Other Briefings
India To Launch Unmanned Mission to the Moon
Oct. 9 – In a 21st-century Asian version of the space race between the United States and Soviet Union, India will compete with China by launching her own first unmanned mission to the Moon. Scheduled for launch on October 22, weather permitting, the Chandrayaan-1, India's locally made rocket will be fired from southeastern India. The estimated Rs3.86 billion (US$80.8 million) project involves six foreign countries, including the United States.
It aims to map a three-dimensional atlas of the moon through high-resolution remote sensing and map the surface's chemical and mineral composition.
Nano Drives into Gujarat
Oct. 8 – Orphaned by the state of West Bengal, Tata Motor's found a new home for the Rs 1 lakh (US$2,100) car in India's Western State of Gujarat. The states' connectivity by both road and sea as well as vendour proximity make Gujarat an ideal state for the Nano.
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist who has promoted his state as an investment destination, wooed the project with an offer of 1,000 acres (440 hectares) of land and a promise of no labour strikes.
"The Nano project was conceived as something that would provide affordable transport to a vast number of Indian families. I want the plant built in the shortest period of time", Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata said while signing the deal in Gujarat.
No official date has been set for the roll-out of the first Nano car but its makers were originally aiming for this month or December at the latest.
The Great Indian Bazaar
Sept. 26 – India's retail sector is estimated to grow to US$450billion by 2015, boosting the market share of organised retail from the current five percent to 14-18 per cent. A government-commissioned report valued the retail market at US$322bn last year. India's indegenious mom and pop stores, which have been battling for customers with the walmarts of the world, will be transformed during the next seven years, according to the McKinsey retail report entitled 'The Great Indian Bazaar'.
India to increase domestic oil and gas production by 40 percent
Sept. 22 – Reliance Industries, India's largest privately held company will start pumping oil and natural gas off India's East Coast from early next year. Although pulling oil from 2,400 metres beneath the cyclone-prone, choppy waters of the Bay of Bengal will be a technological feat for Reliance Industries, the company claims that this is India's ticket to energy independence and Reliance's entry into the club of global energy majors.
Within 18 months, oil and gas production from block D6 of the Krishna Godavari basin will increase India's domestic production by 40 per cent, potentially shaving about US$20 billion from the nation's US$77 billion oil import bill, Reliance officials told the Canadian Press. Canada's Niko Resources Ltd.has a 10 per cent stake in the project. A total investment of US$8.7 billion was spent in developing the block.
The First Made in India Microprocessor – Launched
Sept. 17 – India launced its first made in India microprocessor for servers, through the world’s largest chipmaker, Intel. The microprocessor was manufactured entirely by a team of 300 Indian's based in Intel's Bangalore research and development centre. This is the first time that work on the 45 nanometre technology was taken up by the company outside its US home base, and was completed in a record wo years.
India’s IT spending to hit US$110 by 2010
Sept. 12 – India's star industry, the Information Technology sector is predicted to double its spending by 2012 from 2007, reaching US$110 billion as companies and state-run organisations boost efficiency, a Gartner report said. The sectors CAGR is 14.8 per cent.
IT spending in 2008 is on track to reach US$64.7 billion, a 17.2 percent increase from US$55.2 billion in 2007, the research and advisory firm said.
India Sources Bidders for Worlds largest Telecom Tender
Sept. 11 – India is the world's second-largest mobile market, with nearly 300 million wireless users in July and more than 8 million users signing up each month. So when the country's largest public sector telecom company plans to expand, 25 million lines each in north, west and south of the country, and 18 million lines in the east,it causes a great stir amongst the world's telecom company's. The state owned telecom service provider said bidders can win a maximum of 46.5 million lines, half of the tender.
Reuters reported that Telecoms equipment makers Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks are competing with four other firms in a tender potentially worth US$9 billion to provide wireless infrastructure to India's Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). Bidders in the tender for a total of 93 million GSM lines, the world's largest such order, also include China based Huawei Technologies and Alcatel-Lucent networks.
Worlds Best and Biggest Woo India
Sept. 3 – This is probably the Golden era of India's auto sector. The world's crème de la crème of the global automobile industry are now in India.
Following luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rovers arrival in India Mercedes-Benz announced their foray into the Luxury Coach business in India, Audi has already been recieving a favorable response from India's monied millions. Meanwhile Japanese car maker's Indian joint venture – maruti Suzuki, said it wants to shift the bulk of its research and development work on cars with engine capacity of 1200cc or lower to India.
However, the hottest news came from General Motors, which already has a long association in India. The U.S. car company made a "clear commitment to India" by opening a second plant in western India, nearly tripling its annual output in the country to 225,000 vehicles a year.
