4. E
d
i
t
o
r
i
a
l
It’s time to
wake up from deep slumber
Ami akhomiya nahau dukhiya
Buli santona lovile nohobo...
Ajir akhomiyai nijok nisinile
Akhom rosatole jabo...
www.businesspositive.guwahati.com
Contents...
Assam Govt seeks Rs
307430.13 cr from 14th
Finance Panel
–2
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika had rightly reminded the people of Assam of their
present self. But who does care? We boast of ourselves that we are rich,
we have everything .Now, the soaring prices of potato, onion, egg, fish
etc have revealed another poor picture of the state. No doubt, it is the
failure of the state govt to control the price rise. But have we ever tried
to be self sufficient? The British had taught us or paved the way of Tea
and Oil production. Since then we are carrying the hollow pride that we
are the forerunner or number one in the country. But British had not
taught us about potato, onion or fish production. That’s why it is very
pitiable condition now. From potato to onion or from fish to milk we are
dependent on others. We can’t even produce 50 percent of our needs.
On the other-hand Oil and Tea, for which we take pride for years after
years, their production is also declining. Assam is no longer a major
oil exploration destination. The state’s crude production now forms
only a small portion of the total production in the country. According
to the records of Petroleum Ministry the total crude oil production of
India in 2011-12 was 38.09 million tonnes, of which, the offshore
production was more than 20 million tonnes .The onshore production
was around 18 million tonnes. Of this 18 million tonnes ondhore oil
production, Assam and Nagaland’s combined production is 5.02
million tonnes which is below than Rajasthan (6.55 million tonnes)
and Gujarat (5.78 million tonnes).The most oil production in the
country is from Mumbai offshore oil fields. On the other side, though
Assam leads the country in Tea production but its total production is
declining. Records show that in 2011-12 Assam produced 591.88
million kg tea i.e. 53.06 % of the total production in the country. But
in 2012-13 it produced 588.14 million kg or 51.82 percent of the
country. So, it’s time to wake up from the deep slumber.
Amway India Continues On
Upward Trajectory
–3
TCS to hire 25,000 via
campus placement by
Februar
–5
Brahmaputra Jungle Resort
–8
Purbanchal Cement : The
Real Innovation
–9
‘Green Warrior’ Award to
Jadav Payeng
–12
Mo Naga unravels the truth
behind the tribal tattoos of
the region
–13
Cabinet’s proposal on
Indian Inclusive Innovation
Fund
–17
The North East Fest 2013
Delhi
–19
Executive Editor: Madhurjya D. Konwar
Bureau Chief- Kalyan Gogoi ! Chief Co-ordinator ( Delhi ): Arup Jyoti Gogoi ! Co-ordinator (Kolkata): Rudra Pratap
Choudhury ! Special co-ordinators : Jasho Rabi (Shillong), Lithung Tungsha (Kohima), Madhurjya Saikia (Duliajan), Tanmoy
Saikia(Mizoram), L.M.Sarkar(Agartala) ! Finance and Planing : Dipayan Borah ! Advisor : Pranjal Dutta (Legal) ! Design &
Grapics : Nitul Kr. Dutta
Address : Guwahati Office– Bhangagarh, Anil Nagar, by lane no2, House no-1, Pin-781003, Guwahati (Assam) ! Delhi Office–
A-12, 2nd floor, Kalkaji, New Delhi- 110019
Mobile : 9954223870, 9508708837
website : www.businesspositive.guwahati.com
e-mail : businesspositive123@gmail.com

5. Assam Govt seeks Rs 307430.13
cr from 14th Finance Panel
The State government sought Rs 307430.13 crore from the
14th Finance Commission to meet its non-Plan expenditure
and give an added thrust to infrastructure
development projects in the State. The State government
also made a strong plea before the Commission for inclusion
of erosion as a natural calamity under Calamity Relief
Fund and provide Rs 1,000 crore for rehabilitation of river
erosion-affected families. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi met
Commission chairman Y.V. Reddy at the Assam
Administrative Staff College and submitted a memorandum
seeking Rs.307,430.13 crore to meet the state’s committed
expenditure and carry forward infrastructure development
activities. The amount covers the state’s specific needs,
including upgradation of infrastructure, pre-devolution
revenue deficit, additional financial liability for the new pay
commission, rehabilitation of erosion-affected families,
financial assistance to local bodies, Sixth Schedule areas,
other autonomous councils, reform and restructuring of
state PSUs and covering non-Plan expenses. Other
expenses include those committed by the government such
as the implementation of the National Food Security
Scheme, establishment of judicial and fast-track courts,
modernisation of the police force and upgradation of health
and education infrastructure. The chief minister also
requested the commission to increase the size of the
divisible pool of central taxes from 32 to 50 percent. “The
commission should take an effective step to rectify the
vertical imbalances between the centre and the states by
way of bringing cess and surcharges to the shareable pool
of resources,” Gogoi said.
The chief minister also made a plea that reduction of
royalty on crude oil at discounted price has hit the state’s
economy hard, and urged the commission for its
intervention in amending the existing methodology for
calculation of rate of royalty on crude oil from the existing
20 to at least 30 percent. Gogoi also requested the
commission to consider the issue of CST compensation in
financial devolution to the states in terms of the
recommendations of the Empowered Committee on CST
compensation for losses incurred in the past years till GST
is introduced. The chief minister made a strong case for
inclusion of erosion as a natural calamity under the Calamity
Relief Fund and provide Rs.1,000 crore for rehabilitation of
river erosion affected families. “Erosion is a much graver
problem than floods here. So far 4.27 lakh hectare of land has
been eroded since 1950. “Every year, the state accounts for
average loss of 8,000 hectare due to erosion,” Gogoi said.
Hike in DAVP ad
rates for print media
The centre has decided to hike the rates of advertisements
at which the Department of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP)
releases the same to newspapers and publications for an
interim period till a committee appointed by it, finalises new
rates. Speaking to the reporters, Information and
Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said that as per
DAVP’s print media advertisement policy, a Rate Structure
Committee (RSC) is to be constituted every three years for
consideration of revision of rates. He said the 5th RSC was
constituted in November 2004 and on its recommendations,
the rate card for Print Media Advertisement was issued in
2005 and these rates were valid up to 31st December,
2008. The 6th RSC was constituted in 2008 but it could not
submit its recommendations in time and a proposal for grant
of interim hike was considered by the I &B and Finance
Ministries, Tewari said. He added that based on the
recommendations of the 6th RSC, the DAVP rate card for
print media was finalised with effect from October 15, 2010
to October 14, 2013. The I&B Minister said the 7th RSC was
constituted in May, 2013 and is likely to submit its
recommendations very soon. He, however, added the validity
of last rate card was effective only up to October 14, 2013 and
the Ministry had received representations for grant of interim
relief to meet the pending revision of rate card. A proposal for
grant of an interim hike was considered by the I&B Ministry
in consultation with Finance ministry and concurrence of the
Election Commission, Tewari told reporters.
– Business Positive Bureau, Delhi
BUSINESS POSITIVE December-2013
2

6. Amway
India
Continues
On Upward
Trajectory
" Registers Rs2288crores turnover in 2012;
aims to touch US$ 1 billion mark by 2020
" Year of wellness and beauty for Amway
Women – launches Nutrilite Women’s
Health Range and Artistry renewing Peel
& Youth Xtend
" Announces its first manufacturing plant in
India.
A mway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, India’s largest direct
selling FMCG company, continues to maintain upward
movement with a turnover of Rs2288crores in 2012,
registering a little over 7% growth over the last fiscal
when it recorded a turnover of Rs 2130 crores. To
meet the growing demand, Amway announced its first
Greenfield manufacturing facility in the country with
an investment of Rs 550 crore (US$ 100 MN).
Talking to the press at the company’s contract
manufacturing facility at Baddi, Mr. Yoginder Singh,
Sr. VP, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Amway India, said,
“Direct Selling Industry in India is showing a healthy
growth rate, which is in excess of 22 percent. Amway
India has also been growing simultaneously with the
current turnover at 2288 Crores, adding up to over
20% CAGR over a period of 5 years. Our focus over
the years on improving consumer awareness and
accessibility has paid off handsomely essentially as the
quality of the Amway pick-up centers has undergone
a sea change, and is more experiential for the
consumer. Besides the world class quality product,
enabling web orders coupled by regular TV campaigns
3
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
have been major growth drivers for Amway. Going by
the market trend, we are aiming to touch US $ 1 billion
mark by 2020.”
The year 2013 started with the launch of
Women’s Health Range from brand Nutrilite.
Considering the changing lifestyle, the new women’s
range which is targeted at both working and nonworking women addresses the nutritional
requirements across life stages helping them maintain
a perfect balance between health, wellbeing and daily
activities. The range includes Nutrilite Hair Skin and
Nail that enhances the nail quality, promotes hair,
health and makes the skin look better, Nutrilite Tri-Iron
& Folic for building better nutritional components and
immunity, Nutrilite Black Cohosh and Soy supports the
overall wellbeing of women during menopause. In
addition to these products, Amway has re-launched
advanced Calcium and Bone Health supplement.
Nutrilite contributes more than 50% to revenues with
the sales in excess of 1200 crore in 2012.
In beauty category, Amway introduced two new
products under the super premium brand Artistry –
The “Skin Renewing Peel”& “Youth Xtend”. The
intensive skincare renewing peel helps to stimulate a
fresher, radiant and more youthful looking skin. The
comprehensive Youth Xtend collection helps
reprogram the skin’s future while helping to repair and
protect the skin and prolong a younger look.
As per the latest findings of the PHDCCI report
on Direct Selling 2011-12, the size of the industry grew
from Rs 5229 Crores to Rs 6385 Crores and by the
year 2015 is expected to cross Rs 10,000 crores.
Besides being key source of livelihood for over 5
million people, it also contributes substantially to the
tax revenues of the national and state exchequers. Tax

7. AMAZING WORLD
TRUE STORIES
Strengthening its 9pm prime
collections from direct selling companies have grown by
26.9% in 2011-12 to touch Rs 821.2 crore as against Rs
647 crore.
Talking about Amway India’s presence in Assam
and Northeast market Mr. Singh, said Assam, the
gateway to North-East is one of the key states in Eastern
Region with high growth potential. For Amway India too,
Assam is a key market .The state has recorded 18%
growth in turnover in 2012. To maintain the upward
growth, Amway has unveiled Northeast’s first “Brand
Experience Centre” in Guwahati in 2013, making it the
third city in East with such experiential initiative. The
State-of-the-art Brand Experience Centre is a unique
experiential branding initiative in Northeastern India in
the field of nutrition, wellness and beauty that enhances
brand visibility and awareness. We hope that such
experiential initiative would add fillip to the growth in
Assam.
About Amway India:
Amway India is country’s leading direct selling FMCG
Company. The company has invested more than Rs 151
crores in India, and has 135 offices and 55 city
warehouses across the country, covering over 4000
cities and towns through its home delivery network.
Almost 97% of the products sold by Amway India
are now manufactured within the country through 7
third-party contract manufacturers. Amway does not
have its own production facility in India. Amway India
currently offers 131 products in five categories of
Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition & Wellness,
Cosmetics and great value products. Recently, Amway
has tripled production capacities at its leading vendor
facility at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh by commissioning
four new production lines at an investment of Rs. 55
crores. The first-phase at Baddi saw an investment of
Rs 50 crores, taking total investment in Baddi to Rs 105
crores.
time band – Ultimate Discovery,
Discovery Channel is launching a
compelling lineup of enriching
programmes in the coming
months. Since its launch in 2008,
Ultimate Discovery has
successfully brought for its
viewers the incredible world of
science, technology, history,
natural world, adventure and
exploration. Bringing its viewers
closer to the unimaginable real world, Ultimate Discovery
features a whole new line-up that captures the best and takes
the viewer to new heights in the genre.Every Night at 9PM,
Ultimate Discovery continues to fulfill its promise to enlighten
and engage viewers with more astounding and breathtaking
content.Announcing the new line-up, Rahul Johri, Senior Vice
President and General Manager – South Asia and Head of
Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, Discovery
Networks Asia-Pacific, said, “Discovery Channel is dedicated
to bring the highest quality factual content that informs and
entertains its viewers about the world in all its wonder, diversity
and amazement. Ultimate Discovery at 9 pm is an endeavour
to showcase a signature mix of compelling and the best of
Discovery programmes.” Ultimate Discovery, in the coming
months, launches big ticket shows like Earth Machine, which
reveals some of the biggest features of the planet’s internal
machinery and how these hidden wonders are driving our
existence. The natural history series, Human Planet showcases
the incredible ability of people to survive in the most extreme
environments and an all new season of You Have Been Warned
searches for the funniest, most daring, or just downright bizarre
clips and brings together the world’s leading science experts to
pull apart and explain the clips to viewers.
The
Ultimate
Experience
On
Discovery
Channel
– Business Positive Bureau
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
4

8. TCS to hire 25,000
via campus placement
by February
T he country’s largest software
services firm Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) announced that it
expects to hire 25,000 candidates
through campus recruitment by
February next year.
“As far as our trainee or campus hiring
is concerned you are aware that we do
it from seventh semester onwards, and
we have started that exercise- we
have said that we will be giving offers
to 25,000 people/ students, the process
is already on,” TCS EVP and global
head, Human Resources Ajoy
Mukherjee said.
“We will be completing that
exercise in January or early February,
at this stage we are going to various
institutes and doing our campus
hiring,” he added.
The new recruits are expected to
join the company by July
“As far as this year is concernedinitially when we started with we said
we will be doing with 45,000 as the
total hiring which includes trainees....
then we revised and said that we will
do 5,000 more- so totally we said that
we will be 50,000, that’s what we did
at the end of the last quarter,” the IT
firm’s HR head said.
“As far as hiring target is
concerned it is 50,000 and we are
pretty much on track as far as that
number goes and we will do the review
again to see that we should increase it
or not,” he added. Stating that off
campus placement would be primarily
for freshers, Mr Mukherjee said,
“....given the environment today
where the number of organisations
that are visiting various campuses
have come down, and the offers are
not too many- so can we look at a way
where in if we are not visiting but there
can be bright candidates who have not
got an opportunity. That is what we are
looking at.”
“....looking at current environment
and everything else I think we will be
doing part of our student recruitment
through off campus,” he said, without
divulging any further detail.
Reacting to some companies
deferring campus hiring, he said “from
TCS perspective we have never
deferred anything, if an appointment is
given, they are for the financial year
and they join in the financial year.”
Stating that salary levels for
trainees joining would be Rs 3.15-3.25
lakh per annum, he said “there are
others- if I do hiring for CTO (chief
technology officer) labs, there the
offer is much higher.”
Replying to a question on salary
for campus hires being stagnant, he
said, “Probably for last four years, it
has remained there, it is something we
are looking at but at the same time- it
is at the bottom of the pyramid, the
moment you touch it then we are
changing the employee cost throughout
the pyramid.”
“....at this stage I don’t see any
pressure from any angle, but we have
inflation- by looking at inflation and
everything else it is becoming slightly
more difficult for trainees at this point
in time. But that is something we are
aware of. At this stage I’m not
considering any hike or increase,” he
said.
On attrition, Mr Mukherjee said,
“....attrition for us is now lower, in fact
we have probably the highest retention
as far as the industry is concerned, one
of the reasons is of course the whole
market is subdued to certain extent,
demand is low. There is slight increase
in (attrition) from last quarter to this
quarter but that is seasonal because
this is the time when people go for
higher studies.”
– Business Positive Bureau, Delhi
5
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013

9. Bharti Airtel
To acquire Warid Group’s Congo business
B harti Airtel, India’s largest telecom
company and service provider in 20
countries across Asia and Africa,
announced that it has entered into a
definitive agreement with the Warid
Group to fully acquire Warid Congo SA.
The agreement is subject to regulatory
and statutory approvals. With an
investment of $70-80 million, analysts
believe this deal would be valueaccretive for Bharti, as the acquisition
would make Airtel the largest mobile
operator in Congo Brazzaville, with
around 2.6 million subscribers. At
present, Airtel is the second largest
operator in that country with 1.6 million
customers, while Warid is the third
largest with around a million customers.
According to PhillipCapital, the deal
consolidates the market and it could be
value-accretive in the first year of
acquisition because Warid is likely to
have 25-30 per cent margins and a 20
per cent market share, with an invested
capital of $70-80 million.
In 2012 (calendar year), Bharti
Airtel in Congo posted revenues of Rs
1,090 crore. PhillipCapital estimates
Bharti’s average revenue per user
(Arpu) in the market at $9. The
acquisition of Warid Congo provides
Bharti with a substantial market share
and lead over the current largest
player — MTN Group. This
agreement is the third such deal that
Bharti is signing with the Warid Group.
Earlier, Bharti had acquired Warid
Bangladesh and Warid Uganda. With
this deal, it would be acquiring Warid’s
mobile business in Congo-Brazzaville,
one of the more rich countries in Africa
with four mobile players.
“This acquisition is in line with our
stated strategy of strengthening our
market position through in-country
acquisitions, as and when suitable
opportunities come along. We are at an
advance stage of successfully
integrating Warid’s Uganda operations
with that of Airtel and look forward to a
similarly swift transition in Congo
Brazzaville as well.” said Manoj Kohli,
managing director and chief executive
officer (international) of Bharti Airtel.
Much Welcomed Seminar on
Frontiers in Nanotechnology
Department of Basic Sciences & Humanities in Royal School of Engineering &
Technology under Royal Group of Institutions, known for its academic excellence
in the North-eastern region, organized a Seminar on Frontiers in Nano Technology
(FNT) on 16 November 2013 at its premises with the objective to bring together
the scientific experts and researchers from academia to present and discuss current
research findings on the subject of nanotechnology and its contribution towards the
society. Dr. Pranayee Datta, Professor, Dept. of Electronics & Communication
Technology, Gauhati University, inaugurated the event and delivered the keynote
speech on the importance of nanotechnology which is the engineering of practical
systems at the molecular scale and has the prospective to change every part of our
lives. She explained the effects of nanotechnology on all materials such as
ceramics, polymers, metals, biomaterials and its effects on our approach to IT and
communications technology, manufacturing as well as electronics. She enlightened
the delegates with a thought provoking talk on “Nanoelectronics – From concept
to reality,” which encompassed basics of nano-dimensional structures having
quantum confinement & their devices with some applications. Following this, an
alumnus of Columbia University and a post-doctoral fellow from Stanford
University, Dr. Arun Chattopadhyay, Head, Department of Chemistry at Indian
Institute of Technology Guwahati who is the pioneer of research in the areas like
Nano-materials Synthesis, Composites, Nano-biotechnology, Chemical
Locomotion and Quantum Dots & Chemical Reaction of Nanoparticles delivered
a lecture on the various aspects of Nanotechnology in the first part of the technical
session of the event which was highly informative and entertaining too.This was
followed by a special lecture by Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Ghosh, Professor,
Department of Biotechnology, Indian institute of Technology Guwahati as well as
Post-Doctoral Fellow of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York,USA;he
highlighted the applications of nanotechnology in areas like Cancer Gene Therapy,
Biotechnology & Molecular Pathways Involving Drug Resistance.
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
6

10. Mobile
4G at
Rs 6,200
can be
reality
in 18
months
phones based on the
latest 4G technology may be
available at a price of as low as
$100 (around Rs 6,200) in next 18
months, says mobile chipset
maker Broadcom.
“Operators in the US are looking to buy 4G mobile
phones for $100. They are not there yet but they are heading
in that direction ... 18 months time should be reasonable to
achieve it,” Broadcom Mobile Senior Director (Mobile
Platform Solutions) Michael Civiello said. The 4G
technology is nearly five-times faster than its predecessor 3G
but handsets that work on this ultra fast service are costly.
The lowest priced 4G
phone is available at
around Rs 18,000 in
India. However, most of
such handsets cost above
Rs 40,000. On the other
hand, 3G phones have
seen major price drop to
as low as Rs 4,000 in the
market. Civiello said that
the $100 4G devices will
not come from big Tier I
global brands. “It will come from some local brand or no
brand company who is not putting any marketing dollar in
phone,not putting any promotional campaign etc.”
Talking about India, he said the price will depend on
volumes and Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the only
company that has 4G spectrum in all telecom circles in the
country, can play a key role in driving down the price of
devices. On rationale behind major drop in the price of 4G
phones, he said that the initial cost of 4G technology
component is high, but after development volumes drive down
the
cost
of
these
components.
The
Broadcom director feels
that there may be a
difference of $10 in price
in India as 4G spectrum
allocated to operators
here is different from that
in the US.
7
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
IndiGo plans flying small
planes to small centres
Rahul Bhatia, promoter of IndiGo, the country’s
largest airline by market share, said that there were
plans to induct smaller aircraft to tap the latent
potential in India’s growing regional commercial
aviation market. Bhatia, managing director, InterGlobe
Enterprises, said the market for regional air
connectivity was underserved. “Clearly, there is a
market for smaller aircraft. I am not saying it will
happen tomorrow. There are plans, but these are not
imminent.” He declined to specify the timeline and
whether a separate subsidiary would be established
for the group’s proposed foray into regional air
connectivity services. “If you ask me if we are
interested, probably yes. But it is not immediate. We
haven’t decided on the details yet; for instance, if we
need a new subsidiary,” Bhatia said. The airline,
which is adding an aircraft every month to its existing
fleet of about 70 A320s, said it would advance the
completion of deliveries of the 100 aircraft it had
placed orders for with Airbus to November 2014. By
December 2013, IndiGo would have a fleet of 85
A320s.
On the high ticket prices in the domestic market,
Bhatia said the current fare structure was an anomaly.
He added while full-service carriers had been slashing
fares to compete with budget carriers, an increase in
fuel prices and dollar-denominated expenses had
forced all airlines raise ticket prices. “The weak rupee
and high fuel prices are putting pressure on margins.
Airlines are dependent on currency costs. But the
religion in IndiGo is to keep prices low; otherwise, I
don’t think we can grow 20-30 per cent annually. What
you are seeing right now is an anomaly,” he said.
On whether the proposed entry of two new
airlines into India — AirAsia and Tata-SIA — and the
alliance of Jet Airways with Etihad will put pressure
on profitability and prices, Bhatia said, “We are not
shying away from competition; we will take them
head on. India is an underserved market and there is
room for everybody to survive and prosper.”

11. Brahmaputra Jungle Resort
A Heaven in the Earth
A
# Tridib Sarma
ssam, with its rich flora and fauna, abundance of
nature, the green hills all around, the network of rivers lead
by the mighty Brahmaputra, the colourful tribes, the never
ending tea gardens, is undoubtedly in the offing to become
a major international tourist destination.
Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati in district
Kamrup (metro) in Assam is a miniature Assam. It is also
very strategically located being just 40 km from the
G.N.B. International Airport at Guwahati and 25 km from
the Guwahati Railway Station, and on the midway
between Shillong and Kaziranga National Park – the two
most popular tourist attractions of Northeast India.
People from various tribes and communities like Karbi,
Bodo, Tiwa, Rabha, Garo, Tea Tribes and others live in
harmony here, to make a rich cultural identity. It is
covered by green hills and paddy fields with a number of
tea gardens dotted all around. The area has lot of very
interesting tourist spots like the Amchang Wildlife
Sanctuary, Tagheria Waterfall, Nazirakhat which has an
Archaeological Park and a temple of Lord Ganesha,
Topatoli Organic Citrus Project etc. A Tribal Museum
depicting all the tribes of entire Northeast under the
initiative of Govt. Of Assam will be operational from the
next year. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, world famous for
having the highest density of one horned
rhino and a paradise for migratory birds, is
just a few minutes drive from Sonapur.
Sonapur offers a lot of options to tourists as
far as accommodation is considered, but the
most popular is the Brahmaputra Jungle
Resort, the only 3 star property here. Just 13
km from Guwahati, the capital of Assam and gateway to
the most virgin tourist destination- the northeast India,
awaits for you a most beautiful and exciting place on earth.
Located on top of a hill with a waterfall and a mini-lake, and
surrounded by tea gardens on the front and Amchang
Wildlife Sanctuary at the back, Brahmaputra Jungle Resort,
in pure jungle ambience, yet fully secured, offers
accommodation in bamboo ethnic cottages, tents in the
midst of jungle, or modern air-conditioned rooms. It has a
swimming pool, a multi-cuisine restaurant cum bar, a
conference hall, and offers a wide range of activities to its
guests.
Welcome to Brahmaputra Jungle Resort for a leisurely
stay or an exciting 3-4 nights and enjoy in-house activities
like elephant and pony ride, boating, fishing, swimming,
riffle shooting, trekking, rock climbing, bird watching, barbe-que with bonfire, badminton, etc. Visit to : a tea garden
and pluck tea leaves, a tea factory and see the process of
tea production, Hindustan Paper Mill and learn how paper
is made, elephant safari at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary,
Tagheria Waterfall, Topatoli Organic Citrus Project, orange
garden, Vintage Car Museum, Naziraghat and see the
Tribal Museum Centre and the Archaeological Park, etc
will keep all guests thrilled for the entire period.
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
8

12. ’’
The
Purbanchal
Cement
Limited
group is a
leading
business
player of
Eastern
India and
ranked
amongst
India’s top
five players
in the
Refractory
&
Ferroalloy
business.
’’
# Rangman
9
BUSINESS POSITIVE
Purbanchal Cement
The Real Innovation
“Innovation paves the way to growth” is
rightly proved by The Purbanchal Cement
Limited. The constant spirit of innovation of
the group has led the group to be one of the
pioneers in most of the cement related
technology in north east India.
The Purbanchal Cement Limited group is
a leading business player of Eastern India and
ranked amongst India’s top five players in the
Refractory & Ferroalloy business. The group
is promoted by ‘Maithan Group of Companies’
which has strong presence in Core Sectors like
Steel, Ferro Alloys, Refractory and Cement
with annual turnover of more than 2500
Crores. Purbanchal Cement Limited is a
leading cement manufacturer of north eastern
India having a state of the art integrated
cement plant. The plant which is located near
Sonapur, just 25 K.M. away from the city of
Guwahati which allows it to supply ‘Factory
Fresh Cement’ directly from plant to Dealer
Point/ Construction Site without any
transshipment & handling throughout the
states of Assam & Meghalaya. The plant is
equipped with latest technology and high
skilled professionals ensuring
highest level of quality &
Das
commitment. Finished products
December-2013
are dispatched in ‘Factory Sealed Trucks’ from
plant to ensure supply of genuine quality and
quantity of the product up to usage point. In
addition to this, product quality is duly certified
by ‘Bureau of Indian Standards’. The company
is accredited with ISO:9001:2008 (Quality
Management System) & ISO:14001:2004
(Environment Management System) by Norsk
Akkreditering, Norway.
GL Purbanchal Cement being a
technology friendly organization and has been
introducing new innovations to provide
optimum value for money. Introduction of
“Silo Facility” in the region gives a pioneering
advantage to the organization and has been
widely used by the construction industry
throughout North East. Use of bulkers for
supply of cement is another successful
innovation introduced by the organization
which is environment friendly and very cost
effective at the same point of time.
Purbanchal Cement has also Implemented
‘TRUCK SEALING SYSTEM’ first time in
the region to ensure superior quality and to
eliminate pilferage. Quality of concrete and
other construction material is a vital aspect for
durability. To assess the quality of these
materials Purbanchal Cement has introduced

13. a service of “CONCRETE TESTING
VAN” which facilitates quality assessment
at construction sites. Purbanchal cement is
also one of the first to use “Ad star Bag” in
cement packaging which is internationally
renowned due to its strength and bio
degradability. Purbanchal Cement is also the
first mover to introduce a premium cement
brand “Surya Concretec” in the region.
According to Purbanchal group ‘SURYA
CONCRETEC’ is ‘not just Cement’ but
‘Cement & More’ as this product is enriched
with ultra-fine particles of ‘Hyper Active
Additives’ which fills all micro pores and
forms a ‘DENSE CONCRETE MATRIX’.
These intrinsic properties prove this product
most suited for Concreting & Foundation
Jobs.. This new launch of Purbanchal
Cement Limited is a premium quality
product especially designed to satisfy the
intrinsic technical needs for Slab Casting,
Piling & Foundation works. The Company
Director Mr. Madhur Agarwalla said– “This
product has been introduced for premium
segment Customers who deserves the best
in their life. This fulfils all the intrinsic
requirement of Mass Concreting &
Foundation works. The product is enriched
with most advanced ‘DCM Technology’
which improves the performance & life of
Concrete. The internationally acclaimed &
durable AdStar Bag has been introduced
first time in North East India.”
The company believes that success is
not achieved through growth in the
operations of the company but also through
the developmental activities that we
undertake in and around the area of our
activities. Thus CSR has always been a key
focus area for the company.
CSR Activities...
EDUCATION:
$ Regular Scholarship to
meritorious & deserving
students
$ Distribution of School
Bags, Books, Study
Materials, Sports
Equipments, Musical
Instruments to nearby school students
$ Setting up safe drinking water facilities to nearby schools
HEALTH & HYGIENE :
$ Providing local villagers with free 24×7 ambulance support
$ Regular free medical check-ups and medicine distribution
camps
$ Regular Water Sprinkling on village road
$ Planting trees within factory premises and surrounding villages
CULTURE & RELIGION
$ Funding Sree Sree Lakshmi Narayan
Mandir at Kamalajari, Sonapur, Kamrup,
Assam
$ Sponsoring Shree Shree Durga Mandir at
Morogdula, Sonapur, Kamrup, Assam
$ Organizing Community Lunch during Magh
Bihu Festival
$ Sponsoring Rongali Bihu Utchhav in local
villages
$ Free distribution of Wheelchairs for helping
poor disabled villagers’ for the welfare of
the society.
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
10

14. ONGC extends gain post Q2 earnings
The stock was up nearly 3%
at Rs 277 on the National
Stock Exchange.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC) is trading higher by 2.5% at Rs
277, extending its previous day’s around
1% gain, after reporting a better-thanexpected 2.8% year-on-year (yoy) jump
in net profit at Rs 6,064 crore for the
quarter ended September 30, 2013
(Q2FY14) even after paying record fuel
subsidy. The state-owned oil and
exploration firm had profit of Rs 5,897
crore in a year ago quarter. The
company’s net sales increased 12.8%
yoy to Rs 22,312 crore. The board of
directors of the state-owned oil
exploration firm is schedule to meet on
December 06, 2013, to consider payment
ofinterim dividend for the financial year
2013-14. Meanwhile, analyst at Motilal
Oswal Securities has recommended
‘Buy’ on the stock with target price of Rs
387 per share. The stock currently
trades at around 40% discount to its
global peers on EV/BOE (1P basis) and
timely execution of diesel reforms and
passing on of benefits of gas price hike
could lead to stock’s re-rating. The stock
implied dividend yield of FY14 dividend
stands at around 4%, says analyst in a
report dated November 13. Kirit Parikh
recommendations, if implemented, will
be significantly positive for Indian oil and
gas sector helping in lowering of under
recoveries and increasing profitability of
oil PSU’s. Even if the implementation is
delayed, the sector
outlook still remains
positive with continued
monthly diesel price
hikes,
limit
on
subsidized
LPG
cylinders and gradual
shift to direct cash
transfer, added report.
11
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
For oil subsidies, India will
rely on 2014-15 Budget: Fitch
To fund part of the oil subsidies bill for this financial year, the Centre
would have to depend on its Budget for the next financial year, said rating
agency Fitch. The agency said the government had allocated Rs 65,000
crore for petroleum subsidies in FY14. Of this, Rs 45,000 crore was used
to pay oil marketing companies for the subsidy gap in the previous financial
year. Fitch said this left the government with only Rs 20,000 crore to meet
its share of the shortfall between the subsidised price and the market price
(under-recoveries). This was likely to be insufficient, and it was likely the
government would have to draw around Rs 45,000 crore from FY15’s next
Budget, it added. With the Lok Sabha polls slated for April-May 2014, the
United Progressive Alliance government will present an interim Budget
early next year. The new government would announce a full-fledged
Budget for 2014-15 around mid-2014.
For the first half of this financial year, the total under-recoveries from
diesel, kerosene (distributed through the Public Distribution System) and
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was Rs 60,900 crore. Diesel subsidies
accounted for Rs 28,300 crore. In January this year, the government had
announced steps to further deregulate the petroleum sector by allowing
diesel for industrial use to be priced at market prices. It had also allowed
refining and marketing companies to increase the prices for retail diesel 50
paise a month. This led to a steady decline in diesel under- recoveries. The
government also restricted the number of subsidised LPG cylinders (on
which it incurred an average subsidy of Rs 408 each) to nine per family,
per year. This is likely to reduce subsidy in the LPG
segment in the second half of this financial year.
Assuming under-recoveries in the subsequent two
quarters is about Rs 40,000 crore each, total underrecoveries in 2013-14 would be Rs 1,40,000. For
2012-13, the figure stood at Rs 161,000 crore,
Fitch said. The agency said upstream players
ONGC and OIL would have to shoulder a greater
part of the total under-recoveries.

15. Tata Motors launches
new CNG versions
RBS Earth Heroes Award 2013
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), a subsidiary
of the RBS Group, awarded the RBS ‘Green
Warrior’ Award to Mr. Jadav Payeng,
Environmental Activist and Forestry Worker
from Assam under the RBS Earth Heroes
Award for 2013 on Nov 15 in New Delhi. The
RBS ‘Green Warrior’ Award was presented to
Mr. Jadav Payeng for his continuous effort over
decades, which lead to the successful conversion
of a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra in to a
forest reserve by planting trees. The forest,
called Molai forest after him is located near
Kokilamukh of Jorhat, Assam, India, and
encompasses an area of about 1,360 hectares
Mr. Brijesh Mehra, Interim Country
Executive, RBS N.V said “I am truly inspired by the dedication of the
numerous nominees and winners of Earth Heroes Awards; they are actually
making a difference to our vital environs. We believe that corporate should
place a higher emphasis on environmental protection and spread awareness,
that our long term economic growth is highly dependent on environmental
sustainability.” Pankaj Phatarphod, Managing Director, RBS Business
Services Pvt. Ltd. said “RBS Earth Heroes Awards recognizes and brings
forth the work of individuals and institutions that have done exemplary work
in the field of conservation. This is of great motivation for our very young
employee work force who get to meet, interact and see the work of the
award recipients.” Mr. N Sunil Kumar, Director, RBS Foundation India said
“It has been an extremely difficult decision for the jury to identify winners
from the nomination received, as each one of their efforts is remarkable and
honorable.” Seven individuals/ institutions from the field of wildlife and
conservation, who have demonstrated exemplary work on the ground, were
chosen by an independent jury, for the RBS Earth Heroes Award. The jury
panel comprising of active wildlife enthusiasts, environmentalists and
conservationists, reviewed nominations received from across the country.
– Business Positive Bureau, Delhi
‘Green
Warrior’
Award
to Jadav
Payeng
Tata Indigo emax
price starts at Rs 4.99
lakh and goes upto Rs
5.27
lakh
Tata
Motors recently launched CNG
versions of mid sized sedan
TataIndigo and
compact
car
Tata Indica under its emax series
priced up to Rs 5.27 lakh (exshowroom Delhi). The new Tata
Indigo emax price starts at Rs 4.99
lakh and goes upto Rs 5.27 lakh (exshowroom Delhi), while the new Tata
Indica emax is priced between Rs
3.99 lakh and Rs 4.26 lakh (exshowroom Delhi), the company said
in a statement. The new emax range
has CNG and Petrol bi-fuel system
options, it added. Commenting on the
launch, Tata Motors Senior Vice
President, Passenger Vehicle Business
Unit (Commercial), Ankush Arora
said: “CNG is gaining momentum in
the Indian automobile market and we
are happy to announce expansion of
our CNG portfolio.” The introduction
of the new variants comes as an
essential step that underlines the
company’s commitment to be a
sustainable automotive player, he
added. The two new variants have
been introduced in six markets across
India and will now be available in
Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura,
the company said. Tata Motors had
showcased its emax range at the
‘Horizonext’ event, held in Pune, in
June 2013, with a commitment to
launch its CNG range in a phased
manner in FY 14. The Nano emax was
the first in the range.
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
12

16. Success
story
Mo Naga unravels the
truth behind the tribal
tattoos of the region
O ne year back, he opened Guwahati’s first professional
tattoo studio cum school, and embarked on a journey
towards the revival and promotion of the region’s rich art
and cultural heritage through tattoos. Today, after months of
travelling and research through the various states of the
north east, Mo Naga returns to Guwahati. He carries with
him numerous unpublished stories, photos, videos disclosing
the truth behind the misinterpretations about the age old
tribal communities and the signature tribal art of the Naga
headhunters, the Apatanis and more. At a recently
conducted press meet in Guwahati, Mo Naga reintroduced
an ancient, yet unique way of passing on our knowledge and
identity to our future generations- tattoos. Mo also
introduced a new logo that is a perfect representation of his
mission to revive and restore the tribal tattoos of the region
to its original glory.
As a Naga youth growing up in Manipur, Mo noticed
that though the tribes of north east have a very unique form
of body art, yet the stories behind this form of art has never
been published or projected to the outer world. The few
stories that have been circulated about the Nagas and the
Apatanis, have portrayed a twisted or misinterpreted version
of the truth. Hence, after gaining substantial popularity and
success in Delhi as a tattoo artist Mo decided to return to his
roots and delve into the depth of all the information on tribal
art and tattoos through an extended research trip in the
easternmost corner of the country. Today, Mo Naga is a man
on a mission- a mission to dig out the old and blend in the
new. Mo has found out the significance of various tattoos
13
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
sported by the tribal communities, many
of which have never even been
recorded. He is recreating these motifs
in a more contemporary style so that they
can be sported by the present generation to proudly
represent their rich cultural heritage. Speaking on the
occasion, Mo Naga said, “A Naga tattoo has always been
mark of achievement in the headhunting clans. A headhunter
used to get a tattoo whenever he demolished his enemy and
successfully collected his head. The more the number of
heads he collected, the more tattoos he got on his body. For
a woman, different stages of life- puberty, marriage,
motherhood, used to be marked with a tattoo of
achievement. But with the onset of Christianity and the ban
on headhunting, these tattoos lost their significance. I want
to revive this form of art and restore it to its old glory.”
Mo further added, “I envision a day when a Naga tattoo
will once again, be seen as an internationally recognized
benchmark of achievements and Naga beauty. I believe, the
day is not far when people from all around the globe will be
flying in to the easternmost corner of India to mark their
various achievements with a Naga tattoo symbolizing his
triumph in life.”
On the occasion, Mo also spoke about the various
misconceptions that have been thriving in the absence of
proper information about the significance of the tribal tattoos
of the region. Besides, many motifs have never been
portrayed or published anywhere before. During his
research trip to Arunachal Pradesh, Mo had the opportunity
of meeting the Chief Priest of the Apatani tribe and he came
to know that the history of the Apatani women have, very
unfortunately, been distorted to their utter disadvantage.
Apatani women are known for sporting nose studs and facial

17. tattoos. The common notion prevailing in the
contemporary Arunachali society, particularly the
Apatanis, is that the women were forced to wear
tattoos to make them ugly so that the enemies from
neighboring tribes would not abduct them. However,
the Chief Priest informed him that this is a heresy
theory, a false understanding of Apatani history
resulting from lack of proper research.
Mo narrated a story he heard from the Chief
Priest- about a beautiful and skillful girl called Ami
Nwdo Bunyi, who was unable to get a groom. As per
the advice of the Apatani God Popee she started
wearing nose studs, ear rings and wore tattoos on her
face to become more
beautiful and was able to
attract a handsome groom
for herself. As a result, all
the young Apatani girls
started wearing ear rings,
nose studs and tattoos on
their faces.
Mo
says,
“The
learned priests of the
Apatanis, the Chief Priest
himself,
and
other
scholars express their
dismay as to how a
symbol of beauty came to
be considered as ugliness.
They were all clear that
there is only one story behind the tattoos adorned by the
Apatani women and that is the foresaid one. Apart from
the learned few, the current generation has no
knowledge of the real meaning of the tattoos. Even
many of the women who have the tattoos are unaware
of its proper significance. I want the entire world to
know the true stories behind the tattoos of the region,
just as we know about the tattoos of the Polynesian and
the other South Asian countries today.”
Taking Mo’s mission a step further, Headhunters’
Ink organized a 3 day educational seminar cum
workshop at the Academy Hall, Kohima from 21st to
23rd November, 2013.
“With my research, I am now trying to give back
the knowledge that I have earned back to my society.
I plan to create a series of patterns inspired from the
region’s tribal art and culture, but with a
contemporary twist. Each new motif that I design
from the primal pattern will carry with it the rich
legacy that it represents. When someone gets a tribal
tattoo now, he will not do it just because he likes the
pattern, he will do it because he knows the story
behind it”, Mo Naga concludes.
Seminar on Food Processing
Industries in Assam
FINER had organized a Seminar on Food Processing
Industries in the State of Assam during 2013-14 under
the Scheme of National Mission on Food Processing
(NMFP) 2012-13 on the 19th November,2013at Hotel
Gateway Grandeur. The main objective of the seminar
was to promote development of food processing, provide
employment
opportunities
for
the
upcoming
entrepreneurs of the State. The seminar was held with
sessions like Enabling 1st Generation Entrepreneur’s
and Exploring Export Opportunities. The seminar
started at 3.00 pm with the welcoming of the Dignitaries
by Ms. Indrani Chaudhury, Deputy Director General,
FINER which was followed by the felicitation of the Chief
Guest/ Dignitaries. The inauguration of the seminar was
done by Shri. Shio Shankar Singh, Chairman, Assam
Gramin Vikash Bank. Shri. S. Bhattacharjee, Chairman,
Food Processing, Agro, Forest, Rural Industry
Committee, FINER addressed the Theme of the
programme. Other dignitaries like Mr. Subir Ghosh,
Managing Director, Annapurna, Mr. Raj Kaoor,
Managing Director, Assocom Institute of Bakery
Technology & Management, Mr. Champak Deka, State
Co-ordination, NERAMAC, Mr. P.K. Bagchi, Lead
Auditor, Food Safety Management ,Mr. Kaushik Dutta,
Management Executive,FIEO, Ms. Leena Bora Saikia,
Managing Director, Frontal Agritech Pvt. Ltd. also
marked their presence at the seminar. The seminar was
also attended by different groups of people from NGO,
Self help group, entrepreneurs, members, colleges etc.
An MoU was also signed between Assocom Institute
of Bakery Technology & Management and FINER. The
MoU was signed by Mr. Raj Kaoor, Managing Director
and Ms. Indrani Chaudhury, Deputy Director General,
FINER. An interactive session was also conducted
between the distinguished guest and members of trade
and commerce and food processing industries which
turned out to be successful in the overall session.
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
14

18. VODAFONE AND ICICI
BANK BRING ‘M-Pesa’ TO
ASSAM AND NORTH EAST
Vodafone
India, one of India’s leading
telecommunications service providers and ICICI Bank,
India’s largest private sector bank, recently announced
the launch of ‘M-Pesa’ - a unique mobile money
transfer and payment service in Assam and North
East. ‘M-Pesa’ is the trademark of Vodafone. The
service was formally launched by senior officials from
Vodafone India viz. BJAS Murthy, Operations Director
– East, Pushpinder Singh Gujral, Business Head –
Assam & North East and Suresh Sethi, Business Head
–M-Pesa.
‘M-Pesa’ empowers the unbanked and underbanked sections of the population gain access to
financial services via the mobile phone. ‘M-Pesa’
effectively leverages the combined strengths of
‘M-Pesa’ facilitates money
transfer and payments
via mobile phone
Vodafone’s global expertise in the domain of mobile
payments and significant distribution reach in India
plus the security of financial transactions provided by
ICICI Bank. This service will now be available across
350+ towns, 130 Tehsils, 40 Districts through 1200+
specially trained authorized agents and across 91
Vodafone exclusive retail stores & mini stores in
Assam and North East.
The innovative use of mobile technology makes it
possible for customers to enjoy a fast, simple and
secure way to transfer money and make
payments. Using their ‘M-Pesa’ account,
customers can at their convenience:
" Deposit and withdraw cash from
designated outlets
" Transfer money to any mobile phone in
India
" Remit money to any bank account in India
" Make payments to recharge mobile, clear
utility bills and for DTH service
subscription
" Shop at select shops
15
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
"
Participate in e-commerce/m-commerce.
Highlighting the relevance of ‘M–Pesa’ for the
residents of Assam and North East, Pushpinder Singh
Gujral, Business Head – Assam & North East,
Vodafone India said, “Vodafone is always at the
forefront to introduce innovative products and
services that enrich the lives of our customers. We
are delighted to bring to Assam and North East, ‘MPesa’, a world class mobile banking service, in
partnership with ICICI Bank. ‘M-Pesa’, is a safe,
secure and convenient service to transfer money and
make payments beyond the reach of traditional
banking channels. For households where the earning
members migrate to larger cities for earning
livelihood, ‘M-Pesa’ will be the best way to send
money back home to their families.”
Added Suresh Sethi, Business Head - M-Pesa,
Vodafone India, “Vodafone is the world’s largest and
leading provider of mobile payment services through
‘M-Pesa’, which offers millions of people including the
unbanked and underserviced sections of society, basic
financial services. Today,
less than 5 percent of villages in India have a
banking outlet. Financial inclusion is a national priority
and we believe that with ‘M-Pesa’, we now have the
ideal offering to facilitate the same across the country
in compliance with all applicable regulations.”
Apart from Assam & North East, ‘M-Pesa’ has
been rolled out in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, West Bengal,
UP East, UP West, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan,
Maharashtra and Goa and will be made available across
the country in a phased manner.

19. I
Training Programme
for unemployed youths
n an effort to train unemployed youths in Assam so that they will be more eligible
for different jobs, the National Hydro Power corporation (NHPC) is taking up series
of programmes for training such youths under various vocational trainings, and the
corporation has started this venture by training unemployed youths from the
Gerukamukh area in the Dhemaji district. Recently the NHPC sponsored 20
unemployed youths for Logistics and Transportation Management training program in
Kolkata by InSkills (Skill Ventures Pvt. Ltd.)
The programme was held under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
scheme of NHPC’s Subansiri Hydro Electric Project. It may be pertinent to mention
here that altogether 20 unemployed youths of the nearby villages of Subansiri Lower
HE Project were identified by InSkills (Skills Ventures Pvt. Ltd) Kolkata for training on
Logistics and Transportation Management at Kolkata through the Skill Development
Workshop for Employability and Entrepreneurship that was sponsored by Subansiri
Lower HE Project of NHPC Ltd. As a part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
SD-Scheme, Subansiri Lower HE Project shall bear the expenditures towards the 2
month long training program of the 20 identified youths at Kolkata. InSkills will train
the candidates to deal with customers, understand documentation, receive and book
items, maintain records, supervise loading and unloading of vehicles, manage vendors,
ensure timely delivery and pick-up, data entry in ERP, besides communication skills,
teamwork, ethics and introduction to computers. Rakesh, Executive Director, SLHEP
congratulated the youths and their parents for the courage and determination shown
by them by moving out of the area and undergoing training at a distant place, for which
successful candidates would be aptly rewarded in the form of secured jobs.
Free Medical Camp organized by Subansiri Lower Project
A one day Free Medical Camp was organized recently by Subansiri Lower HE
Project in association Gram Burhas of Rupahi Mising Gaon and School Authorities
of Nalanda ME School, Chawalduwa, NLP covering 16 villages and 4 wards
under NHPC Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainable Development
Scheme (2013-14). Sh. Rakesh, Executive Director, Subansiri Lower Project
inaugurated the medical camp in the presence of gaon burhas and school
authorities. Many senior officials of NHPC Ltd. were also present on the
occasion. Around 350 patients took advantage of the medical camp and medicines
were distributed free of cost to the patients. Also free distribution of vitamins
tablets & syrups were made especially to school children & old aged.
– Business Positive Bureau
ICICI Prudential AMC
launches ICICI
Prudential Value Fund
ICICI
Prudential
Asset
Management Company, one of
India’s
largest
AMCs,
has
announced the launch of ICICI
Prudential Value Fund Series Fund 1,
a close ended equity fund that
focuses on investing in stocks that
trade at a discount to their true
value. The fund aims at adopting the
‘value investing’ approach where
low priced stocks with justifiable
higher fundamentals are identified
and invested in with the aim of long
– term capital appreciation.
Speaking on the launch of this fund
and the thought behind it, Mr.
Nimesh Shah, MD & CEO, ICICI
Prudential Asset
Management
Company said, “Value investing, one
of the most popular investment
themes globally, is a far bigger
theme than any other opportunity in
India in prevailing market situation.
We are in an interesting period for
investment in Indian equities. Having
said that, if we take the long term
view, whenever we have been in a
situation where GDP growth is low,
investing in equities during this
period has historically proven to
offer good returns. For instance,
2001-02 and 2002-03 were years of
low GDP Growth which offered a
good
investment
opportunity
yielding attractive returns. As
against this, 2007-2008 and 20092010 were the best years to sell
equities and book profits.
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
16

20. A fter a gap of about three years, the
Cabinet is likely to take up a proposal to
set up a Rs 5,500-crore Indian Inclusive
Innovation Fund (IIIF).
The fund will be under the Ministry
of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME). Officials said
though the Planning Commission
sanctioned initial seed capital of Rs
100 crore for the fund. Officials said
20 per cent of the total funds for IIFF
would
be
provided
by
the
government, while the rest would
come from banks. In 2011, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh had
announced setting up of the fund to
help the bottom half of the countrys
economic pyramid. We have made
innovations in areas such as
space technology, atomic
energy and automobiles. But
innovation in our country has
focused mostly on the needs
of rich, not adequately on
solving the problems of the
poor. We wish to change this
state of affairs, Singh had
said. Innovation, he had said, could be
a game-changer to move from
incremental change to radical change.
He added the country needed models
of innovation to address problems in
areas such as poverty alleviation, health
care,
rural
communications,
agriculture, animal husbandry and
green energy. In its approach paper to
the 12th five-year Plan, the Planning
Commission had supported the idea for
such a fund, which would specifically
focus on encouraging grass-root
innovations to help the poor.
Cabinet’s proposal
on Indian Inclusive
Innovation Fund
wanted the fund to be set up under the
Department of Science and Technology,
not MSME, the issue had now been
resolved. MSME has floated a Cabinet
note in this regard. The fund proposes
to invest in a new generation of Indian
entrepreneurs who are either building or
will build world-class enterprises that
focus on the problems of the poor,
without compromising on economic
success. It will operate as a for-profit
entity, with a focus on social
investment. Earlier, then finance
minister Pranab Mukherjee had
Make North East centre for trade
& business : Pranab Mukherjee
Projecting availability of huge pool of natural resources and quality
manpower, President Pranab Mukherjee said the North East region has
potential to be a key investment destination and a centre for trade. “There is
little time to be lost. Considering the huge pool of natural resources and the
quality of its human resources, North East of India has the potential of being
an important investment destination and a centre for trade and business. “We
must harness the opportunities that are emerging from the rise of Asia and
India’s growing economic integration with the region,” Mukherjee said in his
first address to Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. No longer should this
region be considered remote, he said. “The Centre and the state government
should together rapidly build the infrastructure linkages and connectivity with
the rest of India that is required and this Legislature and the people of
Arunachal should extend every assistance possible to this venture,” said the
President. Mukherjee, who is on his maiden two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh
since becoming the President, asked the state and central governments to
complete hydro power projects worth 46,000 mega watts in time.
17
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
GM India
records 14 per
cent sales growth
General Motors India has sold
7,715 vehicles in the month of
October 2013 against 6,754 units
sold in the corresponding period last
year, recording a growth of 14 per
cent. These include 2,679 units of
Beat, 1,965 units of Chevrolet Enjoy
and 1,837 units of Chevrolet Sail.
Commenting on the sales, Mr.
P. Balendran, Vice President, GM
India said, “The marginal sales
rebound seen last month is on
account of the festival season
combined with the emerging
demand for new entries. Discounts
are at its peak and sales of diesel
vehicles are tapering off as the price
differential between the two fuels is
dropping sharply.” Going by the
market scenario, we expect the
challenging times to continue as the
general economic conditions have
not improved. The buoyancy in the
market is completely missing and we
don’t see any sustained market
upturn before a new government
assumes office after general
elections,” he added.
Founded in 1911 in Detroit,
Chevrolet is now one of the world’s
largest car brands, doing business in
more than 140 countries and selling
more than 4.5 million Chevrolet cars
and trucks alone in a year. The
Chevrolet brand was introduced in
India in 2003 and is now one of the
fastest-growing
automotive
nameplates in the country. Chevrolet
provides customers with fuelefficient vehicles that feature
spirited performance, expressive
design and high quality. The
Chevrolet portfolio in India includes
the Spark, Beat, Chevrolet SAIL,
SAIL U-VA, Cruze, Tavera,
Chevrolet Enjoy and Captiva.

21. ZICA to Award
Scholarships
Zee Institute of Creative Art (ZICA),
an active player in promoting the
growth of animation industry in India,
is once again rewarding performance
with its ‘Zee Vidyanidhi Scholarship’.
Through initiatives such as this, ZICA
is trying to take steps toward making
it easier for young talented students to
fulfill their dreams of being a world
class animator. With the ‘Zee
Vidyanidhi Scholarship‘, 1000 talented
students can get up to 100%
scholarship for all courses at any
ZICA center across India. This is the
third consecutive year when ZICA is
rewarding performance with the Zee
Scholarship campaign. Application for
the scholarship opens from November
11 and runs till 31st December , 2013.
The scholarship is provided across all
the 30 ZICA centers in India and is
valid for all the courses offered at the
centre. ZICA provides practical
training in 2D Animation, 3D
Animation, Visual Effects, Graphic &
Web Designing & Gaming, covering
all the stages of visualization, Preproduction, production and postproduction.
The
Scholarship
examination will test the students’
creative abilities, enthusiasm and
motivation to become a creative
professional. With a unique question
paper prepared for this purpose and a
personal interview following the test,
the candidates will be evaluated
thoroughly to ensure that they deserve
the award. Talking about the initiative,
Mr. Anshuman Choudhary, Business
Head of ZICA, said, “At ZICA, we
believe in promoting creative talent.
We want to encourage talented people
to pursue their dreams of making it to
the creative industry by eliminating
any barriers that may come in their
way. Scholarship is one such means
of helping all potential students realize
their dreams.”
Tata Sky, India’s leading DTH
service and market leader in the HD
segment announced a pricing milestone
by reducing the price of its HD box
from Rs.3100 to Rs.2000. By doing so
Tata Sky will now offer a High
definition set top box at the price of a
Standard definition set top box. Since
the launch of its HD service in 2010,
Tata Sky has championed the cause of
HD adoption in the country and has
acquired a dominant market share in
the HD segment. A Tata Sky HD set
top box gives viewers an enhanced TV
viewing experience with 1080i
resolution picture quality, aspect ratio
of 16:9 and Dolby Digital 7.1 surround
sound. Over the last few years, a
number of communication campaigns
by Tata Sky have helped in increasing
awareness about HD services, also
educating consumers about the superior
viewing
experience
that
HD
provides. With more and more people
buying HD TVs, the move of pricing HD
boxes at SD price will ensure that all
these people now get the most out of
Tata Sky puts
HD in the hands
of Everyone
their TVs. Moreover even if someone
doesn’t have HD TV, he can now future
proof his box by going for Tata Sky HD
box as it will not only work on his
current TV but also on HD TV
whenever the customer decides to
upgrade. On the latest pricing initiative,
Vikram Mehra, Chief Commercial
Officer, Tata Sky, elaborated, “Tata Sky
has been a strong believer in the
potential of the HD segment in India
and has played a pioneering role
in growing it. Equating the price of the
HD box to an SD box will further
accelerate the adoption of HD service.
This new HD pricing also reiterates Tata
Sky’s philosophy of offering great value
for money offerings to its subscribers.”
IDBI join
hands with KfW
IDBI Bank Ltd, through its DIFC Branch in Dubai, has signed a loan agreement for
USD 340 million with KfW, Germany. The loan has a maturity of 10 years and carries
a competitive rate of interest. Shri Melwyn Rego, Deputy Managing Director of IDBI
Bank Ltd. represented IDBI Bank Ltd. and Dr. Norbert Kloppenburg, Member of the
Executive Board of KfW represented KfW at the signing ceremony held in New Delhi.
The loan would be availed by IDBI Bank Ltd. for funding loans to the micro-, smalland medium-sized enterprises (MSME) directly or indirectly through Microfinance
Institutions (MFI’s) and Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFC’s). Part of the loan
is dedicated for selected infrastructure projects to support municipalities and
communities to improve health and living conditions. Commenting on the
occasion, Shri Melwyn Rego, Deputy Managing Director, IDBI Bank Ltd. stated
that the Bank is committed to provide financial support to the MSME sector which
is one of the thrust areas of the Bank. This loan from KfW would provide further
impetus in our endeavor of meeting the growing financial needs of this sector
which plays a vital role in the country’s economic growth. Shri N.S. Venkatesh,
Chief General Manager, IDBI Bank Ltd., while speaking at the event, said this
transaction with KfW is the testimony to the long standing relationship between
IDBI Bank Ltd. and KfW which goes back to more than two decades.
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
18

22. The
North
East
Fest
2013
Delhi
The North East Fest 2013, Delhi organized by Home Ministry
of India, North East division and NTC (National Textile
Corporation) that started on the 26th October 2013 came to a
19
BUSINESS POSITIVE
December-2013
grand close at the NSIC Grounds. The final day of the fest
embraced a fresh gust of fashion and cultural progammes along
with interactive seminars and conferences and an electrifying
Rock Show.Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi sizzled on the
runway with her attitude in an outfit by the seasoned designer
-Krishna Mehta. The evening kick started with a commendable
fashion show by Bambi K and Tonu Riba. Bambi K designs
under the label ‘Bambi K’, and is renowned in Nagaland for her
work in Bridal Couture. Known for her clean, ‘understatedelegant’ design style, she is also the designer for the ready-towear label and boutique, ‘Gold Dust’. But the garments that she
designs with Naga textile and motifs are to her, the most
satisfying expression of herself as an artist. Whereas Tonu
Ribas’s collection was a true reflection of tribal jewelry and
vibrant hues. Up next was Soumitra Mondal’s collection which
was all about weaving and craft. He used the 200 fine count
khadi and silk in his collection and an array of Jamdani fabrics.
A lot of gold and thread embroidery was used to get the festive
look. Yellow, Red, Black, Grey, Green and Gold were the
dominant colours of his collection. This was followed by the
Resort wear label by designers Mayank Anand and Shraddha
Nigam. Their signature style is deconstructing silhouettes from
the past and reconstructing them to suit modern sensibilities.
The fashion fest ended with Huma Qureshi taking the ramp in
her stride.Patronizing the Northeastern culture, Bihu the
Assamese folk dance was also showcased on the fourth day of
the fest. The weavers who had come from North East also
joined them which created a beautiful atmosphere of celebration
and festivity. During the day, a single session seminar was held
on a very significant topic of ‘Marketing tool for national and
international markets’. This seminar was hosted by the Experts
from Handicrafts and Handloom Export Corporation Pvt Ltd.
educating the weavers from the Northeast.