Bollywood to get own theme park

India's entertainment capital, Mumbai (Bombay) will finally get a film theme park of its own along the lines of Hollywood studio parks.

Media and entertainment company Percept Holdings announced plans to build the Bollywood entertainment park at an initial cost of around $100m.

They say it will provide film fans with "the Bollywood Experience".

It aims to let Indians go behind the scenes of what is, in audience size, the world's biggest film industry.


Tremendous following

"Bollywood accounts for over 40% of the total revenues of the overall Indian film industry," said Percept Holdings Joint Managing Director Shailendra Singh.

"Bollywood is what the Indian masses turn to for entertainment but there is no organised format or means to consume this experience."

Mr Singh also said they could be looking at forming strategic alliances or partnerships in the venture.

The entertainment park is scheduled to open in 2008, and will have Bollywood cafes, walk-throughs, film sets, Bollywood tours and gaming booths.

The park will have a Bollywood museum that will showcase famous film props, costumes and a chronicled history of India's most popular entertainment industry.

Bollywood and Hindi film stars have always enjoyed tremendous fan following in India and abroad.

Even though it churns out more than 800 films a year, the industry was largely unorganised and unprofessional in its ways until recently.

Film crazy

It is a completely different scenario now with studios and contracts becoming the norm, while film production has become slicker, conforming more to international standards.

Producers are constantly looking for ways to maximise their profits by striking deals for special merchandise and internet and mobile games.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has estimated that revenues from the industry, valued at $1.75bn in 2006 will touch $3.4bn in the next three years.

Industry people feel a Bollywood theme park will prove a hit, since Indian people are crazy about their actors and would want any piece of them they can get.

Film critic Mayank Shekhar told the BBC website that such an initiative would also help tourism in Mumbai.

"When people visit the city, they want to see film stars and where they live, all this is a major attraction in Mumbai," he said.

"The house of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, or the massive sea-facing bungalow where Shah Rukh Khan stays are important landmarks in their own right after the Gateway of India!

"What else is there to see here anyway?"

Despite its prolific output, Bollywood's revenues stand at half of what the Walt Disney studio made in box office revenues in 2006.

But analysts say the Indian industry is fast catching up, and now aims to follow Hollywood's "media convergence" - by placing products across a selection of media such as television, the internet, video games and mobile phones.



Source: BCC

India hot hub for Milan fashion

Cont...

India hot hub for Milan fashion

Friday, April 27, 2007
14:13 IST

Blog this story



In Italy, nobody drives in the slow lane. So, it's no surprise that the Italian fashion brands are doing some high-speed driving in India. The Italian fashion industry is the primary engine of the Italian economy and markets.


China, Eastern Europe and India are becoming their prime target. Brands galore Gas and Plus IT opened shop in the city last week. Earlier it was Renato Balestra, Moschino, Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gianfranco Ferre, Trussardi and others which scrambled to make a retail presence here.


Even La Perla and Dolce & Gabbana are on the verge of picking up stakes in India.


India is clearly the market that world brands are looking at, agrees Vinod Nayar, president of the Indo-Italian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India. "Sector India is of prime importance to Italians, it's the melting pot that every brand in the world is looking at," he says.


The Chamber has been involved in promoting Italian fashion. They have played a stellar role in introducing newer brands in the Indian industry .


They have hosted glamorous fashion events like Festas to attain widespread media coverage. "These ties have grown stronger by the day and the business relations between the two countries have increased tremendously . All this has happened because of the entry of Italian fashion into India," Nayar adds.


Fashion sensibility Italians are masters at manufacturing-their cuts, finishing and quality are supreme.

Sachdev, brand Charu ambassador for Moschino and Alberta Ferretti in India says, "In the field of luxury fashion they are pretty competitive and are always on the forefront when it comes to styling."


Sachdev who is also the Indian representative of the French brand Jean Paul Gautlier, says that the Italian brands have the same stature as their French and Americans counterparts in the world.


Be it food, fashion, music or films — their diverse culture is akin to India’s. "We are similar in many ways. For example Italians are also family oriented like we Indians are. They have a rich heritage where fashion is con cerned, we have a fas cinating history of crafts and ancient traditions," comments Sachdev. So appealing.


The influences of Italian fashion in India, don’t pertain only to the brands that have made an entry into our market. Over the years our designers have travelled to Milan to study fashion. Indian students learn the tricks of the trade from the land of the trendsetters.


" Italians have four fashion weeks in a year.. fashion is the backbone of their economy," says designer Nimita Rathod from Delhi, who went to the Domus Academy Milan, after completing , a course from National Institute of Design.


Another reason for the popularity of Italian fashion is their style quotient. They have an individual style, which attracts the Indian youth. "Today boys and girls want to look and feel Italian without actually being in that country," says Rathod.

Sachdev, brand Charu ambassador for Moschino and Alberta Ferretti in India says, "In the field of luxury fashion they are pretty competitive and are always on the forefront when it comes to styling."


Sachdev who is also the Indian representative of the French brand Jean Paul Gautlier, says that the Italian brands have the same stature as their French and Americans counterparts in the world.


Be it food, fashion, music or films — their diverse culture is akin to India’s. "We are similar in many ways. For example Italians are also family oriented like we Indians are. They have a rich heritage where fashion is con cerned, we have a fas cinating history of crafts and ancient traditions," comments Sachdev. So appealing.


The influences of Italian fashion in India, don’t pertain only to the brands that have made an entry into our market. Over the years our designers have travelled to Milan to study fashion. Indian students learn the tricks of the trade from the land of the trendsetters.


" Italians have four fashion weeks in a year.. fashion is the backbone of their economy," says designer Nimita Rathod from Delhi, who went to the Domus Academy Milan, after completing , a course from National Institute of Design.


Another reason for the popularity of Italian fashion is their style quotient. They have an individual style, which attracts the Indian youth. "Today boys and girls want to look and feel Italian without actually being in that country," says Rathod.

SOURCE: MSN

India's GDP touches $1 trillion

Mumbai: India's gross domestic product has topped $1 trillion, thanks to a strengthening rupee, making it the 12th country to achieve the milestone, Credit Suisse said on Thursday.


"Indian GDP at the current price level is 41 trillion rupees. With the rupee appreciating to below 41 against the US dollar, yesterday was the first day for the economy to be a trillion dollar economy," the Swiss investment firm said in a note.


The rupee, which is trading around 40.76 to a dollar, has appreciated about 8.4 per cent this year and is up 15.4 per cent from a three-year low of 47.04 in July last year.


Stock markets in eight out of 10 countries had risen in the one year after their economies first crossed $1 trillion, Credit Suisse said.


However, India's $944 billion stock market should probably drop because of slower earnings growth for sectors such as autos, banks and cement, before picking up as inflows pick up into fast growing economy.


"Given our outlook... it is likely to go down again in the near future before it sustainably stands above this mark," it said, referring to $1 trillion.


The benchmark BSE stock index was trading up 0.4 per cent at 14,278.64 points at 1:05 pm.


It has risen about 15 per cent from its early April low on good quarterly results and a central bank decision this week to leave interest rates unchanged at its policy review.

Source: IBN LIVE

India to bid for 2020 Games

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will bid for the 2020 Olympics, the country's Olympic association (IOA) president said on Saturday.

"The moment the Commonwealth Games are over, all of us will be working on that bid ... we will start off immediately," Suresh Kalmadi told a news conference in the presence of IOC president Jacques Rogge.

New Delhi is to stage the 2010 Commonwealth Games though Kalmadi said this week there would be no bid for the 2016 Olympics after the failure earlier this month to land the 2014 Asian Games.

The IOA blamed sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar for the failed Asian bid, saying his statement that New Delhi hosting the Commonwealth Games was an attempt to improve the country's global image but of little relevance to the common man caused the damage.

Rogge said on Saturday of a 2020 Olympics bid: "I think you have great potential based on the general conditions of your country's progress, which will definitely also evolve in a positive way at the time when the Games are awarded (in 2013)."

He added: "You also have the opportunity to stage a wonderful Commonwealth Games which will strengthen the bid."

Rogge predicted that Asia would become the most dominant sporting continent.

He said: "You are the most populous continent and that will translate into results - maybe not immediately in Beijing (2008 Olympics) - but in the long term Asia really will become the dominant continent in sport."


source : Reuters

P. Chidambaram: "We must liberalise the financial sector. With financial repression it is not possible to mobilise resources to sustain a 10 per cent growth rate."

How do you rate the performance of the United Progressive Alliance Government, especially its efforts to carry forward the reform process despite the inherent contradictions in a coalition?

We have a National Common Minimum Programme. One way to measure the performance is against the NCMP. Another way is to measure it against objective standards, which are universally accepted as indicative of good governance.

As far as the NCMP is concerned I think a large number of NCMP promises have been implemented. I was not confident that we could carry out all those promises in five years, because I was not certain about the revenues of the Government. But we have been able to implement far-reaching programmes due to the buoyancy in revenue. The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the National Rural Health Scheme, the Mid Day Meal Scheme are ambitious programmes, which have been provided very large amounts of funds. However, the outcome of these programmes is still uncertain. I have laid emphasis on outcomes rather than outlays. It is not yet certain whether the NREGP is delivering wages and gaining rural assets. Likewise there are critical gaps in the rural health mission and the rural electrification mission and even the mid-day meal scheme. I am not despondent. These are programmes which have to take root. It takes a couple of years to take root.

So I can say that the Government has made a sincere attempt to answer each question on the question paper. I am not yet certain about the quality of the answers and marks to be given. I think the quality of the governance can only be measured when we have a better fix on the quality of the outcomes of the various programmes undertaken by the Government. The people will judge in 2009.

Would you like to aim for a growth rate beyond 10 per cent? Can we match China's growth rate?

It is possible to take the growth rate beyond 10 per cent and match China's growth rate. But it requires some very critical decisions to be taken. Firstly, we must liberalise the financial sector. With financial repression it is not possible to mobilise resources to sustain a 10 per cent growth rate.

Secondly, our policies must promote enterprise, initiatives, savings, investments, and others. We cannot blame the people for the poverty that afflicts a large section of the country. Thirdly, the quality of implementation in both meeting time targets and money targets must vastly improve at the State level and more importantly at the sub-State level, district level, and even at the panchayat union level.

Take, for an example, the road sector, I can provide at an average about 3 or 4 crore rupees per km. But the quality of the National Highways and State Highways built at a cost of nearly 4 crore rupees per km turns out to be of different standards. I am afraid the investment becomes optimum. It does not get you the return that it should get. If we address these critical deficiencies, I have no doubt in my mind that we can aim [for] the 10 per cent growth rate and beyond it.

Considering the volatile political scenario in the country, there is a fear among economists that the current growth rate will not be a sustainable one.

I don't agree. There has been a structural change in India's economy. Nearly 56 per cent of India's GDP is now contributed by the services sector. It is recording double-digit growth over the last few years. That itself assures you between 5 and 5.5 per cent growth. The industry grows at double digit and agriculture grows at the desired level of 4 per cent. Surely, we can achieve a very high growth rate over a longer period of time. Sustaining growth requires further increase in savings, investments, and better implementation.

Though the growth rate is good, inflation rules very high. What are the steps taken by the Government to control inflation and when will these measures show results?

There are only three kinds of measures to control inflation. One is supply side, another one is monetary measures, and the third is fiscal measures. In the fiscal side, there is very little space for major fiscal corrections. Customs tariff is already low. We cannot squeeze large revenue because we need large revenue for our expenditure. Yet we have corrected customs duty in a large number of products — edible oil, wheat, pulses, raw materials, metals. We brought it to zero in some cases, two in some other cases, and five in many cases.

And in excise also we have made sharp reductions especially food products. Monetary measures will moderate inflation. Monetary measures come with the price of high interest rate. Beyond a point, people will complain not only about the inflation but also interest rate. But several measures have been taken. Monetary measures are having an impact.

The critical thing is supply side. Neither monetary nor fiscal measures can directly increase production. It is totally dependent on supply and demand. We have a supply and demand mismatch in pulses and edible oil. We had a supply-demand mismatch in wheat last year. If these supply and demand mismatches are triggering inflation, the only way, I repeat the only way, is to vastly increase the production of pulses, wheat, and oil seeds. That is the question which must be addressed by Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and other Ministries.

The demand is rising in India. People are consuming more. We must increase production and productivity of essential food articles. That is the most durable solution for keeping the primary items under a moderate level of inflation.

Middle class people, particularly those who have taken housing loans, feel the pinch of rising interest rates. Is there any move to spare housing loans from the interest rate hike?

The high interest rate is not new. In 1999, 2000, and 2001 the home loan rate was between 12 and 13 per cent due to monetary steps to moderate inflation. It came down subsequently. Commercial real estate and housing are experiencing very rapid credit growth. In fact, it is over 60 per cent. Such rapid credit growth is likely to lead to overheating. It is in our own interest to moderate rapid credit growth. So we increased the price of credit. Yet, we have requested banks, and we have asked the RBI to explore ways in which people who take loans, say up to Rs.10 lakh or so, to be spared from this increase. Eighty per cent of the home loans are between Rs.8 lakh to Rs.10 lakh. I think the banks and the RBI will take measures to see that this segment, 80 per cent of the borrowers, is spared any increase in interest rate.

If you take a larger loan I am afraid that in the interest of moderating inflation you would have to pay a higher interest rate.

Do you think the current measures to control inflation will slow down the growth of the economy?

No. The Prime Minister has said and I have repeated what the PM has said. The goal is to moderate inflation without affecting growth. It is a trade-off. Every country faces the trade-off. It is a delicate balancing act. I think the measures taken so far are not likely to affect growth. I hope the situation will continue.

With regard to infrastructure development, there is a mismatch between the rate of growth and available infrastructure. Many States have been facing a power crisis. Similarly, roads, ports, airports, and others are not meeting the demand.

We have not done well in the power sector. I agree. In the last three Plan periods, we have achieved no more than 50 per cent of the target. It is not my intention to blame one party or other. We have to do better. But, the capacity constraints in roads, ports, airports is because we are growing at a fast rate. If India's GDP was growing at 5 or 6 per cent, the existing pace of infrastructure growth would have been enough. Because the growth has been at an average of 8.6 per cent for the last 3-4 years, the infrastructure is straining, which means that we have to quicken the expansion of infrastructure.

We have to quicken the capacity-addition in airports, seaports, telecommunication, roads, and power. The challenge is how to quicken the sectoral growth to keep pace with the overall growth.

When will the Government resolve the tangle over the land for SEZs? There are conflicting reports coming from different Ministries and allies.

No conflicts. The decision has been taken that the governments will not compulsorily acquire land for SEZ. But, the governments can facilitate acquisition of lands on a voluntary basis. It is possible for the industry to acquire lands and it is possible for the governments to facilitate sale and purchase of lands on a voluntary basis. I think many SEZs have already been started. Many more will come without compulsory acquisitions.

Are you satisfied with the FDI inflows into the country?

They are now better than our expectations. We were only planning for about $10 billion a year. We have crossed $10 billion. We were close to $15 billion by 2006-07. Those investments must be absorbed in the country. The onus is upon India to do that.

The country has achieved a tremendous growth under the coalition government. What has been the role of the Left parties in the growth of the economy?

Of course they have contributed. Whatever has been done would not have been done without the support of the Left parties. Equally, the unfinished agenda also must be attempted. We must complete the unfinished agenda. The Left parties must extend their support to complete the unfinished agenda. There are differences. If there are no differences why should there be a Communist Party, Congress Party or the DMK. The agenda is to accelerate the growth rate, increase revenue, income of people, generate more employment, and allocate more money for social sectors.

Source : Hindu

Mumbai airport operator ties up 42 bln rupee loans

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL), in charge of modernising Mumbai airport, said on Tuesday it had tied up long-term debt of 42 billion rupees from banks and financial institutions.

MIAL, a consortium led by GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd., said it raised the loans for a 17-year period from a clutch of institutions led by IDBI.

The loans were pegged 215 basis points above the yield on 3-year government securities, MIAL said in a statement.

MIAL plans to spend 70 billion rupees over 20 years to build an integrated passenger terminal, upgrade runways, and create related infrastructure as part of the project to double capacity to 40 million passengers at one of India's busiest airports.


Source : Reuters

Maruti 4th quarter net up 24 pct

By Rina Chandran

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Top car maker Maruti Udyog Ltd. posted a better-than-expected 24 percent rise in quarterly net profit on Tuesday, but analysts and the company were guarded in their outlook for sales and profits.

New Delhi-based Maruti, 54.2 percent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp., said net profit in the fiscal fourth quarter to March 31 rose to 4.49 billion rupees ($109 million), compared with an average forecast of 4.23 billion in a Reuters poll of 11 analysts.

Revenue grew 35 percent to 44.13 billion rupees against a forecast 41.96 billion.

Maruti's fuel-efficient small cars have been the first choice of thousands of first-time buyers in India, where small cars make up more than two-thirds of the passenger vehicle market.

Passenger vehicle sales hit 1.4 million units last year and are forecast to nearly double by 2010, but volatile raw material prices, firmer interest rates and fierce competition is putting pressure on vehicle makers in the fast-growing market.

Maruti, which has nearly half the Indian passenger vehicle market, said full-year net profit rose 31 percent to 15.62 billion rupees.

But its operating margin in the quarter narrowed to 12.4 percent from 14.8 percent, with raw material costs climbing 27 percent on the year.

"Margins are a bit worrisome and the volume outlook is also a bit clouded because of the higher interest rates," said analyst Ashutosh Goel at Edelweiss Securities.

"The climate is increasingly challenging, and while Maruti has been very good at cost reduction so far, even that benefit is diminishing," said Goel, who has an "accumulate" rating on the stock.

Maruti shares ended up 3.5 percent at 794.40 rupees in a firm Mumbai market, helped by hopes for a revival in demand after the central bank left interest rates unchanged at a policy review on Tuesday.

Maruti shares, valued at $5.3 billion, fell about 12 percent in January through March, mirroring a decline on the auto index and trailing a 5.2 percent fall for the benchmark.

MARGIN CAUTION

Sales of Maruti vehicles including the best-selling Alto and Swift models rose 30 percent to 200,112 units in the quarter.

Maruti raised prices on some models marginally in February and again in March after the government imposed a 1 percent tax.

Maruti rolled out a diesel variant of Swift in February and will launch a new sedan in the April to June quarter. It will also make a new model for European markets from 2008/09 and 50,000 compact cars a year for Nissan.

But new launches have a negative impact in the short-term.

"While in the long term they are good for the company, they have some financial impact initially," Managing Director Jagdish Khattar told reporters in New Delhi.

Maruti will export about 200,000 vehicles from 2008/09, he said. Suzuki is spending a further $1.7 billion by 2010 to expand capacity in India, taking capacity to 1 million vehicles a year.

Maruti, which competes mainly with South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. and Tata Motors Ltd., in February opened a new plant with a capacity of up to 300,000 units and a diesel engine and transmission plant with a similar capacity.

But its share is under threat from new entrants.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is making the no-frills Logan sedan with venture partner Renault, and has a separate alliance with Renault and Nissan Motor Co. for a $905 million project that will have the capacity to make 400,000 vehicles a year in seven years.

Fiat has a new variant of its Palio car, while General Motors Co. has just rolled out the mini Spark.

The Indian government will sell its remaining 10.27 percent stake in Maruti in the fiscal year to March 2008.

(Additional reporting by Palash Kumar in New Delhi)

Source : Reuters

JetLite to takeoff with a designer look

Jet Lite is the new name for Air Sahara, that was recently acquired by Jet Airways. As you know, the Jet-Sahara deal will be remembered for 16 months of dispute and court-room drama. All that is over and JetLite is being positioned as a budget airline that falls between the low-cost carriers like Air Deccan and a full service airline like Jet Airways itself. At the same time, the competition in the skies has pushed Jet to go in for its first mutli-million dollar rebranding exercise since 1993. As both Kingfisher and Jet are readying for competition on international routes, the Jet fleet has been given a dose of luxury.

For 14 years, Jet Airways' Naresh Goyal only believed in premium airlines. Now it's set to transform the newly acquired Air Sahara into a budget airline, as Jetlite. In 3-6 months, the company will rationalise routes and drop prices by 25% for the same. Chairman, Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal told CNBC-TV18, "Lite means it will be light on your pocket and will bring light to the aviation industry."

Jet will integrate operations but JetLite will remain a 100% subsidiary. However analysts point out with this positioning, JetLite might cannibalise Jet Airways' economy class. By buying Air Sahara, Jet's marketshare has jumped from 24% to 32%, consolidating its market position. But the timing is apt for Jet to go for re-branding, as competitive pressures mount from low-cost carriers and players like the soon-to-be merged Air India and Indian Airlines (now called Indian).

Designed by Landor and Associates of London, ribbons of yellow have been added to the Jet brand now. Even the crew uniforms have gone in for a makeover. This rebranding promotion is on for a month on press, radio and internet. M&C Saatchi that bagged the Rs 50 crore Jet account in January is expected to release Jet's first television commercial in the next few months. And going forward, marketing spends will hot up, as Jet flies to big-ticket international destinations. Currently, it runs a daily service to Bangkok. The fleet of 20 new aircarft for international routes are also getting a facelift.

He's not a brand ambassador, but the celebrity board member, Shahrukh Khan displayed the new luxury offerings like private suites and in-flight entertainment for the international flights. Some of them will gradually find their way to the domestic fleet. Vice President, Marketing, Jet Airways, Gaurang Shetty says, "We have been serving them for 14 years, there are customers overseas that have experienced us, but it's the difference vis-a-vis the competition that we wanted to enlarge."

More luxury-driven competition is in store for Jet, as the Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines is hoping to start its international service by January 2008.


Source : Money control

TCS gears up to keep the momentum

Having clocked $4.3 billion in revenues this financial year, technology major Tata Consultancy Services is gearing up to maintain the momentum. For the next financial year the company has drawn out a detailed talent acquisition plan. In 2007-08, TCS plans to visit 350 campuses and will increase campus accreditation to 450 from the current 349.

In its search of talent, the company is also looking at international campuses. S Padmanabhan, executive vice-president, global human resources, said the company would be visiting 4-5 campuses in China and two job fairs in Germany which will give it accessibility to 15-20 colleges. In the US, TCS has already started it rounds by targeting 15 engineering schools and five management schools and three colleges each in Canada and Brazil.

"With increasing work from the international geography, we felt there was a need to have global texture to the company. Hence, the increase in the number of international hiring. We expect this to grow at a rate of 2 per cent year-on-year," added Padmanabhan. This year international hiring constituted 18 per cent of the total recruitment.

TCS will also look at tier III cities. "We feel there is no difference between students of tier II and III cities. The challenges such as language capability and others can be worked on," he said.

In FY07, TCS had visited 61 campuses in tier-I cities, 141 in tier-II cities and 49 in tier-III cities. Around 30 per cent of the campus hiring was took place in tier-I cities, close to 15-20 per cent in tier-III and the rest in tier-II cities.

The company did not specify the number that it was planning to hire in FY08. But they are expected to be similar to the current year's figures of 32,000.

Source : Rediff

Essar to acquire US steel firm for Rs 350-375 crore

In its second overseas takeover within three days, Ruias-owned Essar Global on Wednesday signed an agreement to acquire iron ore-rich Minnesota Steel LLC in the United States for an estimated $80-90 million (Rs 350-375 crore).


Essar Global Limited, through its subsidiary Essar Steel Holdings, inked the pact with Minnesota Steel and announced an investment of $1.65 billion to set up a 2.5 million tonnes integrated steel firm.


Although the deal value was not disclosed, sources said the acquisition amount ranges between $80-90 million.


The US acquisition comes barely three days after Essar Global announced its acquisition Canadian firm Algoma Steel for $1.58 billion (Rs 6,900 crore).

Minnesota has iron ore reserves of more than 1.4 billion tonnes, the two companies said in a joint statement.

"By developing this significant ore resource, Minnesota has the opportunity to be one of the low cost producers of steel in the world," Essar Global chairman Shashi Ruia said.


Essar's takeover follows compatriot Tata Steel's buyout of Anglo-Dutch firm Corus Group Plc for $12.9 billion and comes amid a consolidation in the global steel industry.

NRI tycoon L N Mittal had last year acquired Arcelor to create the world's biggest steel empire Arcelor Mittal.


The companies said steel plant would be built in stages, with the first phase expected to be commissioned in 2009 and produce up to 1.5 million tonnes of thick steel slab per year.

"Our investment in Minnesota Steel is exciting as it gives us a cornerstone in North American market. From this, we will further expand our global steel business," Ruia said.


Essar Global, the overseas investment arm of Essar Group, said Minnesota and Algoma Steel together would form the corner stone for the company's North American strategy in line with its plan to build a global footprint.


The Indian conglomerate has interests in diversified areas ranging from steel to shipping, oil and gas, telecom and power. Besides buying overseas assets, Essar Steel Holdings is expanding its steel plant in India to 8.5 million tonnes per year by 2009 from 4.6 million tonnes at present.


The company also operates a cold rolling complex in Indonesia and has finalised plans to set up an integrated steel plant for flat products in Trinidad and Tobago. It is also investing $527 million for setting up a hot strip mill in Vietnam.

Minnesota's proposed steel plant would include iron ore mining, ore processing and steel-making at a single site. The US company has already secured capacity to transport natural gas from Canada for the project.

Source: Rediff

Provoked best of Aish

Provoked is based on the landmark case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a Punjabi housewife in the UK, who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her brutal husband.

After 10 long years, when she could no longer bear the mental, physical and sexual torture, she doused him with kerosene while he was sleeping and set him on fire. Kiranjit was found guilty of murder and given life imprisonment.

But her courage and the determination of an NGO called 'The Southhall Black Sisters' overturned the judgement.

Eventually Kiranjit was given a reduced sentence and set free after three years and four months in jail. Her case altered British law, redefining the word provocation in the case of battered women.
This is a gut-wrenching story and director Jag Mundra tells it surprisingly well.

Mundra is known for silly soft porn movies like Monsoon but don't let his shady reputation put you off this one.

The screenplay, by Rahila Gupta and Carl Austin, is well crafted. The violence is shown only in intermittent flashbacks and so it comes through more effectively.

Mundra doesn't display great directorial flourish but he has wisely assembled a stellar cast who help him to keep things on track.

Miranda Richardson plays Kiranjit's tough-as-nails cellmate, Naveen Andrews is her slap happy husband and Nandita Das is the activist who pushes Kiranjit to save herself.

But Provoked ultimately is a triumph for Aishwarya Rai. Through her decade long career, Aishwarya has been consistently inconsistent.

With the right directors she is ethereal and with the wrong ones, she is alarmingly vapid.

There are a few stray moments in Provoked when she looks too manicured to be abused but for the most part, she hits the right notes.

Her eyes and body are hollow with grief. Provoked hits snags, especially in the second hour and some scenes are too pat. The film totally overlooks how the trauma of an abusive father and then, an incarcerated mother impacted on Kiranjit's young sons.

But overall, Provoked is a strong, deeply moving statement about one woman's struggle against overwhelming odds. I recommend that you see it!

Source : NDTV

Mumbai girl wins miss India

Mumbai girl Sarah Jane has won the Pantaloons Femina Miss India pageant on Sunday.

Beauty, wits and patience of 25 finalists were yet again subjected to intense scrutiny at the pageant.

Amidst dazzling lights, extravagant stage and starry performances, former VJ, Sarah Jane, a favourite from the word go, was crowned 'Miss India World.'

Delhiite Puja Gupta was adjudged 'Miss India Universe' and Bangalore's Puja Chitgopekar went home with the 'Miss India Earth' title.

The pageant was interspersed with performances by actors Tushhar Kapoor, Koena Mitra, Lara Dutta and the latest singing sensation Rabbi Shergill.

The hosts Mona Singh and Sajjad Khan with their bountiful energy kept the audience rolling in the aisles.

The event was judged by several celebrities including Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt, director Subhash Ghai and model Ujwalla Raut.

Former Miss World Priyanka Chopra crowned the three beauties.

Meanwhile, last year's Miss India Neha Kapur walked out of the function after being informed by the organisers that she would not be crowning the new Miss India.

The tradition so far had been that the previous year's winner would hand over the title by crowning the new Miss India but this year actor Priyanka Chopra was doing the honours.

Source : NDTV

Can Agni-III stand the trial by fire?

Nine months after the first attempt failed, the DRDO is likely to re-launch the Agni-III ballistic missile from Wheeler's Island in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday.


Agni-III is the most powerful missile in the Indian arsenal and will have a three-stage lift-off mechanism and a 4,000-km range.


“The exact time will depend on weather conditions and other factors,' an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. We are keeping our fingers crossed. We hope the test will proceed smoothly,” a DRDO official was quoted as saying by IANS.


The missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and is designed so that it can be launched from varied platforms.


It is also an effective counter to any missile in the region and can reach out to target most parts of China, including Beijing. Experts say it will also give India a strategic edge against China.



If the test-firing is successful, the Agni-III will become the missile with the longest reach in South Asia and more powerful than any missile in Pakistan's arsenal.


However, Agni-III still falls short of being an ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile) that have ranges over 5,000 km, experts say.


This will be the second launch of the missile after an unsuccessful test on July 9 last year from the integrated test range.



Agni-III was last tested on July 9, 2006 from the same base. After the launch, however, the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate and the missile plunged into the Bay of Bengal well short of its target.


DRDO scientists later attributed the failure to a 'material-related fault', besides problems with the protective heat shield, design and propulsion.


The test will be conducted from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 230 km from Orissa capital Bhubaneswar. The missile will soar aloft from launch complex No. 4 of Inner Wheeler Island, a new launch site at the ITR.

Source : IBN

India upgrades Russian jets for $700 mln - I'fax

Russia has signed a $700 million contract to replace 18 of India's Sukhoi-30 fighter jets with new versions of the same plane, Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a military source.

"Several days ago Rosoboronexport signed a contract to deliver the Indian air force 18 multifunctional Su-30MKI fighters," the source said, Interfax reported.

The Su-30MKI is a long-haul Sukhoi fighter specially modified for the Indian air force.

Indian officials had said they would sign a deal to buy 40 Sukhoi fighters by the end of March. It was unclear if this contract was part of that planned deal.

India's air force, one of the biggest in the world, plans to buy 126 new fighters to upgrade its combat fleet which includes ageing Russian MiG-21s, Mig-23s and MiG-27s.


Source : Reuters