1. October 10, 2014
Banking and Financial Services Sector Update
(Sector Analysts: Jyoti Gupta, Akshat Kulshreshtra, Ankita Kumar)
MARKET UPDATES
The banking sector did not perform well during the last week. All the major banks experienced a decline in their prices at the end of the week. Bank Nifty closed at 15453.80 after declining 1.83%. The banks that suffered the most were HDFC Bank(-2.29), Federal Bank(-2.65) and Axis Bank(-2.12).
NEWS AND HAPPENINGS
Indian Banks’ Association(IBA) has suggested RBI to lay down minimum eligibility criteria for the companies who manage cash at ATM machines. This step would help in reducing the risk and increasing the productivity. According to the guidelines Cash Replenishment Agencies with net worth of atleast Rs 5Cr can participate in cash management.
SBI and PNB have been best performers as far as opening of accounts under Jan Dhan Yojana is concerned. SBI has opened around 30 lakh accounts followed by PNB with around 20 lakh accounts. Uttar Pradesh is leading in the number of accounts that have been opened with over 40 lakh accounts so far.
With The Supreme Court annulling the allocation of 214 coal mines on Wednesday, IDBI banks’ share declined by over 5% in just a few minutes after the market opened. The bank has extended loans of around 2000Crs to the companies that are affected by the court’s decision to quash the allocation of coal mines.
According to a decision by RBI, customers can use non-home ATMs upto 3 times in metro cities and and two more times in non-metro cities, without any charges. Six metro cities namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad have been identified. The charges will be up to Rs 20 if the number of transcations exceed the permitted number of transactions.
Interest rates on fixed deposits ranging between 1Cr to 10Cr have been revised by Punjab National Bank. For term deposit of 7 to 14 days the rates, which were 4% have been increased to 6%. Following are some of the other revisions:
15-29 days : 6% from 4.5%
30-45 days : 6% from 6.25%
46–90 days : 7% from 7.25%
The J&K High Court has ordered four Public Sector insurance companies to pay 95% of the claim amount to people who had an insurance up to 25 lakhs and 50% of the claim amount to those who had insurance cover of more than 25 lakhs. As a result of this ruling the insurance companies have to pay around Rs 4000Crs to the affected people.
Source links:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/industrylist/13358319.cms
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/industrylist/13358311.cms
http://www.moneycontrol.com/terminal/?index=23
2. October 10, 2014
FMCG Sector Update
(Sector Analysts: Amrit Pal Singh and Kirti Chablani)
The Biggest Cross Marketing Deal Till Date: 'YiPPee! to Rupee':
Mobile marketplace and mobile and DTH (direct-to-home) recharge platform Paytm has signed a Rs 200-250Cr cross-marketing deal with ITC's noodle brand YiPPee!
Campaign will run over the next 5 months (signed on 3rd Oct). Paytm will offer recharge coupons equivalent to the cost of the YiPPee! noodle packs priced at Rs 5-40 and allowing consumers to shop on its platform.
The redemption of coupons will happen on thwe Paytm platform and this will drive trials for them and also gives them access to new customers.
Paytm's registered base is 20 million, of which 15 million are regular customers. ITC will use over a million packs in India for the campaign.
Top Companies Gaining From The "Swachh Bharat" Campaign:
Reckitt Benckiser and Hindustan Unilever that together own most big household cleaning brands in the country (Lizol, Dettol, Harpic, Domex and Colin) are assumed to be top gainers from the campaign
Companies (including Dabur and Future Group) plan to leverage the 'Clean India' drive by launching their own cleanliness campaigns to promote their brands, as marketers say the biggest challenge for hygiene category has been lack of awareness.
Reckitt has committed Rs 100Cr for a five-year Dettol campaign to address "the country's hygiene and sanitation needs". It has roped in Amitabh Bachchan as ambassador for the programme that will take off this month and will cover 400 villages across 8 Indian states.
Reckitt Benckiser dominates toilet care space with its brand Harpic enjoying 69% market share in 2013, according to Euromonitor. It controls surface care market too with 57% share through brands such as Dettol, Easy-Off Bang, Lizol and Colin
ITC: Fears of a sharp decline in volume unfounded:
The BSE FMCG Index has risen 10 percent in 3 months, while the Sensex has risen 5 percent in the same amount of time.
However, ITC continues to underperform the Sensex, even though the company's stock is trading at a 29 per cent discount to the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) universe.
Historically, ITC has traded at a 13 per cent discount but with concerns emerging around curbs on cigarette sales, the discount has widened. Investors are not be betting on the stock on fears of weaker sales and profits from the cigarette division.
Analysts, however, remain bullish over the longer term. Given ITC's valuations, the estimated market-implied sales growth for ITC would be 13.3 per cent over 2014-2025 against 17.3 per cent average for the FMCG sector
4. October 10, 2014
Metals & Mining and Real estate Sector Update
(Sector Analysts: Arihanth Jain, Manish Rathore and Priyanka Mohanty)
Metals and Mining: Stock price performance of key companies Name Change % Related news Tata steel +1.8% Jharkhand govt. demanded heavy price for operating in state.
Hindalco
-3.0%
Facing pressure on SC ruling and pricing pressure. Coal India limited -2.7% Coal India refused to take over de allocated blocks.
Sesa sterlite
-7.7%
Sesa expects Goa mine to start operating by Jan/Feb. SAIL +1.5% Jharkhand govt demanded heavy price for operating.
M and A’s happening in the sector:
In world news, Italy's troubled Ilva steel plant could attract bids from two foreign groups.
Aluminum products maker Constellium NV said it would buy U.S. peer Wise Metals for $1.4 billion, including debt
Loans/bonds issued to the company:
NTPC plans to issue 10 year dollar bonds. This is after NTPC raised $250 million as loans from Japan’s Mizuho bank last month.
New legal/regulatory environment: Permission was granted for the 3,000 megawatt Dibang plant, the construction of which will mean clearing some 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of forest. Many projects are also getting passed under new Modi government for seeking growth and is making environmentalists under pressure.
Estimates for the sector:
Base metals are going to trade at lower on weak demand as supply is surplus. This is based on weak Chinese demand and lower growth forecast by IMF.
5. October 10, 2014
Other news: Vedanta hopes to start mining in Goa by January-February after The Supreme Court in April lifted the ban on mining in Goa with certain conditions. The ruling imposed an interim restriction on the maximum annual excavation of 20 million tonnes per annum from the mining leases in the state.
Real Estate:
Due to high pricing and lending rates, buyer preference remained focussed on secondary and emerging markets of cities, while developers began to offer discounts to boost sales ahead of the festive season. On the whole, residential real estate pricing displayed mixed trends in H1 2014. The recent economic assessment by the ministry of finance hinted at gradual economic recovery, citing weaker inflationary pressure and reforms driving improved investor confidence. Faster infrastructure approvals and corporate decision-making look likely in the coming months, which will support investment and demand for commercial real estate. A relaxation in interest rates is also required to revive demand in the housing segment and generate investor confidence.
Stock price performance of key companies COMPANIES %CHANGE REMARKS DLF -0.23% In a major setback to DLF, the Delhi High Court on Friday gives green signal to Competition Commission of India (CCI) to investigate and pass final orders against the realty major.
GMR Infra
+3.80%
Investors continued to buy shares of GMR Infrastructure its first unit of 1370 MW Chhattisgarh supercritical thermal power plant synchronised
Key M&A's happening in the sector:
L&T eyes real estate, infrastructure assets listing in India:
India’s largest engineering and construction company Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) is exploring listing its real estate and infrastructure assets in the domestic market through newly created investment trusts. According to their current plans, the company has put their listings in Singapore on hold and is planning to list its real estate assets under REIT and its investment asset under invITs. This seems to have come as a result of SEBI’s approval allowing Indian firms to launch REITs and has thus enhanced the investment opportunities for HNIs and ordinary investors.
6. October 10, 2014
New IPOs happening:
Tiger Global pumps $30 million more into CommonFloor
Property listing website CommonFloor.com said on Wednesday that it has raised $30 million from its existing investor— American hedge fund Tiger Global Management Llc. This is the biggest round of funding for the Bangalore-based company
Legal/ regulatory environment for the sector :
RBI raises concern over high loan exposure to infra, realty :
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday expressed its concerns over increasing loan exposure to the real estate, housing and infrastructure sectors. the real estate sector has gone up from Rs 60,000Cr in 2007-08 to Rs 1,54,000Cr now and housing exposure from Rs 2,60,000Cr to Rs 5,40,000Cr. Infrastructure exposure has more than doubled to Rs 8,40,000Cr. Some of the infra loans extended by banks in the last couple of years have already become stressed assets.
Banks do not share RBI's concerns over realty:
Sharp rise in equity, real estate prices raises risk of financial instability in the event of an unanticipated bursting of building equity, real estate bubbles, says RBI Lenders, which are still going slow and cautious on investing in real estate, have dismissed fears raised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over a bubble being built in the sector. Banks have been funding special purpose vehicles (SPVs) of builders mostly in residential projects. Loans to real estate companies rose 17.6% (year on year) in August to Rs 1.6 lakhCr when the overall loan growth was 10%, according to the latest RBI data. Loan to the construction sector grew 31% to Rs 70,600Cr.
Estimates released:
Retail sector to benefit from REITs:
The entry of real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the Indian market is expected to infuse a large dose of liquidity into the cash-strapped commercial real estate sector and could be a game changer in India, of the estimated 350 million square feet of ‘Grade A’ office space — valued at around $65-70 billion — concentrated in the major urban centres, about 80-100 million sq. ft is estimated to be eligible for REITs in the next 2-3 years, valued at about $15-20 billion, according to KPMG in India.Apart from these, there are a host of other commercial properties such as shopping centres, retail malls, among others, which are eligible for REITs.
Other news:
Home buyers not fully convinced about recovery in real estate sector:
In spite of muted prices over the last few quarters, house sales have been slow, IT filled Bangalore being an exception. Even the significant mark down in prices of new projects over comparable existing ones — 31% over June prices in the National Capital Region, according to Liases Foras — has not lured them. Attractive schemes by the infrastructure companies too failed in drawing many buyers. This indicates a more fundamental issue: buyers' assessment of affordability. Many home buyers are not fully convinced about a recovery.
7. October 10, 2014
Real estate market cold as realtors fail to woo customers this festive season:
The festive season failed to bring enough business to the real estate market, with builders and brokers reporting "not-so- encouraging" sales over the past two weeks. Unlike the boom years, builders this year had refrained from launching new projects in the season, with an aim of reducing the inventory that has piled up over the past few quarters.
Blackstone set to become India’s largest office assets owner:
Global private equity (PE) firm Blackstone Group Lp is poised to become the largest owner of commercial office real estate in India after an aggressive, three-year acquisition drive in which it spent $900 million (Rs.5,400Cr) buying prime assets.
8. October 10, 2014
Pharma Sector Update
(Sector Analysts: Kanika Singh, Neha Kumar and Ravi Karanam)
India’s Mental Health Policy - ‘Mental Health Action Plan 365’ unveiled:
The Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan unveiled the Mental Health Policy while requesting people in the country to change their perception towards mental illness.
The policy’s objective is to provide universal access to mental health care by enhancing understanding of mental health and strengthening leadership in the mental health sector at all levels. It will have a pro-poor orientation. The policy will clearly define the roles of Central government, state governments, local bodies and civil society organisations.
Dr Vardhan pointed out that earlier laws governing the mentally ill, the Indian Lunatic Asylum Act, 1858, and Indian Lunacy Act, 1912, ignored the human rights aspect and were concerned only with custodial issues. After Independence it took 31 years for India to attempt the first enactment, which resulted another nine years later in the Mental Health Act, 1987. But due to many defects in this Act, it never came into force in any of the states and union territories.
Venture Capital Fund to be setup for sustainable environment for R&D in pharmaceutical industry:
The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has released the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for setting up Venture Capital Fund for R&D in pharmaceuticals. The report proposes to provide a ‘push’ to the government for developing a focussed VC industry. By doing this, the government will promote entrepreneurship in the pharma R&D sector and support the development of a self-sustaining environment.
The terms of each Pharma Fund would be largely market-driven. The government would, in the first instance, allocate a total amount of Rs.500Cr to be invested between all the Pharma Funds set up in pursuance of this Project. This DPR sets out in detail the design for the project and the manner in which each Pharma Fund will be established and managed, the identities and roles of key stake-holders, and estimated event schedules and time-lines. In order to be eligible for investment by the government, the terms of each fund would need to be subject to certain specifications of the government and, in return, be entitled to certain financial incentives.
The Venture capital (VC) funds make equity or equity-linked investments in young growth-oriented firms. The VC industry developed as a financing solution for high-risk, potentially high-reward projects that are unable to raise funding from more traditional sources like banks or capital markets. Pharma R&D projects are a typical example of such 'high-risk, potentially high-reward' projects that struggle to raise funding in the absence of a well-developed local VC industry. The DPR also discussed several 'public venture capital' models that have been adopted both in India and abroad to achieve this objective.
Govt ban on PET for primary packaging of drugs for paediatric & geriatric use unwelcomed by Packaging Companies:
The Union health ministry has banned the use of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or plastic containers for the packaging of liquid oral formulations in paediatric use, geriatric use and for use in case of pregnant women and women of reproductive age group.
The manufacturers will get 180 days from the date of its final publication in the Official Gazette, to comply by this. The ministry has banned the PET on the recommendation of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB).
One of the major reasons behind this ban was the increasing exposure to endocrine disrupter chemicals known as phthalates etc. Hence, this move was taken in the public interest especially considering the precautionary principle that the
9. October 10, 2014
children, geriatrics, women in reproductive age group and pregnant women should not be exposed to the hazards involved in the packaging of drugs in plastic/PET containers.
However, the Pharma packaging majors have objected to the Union government's decision to prohibit the use of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to package liquid drug formulations. They view the notification issued by the government as one driven by public interest groups with vested interests.
According to a section of pharma packaging players, including the Bengaluru based Manjushree Technopack, PET has undergone stringent tests before it could be approved for use in pharma and food packaging since 1982. It is only in 2014 after a gap of 32 years that the government has raised objections to its use asserting that PET properties are harmful. The companies claim that there has been no instance of fatality or health hazards reported from patients and consumers following consumption of medicines packed in PET. Traditionally drugs and foods were packed in glass but this was replaced a decade ago with PET because of ‘leeching’ that resulted in fatality, he added.
In the wake of the ban which is effective in six months, glass would be option for drugs and foods. In addition, the implication of costing is huge as companies will now need to change the packaging lines to pack drugs in glassware. Moreover, only a handful of glass manufacturers can cater to pharmaceutical needs and this would spring up a monopolistic market.
Portal for selling non-moving materials for pharma industry launched:
Kilitch Drugs India Ltd., has launched a new website www.nonmoving.com, as a social initiative under the CSR activity. The new portal will allow pharmaceutical companies to upload their non-moving inventory across six categories like raw materials, packaging material, quality control, finished goods, intermediates and utility equipment.
Since companies keep on expanding and have an issue of disposing their capital equipments like distill column plant, manufacturing tanks etc., the website will act as the facilitator between the buyer and seller, thereby allowing access to buy the non-moving stock within the industry. The entire transaction will be taken care of by the two parties, while the seller will also undertake the responsibility of delivering the material to the buyer.
With pharma industry expanding and getting regulated more and more, there is a need for companies to either hive off their old equipments and instruments or make them redundant in case of no counter proposals for the purchase of these items. The portal will facilitate companies right from raw material, packing material, QC equipments like HPLC, GC, glasswares, chemicals and other items, to finished goods like tablets, capsules etc.
10. October 10, 2014
Power Sector Update
(Sector Analysts: Anshu Mishra and Ankit Bacchuka)
Severe coal shortage at power plants
The Power plants is facing severe coal shortage, either they have exhausted or have less than 4 days of supply. This is leading to power cuts, which in turn is affecting small scale factories which cannot afford to run on diesel generators. NTPC has shut one of its five units due to coal shortage.60 of 103 power plants is facing shortage due to lower supplies from CIL. This situation has forced power plants to import coal, India is currently 3rd largest importer of coal despite of having one of the largest reserve.
Upcoming Projects
IDFC PE Fund promoted Green Infra Limited (GIL) plans to set up 4 Wind projects with a capacity of 182.4 Mw in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. For this it will raise $59 million from the International Finance Corporation. The plants are expected to be commissioned by March 31, 2015.
NTPC to invest Rs.5000 Cr in solar power project, to establish a 750 Mw plant in Rewa district. The project will be executed in 3 tranches of 250 Mw each. It has also signed a MoU with Andhra Pradesh govt. for setting up a solar power project to generate 1000 Mw. NTPC is targeting to generate 3500 Mw through solar power in few years.
BHEL bagged engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) contract worth of Rs 7,800Cr for setting up a 1,320 MW thermal power project in Tamil Nadu. The contract resulted in 4% gain in BHEL share prices to close at 210 on 8th Oct.
AP state-owned Power Finance Corp. Ltd (PFC) has agreed to invest Rs 3,542 Cr. for expansion of thermal power plant project at Krishnapatnam of 2400 Mw capacity , plant's first phase of 800Mw capacity will get operational by March.
NDMC will invest Rs.3000 Cr and NALCO will invest Rs.19000 Cr to set up thermal power plant in MP once the issue following SC order of cancellation of coal block is resolved.
The MNRE has signed a MoU with a group of PSUs to set up joint venture Company for an offshore wind power project in Gujarat. Suzlon is planning to come up with a 300 Mw offshore wind power project on a pilot basis in Gujarat within four years from the time of commencement of work. It has plans to expand in India with installation of projects up to capacity of 2000 Mw in Madhya Pradesh within 5 years.
Other Updates
GMR Infrastructure said its first unit 1370 MW Chhattisgarh supercritical thermal power plant (GCEL) has successfully achieved synchronization with the grid. GMR stock prices surges over 20% in last 3 days and closed at 21.85.
GVK group has said it has won environmental permit for its Alpha coal project in Australia. The GVK power stock price closed at Rs 10.16 up by 1.6%
Lanco Infratech plans to sell its Australian coal field Griffin Coal and its two operational road projects in Karnataka worth Rs 600cr to pare debt as well as make equity investments in domestic power projects. Recently, Lanco has raised 6,650Cr after selling a couple of power projects to Greenko and Adani and plans to sell more power stations worth 20,000Cr .
11. October 10, 2014
Price change of leading companies in power sector in last week 1 Week Last Price % change Adani Power 41.95 42.8 2.03%
CESC
745
735
-1.34% GVK Power 9.95 10.16 2.11%
Jaiprakash Pow
12.22
12.37
1.23% JSW Energy 70.95 72.85 2.68%
NTPC
140.6
141.2
0.43% Power Grid Corp 137.5 135.9 -1.16%
Reliance Power
69.85
71.05
1.72% Tata Power 81.15 82.7 1.91%
Torrent Power
131.2
136.4
3.96%
References:
http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BVPEukKKUKS0evsHxT6igL/Severe-coal-shortage-at-power-plants-hits-industries.html
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/DiR4LfqwJ2MBAnJulJ6fBP/Suzlon-Energy-plans-2000MW-wind-energy-projects-in-Madhya-P.html
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/ntpc-to-invest-rs-5-000-cr-in-solar-power-project-arup-roy-choudhury- 114101100024_1.html
http://indianpowersector.com/2014/10/suzlon-plans-big-india-push/
http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/bhel-gains-on-rs-7-800-crore-power-project-contract-114100900108_1.html
http://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/idfc-pe-fund-promoted-green-infra-to-raise-59-mn-from-ifc-114100700148_1.html
http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/gmr-infra-surges-over-10-as-first-unit-of-chhattisgarh-supercritical-thermal-power- plant-synchronized-114100700355_1.html
www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/gvk-wins-environmental-permit-for-australian-coal-mines_1199817.html
12. October 10, 2014
Oil and Gas Sector Update:
(Sector Analysts: Ashwin Jain, Mili Handa and Piyush Sethi)
Dipping Oil Prices: Effect on economy:
Having a look at the bearish global oil prices, seems like it will go on for some months.
This will cause –
- Lower subsidy bill - The budgeted fuel subsidy for this year is Rs. 63,000Cr but this is with an assumption of an average price of $105-$110 a barrel.
- Lower fuel losses in sales – As per ICRA Research it as earlier projected under recovery on fuel sales to decrease to Rs 1 lakhCr in 2014-15 from Rs 1.39 lakhCr the previous year with an assumption of an average price of $108 a barrel and Rs. 90,000Cr if the crude oil prices continue to decline for the rest of the year.
Import of 189 million tonnes of crude oil has been done for $142 billion this year from West Asia, Venezuela, and Libya. According to CARE Ratings Chief, with every $10 a barrel decline in the crude oil prices, India’s import bill will further fall down by $16-$17 billion. This will further reduce current account deficit. It will also have a positive impact on balance of payments, inflation and subsidies which will further make it easy for government and RBI to achieve the fiscal and monetary objectives. It is expected that hundred thousands more barrels of oil per day will increase this year.
OPEC which supplies 40% of the world’s oil pumped 30.935 million barrels a day in September, the most since August this year, but still Brent crude oil faced a 27-month low (as per Bloomberg survey of producers and analysts). It is being observed that production is outpacing the demand.
ONGC gas allocation – Players like Adani Gas Ltd, Astron Zircon Pvt. Ltd. and Akash Ceramics Pvt. Ltd have been allocated gas from ONGC’s marginal gas field at Gamij near Kheda. Adani Gas will use this to meet the demand from its industrial users, other companies will be able to directly procure gas as part of ONGC’s effort to directly sell gas from its marginal fields.
Effect on Reliance Industries – Though the lower crude oil prices are good for government but not for the complex refiners such as Reliance Industries. It is expected that increase in prices will happen from second half of FY15, others believe an increase will be effective only from FY16. Around $13 billion capital expenditure is lined up to expand refining and petchem capacity. Company’s earnings are expected to accelerate from FY17.
Effect on Canada’s economy – As per Capital Economist David Madani, due to lower oil prices Canada may lose $11 billion worth of exports this year (around 0.6% of GDP), but the benefit to other net importing nations may boost economic growth, promoting non-oil exports to Canada. This will help to provide cushion to Canada’s economy.
Source links:
Business Standard newspapers from 6th to 11th Oct, 2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/10/10/gas-prices-oil-prices-canada-economy_n_5967230.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/oil-price-at-85-costing-provinces-and-economy-billions-1.2795062
http://online.wsj.com/articles/weaker-dollar-leaves-crude-oil-mixed-141285562
13. October 10, 2014
Telecom and IT Sector Update:
(Sector Analysts: Bharat Dasaka, Melvin Matthew and Arpita Verma)
Recent major developments in the IT/Telecom industry:
Infosys posts higher than expected net profit:
Infosys Ltd. has posted a 28.6% rise in its net profits in its second quarter, a far cry from what the analysts had predicted. The impact of this was visible in the company’s shares which increased by 7.1% on Friday. Recently Infosys Ltd. was struggling to retain staff and market share therefore Chief Executive Vishal Sikka was brought in earlier in the year to develop a new improved strategy for the company. The CEO has set a 18% growth in long term as his key focus.
The attrition rate has increased from 19.5% in the June quarter to 20.1% in the September quarter. Last week the company has announced a 100% bonus to all employees, which will boost the morale of its 1.65 lakhs workforce.
For the investors the company has announced a dividend of Rs 30 per share and a bonus issue of one equity share for every one held. This development combined with the growth in profits was cheered by the investors and the stock price went soaring up.
How will Microsoft Cloud affect India?
With the nation poised for a digital revolution due to the government’s push for digital services the future seems bright for IT in India. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced the opening of local data centers in India to explore the huge opportunities in the country. These data centers provide the world’s best cloud computing which India needs to handle the large volume of online transactions done by a billion Indian people. The Microsoft cloud computing which is a proven and secure cloud platform will serve the banking, insurance, education, financial services, rating agencies, manufacturing units etc.
Bharti Airtel & Ericsson sign 4G network deal-
Airtel has selected Swedish telecom gear firm Ericsson as its partner for FDD-LTE network. Bharti Airtel has earlier 1800 Mhz frequency band spectrum in 15 circles which includes Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Once set up 4G mobile network will revolutionise internet technology in smartphones. On the move the network can give internet speeds of 100 MB per second and it can go up to 1 GB at a fixed location.
Telenor open to M&As, but finds Indian laws tough-
Norweign telecom firm Telenor is apparently keen on mergers and acquisitions in India but is sceptical about the government’s policies regarding the same. The CEO of Telenor Jon Frederick Baksaas is in India to review the situation of the company’s unit Uninor and has urged the Indian government to release more spectrum. India's telecom sector is one of the most regulated industries where cost of airwaves is far higher than that for its international counterparts.
Bharti Airtel teams up with Telangana Government-
In a recent move to provide public wifi in the state of Telengana Bharti Airtel has partnered with the Telengana government. The pilot is underway at 17 hotspot locations at Hyderabad which will enable users to get internet speeds of 750 MBps. This recent development is being seen as an initiative by the state government to make Hyderabad a digital hub.
14. October 10, 2014
Telecom sector to create 40 lakhs jobs in 5 years-
With the growth in mobile internet and high growing penetration in the rural market the Telecom industry has a bright future. The industry is likely to create 40 lakhs in the coming 5 years according to experts. Skilled engineers, technicians, installation and maintenance service providers will be in high demand.
Facebook to chip in in PM’s Swachh Bharat initiative-
On his recent visit to India Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. The PM has urged Zuckerberg to partner him in the government’s Swachh Bharat scheme and spread popularity of the scheme amongst the people through Facebook.
Sources:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/bharti-airtel-telangana-government-launch-public-wi- fi/articleshow/44770165.cms
http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/perspective/298168/microsoft-india-cloud-india-indians
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/10/infosys-results-idINKCN0HZ07M20141010
