Other Briefings
New Delhi’s Third Runway Takes Off
Aug. 1 – New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport will inaugurate its third runway on Indian Independence day (August 15). The second busiest airport in the country is ramping capacity in preparation for the Commonwealth Games which New Delhi will host in 2010. The new runway will increase the airport’s capacity from the present 36 landings and takeoffs an hour to 65.
According to the Times of India, the trial runs will take place for a few days and the runway will be made operational for commercial flights by the end of August or beginning of September. ‘‘Almost all civil and technical work has been completed and trial runs should begin soon,’’ an airport official said.
Aviation Industry Won’t Face Turbulance for Too Long
July 24 – Even as major airlines across the world plan to cut air routes to low load destinations, in the face of rising fuel costs, Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President – Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, feel that after this turbulant time, India's aviation industry will see smooth sailing.
The current downturn in the Indian aviation industry would end in the next 10 to 12 months as the sector reduces flights and resolves overcapacity issues, said the US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing told the Hindu Business Line.
India’s Diamond Traders Have Their Work Cut out For Them
July 14 – A little known fact states that India polishes about nine in every ten diamonds, mostly tiny stones less than a carat. None the less, the country's diamond traders have their eyes set on brighter tragets – the trade of rough diamonds.
"We're trying to make India the largest trading centre and manufacturing centre for diamonds," said Sanjay Kothari, the chairman of India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) told Reuters. "Why should we go to Antwerp?"
A bullish confidence is common among Indian businessmen these days. Nonetheless, even if few see Antwerp being eclipsed any time soon, the ambition of Kothari and his colleagues is giving pause to at least some Antwerp traders.
What a brilliant idea!
June 26 – Ending months of speculation, concluding in one of India's largest telecom deals, A V Birla controlled Idea Cellular acquired a 40.8% in Spice Communications Ltd for Rs 2,720 crore (US$636 million).
The mobile-phone operator will add Spice's 4.5 million subscribers to its current base of 26.14 million users, taking it close to the No. 4 — state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. — in India's telecom market.
Growth in India’s Booming Buildings
June 23 – India's realty sector is projected to grow at the rate of 30 per cent annually over the next decade, attracting foreign investments worth $30 billion, with a number of IT parks and residential townships being constructed across-India, industry body Assocham said recently.
Currently, the domestic real estate market is expected to be worth $15 billion in which the FDI is estimated to about $6 billion, it said.
India Drives it First Hybrid Car
June 19 – India got its first hybrid car on Wednesday with Honda rolling out a petrol-electric version of its Civic sedan. The car will be more eco-friendly and fuel efficient (for its class) than any other in the market but will remain a niche product, the Times of India reported.
With a price tag of Rs 21.5 lakhs (approximately US$500,000) twice the price of the petrol Civic, it virtually makes the country’s search for green and fuel-efficient options a non-starter.
India plans 43 IT cities in next decade
June 16 – In order to stop India's Information Technology and Outsourcing companies from losing their global cost advantage to Vietnam or the Philippines, and to develop Indias rural areas, the Indian government has decided to build 43 IT cities in India's rural areas the Times of India reported.
The initiative will curb high inflation and attrition rates in urban areas while creating infrastructure and jobs in the rural areas.
According to the plan, each IT city will be set up in an area of more than 500 hectare. The cities will altogether generate employment for around 3.5 million people by 2018.
The proposal is to create self-contained satellite townships with commercial space for renting and a commensurate increase in residential accommodation, education, healthcare, retail and recreational facilities.
Japanese Pharma Firm Acquires India’s Ranbaxy
June 13 – At a time when Indian compnaies are snapping up international conglomerates worldwide, India's largest pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy was sold to Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo Co for an estimated US$4.6billion, the largest buy out of an Indian company till date.
The agreement allows Daiichi Sankyo to buy at least 50.1 percent of the Indian generic drug maker's voting rights through March 2009, the Japanese company said in a statement.
Adding Ranbaxy's network, Daiichi Sankyo can more than double its global reach from the current 21 countries to 56, the Japanese company said.
