Sectors

Google/ Samsung Nexus S to be launched in India

2011-03-28T23:26:16Z

News that the Samsung made, Google Branded Nexus S is all set to be launched in India in the second week of April anytime between 7th or 10th of April. A Samsung official confirmed the news recently but no official word is out yet on the exact release date or pricing.

The Google Nexus S is the first handset to have officially been shipped with Android 2.3 GingerBread. There is speculation that it will be priced between 27,000 and 30,000 INR. The company may launch the Nexus S for India in Bangkok which is super weird. But, either way, it will be in the country anytime in April.

About Samsung Nexux S
The Samsung Nexus S is the first handset to run on the Android OS v2.3. Powered by the 1GHz processor the Samsung Nexus S features high speed connectivity options like 3G HSDPA and Wireless LAN WiFi n.

Other features include:
• Multi-touch input method
• Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
• Touch-sensitive controls
• Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
• Three-axis gyro sensor
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Memory Internal: 16GB storage, 512 MB RAM
• Expandable memory: microSD, up to 32GB
• 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
• Wireless LAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n , DLNA
• Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
• USB v2.0 microUSB
• CAMERA: 5 mega-pixel, 2560 x 1920 pixels, autofocus, LED flash ,Geo-tagging, touch focus
• Secondary VGA camera
• OS: Android OS, v2.3 Gingerbread
• CPU: ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Java Via third party application
• Social networking integration
• Digital compass
• MP4/DivX/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
• MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player

Coca-Cola to step into the juice market

2011-03-25T20:00:00Z

The world's biggest beverage maker, Coca-Cola, will step into the juice market - that is increasingly growing - by offering three variants of Minute Maid juices—orange, apple and grape. At present, the company sells two juice brands—the mango juice-based drink Maaza and Minute Maid, which are all fruit-based products but not pure juices.

Coca-Cola has created a separate division for fruit juices and plans to focus on its non-carbonated portfolio like all major companies since this a high-growth segment (growing at 20%). Health-based products and juices have been at the top of these companies' mind and they have launched new products and categories to capture a share of the pie.

Keeping this in mind, Coca-Cola India recently appointed Andriy Avramenko as its general manager of the juice business. Avramenko, who came from Coke's global juice centre (GJC) in Atlanta, will now head a team which will focus dedicatedly on advancing the company's pulp-based beverages.

Confirming the launch, Atul Singh, president & CEO, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, reportedly said that the company foresees an enormous opportunity and expects tremendous growth in the packaged beverage market. The launch is aimed at establishing the company's juice footprint after introducing Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh and Pulpy Orange.

GM will begin two shifts at halol plant today

2011-03-24T22:27:03Z

The 48-hour deadline to workers will come to an end today and General Motors India said it plans to start two-shift production at the company's Halol plant from Friday. This, they say, will happen regardless of whether the remaining 250 workers join work or not.

P Balendran, Director and Vice-President (corporate affairs), GM India, said, “Around 600 people have already reported to work, and around 250 are still on strike. The 48-hour deadline ends tomorrow morning and we hope that everyone will report to work by then. If not, we will go in for additional recruitments.”

GM India appealed to workers on Tuesday to report to work by Friday. However, in case workers failed to resume work by today, then the company would be compelled to take disciplinary action, which could result in loss of jobs to striking employees.

Balendran met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi recently but he said that was a routine one and had nothing specifically to do with the recent strike. “The government, on its part, has been very cooperative. It has already declared the strike as illegal and also declared a Section 144 around the plant site from last night,” he said.

A senior official at the state labour department stated that the impasse at the plant is yet to be over. “The company has asked workers to report back to work unconditionally, and will address their issues only after that. The workers, on their part, have still not bowed down to the appeal from the company.”

Microsoft partners with Indian websites to promote Internet Explorer 9

2011-03-24T22:07:23Z

Aiming for a large market share, Microsoft India has wisely partnered with 29 most popular websites in India to promote Internet Explorer 9 here. Microsoft India, which has recently launched Internet Explorer 9, is eyeing for more digital users of the browser. So far, the company has partnered with websites like the discount site SnapDeal, e-commerce site Flipkart, online booking site BookMyShow, Photovault , ESPNCricinfo , Kotak Bank , PhotoVault, Naukri, Rediff SongBuzz, Reliance Global Call, Sameer Belvalkar's FrozenFrames.com, Sify, and Zapak Games.

But this is not all of course. The company will continue to partner with relevant portals to generate hype about Internet Explorer 9. On the global front, Microsoft has tied up with over 250 top websites and brands that have created new experiences to showcase the features and capabilities of Internet Explorer 9. Microsoft India launched the new browser at TechEd India 2011, an annual IT conference organized by Microsoft India.

The launch of Internet Explorer 9 has happened at a time when the race to attain large market share has increased big time. The browser market has gotten increasingly aggressive with a rising number of devices going online every day. According to one report, when all versions of browsers are taken together, Internet Explorer has emerged as the leader with 45% market share.

India to become the sixth largest car manufacturer

2011-03-20T22:47:26Z

Senior officials in automobile companies have said that India is all set to produce 3 million cars by the end of this financial year! This will make the country the world’s six largest car manufacturing country in the world after South Korea.

China is on top of the list with an annual production of 1.38 crore cars. At present, India is the seventh largest car manufacturer after Brazil. The Indian car market, which produced 26.78 lakh cars in the April-February period, will score the sixth position owing largely to extraordinary growth in sales this fiscal, beating the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' (SIAM) earlier projection of India finding a place among the world's top six carmakers by 2015.

With several new launches coming up this year, India could produce 34.5 lakh cars in the new fiscal. "Actual sales are much higher than all our projections made in the past. The strong fundamental of the economy and new cars hitting the market are likely to keep the momentum going that should lead to a high growth of 14-16 % in the next fiscal despite the high base of current fiscal," said Sugato Sen, senior director, SIAM.

New launches played a major role in stirring demand. "The demand for newly-launched cars is much higher than our estimates. Just two of our new cars - Alto K10 and Eeco - launched in 2010, forms over 15% of our million cars sold in this fiscal. Helped by rising incomes and buoyant economy, new cars will continue to drive growth in the next fiscal too," said Shashank Srivastava, the chief general manager (marketing) of Maruti Suzuki.

Maruti's R3, Honda's Brio, Toyota's Liva and GM's Sail are among the 50 new cars, which are set to hit the market by FY12.

Tata may export Nano by year-end

2011-03-18T20:00:00Z

Auto parts vendors to Tata Motors Ltd. have stated that the company may soon start exporting its Nano mini car to Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Africa by December this year.

This move, the company believes will help the Mumbai-based auto maker further boost the sales of the world's cheapest car. Plus, it will reduce it sole dependence on the home market where demand for the same is decline and touched a record low in November.

"Tata Motors may begin exports of the Nano as early as December and will likely export 1,000 units initially," an executive at one of the suppliers said recently. "These markets are quite similar to India and have similar requirements as in India, and Tata Motors wouldn't need to make major changes to the existing Nano."

The company is has not yet finalized the countries where it will export the Nano but "Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and some countries in Africa have been identified as possible locations where the car could be sold first," a source revealed.

Debasis Ray, a spokesman for Tata Motors, said the company continues to explore relevant markets and business opportunities for the Nano.

"Tata Motors has all along been conscious that the Tata Nano, as launched in India, too will be appropriate for other countries as well," Mr. Ray said.

Samsung Galaxy S II to be launched in India soon

2011-03-17T23:26:14Z

Samsung confirmed on a social networking site lately that it plans to launch Samsung Galaxy S II in the country next month. No fixed launch date has been given yet but considering company’s track record so far, the Galaxy S II can be expected to hit markets next month itself. Remember, India was first of the few countries to see the launch of original Galaxy S, as well as the recently launched Galaxy Ace, Pop, and Fit phones.

Samsung also revealed that along with this jazzy product, it also aims to introduce the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country as early as it can. However, no time frame was offered for this specific one.

The Galaxy S II is a super-thin Android beauty that comes with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Dual core processor, 4.27 inch Super AMOLED Plus display, Android 2.3 with Touchwiz 4.0, 8.49mm thick, 8 megapixel primary camera with 1080p video capture and 2 megapixel front cam. There is no word on which dual core processor it will have in India; Samsung Exynos or nVIDIA Tegra 2. But it is also rumored that the device does not include the NVIDIA Tegra 2, but a dual core processor with a frequency of 1 GHz own signature design and ARM Mali-400 GPU. It has 1 Gbyte of RAM and internal storage will be available models of 16 and 32 Gbytes.
Will wait and watch out for this baby – it’s certainly one smartphone that exudes power promises great performance.

AI considers making Dublin airport its operational base

2011-03-17T23:18:05Z

“Air India was initially looking at about seven airports to establish its international hub. Later, they came down to two and Dublin is one of them,” said Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar.

He further added that a team from Air India would be visiting Ireland in the next six to eight weeks. Earlier, Air India had begun hub operations at Frankfurt but backed out last year due to a severe financial crunch. At present, the carrier’s main hub is in Delhi and it did not have plans or intension otherwise to make any other international hub.

“We are also looking at establishing direct air links between India, probably Delhi, and Dublin. Discussions are going on with the Government of India,” Varadkar, who met Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi, said.

He added that talks on a bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA) were progressing well and could be finalized and signed soon. Fifth freedom rights, which allow an airline to pick up and fly passengers from one foreign destination to another, were also being considered. Varadkar said the thrust of his discussions with his Indian counterpart was to enhance cooperation in civil aviation to help both Indians travelling to North America and Irish going to Australia and Southeast Asia to stop over at Dublin or Delhi.

“A huge number of Irish travel to Australia and other parts of Asia through the Gulf. Now they will be able to go through Delhi,” he said.

Renault to launch 5 new models in India

2011-03-17T20:00:00Z

Renault has announced that it is targeting 70,000 units over next four to five years. The French company is establishing a Rs 4,500 crore car manufacturing plant at Oragadam along with its Japanese partner.

Marc Nassif, managing director of Renault India, said, “On the industrial side, our plan to invest Rs 4,500 crore before 2015 is clear, with the Japanese partner Nissan, at Oragadam, near Chennai for setting up a manufacturing unit with a capacity of 400,000 vehicles a year.”

“First model from Renault for India will be Fluence, by mid-2011, is on track. India has confirmed with Brazil and Russia as a top priority for Renault expansion.” He added.

Ashish Sinharoy, vice president - communications and corporate affairs, Renault India said the company has set a target to capture five per cent of Indian car market by 2020. He added, the company would launch five models and has set a sales target of 70,000 units by 2014.

Renault Fluence, a luxury sedan by mid-2011 followed by Renault Koleos, a high-end compact SUV can be expected to hit markets by October this year. “We will cover 80 per cent of the car buying geography in the country. High end segment is not part of company’s DNA,” said Sinharoy.

Parle Agro: Back in the soda market

2011-03-15T20:31:11Z

Parle Agro will now make Bailley soda available in 600 ml and 300 ml PET bottles. These will be competitively priced at Rs 14 and Rs 9 respectively. This is not the first time that Parle has tried its luck in the soda segment. Far back in 1998, the company has launched the soda only to withdraw it from the market 2 months later mainly due to poor sales. Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director & chief marketing officer, Parle Agro says, “The market for bottled water and soda is dominated by a large number of local players and it was not feasible to operate like a national player. During our restructuring, we ramped up the number of production units across the country.”

Bailley water was launched in 1993 and it continued to stay in the market. Moving forward, Parle Agro aims to have 70 production units for the Bailley water brand. Bailley soda, on the other hand, will be produced at its sole facility in western India. “But in the future Bailley soda can tap into the facilities of the water business,” notes Chauhan.

Parle also has competitors to worry about as giants like Pepsi and Coca-Cola with their Lehar and Kinley soda brands rule the market share. Also in league are alcohol brands like Kingfisher soda and SAB Miller’s Foster’s soda. However, Parle is confident that its product will make its presence felt in overall markets.

To begin with, Parle plans to retail its Bailley soda at wine stores, general stores and modern trade, in the markets of western India. Steadily, the brand will be rolled out across the remaining parts of the country. Parle is looking to reach one lakh outlets in the next six months. The thrust area will be the HORECA (hotel, restaurant and café) segment which accounts for more than 40 per cent of the sales in the category. Plus, offering the product at affordable retail prices will also play a major role in driving awareness.

If all goes as planned, it will certainly be a high and a happy time for Parle!

Tata Indica eV2 launched in new diesel and petrol variants

2011-03-15T20:14:44Z

On Thursday, Tata Motors announced that it has finally launched new diesel and petrol variants of its hatchback Indica. Tata Indica eV2 will be priced between Rs 2.95 lakh and Rs 3.95 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The hatchback, Tata Motor claims, will give a mileage of 25 km per litre as per Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and is the most fuel efficient car in the country. Further to this, eV2 also comes with a CR4 common rail diesel engine. It has a displacement of 1396 cc delivering 70 PS @ 4000 RPM.

The new Indica ev2 comes with features like Auto-Drive Assist and Clutch-To-Start (which ensures that one cannot crank the engine unless the clutch is fully engaged). "The Tata Indica eV2 is in the range of Rs 3.95 lakh and Rs 4.77 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the CR4 diesel engine and in the range of Rs 2.95 lakh and Rs 3.58 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the MPFI petrol," Tata Motors statement said.

Indica eV2 range is available in four colours- Apple Green, Neo Orange, Arctic Silver and Mint White. In addition to this, the car comes with a warranty of 24 months or 75000 km whichever is earlier.

CCI scans Honda, Volkswagen & Hyundai

2011-03-14T22:21:22Z

It could be pressing time for International car makers as names like Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen will be scrutinized by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for supposedly misusing dominant market position and selling parts to consumers at exorbitant prices.

Responding to a consumer’s complaint against these car makers, the CCI has asked its director general (DG) to probe into the matter. The charge precisely is that these companies made spare parts available only through their authorised dealers – these dealers in turn sell these at very high rates.

“This practice by the international car makers does not give the consumer a fair price advantage, as he has no choice but to buy the spare parts from authorized dealers. Prima facie, it makes a case and the DG has been ordered to probe further,” an official said.

Within 45 days, the DG has been asked to give his report. While Hyundai Motors denied having received any communication from CCI, emails to Volkswagen and Honda remained unanswered.

In general, auto spare parts from Indian car makers are readily accessible with any retailer, not essentially authorised. However, it is not so with international car makers. The complaint point out that consumers are stuck with their cars bought from these companies. A case was also filed under Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002.

Emami is big on signing celebrities!

2011-03-13T21:15:48Z

Celebrities do a fine job at selling stuff… And if that celebrity happens to be a movie star or a cricketer, companies know that half the job’s already done. No wonder why Kolkata-based FMCG major Emami ropes in so many celebs all the time. “From the ’70s onwards, we are following this strategy, roping in Zeenat Aman, Rati Agnihotri, and Rekha. Then the remuneration was a few thousands, while it has reached a few crores now,” said Aditya Agarwal, Director of the group.

“Currently, we have more than 30 celebrities associated with us for different brands. To rope in new stars, we keep Rs 5-15 crore every year in our budget, depending on the brands,” he added.

“Emami has been a pioneer in terms of signing up brand ambassadors and it is evident in their sales results. I know several stars who sign for this company because of the image its brands carry. My all-time favourite celebrity advertisement of the company is of Fair and Handsome with Shah Rukh Khan,” said advertisement guru Alyque Padamsee.

It is also credited with the first in-film advertising, through Agar Tum Na Hote, in which Rekha is the model for the company, Emami, owned by Raj Babbar. “The experiment in Agar Tum Na Hote was a revelation: in-film advertising has (since) become the latest trend in the brand world,” said Anjan Chatterjee of Situations Advertising.

Tata Sons plan to spend Rs 200 cr in Infiniti Retail

2011-03-09T20:56:27Z

A holding of the Tata Group, Tata Sons, has said that it will invest approximately Rs. 200 crore in its wholly-owned subsidiary company Infiniti Retail. The retail store sells consumer durables and electronic goods under Croma chain of stores.

The company aims to use the funds to set up stores in newer locations and also to expand its workforce.

"We have received Rs 200 crore from Tata Sons. The board had approved the same in December last. We will be using the funds in phased manner over the next two fiscals to expand our store network and also invest in scaling up the work force," Infiniti Retail CEO Ajit Joshi said.

Since 2006, Tata Sons has infused almost Rs. 280 crore in Infiniti Retail.

The company sells over more than 160 brands of electronic and white goods in its 61 Croma stores under three formats -- Large (8,000 sq ft and above), Mid size (4,000-8,000 sq ft) and Zip (1,000-1,500 sq ft).

"We plan to enter into new locations this year and the focus would be in cities like Chandigarh, Mohali and Ludhiana. We also plan to penetrate deeper in South in places like Mysore, Madurai, Mangalore, Selam and Trichy. While plan to open large formats in new cities, cities, where we are already present would have zip format" Joshi said.

Infiniti Retail plans to add another 30-50 croma stores in the year ahead and is looking at opening outlets in Bangalore and Hyderabad airport too. However, Joshi added that the deals have not been signed yet.

Markets gain strength again

2011-03-07T20:11:33Z

In India technical charts indicate short term upmove as long as Nifty remained above 5400. Edelweiss in the morning note said, "We continue to maintain the short-term uptrend as long as 5400 remains inviolate on a daily closing basis for a test of the 200-Daily Moving Average at 5650. On a break below 5400 (daily closing), the index can slide down to 5200-5000."

BSE Capital goods index was leading – it was up by 1.2% followed by higher beta realty and metal pack both up 1.3% and 1% each. Add to this, Usha Martin and Punj LLoyd advanced over 2%, Larsen and Tourbo surged 1.9%.

Metal shares did sparkling well too - Bhushan Steel advanced 3%, Sesa Goa gained 1.9% and Sterlite was up 1.6%. Realty stocks were on firm ground, Sunteck Realty was up 2.1%, HDIL gained 1.8% and DLF was up 1.8%.

On the other hand, JP Associates was the top gainer up 2.6%, Reliance Infrastructure also posted a 1.9% increase and Tata Motors gained 1.5%. 3 components that were trading in the red were Hindalco Industries as it declined by 0.2%, LTC was off 0.2% and NTPC was trading flat.

Broader markets were also trading firm and market breadth was positive - 1043 stocks advanced for 314 stocks that declined.
Source: Economic Times