Other Briefings
NRI Weddings Drop as U.S. Economy Slows
Jan. 23 – A good education and a highly paid job abroad once meant that that the Indian expatriate male was a prized catch. But once news of the downfall in the U.S. economy hit Indian shores, marriage offers to America based potential bridegrooms have plummeted.
With no security to back them, massive lay offs and no growth prospects parents of young Indian girls are shying away from America returned Indian accountants, investment bankers, software engineers and their ilk. Potential brides are instead looking to men in India, who also offer a good education, a secure job and most importantly the option of not moving too far away from home.
"Since the global slowdown, we have registered a 20 percent decline in demand for NRI grooms," the chief executive of www.bharatmatrimony.com, Murugavel Janakiraman, was quoted as saying by Mumbai's Midday newspaper.
FDA Opens Offices in Delhi, Mumbai
Jan. 16 – In order to ensure the safty and quality of food and drug products being exported from India to the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently opened two offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.
The move is part of the FDA's Beyond Our Borders Initiative, which will place 35 personnel in 14 locations around the world. The FDA has already opened offices in China and further plans to start offices in Mexico, South America, Europe and the Middle East.
The move into India by the FDA is two pronged – a US government audit last year said the FDA’s infrastructure was inadequate to inspect factories that export drugs to the U.S..To compound their problem further, India is also the fourth largest exporter by volume of drugs and biologics, especially generics, to the US. The Indian pharmaceutical industry had exported drugs worth about US$7.4 billion (Rs 363.6 billion) last year.
Auto Industry Grows by 2 percent in 2008
Jan 13 – Tighter credit, a weak job market and a slowing economy pulled growth in India’s passenger car sales down to two percent or 1.2 million units in 2008.
Car makers across the board were affected by the downturn as sales dropped seven percent in December itself. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the nation’s biggest carmaker, suffered a 10 percent drop in sales in December while Tata Motors Ltd.’s sales fell 47 percent. Honda Motor Co has also decided to delay opening its second factory in Asia’s fourth-largest automotive market.
India to Upgrade Railway Infrastructure
Dec. 29 – The Indian railways, often known as the lifeline of the country, announced that they would spend an additional Rs 30,000 crore (US$6.6 billion) to upgrade infrastructure and boost the economy. The sector plans to renew 2,941 km of railway tracks and sleeper sheets along 2,382 km of railway lines utilizing about 344,228 tons of steel during this financial year. Laloo Prasad Yadav, the railway minister announced that the railways would invest Rs 75,000 crore (US$15 billion) to upgrade infrastructure over the next seven years during his annual budget speech in Parliament.
As part of its growth initiative, the Railways have already manufactured 3,000 coaches this year, a year on year rise of 12.5 percent. They will also develop 300 railways stations into model stations and construct 23 world class stations. The Indian railways which run on electricity also have plans afoot to increase electricity generation and capacity, the Economic Times said.
Indian Beaches, Diamonds in the Rough
Dec. 27 – Its the end of the year, time to kick back, order yourself a fresh tender coconut, relax on a hammock and stare up the palm leaves swaying gently in the breeze as you soak in the sun and listen to waves kiss the shore.
No, its not impossible. Indian beaches offer all this and more. With 7,000 kilometers of coastline, India's east and west shores along the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal offer tourists splendid white washed beaches, clean warm waters as well as some of the most sumptous seafood.
Many beaches along India's coast are untouched, unspoilt and can offer the visitor pure tranquility. However if you are looking for a party along the beach, Goa and Kerala in Southern India should definately be on your list. All beaches are dotted with varying types of hotels, catering to the back packer as well as high spender, and offer various services according to the package you book.
Indian Oil Ministry to Offset State Oil Company Losses
Dec. 24 – Planning to ease the subsidy burden on Indian oil companies, the Oil Ministry said it is in the process of formulating a system to offset losses incurred by state oil companies.
Reuters sources say the paper which is expected to be released in mid January is likely to limit the subsidy share between crude oil firms and oil refinery companies to 300 billion rupees (US$6.40 billion) for the current financial year ending March 2009. Meanwhile the government has also told upstream Indian oil companies ONGC and Oil India Ltd not to extend any discounts to public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) – Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation – on the sale of crude oil, effective from December.
Indian Telecom Industry to Remain Strong
Dec. 22 – The telecom industry might be one of the few Indian sectors to buck the trend of global economic downturn. In light of increased liberalization in the sector and allowing foreign players to bid for 3G licenses in India, Industry insiders expect the sector to receive increased attention from foreign investors next year, significantly increasing FDI in the sector.
The telecommunication industry attracted about US$2billion in FDI during April to September this year, which is a significant jump from US$1.2 billion during the last calendar year, the Economic Times said.
n 2005, the India's commerce minister increased the FDI cap in the telecom sector from 49 percent to 74 percent for most services. As the industry grows and attracts more new players, domestic companies will be looking to foreign players attarct to invest in them.
Ferrari F1 Car to Sport Tata Logo
Dec. 18 – For the first time in motor sport history, the scarlet Ferraris of Felippe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen fighting for world championship honors in 2009 will bear the logo of an Indian company. The Tata Group would join such big names as Shell, Alice (an Italian internet company), Acer Computers, AMD microprocessors, drinks giant Martini and Dubai-based finance and investment firm Mubadala as the main backers of the Ferrari F1 team in 2009. The deal comes after Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover for US$2.3 billion in March this year.
The two companies are however not strangers to each other. While the technology arm of the Tata's – Tata Consultancy Services have supplied major programs and solutions in various technological areas to the design, manufacture and operation of F1 cars, the Tata Group financed Narain Karthikeyan when he drove for Jordan in 2005. A year later the Tata logo adorned the Williams F1 cars driven by Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, the Times of India reported. Italian Carmaker Fiat which owns Ferrari also has a joint venture with Tata Motors to produce cars and drive trains in the western state of Maharashtra.
