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11 Pages 17th

JUNE 2011 23rd

JUNE 2011 www.xedintellect.com

BUSINESS NEWS

ECONOMIC INDICATORS 2 COVER STORY 3 PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK 4 BUSINESS NEWS 5-8

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 9 MISCELLANEOUS NEWS 10 GENERAL AWARENESS 11

NEWS DIGEST

IN BRIEF

PERSONALITIES OF TH

WEEK

COMPILED BY

CORPORATE

INTELLIGENCE

BSE SENSEX 17,714

NSE NIFTY 5,320

RS/Dollar 44.93

ECONOMICINDICATORS

RBI Does as

Expected, Hikes

Rates by 25 Bps

COVER STORY

INTERNATIONAL

NEWS

American Tourister

aims to become No

1 brand by 2014

MISCELLANEOUS

NEWS

SSC result plunges

7% in state. Decline

Worst In a Decade

XED NEWSLETTER

(as on 23.06.2To FDI or not to FDI

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TOP 10 HEADLINES OF THE WEEK

1. RBI Does as Expected, Hikes Rates by 25 Bps.2. AMUL crosses 2 billion dollar sales turnover mark.3. Bihar is best performing state-says RBI study.4. Toyota set to trigger hatchback price war with Liva.5. Tatas overtake both Ambani groups together on market wealth.6. Over 120 Indian cos setting up Singapore office a month: SICCI.7. American Tourister aims to become No 1 brand by 2014.8. Facebook to take top spot in US display ad market.9. SSC result plunges 7% in state. Decline Worst In a Decade.10.Immigrants take 9 out of 10 jobs in UK: Frank Field.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS

World Banks Ease of Doing Business Index assesses the timeand effort required to start, run, and close a business. It Ibased on criteria like ease of obtaining construction permitsemploying workers, registering property, getting creditpaying taxes, and enforcing contracts.

In China its quicker to start a business, get goods from factory floor onboard a container ship, and register property. But India has more flexiblelabor laws and fewer hassles with licenses.

SL NO Ease of.. US 2010 Rank UK 2010

Rank

China 2010

Rank

India 2010

Rank

1 Doing Business 4 5 89 133

2 Starting Business 8 16 151 169

3 Dealing With ConstructionPermits

25 16 180 175

4 Employing Workers 1 35 140 104

5 Registering Property 12 23 32 93

6 Getting credit 4 2 61 30

7 Protecting Investors 5 10 93 41

8 Paying Taxes 61 16 130 169

9 Trading Across Borders 18 16 44 94

10 Enforcing Contracts 8 23 18 182

11 Closing a Business 15 9 65 138

Wealthy countries, no surprise, tend to be business-friendly, whereas most poor countries present formidable

obstacles to would-be entrepreneurs.

Stock Market Indices as on 23rdJune11 Values

BSE SENSEX 17,714NSE (NIFTY) 5,320

Current Market Rates as on 23rdJune11 Values

Rupee / US Dollar 44.93Rupee / Euro 64.21

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COVER STORY: TO FDI OR NOT TO FDI

The debate on foreign direct investment in retail is heating up. Once again, theruling Government and its allies are in sharp disagreement.

Why does FDI in retail create so much animosity?One, We are afraid that the entry of large global retailers such as Wal-Mart would kill local shops and millions of jobs.The retail industry is about 10% of the GDP. India, with over 15 million retailoutlets, has the highest retail density in the world. Over 95% of which is in the

unorganised sector and provides employment to about 8% of the total workforce,roughly 40 million people. The livelihood of these people is at risk. The morevociferous elements, however, are the middlemen & traders. They stand to losetheir livelihoods altogether.

Two, the global retailers would collude and exercise monopolistic power to raise prices .Consider that Walmart had sales of $ 405 billion in fiscal year 2010. Just this company alone has thebargaining muscle power while sourcing products, equal to 158% of the countrys total retail marketestimated at Rs 12,00,000 crores or $ 257 billion. Only the nave can believe that this bargaining powerwill not be used to squeeze suppliers or will not drive out smaller retailers with predatory prices. Globaretail giants enjoy huge economies of scale and they have access to the cheapest goods (read Chinese) available sowill cut prices which will bleed the kirana stores to death. Once competition is eliminated they will be free to raiseprices. The best safeguard would be in permitting all global chains to set up shops. The competition among them (ashas happened in the automobile industry) would ensure better prices for consumers and suppliers alike.

Three, FDI In retail is a major bargaining tool which cannot be given away ona platter by a unilateral action.Markets in the developed world are saturated. Attracted by the huge growingIndian market, the sole objective of global retailers is to expand and createmore profit opportunities. US & European Governments are putting pressureon us to open up the retail sector. In return we should make them accept ourtrade terms, i.e. free access to Indian goods and labour in their markets. If atall foreign countries are allowed to participate in the enormous potential ofone of the largest markets in the world by establishing just a retail base,

there must be a sound basis and a matching quid pro quo.

What advantage do supporters of FDI see?One, Farmers & Consumers both would benefit.

To the extent the large retailers establish a direct linkage with the farmers by cutting out many layers of middlemen,develop the processing facilities and export the products to meet their global requirements, farmers would get betteprices and bigger markets while the consumers would benefit in terms of lower prices, better quality and greatevariety. The resultant rural prosperity may open up markets for other industrial goods and help a more balancedregional development as also job creation in other sectors.

Two, Reforms in Retail will push exports of Indian produce and add a few points to GDP growthThe global retailers taken together buy about $60 billion of goods each year from China for exports. Contrast this withIndia where less than $1 billion of exports are accounted for by global retailers. Clearly, the scope of exports throughthe global retailers is enormous, indeed. Foreigners if they want to enter will have to take local partners to start with. Once the local partners andother local players learn by doing, the FDI cap can be raised gradually.Foreigners can be allowed to set up 100% foreign-owned retail chains onlyafter the local players are able to muster enough capital, experience and

expertise to compete with established global giants. They argue that with theright checks and balances, opening up of the retail sector is the need of thehour to give a push to the GDP growth rate.

Three, Control inflation by reducing wastageIndia, unlike other parts of the world, suffers from huge wastage in the foodchain. Researchers estimate avoidable supply chain costs (wastage, excessinventory and excess transportation costs) in Indian food and grocery salesto be about US$24 billion. One of the arguments in favor of FDI is that it willbring with it the technologies and expertise required to build robust foodsupply chains.

Bottom line: FDI is a demon or an angel. Either it will eat us up or if we can ride it, it will fly us to the heavens.

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PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK

SUBROTO BAGCHI: TECHNOLOGIST WITH A SOUL

One of those responsible for making WIPRO a name to reckon with in the IT outsourcing

world, Subroto Bagchi is a name India Inc respects. He is currently the Vice-Chairman &

Gardener at Mindtree Consulting. This interesting post has him interacting with the top

hundred people in Mindtree to help groom them & attain professional excellence.

A childhood full of lessons:Bagchis childhood was spent in the tribal hinterlands of ruralOdisha. His father was a district employment officer. Subroto was influenced greatly by his

parents, especially his mother. His father instilled in him a value system of being

considerate to others & to think beyond your immediate surroundings by a simple exercise

as reading the newspaper & keeping it back folded neatly. He was home schooled up to the

age of 8 & then studied in Oriya medium schools. He completed his graduation in Political

Science from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.

Unlikely beginnings: Bagchi began his career as a clerk in a government office & later moved to become a

management trainee at DCM in Mumbai. His lifes calling came when he became a part of Wipros fledgling IT

business. Bagchi along with a crack team was responsible for building up WIPROs IT business in India & selling brand

Wipro in the US where he operated out of his apartments dining hall. The first major break came when they signed up

GE Health. Since then there has been no looking back.

An idea: 1999 was the year when he along with fellow ex-Wipro partners, formed IT solutions & consulting firm

Mindtree consulting which in 2011 had revenues of $330.9 million. The firm is renowned for its innovative HR policies

& training methodologies which encourage employees to become true partners in the firm s growth and also

experience personal growth.

An Author & a Guru: Bagchi has authored 3 books; Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons for the Young Professionals, The

High Performance Entrepreneur and The Professional. He is a popular speaker at conventions and convocations and

his talks are known for their simple lessons taken from his own life and how they encourage youngsters to think

beyond the clichd & chart their own paths.

KAPIL SIBAL: POLITICAL VETERAN

Kapil Sibal is the Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

He is

also the Human Resources Development Minister in the current cabinet. Seen to besavvier than most other ministers of the UPA-II stable, Sibal stays in the limelight fortaking up cudgels on the Governments behalf on issues like the Lokpal Bill controversyand 2G Spectrum scam. When high cut-off marks like 100% in Delhi's Shri Ram Collegeof Commerce triggered a controversy, he branded such a cut-offas irrational.

Education and Career: Born in Jalandhar on August 8, 1948, Kapil Sibals father HiraLal Sibal was a renowned advocate and Padma Bhushan awardee. Mr. Sibal has done hisM.A. from St. Stephen's College (Delhi), LLB from Delhi University and LL.M (Master's inLaw) from Harvard Law School. In 1973, he qualified for the Indian AdministrativeService (IAS) and was offered an appointment, but he declined it. He practised as anassociate at the law firm Cole and Deitz in New York, before returning to India in 1980 to

resume his practice.

Many Feathers in his Cap: Kapil Sibal has had an illustrious legal career, having been elected President of theSupreme Court Bar Association for three terms and also served term as the Additional Solicitor General of India. In1994, he successfully defended a Supreme Court Judge in the impeachment proceedings in Parliament. He was thefirst Indian minister to travel to the icy continent of Antartica and stayed there in sub-zero temperatures.

Champion of Education: Endorsing the OLPC-One Laptop Per Child initiative, he unveiled Sakshat, an Indian touchscreen tablet PC touted as the worlds cheapest laptop at Rs. 1500 ($35). He launched the national toll-free 24/7 antiragging helpline following the Supreme Court Judgment directing the UGC to do the same.

Unlikely Poet: In 2008 an anthology of his poems titled "I Witness: Partial Observations" was published, capturinghis emotions on topics like love, terrorism, 20-20 cricket, global warming and Antarctica. He enjoys reading, writingtravelling, cooking and going to educational institutions and interacting with students.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Kiss_The_World:_Life_Lessons_for_the_Young_Professionalshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Kiss_The_World:_Life_Lessons_for_the_Young_Professionals

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BUSINESS NEWS

1. RBI Does as Expected, Hikes Rates by 25 Bps-ET 17 JuneThe Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, raised policy rates for the tenth time in 15 months, thelongest streak in a decade, and signaled it may not rest until it tames prices as slowdownconcerns are probably blown out of proportions, at least for now. The repo ratethe rate awhich the central bank lends to bankshas been raised 25 basis points to 7.5% and the reverserepo ratethe interest the RBI pays banks for their surplus parked with itby a similar amounto 6.5%. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. It has kept the full-year economic growthforecast at 8% and inflation at 6% by March 2012.

The possibility of the global economy plunging into a crisis again has increased with countries such as Greece facingthe possibility of sovereign default, and commodity prices off their highs due to global instability. But the tougherexternal environment did not mean it was time to bring the series of rate increase to a halt, Governor DuvvurSubbarao said in his mid quarter policy statement.The RBI has sought to maintain an interest rate environment thatmoderates inflation and checks inflationary expectations, said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

2. AMUL crosses 2 billion dollar sales turnover mark-ET 21 JuneThe Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which markets the popular Amulbrand of milk and dairy products crosses the 2 billion dollar sales turnover mark. During thefinancial year 2010-11, GCMMF registered a top line growth of 22.1%, achieving turnover ofRs 9774 crore. In the infant milk food category, their brand Amulspray registered growth of20 percent and became a Rs 1,000 crore mega-brand.

GCMMF, chairman, Parthibhai G. Bhatol said that this performance is even more remarkable,when viewed from the perspective that the organization was able to achieve 1 billion dollar turnover in the 33rd yeaof its formation while it took only just four more years to add another one billion dollar to its turnover.

3. Bihar is best performing state, says RBI study-ET 21 JuneContrary to popular belief, a Reserve Bank sponsored study today said Bihar (includingJharkhand) was the best performing state during 1980-2004, while Tamil Nadu was worsperforming state in terms of TFPG(total factor productivity growth), a parameter that measuresproductivity of the organized manufacturing sector.

Although Bihar did well in terms of TFPG, it faltered on employment generation, the study on'Productivity, Efficiency and Competitiveness of the Indian Manufacturing Sector', conducted by

the Development Research Group (DRG), a research wing of the RBI said. The study, which covers 1981-2004, wasconducted by Development Research Group (DRG), a research wing of the RBI, with a view to estimate productivity

and efficiency of the manufacturing sector at industry and state levels. It has estimated efficiency of 449 companies.

4. Toyota set to trigger hatchback price war with Liva-ET 17 JuneToyota may trigger a price war in the hatchback segment when it launches its first small car inIndia on June 27. The all new Toyota Liva is expected to start at just over Rs 4 lakh and thetop-end version, complete with multiple airbags and anti-lock braking system, will be pricedaround Rs 5.5-6 lakh, said a company executive.

This will make the 1.2-litre car from the world's top carmaker cheaper than most hatchbacks,the fastest-growing segment in the 2.5-million Indian passenger car market, and force rivals to consider price cuts.The prices of hatchbacks such as market leader Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20, Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Micra, SkodaFabia and Fiat Punto start from Rs 4.3 lakh and go over Rs 8 lakh for different variants. "Prices are the first phase othe competition," says PricewaterhouseCoopers Auto Practice Leader Abdul Majeed.

5. Tatas overtake both Ambani groups together on market wealth-BS 19 JuneTatas may not be known for being on the stock-based rich lists, but changing market dynamics have led to the salt-

to-software conglomerate overtaking the combined market wealth of the two Ambani groups puttogether. The share prices have been tumbling in recent past for both the Reliance groups, led bythe billionaire brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, and the analysts put the blame on a string ocontroversies surrounding them for many months now.

On the other hand, a host of Tata group firms have grown stronger, in terms of stock marketvaluation, while shrugging off an overall bearish sentiments in the broader market and evensome controversies related to them. In the process, the stock market wealth of the entire Tata

group has grown to close to Rs 4,40,000 crore -- highest for any corporate house and bigger than the combined figureof the two Ambani groups together at about Rs 3,67,000 crore. This marks a sharp reversal of the things seen aboutan year ago, when Tatas were smaller than the Mukesh Ambani group alone.

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6. Over 120 Indian cos setting up Singapore office a month: SICCI-ET 20 JuneAs many as 120 India-based companies are incorporating offices in Singapore every month,taking advantage of the city state as a gateway to Asia-Pacific markets. Speaking at thelaunch of the annual corporate awards campaign for Indian businesses in Singapore, RNarayanamohan, the chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry(SICCI) said the community of Indian businesses has grown to 5,000 in Singapore as of thismonth, up from 4,000 a year ago.

Indian companies make up the single largest business community from any single countryin Singapore. Edwin Khoo, the Managing Director and Head of Enterprise Banking at Singapore's DBS Bank, one o

Asia's largest banks remained bullish about business prospects in both India and the Asian region and disclosed thathe DBS network of 12 branches was further expanding its clients base in India. The award winners would beannounced on September 29 at 800-corporate member strong SICCI's 87th anniversary dinner in Singapore.

7. 75% of Indians optimistic about future of economy-ET 21 JuneNearly 75% of Indians were optimistic about the future of the economy and 60%wanted to maintain or increase discretionary spending, a survey by global managemenconsultancy The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said. Infact, the tendency to trade upwas high in developing economies with China at 38%, India at 34% followed by Brazi(26%) and Russia (22%). This was far higher than mature markets such as US at 17%and the European Union at 15%, BCG's Winning Indian Consumers in 2011 study said.

Indians were keen on trading up for better health or a better brand name althoughluxuries such as jewellery and eating remained exceptions. Yet despite strong

macroeconomic growth 43 % of Indians surveyed, driven by sustained inflationarypressure, feel personally impacted by what they perceive as the economic downturn

the study added.

8. Why Tata is worried about Fiat in India-Afaqs 17 JuneWhen Ratan Tata said in an interview earlier this week that the four-year-old TataMotors-Fiat joint venture has not been as active as we had thought, he finally confirmedwhat the market has been quite vocal about for the past few months.

While Tata Group still says it accords great importance to the strategic alliance with Fiat,analysts feel the main reason for the joint ventures indifferent perfo rmance (Rs 260crore loss in 2009-10 which is expected to increase for 2010-11), is its inability toimprove its product portfolio. Under the 50:50 joint venture inked in 2007, the two companies are jointly working ondistribution network and back-end support, besides co-manufacturing products in Ranjangaon.

9. Indian bike makers to take on Chinese counterparts on Africa roads-ET 20 JuneIndian two-wheeler majors plan to take on their Chinese counterparts in Africa by launchinga string of new, price-competitive products in the continent, placing their bets in a marketthat has the potential to drive export growth this financial year.

Three of India's largest bike makers - Bajaj Auto , Hero Honda and TVS - are setting upassembly plants in Africa, hoping to boost its manufacturing prowess in the fast growingAfrican market where 2.5 million bikes are sold every year. Chinese bike makers, whichdominate the African market, will face stiff competition from Indian players as India's larges

bike maker Hero Motor Corp plans to launch its entry-level bike CD Dawn in the continent at a very competitive priceIndustry experts familiar with the matter say the entry into Africa or other export markets will not benefit thecompany in terms of margins and profits.

10.Global mobile ad revenue to reach $3.3 b in 2011-Gartner 17 JuneWorldwide mobile advertising revenue is forecast to reach $3.3 billion in 2011, more than doublethe $1.6 billion generated in 2010, according to Gartner, Inc. Mobile advertising is now recognisedas an opportunity for brands, advertisers and publishers to engage consumers in a targeted andcontextual manner, improving returns. For that reason, mobile advertising budgets are set toincrease tremendously across the various categories and regions, growing from 0.5 per cent ofthe total advertising budget in 2010 to over 4 per cent in 2015. Search and maps will deliver thehighest revenue, while video/audio ads will see the fastest growth through 2015.

North America and Western Europe are the regions where mobile advertising budgets will grow most, representing 28per cent and 25 per cent of the global market by 2015. However, Asia/Pacific and Japan will remain the leadingmarket throughout the forecast period. Asia/Pacific and Japan is forecast to account for 49.2 per cent of mobileadvertising in 2011, and 33.6 per cent of the global market in 2015.

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11.Promoters of M&M have lowest holding amongst India's top 100 family-run companies-ET 20 JuneThe promoters of perhaps the only company in the world with a presence from two-wheelers to aerospace have the lowest holding amongst India's top 100 family-runcompanies, according to shareholding patterns filed with the stock exchanges. TheMahindra family, represented by chairman Keshub and nephew Anand, who is vicechairman & managing director, hold under 20% in flagship Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)The total promoter holding stands at 26.47 % but that includes 8.98% held by a trust.

Although the automotive major has grown by more than seven times over the pasdecade - total revenues have grown from 4,278 crore in the year ended March 2001 to

32,052 crore last fiscal year - the promoter holding has actually fallen. This contrastssharply with other major family groups - the Aditya Birla group, Anil Aggarwal of Sterlite, the Munjals of the HeroGroup, Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge - who have all upped their stakes since 2001.

12.GoAir places order worth $7 bn for 72 Airbus A320 neo aircraft-ET 17 JuneThe Wadia group promoted budget airline, GoAir, has placed orders for 72 A320 neos aircraftin a deal valued at $7 billion with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. "These aircraft will

join the fleet over the next five to seven years," said GoAir managing director Jeh Wadia. Theairline will add about 12-15 aircraft every year from 2015.

GoAir, which has a market share of 6.4%, currently operates with 10 Airbus A320s. Thoughthe airline had ordered 20 Airbus A320s in 2006, it took delivery of 10 aircraft as the economicdownturn in 2008 crimped growth in the aviation industry. GoAir currently flies to 18 destinations with 133 dailyflights and 931 weekly flights. While the proposed order symbolises robust long-term prospects for the aviation

industry which is battling the impact of rising crude oil prices, it raises questions over the options to fund a deal of thismagnitude.

13.Diesel, kerosene & LPG price hike coming in July-ET 23 JuneThe government will raise diesel, cooking gas and kerosene prices next month aftera gap of one year as cash-strapped state firms say their borrowings have risenalarmingly and they will be forced to cut fuel supplies, starting with cookinggas. State-run refiners are facing acute liquidity crunch as their market borrowinghave soared to Rs 1,20,000 crore from Rs 97,000 crore in March. They will now beforced to cut imports leading to shortage of fuel, two government officials withdirect knowledge of the matter said.

Oil companies, that enjoy a pricing freedom for petrol since June 25, are expectedto raise its price also. "They want to raise petrol price by Rs 2 a litre, but it will be

done simultaneously," one official said. Oil companies have so far revised pump prices of petrol 10 times since it wasderegulated last year. Oil ministry officials said that state-run oil companies - IOC, BPCL and HPCL - were suffering arevenue loss of Rs 450 crore every day on sale of controlled fuel and a price hike was imminent.

14.Tata Motors move HC over Mamata's Singur Act-ET 23 JuneTata Motors has challenged the West Bengal government's decision to take back land allotted toit in Singur, terming the law passed by the state as a "fraud on the Constitution". Thecompany, which decided not to invest in the state in 2008 after a major agitation by MamataBanerjee-led Trinamool Congress, filed a case in the Calcutta High Court on Wednesdaychallenging the legal validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011.

The company wanted the court to appoint a special officer who, along with the districtmagistrate, could serve as custodian for protection of the land till the court case was resolved.Tata Motors' move was expected after the state government, led by Mamata Banerjee, passed the law on June 14

requiring the company to hand back land to the government.

15.Bharti Wal-Mart opens seventh store in India-The Hindubusinessline 17 JuneBharti Wal-Mart, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart Stores Inc, on Fridayopened a wholesale cash-and-carry store at Raipur, in Chhattisgarh, taking the total number ooutlets it operates in India to seven. The Best Price Modern Wholesale store is spread over53,000 sq. ft and stocks over 5,500 items including a wide range of fresh, frozen and chilledfoods, fruits and vegetables, dry groceries, personal and home care articles, hotel andrestaurant supplies and apparel.

The joint venture is expected to open 12 new wholesale cash-and-carry facilities and employapproximately 4,000 people by December 2011. Bharti's other stores are located in Zirakpur, Jalandhar, Kota, Bhopaand Ludhiana. The Best Price Modern Wholesale store is spread over 53,000 sq. ft and stocks over 5,500 items.

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16.Monster launches job portal for NRIs-BS 17 JuneLooking to provide an online platform for non-resident Indians seeking employment in theirhome country, Monster.com today launched a new job portal. Monster.com is a leading onlineemployment portal with an extensive global footprint. The new website, Return2Home, wouldbe mainly for NRI job seekers from the US, UK, Canada, Gulf and South East Asia, who arelooking for employment opportunities in India. Monster.coms internal research found there wasabout 65 per cent growth in the traffic of job-seekers from outside India between January andDecember, 2010.

The Monster.com Managing Director (India, Middle East & South East Asia), Mr Sanjay Modi, said that corporate India

is witnessing reverse brain drain, with many experienced and skilled global job-seekers looking at India. He notedthat Return2Home would be a unique platform to engage with both employers and job seekers.

17.Discounts, auto cos strategy to tide over low volume-Afaqs 21 JuneDip in sales of passenger cars, the lowest recorded over the past 20 months, has forcedcompanies to take action. At a time when rising interest rates and soaring petrol prices areslowing automobile sales, companies are increasing marketing spends and doling out variousdiscount offers to lure back customers. Sales growth of passenger cars had slowed to seven pecent last month, the lowest recorded in over 20 months, compelling car manufacturers toreconsider their marketing strategies.

While the countrys largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), has increased itsmarketing budget by a fifth over the last two months, others like General Motors, Honda Sie

Cars India, Hyundai Motor India and Volkswagen are offering incentives to rev up lagging sales. The fuel price hike

has been a major deterrent to sales in the last two months. The company has organized mileage rallies for Alto, Estiloand WagonR to highlight their fuel efficiency. Besides, special financing schemes across models are being offered atcompanys dealerships to increase sales.

18.BoI to enter MF sector, in talks with Bharti AXA-BS 19 JunePublic sector lender Bank of India (BoI) today said it was in talks with Bharti AXA and two otherasset management companies for an entry into the mutual funds business and hopes to seal thedeal before end September. Bharti, which exited life insurance business earlier this month byselling off its stake in Bharti AXA Life Insurance to Reliance Industries, is also tipped to be lookingat options of exiting other non-core businesses, to concentrate on telecom and retail.

The Mumbai-headquartered BoI has appointed consultancy firm Ernst and Young for advising it onthe takeover of an existing player, the official added. BoI hopes to firm up its non interest income through an entryinto the MF business. It will use its network of over 3,500 branches nationally to distribute its products.

19.MCX initial share sale gets top rating-BS 19 JuneThe proposed initial share sale of leading commodity exchange MCX has been given a toprating by Crisil, which has said the IPO has strong fundamentals. Multi Commodity Exchange oIndia (MCX) has filed initial papers for the IPO with capital market regulator Sebi. The initiapublic offering of MCX, which is the leader in the Indian commodity futures market, is expectedto mop up about Rs 800 crore, as per market sources. Ratings agency Crisil has assigned a"five on five" IPO grade for MCX.

MCX had an 82 per cent share of the overall traded turnover in fiscal year 2010. "With a strong technology-backedtrading platform and infrastructure... MCX is able to provide high liquidity and low impact cost of transactions -- keycriteria for the success of any exchange," Crisil has said. According to Crisil, over 85 per cent of MCX's turnover isthrough metal and energy commodities, which are benchmarked to international prices. MCX's operating incomeincreased at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 18.3 per cent between FY'08 and FY'10.

20.Arvind adding two foreign brands to its portfolio-The Hindubusinessline 17 JuneApparel retailer Arvind Ltd will be adding two new foreign brands to its portfolio of four brands Arrow, US Polo, Flying Machine and Izod this fiscal. Mr Kulin Sanjay Lalbhai, Arvind's ChiefManager (Retail), was not willing to disclose the names of the brands, but said they would bein the youth-wear segment, which has been growing at a faster clip in the domesticreadymade garment market.

With 13 outlets currently operational under the Arvind Store format, the retailer plans to open 120 such storesincluding about 50 franchises, this fiscal. The stores not only retail Arvind's premium brands, but have Arvind DenimLabs, a denim concept offering customised washed and tailored denim. The company is also exploring opportunities totake the Arvind Store format overseas. Arvind expects its retail and readymade brand businesses together to achievea turnover of Rs 1,200 crore this fiscal, up from Rs 820 crore last fiscal.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

21.American Tourister aims to become No 1 brand by 2014-The Hindubusinessline 19 JuneDurable family travel solutions American Tourister is aiming to become the number one luggagebrand by 2014 by increasing its presence to 300 showrooms pan-India, especially in tier II and IIIcities.

In terms of volume, he said, the company is already on the verge of becoming the market leader.He said, looking at the current growth the company is doubling its volume every two years and thistrend is likely to continue for the next five years. American Tourister is a brand of Samsonite

Corporation and was introduced in India six years ago with a price range starting from Rs 1,700 and goes up to Rs6,000.

22.Facebook to take top spot in US display ad market-ET 21 JuneFacebook's US advertising revenue will total roughly $2.2 billion in 2011, displacing Yahoo Inc tocollect the biggest slice of online display advertising dollars, according to a new study. Theadvertising revenue will give Facebook a 17.7% share of the market for graphical display ads upfrom 12.2% last year.

While Facebook has grabbed the top ranking, eMarketer analyst David Hallerman said the overamarket for display ads, which include banner ads, video ads and Web page sponsorships, is growing robustly enoughthat it is benefiting numerous companies. companies such as Yahoo, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp are competing fothose advertising budgets, while new players such as online coupon company Groupon are offering marketersalternatives to traditional online display ads. Google, which generates the vast majority of its revenue from small

often text-only ads that appear alongside its search results, is stepping up efforts to grow its display advertisingbusiness. Last week the company announced the acquisition of AdMeld, which makes it easier for Web publishers tosell display ads on their sites.

23.BlackBerry announces job cuts as profits, stock plunge-ET 17 JuneBlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM)sank more than 15% during after-hours trading aftercompany released first-quarter results Thursday. As Waterloo-based RIM posted a much-lower-than-expected net income of $695 million as compared to $934 million in the previous quarter,investors dumped the embattled icon, plunging its stock below $30 for the first time since 2006.

RIM reported shipment of 13.2 million smart phones and 500,000 PlayBook tablets (launched April18) during the quarter. Hammered by Apple's iPhone and Google Android devices, the once smartphone market leader announced "headcount reduction'' to cut costs. Sounding positive, it said, "RIM's business isprofitable and remains solid overall with growing market share in numerous markets around the world and a strong

balance sheet with almost $3 billion in cash. We believe that with the new products scheduled for launch in the nextfew months and realigning our cost structure, RIM will see strong profit growth in the latter part of fiscal 2012.''

24.China's ghost towns: Tale of empty skyscrapers-ET 20 JuneThe sprawling housing developments and skyscrapers in one China should be busy and swarmingwith people. On the contrary, according to satellite images the elaborate public buildings and openspaces are left completely empty. These are China's ghost towns.

Most of these cities built during the last six years - some twice the size of Los Angeles , somedon't even have a name, but all of them with world-class facilities. there are more than 70 million

uninhabited houses in China, a country that has been reportedly building an average of 10 cities a year over the pastfew years. One such city is Thames Town, built as a replica of an Austrian village, Hallstatt, at the cost of $9 billion. Itwas built in 2006 as part of Shanghai's "One City, Nine Town " initiative, an attempt to decentralize the city. Todayit's a ghost town, with empty shops, almost no resident and unused roads. It has an artificial lake and a few tourists

photographing every building there for the past few years - have been the only sign of human life there.

25.US works to get India into nuclear club, NPT Clause May Be Ignored -TNN 22 JuneThe US has proposed that adherence to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty need not be a

pre-requisite for Indias membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, but a suggestion, or afactor tobe considered.

After nuclear deal, India wants membership of four international non-proliferation regimeswhich control high-technology trade in the world. These are NSG, Australia Group (forchemicals), Wassenaar Arrangement (for dual-use technologies and equipment) and Missiletechnology Control Regime (MTCR). Meanwhile, there remains the tantalizing threat that the NSG might adopt newguidelines for export of enrichment and reprocessing technology (ENR) that could withhold it to non-NPT states. Indiafinds the going tough because of its status as a non-NPT state.

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MISCELLANEOUS NEWS

26.SSC result plunges 7% in state. Decline Worst In a Decade; City Score Too Dips- TOI 23 JuneMaharashta moved down a grade from the distinction of 78.7% it held in 2010 to 71.04% thisyear. The 7.66% decline is probably the worst in the last decade, and follows the 6% drop in lasmonths HSC exam results. Mumbai, too, saw a dip in the percentage of students who cleared theboard exam from 81.16% to 80.03%, even though it stood second only to Pune. Experts attributethe poor performance to stricter vigilance and low scores in math and science. This year with the

Best-5 policy and extra marks for sports achievements, several students have managed to bag a perfect 100%.

Even though the number of SSC students scoring above 90% has increased this year, it is not at par with thenumbers that other central boards have thrown up. This might directly affect state board students chances of gettingseats in the top colleges in Mumbai.

27.Immigrants take 9 out of 10 jobs in UK: Frank Field-ET 20 JuneFrank Field , the former Labour Minister has said that nine in ten jobs in Britain aretaken up by immigrants. Labour MP says that 87% of the 400,000 newly created

jobs have gone to immigrants, while Britons are left out in their own country.

Field said: "It is the great paradox of welfare," adding that when Tony Blair had wonthe 1997 election, "the total number of benefit claimants of working age stood at5.7mn. At the time of Gordon Brown in 2010, even though more than 3mn jobs hadbeen created under Labour. The problem was that, of those new jobs, 80 percentwent to immigrant workers.

28.Showdown looms over Jokepal, Anna To Fast From Aug 16; Lokpal Bill By June 30: Govt -WN 19 JuneAfter seven meetings in two months, Team Hazares fight for the Lokpal bilthreatens to spill onto the streets again even as the government continues toharden its stand, giving little indication of its own position on contentious issueslike inclusion of the Prime Minister and higher judiciary in the ambit of theproposed legislation. Arvind Kejriwal mocked the governments version of the bilas jokepal.

Arguing against changes like bringing MPs conduct within the Lokpals purview and removal of babus that wouldrequire constitutional amendments, both Chidambaram and Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal said the UPA lackedpolitical majority in Parliament to bring about such a legislation.

29.World Wider Web: Cos face .anything-TNN 23 JuneIts been touted as the biggest internet shake-up since .com made its entry in 1984. Butthe freeing up of domain names may open the floodgates to cybersquatting and online fraudon an unprecedented scale.

A decade ago, when dotcom exploded on the scene, a number of internet opportunistsgrabbed popular names such as Tata. The conglomerate had to move court to evict a cybersquatter from 10 contested domain names that included ratantata.com and tatapow-erco.Com . Phishing is the other major issue. cyber criminals could also seek these newdomain names to create legitimate looking websites using well known brand names. These can then be used forphishing attacks or delivery of Trojan malware. The fact that medium sized firms may not be able to buy relateddomain names may lead to more phishing against them, especially against financial firms, said Jaideep Ghosh. Ghoshalso said the ICANN move may also increase confusion among consumers. Searches might throw up results which arenot entirely relevant and indexing these new breed of sites might be difficult.

30.China set to enter civilian aircraft industry: Boeing-ET 19 JuneChina is fast developing its civilian aircraft industry and it will likely win its first commerciaorder on the world market sooner than people think, US aerospace giant Boeing said onSunday, adding that China has made a hugh national commitment of money and intellectuaresources to the industry.

"Boeing must make sure that we are building tomorrow's plane while they are building today's... we have to maintain that (technology) edge," Albaugh told a briefing ahead of the Paris

International Airshow which opens Monday. "We are assuming that some (of the new players) will be successful ... weare taking them very, very seriously." China is a hugely important market for Boeing and its European rival Airbus buBeijing has long made clear that it wants to make its own aircraft, to be independent of the foreignmajors. Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) is making its first appearance at the airshow next week, with amock-up of the cockpit and part of the fuselage of its C919 model.

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CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE:

Godrej Group

Head Quarters: Mumbai

Sectors & Companies servicing them:Appliances, Furniture, Security - Godrej & Boyce;Chemicals & Commodities- Godrej Industries;FMCG- Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Hershey Foods & Beverages Limited, Godrej Sara Lee,AGRI - Godrej Agrovet ;Services- Godrej HiCare (Pest Management Services), Godrej Global Solutions (ITES)

Godrej Properties (Real Estate) ;Automation & Robotics Godrej Efacec

Key Person:Adi Godrej (Chairman) Revenue:US$ 2.6 Billion in 2010

Once upon a time: The Companys origins can be traced back to the late 1800s & early1900s when brothers Ardeshir & Pirojshah Godrej built an indigenous locks & safescompany from scratch. They brought standardization and quality to an industry that reliedon obsolete manual methods. Ardeshir Godrej was also responsible for making the firstsoaps made from vegetable fats in keeping with the needs of stringently vegetarian Hindus.

Godrej Industries (GIL) Today: GIL has grown today into a US$1.875 billionconglomerate. It is India's leading manufacturer of oleo chemicals (Chemicals derived from

plants & animal fats) and makes more than a hundred chemicals foruse in over two dozen industries. It also manufactures edible oils,Vanaspati and bakery fats. The company's products are exported to40 countries in North and South America, Asia, Europe, Australiaand Africa, and it leads the Indian market in the production of fattyacids & fatty alcohols.The company was called Godrej Soaps until March 31, 2001.Thereafter, Godrej Soaps got de-merged into Godrej ConsumerProducts, and the residual Godrej Soaps became Godrej Industries.This led to the formation of two separate corporate entities: GodrejConsumer Products and Godrej Industries.GIL operates two plants,in Valia, Gujarat and at Vikhroli in suburban Mumbai.

Godrej Consumer Products:Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) is one of the largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods

(FMCG) companies, with leading Household and Personal Care Products. Their brands include Good Knight, CintholGodrej No. 1, Expert, Hit, Jet, Fairglow, Ezee, Protekt and Snuggy. GCPL is one of the largest marketers of toiletsoaps in the country. GCPL has a strong emerging presence in markets outside India. With the acquisition of KeylineBrands in the United Kingdom, Rapidol and Kinky Group, South Africa and Godrej Global Mideast FZE, GCPL ownsinternational brands and trademarks in Europe, Australia, Canada, Africa and the Middle East. GCPL recently acquiredTura, a leading medicated brand in West Africa, Megasari Group, a leading household care company in Indonesia andIssue Group and Argencos, two leading hair colorant companies in Argentina.

Intelligence Bytes:

The Godrej group also owns vast land in Vikhroli, occupying 3500 acres (14 sq km) of land on both sides of the

Vikhroli section of the LBS marg. That makes the Godrej group, possibly, the biggest private land owner in Mumbai

Such vast land can, in theory, be used to create at least 1,500 acres of residential floor space, which, at very modest

rates (Rs.10000/sq ft), can be sold for USD 16 billion. Thus, the Godrej group is sitting on an invisible asset that otheconglomerates are sure to envy.

A few years back Godrej went ahead with a major rebranding exercise to give the company a new image as a vast

conglomerate with diverse interests. It retained the original font to keep in touch with its original ethos & added a

more colorful and vibrant feel with the addition of three new colors so as to reflect changing customer expectations

and its various holdings under one umbrella brand.

Godrej Properties launched its own YouTube channel to showcase existing & up-coming projects as a marketing

initiative which is one of the firsts in the industry and aims at getting more in touch with the youthful and techno

savvy nature of todays buyers.

GoJiyo.com is a virtual world community, similar to second life.com the popular virtual life simulator,that has beenstarted by the Godrej Group. It has approximately 600,000 members at present and is an attempt to enter a domainfew Indian companies have even thought of.