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Business Enquiry for Manufacture of GPS Based Onboard
Units
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SECTION IV
Coming Events &
General
Information
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ELECTRONIC INDIA 2008
Bangalore
International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bangalore – Sept.2-5,
2008
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IPCA EXPO 2008 (Co-hosting with
electronic India 2008)
Bangalore International Exhibition
Centre (BIEC), Bangalore – Sept.2-5, 2008 |
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GLOBALTRONICS 2008
SUNTEC, Singapore – Sept.9-12, 2008
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TAITRONICS INDIA 2008Chennai Trade Center, Chennai, Tamilnadu
– Sept. 11-13, 2008
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CANTON
FAIR 2008 (China Import & Export Fair)
Guangzhou,
China, Oct. 15-19, 2008
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India Telecomm 2008
New Delhi, Dec. 11-13, 2008 |
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ELE TRADE 2009/NEPCON WORLD JAPANTokyo Big Sight, Japan, Jan. 28-30, 2009
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SECTION
V
Elcina Events, Activities &
Services |
|
ELCOMP INDIA 2008 at Hall No.7, Pragati
Maidan, New Delhi – Sept.10-12, 2008 |
|
ELCINA-CKM Workshop on “Six Sigma
Quality – An Overview” - ELCINA House, New Delhi, on 23rd
August, 2008 |
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ELCINA’s AGM & Presentation Ceremony of ELCINA-D&B Awards
2007-08 scheduled at New Delhi on 10th Sept/08 |
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Proposed ELCINA Delegation to Taipei &
Seoul during Oct. 8-13, 2008 |
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Nominations invited for the Membership of the Executive
Committee of ELCINA for 2007-08 |
|
General |
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GDGDP
growth seen at 7.7%P
growth seen at 7.7% |
|
Industrial growth slows to 5.4%; Monetary
tightening by RBI begins to take effect |
|
Industry to grow 10% in 2008-09; CMIE
|
| IT & Services
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Dell eyes $1 billion market in India
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India all set to rule software testing
market |
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Intex launches 9 new laptop models
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HP in talks with telcos for 3G laptop
|
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Zenith Computers launches Eco Friendly
Green PC |
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IT Industry seeks clarity on taxing packaged software
|
| Telecom |
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Tatas to invest Rs.6,000 crore in GSM
|
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Airtel, Vodafone have 3G edge over other players
|
|
Apple iPhone likely to be launched in India by August 22, 2008
|
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3G handset makers to ring in a
Rs.3,500-4,000 offering |
|
Mobile firms add 8.9 million users in June
2008 |
|
Motorola registers small profit, keeps
No.3 ranking |
| Consumer Electronics |
|
RCOM to launch DTH services on August 14
|
|
Monsoon takes shine out of AC
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Videocon Q3 net up 4% at Rs.255 crore
|
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 Policy
Scan Govt. Policy, Business Procedures &
Regulations
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Government announces 3G policy broad guidelines, with
State-owned telcos to launch services in six months
With the announcement of 3G
telecom policy guidelines on 1st Aug/08 by the Department of
Telecom and allotting the two State-owned
 telecoms – BSNL and MTNL – 3G spectrum immediately, the Indian consumers will have
these services in six months, offering internet access at
speeds that are at least 30 times faster than 2G. The move
will give BSNL and MTNL a 4-to-5 month head-start in the 3G
space over private sector rivals. Details of the auctioning of
spectrum – radio frequencies that enable wireless
communications – and the number of players allowed in each
circle etc. will be finalized within four months. The
state-owned corporations, for which spectrum has already been
reserved, will have to match highest bid after the auction for
private companies is completed. Government expects to earn
Rs.30,000-40,000 crore through this 3G auction. Industry
experts predict 45-70 million 3G customers by 2012, roughly
10% of the mobile customer base. New players that win bids
will, however, have to pay additional cash (Rs.1,650 crore for
an all-India 3G license) for mandatory taking a universal
access service license (UASL) also. |
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Interest subvention scheme for exporters to end on Sept. 30,
2008
According to an RBI notification
issued recently, the government will withdraw the interest
subvention scheme for exporters on account of rise in value of
the rupee with effect from 30th September, 2008. Under the
scheme, exporters were compensated for reduction in profits
due to appreciation of the rupee against the dollar last
fiscal. |
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Anti-dumping duty slapped on Colour Picture Tubes
Through Notification
No.90/2008-Customs dated 24th July, 2008, the government
slapped anti-dumping duty on imported picture tubes for Colour
TVs from China, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea, after it found
that these countries were “dumping” the product into India.
The duty will range between Rs.878 and Rs.4,369 on a colour
picture tube depending on the size of screen. The decision was
based on preliminary findings of the designated authority in
the Commerce Ministry, which showed that the goods were being
exported to India below their normal value, causing “material
injury to the domestic industry” caused by the dumped imports
from the subject countries. |
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DGEP issues circular making amendments/changes in FTP
2004-2009
The Directorate General of
Export Promotion (DGEP), Central Board of Excise & Customs has
issued Circular No. 12/2008-Customs dated 24th July 2008
briefly explaining the various changes/ amendments that have
been made in the recent past. The Foreign Trade Policy
(2004-2009) and the Handbook of Procedures, Volume 1 (HBP)
have undergone many changes/ amendments in relation to EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP
units under Export Oriented Undertaking Schemes from time to
time. In addition, measures for procedural simplification have
also been announced. |
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RBI increases Repo and CRR Rates again, and revises FY09 GDP
forecast to 8%
In the first quarter review of
the Annual Monetary Policy statement released by RBI on 29th
 July, 2008, the Central Bank announced fresh monetary
tightening measures that are set to raise interest rates by
around 50 basis points. RBI raised the repo rate, or the rate
at which it lends, with immediate effect by 50 basis points to
9%, the third increase in two months. In addition, the cash
reserve ratio (CRR) or the proportion of deposits that banks
set aside, will also go up another 25 basis points to 9% with
effect from 30th August, 2008. Announcing the measures, the
RBI Governor, Mr. Y.V. Reddy described the present 11.89% rate
of inflation as an “intolerable level” and made it clear that
liquidity management will continue to receive priority in the
hierarchy of policy objectives over the period ahead. The
Central Bank, which has targeted 7% inflation by March, 2009,
expects that these policy actions are aimed to bring down
current levels of inflation to a tolerable below 5% as soon as
possible and to around 3% over the medium term. RBI has also
revised its GDP growth projection for 2008-09 from the range
of 8-8.5% to around 8%. |
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DoT
to grant 2 licenses for number portability
The Department of
Telecommunications (DOT) has decided to grant two licenses to
run mobile number portability (MNP) services, which allow
subscribers to retain their numbers when they change
services. It has, however, delayed the launch of the services
for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Tamilnadu, including Chennai,
to February or March 2009 against the original schedule of
end-2008. DoT has also finalized the schedule extending MNP
country-wide by Aug-Sept 2009. The policy is expected to be
announced by Communications Minister shortly. |
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Notifications
-
Notification
No.29(RE-2008)/2004-09 dt. 6th August, 2008
:
Adding a new Paragraph
8.5.2 (after para 8.5.1) under sub-head ‘Eligible for refund
of terminal excise duty/drawback’ in Foreign Trade Policy
2004-09 as follows – “For the
applications of Duty Drawback and Terminal Excise
Duty refund submitted on or after 06.08.2008, the period of
30 days will be counted from the date of receipt of complete
applications as provided in Paragraph 9.10.1 of HBP Vol. 1
2004-09 (updated as on 11.04.2008) and interest will be
payable if the case is not settled within 30 days of receipt
of complete application”.
-
Public Notice
No.58(RE-2008)/2004-2009 dt. 5th August,
2008 :
Para 6.35 in the Handbook
of Procedures (Vol. 1) substituted as follows – “Clearance
of capital goods, including second hand, in DTA shall be
allowed as per FTP on payment of applicable duty and import
policy in force on date of such clearance”.
-
Customs
Notification No.93/2008
dt. 1st August, 2008
:
Substituting sub-paragraph (c)
in paragraph 2 of Notification No.102/2007-Customs dt.
14-9-2007 as follows – “(c) the importer shall file a claim
for refund of the said additional duty of customs paid on
the imported goods with the jurisdictional customs officer
before the expiry of one year from the date of payment of
the said additional duty of customs”.
-
Policy
Circular No.23(RE-08)/2004-2009 dt 28th July, 2008 :
Regarding eligibility of
supplies to EOUs for deemed export benefits.
-
Notification
No.89/2008-Customs dt. 23rd July, 2008 :
Imposing Anti-dumping duty on
imported DVD-R/ DVD-RW (Heading 8523) from China PR, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, etc.
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Industry
Scan |
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| General |
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GDP growth seen at 7.7%
The Prime Minister’s Economic
Advisory Council (EAC) has projected a growth rate of 7.7% for
fiscal 2008-09. While this revised growth rate is slower than
both its earlier estimate of 8.5% and the average of 8.9% over
the past four years, it would still make India the second
fastest-growing major economy in the world. However, EAC feels
that prices are expected to rise further before moderating and
inflation to scale 13% before it starts to taper off. |
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Industrial growth slows to 5.4%, Monetary tightening by RBI
begins to take effect
Industrial production grew
5.4% in June 2008, higher than the 4.1% growth in May 2008,
but well below the 8.9% growth in June 2007. The slower pace
of industrial growth has intensified apprehensions that the
growth rate of the Indian economy could slip below 8% in the
current fiscal 2008-09. According to ICRIER Director General,
Mr. Rajeev Kumar, the monetary policy measures being taken
since January 2008 are beginning to take effect on the
industrial growth. Their GDP growth projection remains at 7.8%
as the industrial growth outlook is not very promising. Within
manufacturing, consumer goods grew 10% in June 2008 as against
3.6% in June 2007. |
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Industry to
grow 10% in 2008-09; CMIE
According to CMIE (Centre
for Monitoring Indian Economy), the slowdown in the industrial
growth is a short-term phenomenon and the country is expected
to record a 10% growth in industrial production during 2008-09
against 8.3% in the previous fiscal. |
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IT &
Services |
| |
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Dell eyes $1
billion market in India
Dell Inc,
 the
world’s second largest PC maker, expects to clock revenue of
$1 billion from India by next year. The company’s run rate for
2008 is $800 million, while it clocked $700 million in revenue
last year.
According to Dell CEO Michael
Dell, India is the fastest growing market for Dell, though
they are seeing huge growth in other emerging economies like
China, Brazil and Russia. Dell also launched a new line of
Latitude and Dell Precision Laptops in India on 13th Aug/08. |
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India
all set to rule software testing market
India is all set to become a
leader in the software testing market with an increasing
number of software development companies outsourcing their
software testing work here. Industry analyst firm Gartner has
pegged the worldwide software testing market at $13 billion
and the global market for outsourced testing services to be
around $6.1 billion, of which India is expected to corner a
70% share. |
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Intex launches 9
new laptop models
Intex Technologies launched
nine new models of personal computers
 aimed
at varied consumers such as working women, gaming and fashion
enthusiasts, professionals and students. With this, the firm
aims to achieve Rs.200 crore in revenues during 2008-09 from
its PC division with notebooks contributing 30% of the total
sales. The company is also looking at expanding its
distributor base from 400 to 600 and increase its 103 service
point locations to 200. |
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HP in talks
with telcos for 3G laptop
Companies like HP, Toshiba
and Lenovo are planning to introduce laptops with a mobile
connection. They propose to talk to Indian mobile operators
for a tie up to offer 3G laptops once the 3G mobile services
are launched. The 3G laptop is reported to have worked well in
foreign markets and Indian companies are keen to introduce it
in the country too. |
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Zenith
Computers launches Eco Friendly Green PC
Zenith Computers has launched two PCs that can help the consumer
save electricity – Zenith smart style PC and thin client smart
PC. The Zenith smart style PC is designed keeping in mind the
increasing ill effects of spiraling power consumption by the
every growing processors. To counter this, Zenith’s latest PC is
a 17 inch LCD screen with a PC motherboard built-in. Its power
consumption is just 45 watts as compared to a regular PC that
consumes around 200 watts. To preserve resources and minimize
the impact on the environment, the company aim to make Zenith
one of the top environment friendly organizations in the world
and they have started doing so from their manufacturing plant in
Goa to their final delivery packaging. |
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IT Industry seeks clarity on taxing packaged software
The IT industry has asked the
government to come out with a clear classification of packaged
software and explain if this item should be listed under goods
or services. The industry feels that lack of clarity and
imposition of service tax on packaged software could lead to
increased litigation in the sector. |
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| Telecom |
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Tatas to invest Rs.6,000 crore
in GSM
Tata Teleservices is poised
to invest Rs.8,000 crore over the next 24 months to expand its
telecom networks. Of this, about Rs.6,000 crore would go in a
building a pan-India GSM network, while the remaining Rs.2,000
crore would be used to strengthen its existing CDMA
operations. The company, which currently operates only on the
CDMA network, will roll out its GSM services by March 2009. It
has so far received GSM spectrum in only five circles, though
applied for all the 22 telecom circles across the country. |
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Airtel, Vodafone have 3G edge over other players
Vodafone’s expertise in 3G
and Bharti Airtel’s partnership with SingTel may give lead to
them over other operators. While Bharti Airtel will roll out
its 3G services in Sri Lanka by year-end, Vodafone will look
to bring its global 3G expertise to India. While Bharti Airtel
has already launched 3G in Seychelles, Jersey and Geurnsey,
Vodafone is credited with rolling out 3G services in global
markets like UK, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Spain and
others. On the other hand, SingTel, which
owns a little over 30% in Bharti Airtel, is a major player in
the 3G space as it has already rolled out such networks in
several markets across Asia. |
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Apple iPhone likely to be launched in India by August 22, 2008
The official launch of Apple
iPhone in India is finally expected to happen by the end of
Aug/08. Bharti Airtel is reported to have stated that it will
launch the iPhone 3G in India on 22nd August. Vodafone is also
follow suit. The iPhone will be embedded with 3G networking
that is twice as fast as the existing mobile phones. The phone
also has in-built GPS system that facilitates as a navigation
and positioning tool. It may be priced above Rs.20,000/- in
India. Leading cell phone makers lie Nokia, Motorola and
Samsung have stepped up their R&D efforts to bring feature
rich phones in India to compete iPhones. |
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3G handset makers to ring in a Rs.3,500-4,000 offering
With 3G mobile services,
which provide high-speed downloads of data, movies and videos,
around six months away, mobile phone makers are getting ready
to offer handsets for as little as Rs.3,500/- against the
currently available minimum price of over Rs.8,000/-. Huawei,
LG, Motorola and Samsung are getting ready to offer operators
3G phones at $50 to $100. |
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Mobile firms add 8.9 million users in June 2008
According to TRAI, Indian
mobile companies added 8.94 million subscribers in June, 2008,
taking the total number of wireless users to 286.86 million.
Top mobile operator Bharti Airtel led the signing in June with
2.55 million new customs, with their total customer base going
up to 69.4 million. RCOM added 1.74 million with their total
users up to 50.79 million, followed by Vodafone Essar which
added 1.73 million users to take their total to 49.2 million. |
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Motorola registers small profit, keeps No.3 ranking
According to newspaper
reports, Motorola Inc posted a small profit, as it sold more
mobile phones than expected and narrowly kept its No.3 global
ranking in the mobile phone market ahead of LG Electronics
Inc. Motorola reported a second quarter profit of
$4 million and broke even on a per share basis, compared with
a loss of $28 million, or 1 cent a share in the year ago
quarter. Revenue fell to
$8.1 billion from $8.7
billion a year ago. The company, which has been losing market
share to Nokia and Samsung Electronics, is reported to have
shipped 28.1 million phones in the quarter. |
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| Consumer Electronics |
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RCOM to
launch DTH services on August 14
Cable and DTH viewers are set to
get a wider choice, with Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance
Communications (RCom) expected to start nation wide commercial
operations of its DTH services - ‘Big Digital TV DTH’ - from
August 15, 2008. The company is betting big on the huge
potential of home entertainment in the Indian households. The
country has over 124-million TV households, with roughtly 80
million using the conventional cable delivery platform. Big
TV is also reported to have bagged the official DTH
partnership for the Indian Premier League (IPL) – BCCI ’s
Twenty Cricket tournament, for a bid of $31.15 million (about
Rs.137 crore) for the next four years. |
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Monsoon takes shine out
of AC
Early onset of monsoon coupled with increase in product prices
have restricted sales growth to about 10%, against the expected
30-35% increase in sales, during May-June, 2008. Recently AC
makers had also hiked prices by 5-6% due to surge in prices of
copper and steel, which are key raw materials for AC makers.
This has resulted in negative sentiments which affected overall
demand, and companies failed to achieve the sales target. This
year, South emerged as the biggest market for AC makers during
May. |
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Videocon Q3
net up 4% at Rs.255 Crore
Consumer durable major, Videocon
Industries announced a net profit of Rs.255.07 crore for the
third quarter ended June 30, 2008 – a 4.06 per cent growth
from that in the corresponding period a year ago. The firm had
a net profit of Rs.245.11 crore in third quarter of FY08.
Total income of the company rose 15.67% to Rs.2,620.43 crore
Q3 under review from Rs.2,265.35 crore during the same period
in 2007 |
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