India News: July 2006

20,000 H1B visa quotas for FY 07 over
Monday, July 31, 2006 | MP

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the allocated 20,000 H1B visa quotas that are reserved for highly skilled foreign workers with a master’s or higher-level degree from a U.S. academic institution to employ in USA has been filled out for the fiscal year 2007.The final cut-off receipt date for exemptions is July 26, 2006. "USCIS will reject petitions requesting a foreign worker with a master's or higher degree earned from a U.S. institution of higher education that are received after the final receipt date unless the petition is otherwise eligible for a separate cap exemption," said USIC.

Security beefed up for Indian icons
Sunday, July 30, 2006 | MP

In the wake of recent terror attacks, security has been stepped up for prominent Indian personalities like Bollywood icon, Amitabh Bachchan and Cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar. Additional security cover has been put in place for these stars wherever they go. Tendulkar who was provided an 'X' category security cover would now be given a one step higher 'Y' category security cover. Security has also ben beefed up for some other top Bollywood stars and eminent business personalities.

Leadership Awards for Nilekani, Ambani,Tata
Saturday, July 29, 2006 | MP

Top business leaders of the country like Nandan Nilekani, Mukesh Ambani,Ratan Tata won the major Business awards at the NDTV leadership awards in New Delhi which were given away by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. CEO of IT major,Infosys Technologies, Nilekani was chosen as the most-favourite Indian business leader. Infosys also bagged the best IT company award. Reliance Industries chairman and MD, Mukesh Ambani won the Global Indian Award while Chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata was adjudged the Indian Business Leader.

RS passes OOP Bill
Friday, July 28, 2006 | MP

Amidst protests from opposition, the controversial Office of Profit Bill was passed in the current form by the Rajya Sabha. The House was divided on passing the Bill with BJP and allies refusing to accept the Bill in its present form while the UPA determined to pass it unchanged. The Bill was passed with 98 votes in favour and 49 against.Now the Bill will be taken up for debate and voting in Lok Sabha on Monday.

Cee Vision expanding horizons
Thursday, July 27, 2006 | AA

New Delhi, July 26th, 2006 – Cee Vision Technologies, the sole distributors for CMV brand of TFT LCD Monitors, the 4th largest manufacturer of TFT LCD monitors in the world organized a channel meet in Delhi that was attended by over 70 channel partners across India.Cee Vision also unveiled its new range of TFT LCD Monitors that would hit the Indian marketplace in few weeks time. CMV will soon have a wide variety to offer right from 17’ to 24’ TFT LCD monitors along with Touch Screen and Digital signage models. Cee Vision is banking strongly on its Channel Partners and is planning to expand its network of its channel partners across the country. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. K.P.S. Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director Cee Vision Technologies Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are very serious about the Indian TFT LCD Monitors market and are investing all our energies to be one of the leading players in the Indian marketplace. Apart from this, we are also targeting the ITeS-BPO segment in a big way.” Cee Vision is not only expanding its product offerings but also strengthening its channel base. Cee Vision is planning to introduce new channel initiatives Road Shows, Dealer Meets, Advertisements, Promotional activities for both the channel as well as end user too. Mr. Narayanan further added, “The partners who are dealing with CMV products create opportunity of better margin for them because CMV monitors provide better quality at a very competitive pricing. On the other hand, the failure rate of the CMV branded LCD monitors are also very less, which gives peace of mind of the customers as well as to the partners” CMV TFT LCD monitors are highly competitively priced and come with three years warranty. About Cee Vision Technologies Pvt. Ltd.:Cee Vision Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is part of Chemoplast Group of companies, India which has been established since 1976 representing various International Companies in Polymers, Industrial Textiles etc. Cee Vision is one of India’s leading companies providing display solutions to a diverse range of applications with the aim to achieve a competitive edge in a cost effective manner. Chemoplast is the authorized sole distributor entitled to market, sell and service CMV brand of TFT LCD monitors in India. For further information, please contact:Sanjeev KantAlliance PREmail: kant@proalliancepr.com

No new conditions in Indo-US N-deal: PM
Thursday, July 27, 2006 | MP

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that India would accept no new conditionalities in the civilan nuclear deal that has been signed with the US as on the July 18th pact in 2005. "We will never compromise in a manner which is not not consistent with the July 18 Joint Statement," Mr. Singh informed the Lok Sabha. He also added that his government was making efforts to ensure utmost transparency and overall accountability with respect to the deal and said that he was open to any debates with the US on the Nuke deal.

RBI hikes short term interest rates
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 | MP

The Reserve Bank Of India has increased the reverse repo and repo rates by 0.25 percent as a part of its first quarter review of annual policy.The reverse repo rates(the rate which it pays banks for overnight funds) has been hiked by 25 basis points to 6% while the repo rate(the rate at which it lends to banks) has been hiked from 6.75% to to 7%. The hike in rates are said to control inflation in the economy."We are keen to ensure a healthy economic growth momentum of 7.5-8%," said RBI GOverner.

OoP Bill to be reintroduced in the same form
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 | MP

After being sent back by the President to Parliament,the Government will be reintroducing the Office of Profit Bill in Rajya Sabha in its present form. "Government will stand by the resolution mandated by the Cabinet without any alterations or changes," said Minister of Parliamentary Affairs while responding to media. The Bill, which provides for exclusion of 56 posts was passed by both Houses earlier in May but the Bill was sent back by the President asking the Cabinet for reconsideration.

Center announce Rs 2 lakh reward for Prince
Monday, July 24, 2006 | MP

The 5 year old Haryana boy, Prince who was rescued from the narrow 60-foot deep well was announced Rs 2 lakh reward by the Center. Prince had accidentally fallen into the uncovered pit on Friday while playing with his friends.After a 48 hour rescue operations he was finally brought out safe from the well on late Sunday evening. Prime Minister had offered full medical care for the child and had also announced a reward of Rs 51,000 for the rescue team.

Broadcast Bill not to be introduced in this session
Sunday, July 23, 2006 | MP

The Union Government has indicated that the Broadcast Services Regulation Bill was not to be introduced in this Monsoon session of the Parliament. "The Bill has not yet been considered by Cabinet. The question of bringing it in this session does not arise", said Information and Broadcasting Minister. He also added that the Government would first hold meetings with the media and entertainment industry in early August to assess on the industry's views on the proposed legislation.

602 Indians evacuated from Lebanon
Saturday, July 22, 2006 | MP

Indian navy's INS Mumbai has evacuated 602 Indians from Beirut to Larnaca in Cyprus and they were airlifted back home in two of Air India's planes and brought to Mumbai and Chennai.Another 400 Indians are awaiting evacuation from the violence hit region and are likely to be brought out in the coming days. The Indian evacuation operation named 'Operation Sukoon' comprised of four naval ships depolyed to vacate Indians wishing to leave from Lebanon.

Govt approves sixth pay panel
Friday, July 21, 2006 | MP

The UPA government has given approval for setting up the Sixth Pay Commissionto recommend new pay scales for central government employees.The three member panel would be appointed by the Prime Minister and will be on a term of 18 months. The panel will examine and may suggest interim relief to the Central govt employees.The commission is to give its report by 2008.

Maruti car prices to go up
Thursday, July 20, 2006 | MP

Leading car manufacturer, Maruti Udyog Ltd. said that it would increase the prices of all its car models by the month end.The rise in the cost of input materials is stated as the cause for the price hike."We are in the process of working out a price revision and new prices would be announced by the end of this month," informed Maruti MD during the launch of its new Wagon R Duo model,which can run on petrol and LPG as well.

Tendulkar cleared for Sri Lankan Triseries
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 | MP

Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar was announced fit to play for the upcoming India-South Africa-Srilanka Triseries.Tendulkar who was suffering from a shoulder injury and was missing cricket since the Test series in England in March. He even underwent a shoulder operation in London.After closely being watched by physiotherapist John Gloster and satisfied with his progress, the Indian team physio have given Sachin clearance to play the Tri-series.With this Sachin's fitness test is cancelled and he will now be available for selection to the Indian selectors who would announce on Thursday, the Indian one-day squad for the Srilankan Tri-series.

IT returns: No extension of date beyond July 31
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 | MP

There would be no extension of date for filing Income Tax returns beyond July 31st, informed the Central Board of Direct Taxes Spokesman.However special arrangements would be made in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata for filing returns.Since July 30,31 being weekend, the Income-Tax Delhi department will open special counters for the public from July 28 to July 31st to file returns. Other major cities would also make appropriate arrangements for collecting the tax and this will be made available by the respective IT commissioners.

ICAR scientists develop bird flu vaccine
Monday, July 17, 2006 | MP

The Indian Council of Agriculture Research(ICAR) has claimed to have developed a vaccine to fight the dreaded bird flu disease which affected the Indian polutry industry causing heavy losses. The new vaccine would fight the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus and is developed by the ICAR scientists at the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal with a reseach project estimated at Rs 8-crore. India has been importing the anti-bird flu vaccine untill now and if the Indian drug is found successful then it could be available in cheaper rates.

Adopt zero tolerance to terror: PM
Sunday, July 16, 2006 | MP

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before leaving to St Petersburg, to takepart in the G8 Summit has sent a strong message asking the support of the global community to adopt a zero tolerance mechanism inorder to fight against terrorism. In the wake of the recent terror attcks in Mumbai,India would persude the world community to isolate terrorism and those countries dealing with it. During the 3 day visit Mr Singh is likely to hold meetings with US, Russian, Chinese Presidents and other world leaders to discuss on world's energy needs, WTO trade issues, education and disease control etc.

Butia asked to reconsider his retirement plans
Saturday, July 15, 2006 | MP

All India Football Federation(AIFF) is trying their best not to lose the Indian football star Bhaichung Bhutia who had expressed his plans to retire from the international football. "Bhaichung has told us about his desire to end his international career but we have asked him to continue in national interest," said the AIFF President. The AIFF has also urged Bhutia to delay his retirement plans till after the Doha Asian Games in December.They also want this Mohun Bagan striker to play in the qualifying matches against Saudi Arabia, Japan and Yemen in a bid to contest in the 2007 Asian Cup football championship.

Rise in inflation level
Friday, July 14, 2006 | MP

This week witnessed a 0.12% rise in inflation levels which figured at 4.96 per cent for the week ended July 1 as compared to the previous week of 4.84%. The rise in the levels accounted with the rise in prices of manufactured items. The prices of items like iron and steel products, textiles and chemicals, and other non food articles has significantly went up and this had an impact on the inflation index. However the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was down by 0.1% during the week at 203.3 points owing to the fall in prices of food items.

Infosys Q1 results boost markets
Thursday, July 13, 2006 | MP

The IT major, Infosys Technologies net profit for the April-June 2006 quarter recorded a 50 percent growth at Rs 800 crore as against Rs 532 crore in June 2005.And with the company's revised future earnings forecast, Infy stocks made a good show at the trade market on Wednesday at Rs 3,386.45. Other IT shares like TCS rose to Rs 1,892.95, and Wipro was up by 4% to Rs 516.45. Despite fears of market dropping down following the Mumbai serial blasts, Sensex rose by 316 points, to close at a two-month high of 10,930.09 points.

Some definite leads in Mumbai blasts: Govt
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | MP

The Government had said that there were some definite leads about the Tuesday's Mumbai serial blasts that rocked the financial capital of the country killing over 190 people. However the Home Ministry did not divulge any details on who was responsible for the gruesome attack."We have leads about the Bombay blasts but no arrests have been made," said Home Secretary V K Duggal. More than 450 people are said to have injured in the seven bomb blasts which were targeted at train passengers of the suburban Mumbai and all of them took place in the first class coaches during the rush hour between 6-6:30 PM.

GSLV carrying INSAT 4C launch fails
Tuesday, July 11, 2006 | MP

Just after India's Agni-III missile failing to hit the target, India's communication satellite INSAT 4C launch which took off from the space centre in Sriharikota on Monday turned out into a disaster with the GSLV rocket carrying the satellite bursting into flames shortly after the lift-off. The vehicle, after deviation, exploded and plunged into the Bay of Bengal. "Things have gone wrong in the stage of separation. We have to analyse the data why it went wrong",said ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair on the failed mission. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying INSAT 4C was the first of its kind being launched from the Indian soil.If successful it could have boosted India's space programmes and would have strengthened direct-to-home (DTH) television services with improved digital picture transmissions in India.

DRDO to conduct more test trials of Agni-III
Monday, July 10, 2006 | MP

After developing snags in the test trial of India's sophisciacated ballistic missile Agni III, scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) run missile center has said that they would go ahead with more test trials in the coming months to make it fool proof. The missile was test fired on Sunday but failed to hit the target due to some technical problems and fell into the sea ."It was our first experiment with such a long range missile and in the next few days, we will analyse faults in order to rectify them," said DRDO scientists.

India to stage 2011 Cricket World Cup final
Sunday, July 9, 2006 | MP

India has been chosen to host the 2011 Cricket World Cup final. This was decided by the four co-hosts of the event India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (IPSB) committee at the International Cricket Council conference in London. This is for the second time India will be hosting the grand Cup final event,the last being in 1987 final.The semi final events of 2011 World Cup will be held in Pakistan while Bangladesh will hold the opening ceremony functions. Also India will stage 22 matches in the World cup.

Mittal announce Rs 400 bn Indian investments
Saturday, July 8, 2006 | MP

After the successful takeover of Arceleor, steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal has announced an investment plan of Rs 400 billion for a steel plant in India and also said that he was open for acquisitions in India. The proposed steel plant is expected to comeup in Orissa.The London based steel baron said that his firm would spent over a total Rs 40,000 crores in India over the next 5-7 years. However Mittal had earlier expressed unhappiness over the progress of his 12 million tonne greenfield project in Jharkhand.

PM puts all disinvestments on hold
Friday, July 7, 2006 | MP

On the wake of the UPA government's ally DMK threatening to withdraw support to the government Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put on hold all divestment decisions and proposals, including sale of shares in NALCO and NLC.The PM's decision to disinvest 10 per cent of its equity in Neyveli Lignite Corporation was strongly objected by the DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. "There have been representations from some of the constituents and allies of the UPA about the process of disinvestment in some public sector enterprises. Taking into account their concerns, the Prime Minister has decided to keep all disinvestment decisions and proposals on hold pending further review," said PM's Media Adviser.

Doctors strike over AIIMS Director's ousting
Thursday, July 6, 2006 | MP

AIIMS Director Dr P Venugopal was thrown out from his post on Wednesday on charges of violating code of conduct. The decision came after a meeting of a 17 member governing body chaired by Union Health Minister A Ramadoss passed the resolution for Venugopal's removal. However three of the members vopposed the the decision on his ouster.Venugopal has been heading as AIIMS chief since July 1, 2003. And the decision on Venugopal's dismissal has evoked sharp responses from many including that of the AIIMS doctors and other medical researchers who went on with a strike to protest on the decision on Venugopal's dismissal.

Indian, Jet Airways, Sahara Airlines fares up
Wednesday, July 5, 2006 | MP

Most of the country's major airlines like Jet Airways, Air Sahara and the Indian has announced a hike in its ticket prices in all its domestic routes from July 7th onwards. The hike in fares owes to a revised fuel surcharge of Rs 500.The rising price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) has caused the airlines to take such a decision. With this domestic air travel would cost more with increased fares in al classes, both business and economy class and the revised fuel surcharge would be applicable on all tickets purchased within and outside India.

WTO talks: India and other key members likely to meet
Tuesday, July 4, 2006 | MP

In an effort to resolve the failed WTO talks,India and other key member countries like US, EU, Brazil, Australia and Japan are likely to meet shortly in Geneva. The negotiations were on a deadlock with the members differences over sensitive farm tariffs and subsidies.In an effort to close the gaps, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy has been asking the G-6 countries to make concessions to bring about convergence on the two debatable issues of agriculture and industrial tariffs. If so yet another Mini-Ministerial talks are likely by this month-end aimed at progressing on the Doha round of trade negotiations.

India makes history by winning Test Series in WI
Monday, July 3, 2006 | MP

India made a historic win in the final Test against West Indies at Kingston on Sunday clinching the Test series, their first series victory at the Carribbean in 35 years. Of the four Test matches played, the other three ended in draw giving India a 1-0 Test series victory. India were 200 all out in the Ist innings and WI were 103 all out in Ist Innings.Chasing a target of 269 to win in the second innings WI were all out at 250. Spinner Anil Kumble took 6 wickets for India in the second innings. Indian captain Dravid won the Man of the Match as well as Man of the Series awards.

WTO failed to recognise Indian farmers interest:Nath
Sunday, July 2, 2006 | MP

The WTO meeting in Geneva collapsed with differences among leaders on issues addressing trade and domestic farm subsidies and markets openings for sevices and industrial goods. Developing countries are demanding greater access to the agricultural markets of developed countries while the industrialised nations want the developing countries to open up their markets for sevices and industrial goods.India's Commerce Minister who returned from the WTO meet at Geneva before the scheduled end said that the meet failed to recognise Indian farmers interest."If developed countries are seeking market access, if they are seeking to enter Indian market, which destabilises Indian farmers then it is not possible to have an agreement," Nath said.

Kashmir valley train to start by Feb 2007
Saturday, July 1, 2006 | MP

The first train from Udhampur to Katra and connecting the Kashmir valley will start operations by February 2007,informed Railway Board Chariman J P Batra.The rail link connects Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Qazirgund-Srinagar-Baramulla. The project is being done under the national rail project with a budget of Rs 4,300 crore. Jammu-Udhampur rail is completed and Udhampur-Katra strech is underway which is expected to complete its work by early 2007.