decrease the need for transfusions and reoperations to control bleeding. What's more, it could reduce the risk of infection. It could be used, for instance, to prevent leakage after bowel-repair surgery. "I've never seen anything like it," Loop says.
Eventually, the material could be used by first responders to stop bleeding at accident sites and on the battlefield. It has a long shelf life, which makes it attractive for use in first-aid kits. It's also easily broken down by the body, so it doesn't have to be removed, unlike other agents for stopping blood flow. However, Loop cautions that further tests are needed to confirm that the material will work in nonsurgical applications.
The material, a synthetic peptide, was discovered at MIT in the early 1990s. But it wasn't until a few years ago that its potential for stopping bleeding was discovered. Rutledge Ellis-Behnke, a researcher at MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, was exploring its potential use to promote the healing of brain injuries. When he applied a liquid containing the synthetic peptides to a wound site in animal experiments, bleeding in the area stopped within a few seconds. Arch Therapeutics was founded in mid-2006 to develop the material for commercial use. The company made its first public appearance late last month when it announced a finalized licensing agreement for the new technology.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Tata group moves to secure key companies
The Tata group, India's second-largest private conglomerate with 98 companies, plans to increase the promoter stake in half-a-dozen globally-active subsidiaries by three to four per cent through creeping acquisitions and preferential bond and warrant issues in the current financial year to defend them from predatory attacks.
The companies in the list include those that have made significant global acquisitions and are the group's most valued companies – Tata Steel (which acquired Corus in 2007), Tata Chemicals (General Chemical Industrial Products earlier this year), Tata Motors (Jaguar and Land Rover early this year), Tata Power Company (30 per cent in Bumi Resources in 2007) and Tata Tea (33 per cent in Joekels Tea and JEMCA in 2006).
The group has periodically made statements about raising its stakes in key companies but had not outlined specific targets so far.
At present, barring Tata Tea, the promoter holding in the globally active companies is below 35 per cent (see table). The promoters have limited themselves to 3 to 4 per cent this year in order to stay within the creeping acquisition limit of 5 per cent.
Under Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines, however, promoters are not allowed to increase their stake beyond 55 per cent through creeping acquisition and preferential allotment.
"Though there is no hostile acquisition threat for these companies as of now, the group wants to make it clear that the group companies are not vulnerable to any predatory intentions," said sources close to the developments.
At current market capitalisation, acquiring 3 to 4 per cent in these companies will entail investments between Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 5,400 crore. Current market conditions are also seen conducive for buying back shares at a lower price.
When contacted, the group spokesperson said, "Tata Sons does not wish to comment on such speculation."
Tata Sons is the main company through which the promoters hold shares in the group companies but it was not clear how the stake will be raised. One option is to let group companies consolidate their position though there will be significant cross-holdings.
Last week, Tata Power announced that it will raise over Rs 1,400 crore through issue of shares to its promoter Tata Sons upon conversion of 10.3 million warrants. Last year, the board of Tata Power had approved the allotment of 9.89 million equity shares and 10.3 million warrants to Tata Sons.
In 2006, Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata had said that the promoters will raise their stake in Tata Steel by around 7 per cent through a preferential issue of shares. The move came soon after steel tycoon LN Mittal launched a hostile takeover and later acquired French steel giant Arcelor.
The companies in the list include those that have made significant global acquisitions and are the group's most valued companies – Tata Steel (which acquired Corus in 2007), Tata Chemicals (General Chemical Industrial Products earlier this year), Tata Motors (Jaguar and Land Rover early this year), Tata Power Company (30 per cent in Bumi Resources in 2007) and Tata Tea (33 per cent in Joekels Tea and JEMCA in 2006).
The group has periodically made statements about raising its stakes in key companies but had not outlined specific targets so far.
At present, barring Tata Tea, the promoter holding in the globally active companies is below 35 per cent (see table). The promoters have limited themselves to 3 to 4 per cent this year in order to stay within the creeping acquisition limit of 5 per cent.
Under Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines, however, promoters are not allowed to increase their stake beyond 55 per cent through creeping acquisition and preferential allotment.
"Though there is no hostile acquisition threat for these companies as of now, the group wants to make it clear that the group companies are not vulnerable to any predatory intentions," said sources close to the developments.
At current market capitalisation, acquiring 3 to 4 per cent in these companies will entail investments between Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 5,400 crore. Current market conditions are also seen conducive for buying back shares at a lower price.
When contacted, the group spokesperson said, "Tata Sons does not wish to comment on such speculation."
Tata Sons is the main company through which the promoters hold shares in the group companies but it was not clear how the stake will be raised. One option is to let group companies consolidate their position though there will be significant cross-holdings.
Last week, Tata Power announced that it will raise over Rs 1,400 crore through issue of shares to its promoter Tata Sons upon conversion of 10.3 million warrants. Last year, the board of Tata Power had approved the allotment of 9.89 million equity shares and 10.3 million warrants to Tata Sons.
In 2006, Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata had said that the promoters will raise their stake in Tata Steel by around 7 per cent through a preferential issue of shares. The move came soon after steel tycoon LN Mittal launched a hostile takeover and later acquired French steel giant Arcelor.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Four undergraduates win $25,000 prize in Google mobile software competition
Four MIT undergraduates shared a $25,000 prize as round one winners in Google's Android Developer Challenge, a worldwide open competition for software developers based off Google's Android software stack for mobile applications.
The students--sophomore Clare Bayley and seniors Carter Jernigan, Jasper Lin and Christina Wright--were awarded the prize for their term project in 6.087/6.081: "Building Mobile Applications with Android."
The winning project, "Locale," lets cell-phone users manage settings on their mobile devices. Unlike normal settings managers, Locale can automatically change settings based your current location, for example turning the ringer to vibrate when you enter work or class, or automatically forwarding calls to a landline when you are at home.
6.087/6.081 is an experimental course offered this semester by the EECS department in cooperation with MIT's Information Services and Technology (IS&T). The course was taught by EECS Professor Hal Abelson with the assistance of Andrew Yu, manager of IS&T's mobile-devices platform project. The course taught how to pick a project idea and rapidly bring it to fruition through the prototype phase.
One noteworthy feature of the course was its use of mentors--professional application developers from the Boston-area software developer community who volunteered to work with the teams. The mentor for the Locale team was Eric Carlson of ConnectedBits.
Locale was one of 50 winning projects selected from a field of 1,800 entries. As round one winners, the MIT students are eligible to compete for higher levels in the challenge, leading to prizes of up to $275,000.
The students--sophomore Clare Bayley and seniors Carter Jernigan, Jasper Lin and Christina Wright--were awarded the prize for their term project in 6.087/6.081: "Building Mobile Applications with Android."
The winning project, "Locale," lets cell-phone users manage settings on their mobile devices. Unlike normal settings managers, Locale can automatically change settings based your current location, for example turning the ringer to vibrate when you enter work or class, or automatically forwarding calls to a landline when you are at home.
6.087/6.081 is an experimental course offered this semester by the EECS department in cooperation with MIT's Information Services and Technology (IS&T). The course was taught by EECS Professor Hal Abelson with the assistance of Andrew Yu, manager of IS&T's mobile-devices platform project. The course taught how to pick a project idea and rapidly bring it to fruition through the prototype phase.
One noteworthy feature of the course was its use of mentors--professional application developers from the Boston-area software developer community who volunteered to work with the teams. The mentor for the Locale team was Eric Carlson of ConnectedBits.
Locale was one of 50 winning projects selected from a field of 1,800 entries. As round one winners, the MIT students are eligible to compete for higher levels in the challenge, leading to prizes of up to $275,000.
Monday, May 12, 2008
IISc. helps raise missiles range
Missiles such as the Agni that was test-fired last week could receive a bigger boost to their range thanks to a technological innovation by scientists at the Indian Institute of Science.
By coating the nose of the missile with a layer of chromium, scientists at the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry have demonstrated how the missile’s range could be increased by 30 per cent — without any increase in fuel expenditure.
The chromium coating reduces the aerodynamic drag encountered by the vehicle by up to 47 per cent, said K.P.J. Reddy from the Department of Aerospace Engineering. He led the team of scientists in this project.
He said: “As the chromium coating evaporates with the enormous frictional heat generated during hypersonic flight, it reacts with the oxygen atoms present in the atmosphere and produces chromium oxide. This reaction is exothermic, that is producing more heat, thereby decreasing the density of the air around the nose of the missile. As the pressure reduces, so does the drag force, which in turn enables the missile to increase its range.”
While the nose of the missile is conventionally blunted in order to reduce the problem of heating, this increases drag, which considerably reduces the range. “Large amounts of fuel are needed to compensate for the drag and to give the vehicle thrust. With this technology, we increase the range without using additional fuel.”
By coating the nose of the missile with a layer of chromium, scientists at the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry have demonstrated how the missile’s range could be increased by 30 per cent — without any increase in fuel expenditure.
The chromium coating reduces the aerodynamic drag encountered by the vehicle by up to 47 per cent, said K.P.J. Reddy from the Department of Aerospace Engineering. He led the team of scientists in this project.
He said: “As the chromium coating evaporates with the enormous frictional heat generated during hypersonic flight, it reacts with the oxygen atoms present in the atmosphere and produces chromium oxide. This reaction is exothermic, that is producing more heat, thereby decreasing the density of the air around the nose of the missile. As the pressure reduces, so does the drag force, which in turn enables the missile to increase its range.”
While the nose of the missile is conventionally blunted in order to reduce the problem of heating, this increases drag, which considerably reduces the range. “Large amounts of fuel are needed to compensate for the drag and to give the vehicle thrust. With this technology, we increase the range without using additional fuel.”
Bajaj, Renault, Nissan sign JV for small car
After six months of negotiation, Bajaj Auto today announced its joint venture with European car maker Renault and Japanese giant Nissan to manufacture a small car in India with a wholesale price tag of $2,500 (Rs 1.03 lakh).
The car, code named ULC, will hit the roads in 2011, three years after Tata Motors' Nano, which is expected to launch in October and is priced at around Rs 1 lakh.
A tripartite joint venture will be formed in due course, in which Bajaj will hold 50 per cent and Renault and Nissan 25 per cent each. The company will oversee the design, engineering and manufacturing of the ULC.
The three companies will shortly sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government for the plant, which will come up in Chakan, near Pune. The Maharashtra government had already earmarked 500 acres of land, of which around 200 acres will be reserved for a vendor base.
Bajaj Auto has finalised plans for its three- and "lite" four-wheeler project involving cargo and passenger carriers in Chakan and has a two-wheeler plant in the same location.
"It makes no sense for a separate greenfield plant in Chakan. We had made an announcement about producing three- and four-wheelers earlier at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore. Construction on that site hasn't started yet...it was just a plan," said Ravi Kumar, V-P, business development, Bajaj Auto.
The new plant will make Bajaj Auto's earlier three- and four-wheelers as well as the ULC car. The plant will have an initial capacity of 400,000 units a year, which can be ramped up depending on demand.
Nissan also has a venture with Ashok Leyland for light commercial vehicles and engines. The design and engineering of the car and its engine awaits approval from the three companies.
"Engineering teams from all the three companies are working together to finalise the plan. A prototype of the car is not out yet," Kumar added.
The engine for the car will be co-developed by the partners and not just by Bajaj Auto as was reported earlier. The vehicle will basically be a reworked version of the car showcased by Bajaj Auto at the Auto Expo earlier this year.
Other Bajaj executives said the key feature of the product would be its fuel efficiency, which will be at least double that of a competing small car in the country. With the Nano expected to give between 20 and 22 km a litre, the petrol version of the ULC could offer at least 40 km a litre.
Addressing the issue of rising raw material prices, the press release said, "The feasibility has already extended into joint product development and the project is on line to meet targeted performance and costs."
All three companies also intend to sell the car in other developing markets though India will be the primary market.
Renault and Nissan, which hold equity in each other, are both run by the legendary Carlos Goshn. Renault already has a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra for the Logan, while Nissan and Renault jointly produce cars and other vehicles in Chennai. Other auto makers who are in the race to build a car under Rs 200,000 are Volkswagen, General Motors and Hyundai.
The car, code named ULC, will hit the roads in 2011, three years after Tata Motors' Nano, which is expected to launch in October and is priced at around Rs 1 lakh.
A tripartite joint venture will be formed in due course, in which Bajaj will hold 50 per cent and Renault and Nissan 25 per cent each. The company will oversee the design, engineering and manufacturing of the ULC.
The three companies will shortly sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government for the plant, which will come up in Chakan, near Pune. The Maharashtra government had already earmarked 500 acres of land, of which around 200 acres will be reserved for a vendor base.
Bajaj Auto has finalised plans for its three- and "lite" four-wheeler project involving cargo and passenger carriers in Chakan and has a two-wheeler plant in the same location.
"It makes no sense for a separate greenfield plant in Chakan. We had made an announcement about producing three- and four-wheelers earlier at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore. Construction on that site hasn't started yet...it was just a plan," said Ravi Kumar, V-P, business development, Bajaj Auto.
The new plant will make Bajaj Auto's earlier three- and four-wheelers as well as the ULC car. The plant will have an initial capacity of 400,000 units a year, which can be ramped up depending on demand.
Nissan also has a venture with Ashok Leyland for light commercial vehicles and engines. The design and engineering of the car and its engine awaits approval from the three companies.
"Engineering teams from all the three companies are working together to finalise the plan. A prototype of the car is not out yet," Kumar added.
The engine for the car will be co-developed by the partners and not just by Bajaj Auto as was reported earlier. The vehicle will basically be a reworked version of the car showcased by Bajaj Auto at the Auto Expo earlier this year.
Other Bajaj executives said the key feature of the product would be its fuel efficiency, which will be at least double that of a competing small car in the country. With the Nano expected to give between 20 and 22 km a litre, the petrol version of the ULC could offer at least 40 km a litre.
Addressing the issue of rising raw material prices, the press release said, "The feasibility has already extended into joint product development and the project is on line to meet targeted performance and costs."
All three companies also intend to sell the car in other developing markets though India will be the primary market.
Renault and Nissan, which hold equity in each other, are both run by the legendary Carlos Goshn. Renault already has a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra for the Logan, while Nissan and Renault jointly produce cars and other vehicles in Chennai. Other auto makers who are in the race to build a car under Rs 200,000 are Volkswagen, General Motors and Hyundai.
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