XED NEWSLETTERbultin a weekly newles

11 Pages 14th JULY 2011 20th JULY 2011 www.xedintellect.com

IN BRIEF
COVER STORY
ANYTHING FOR NEWS
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
BSE SENSEX 18,446 NSE NIFTY 5,541 RS/$ 44.43 st (as on 21 July 2011)
PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

NEWS DIGEST
BUSINESS NEWS INT. & MISC. NEWS FINANCE NEWS

COMPILED BY

India may no longer be outsourcing hub ECONOMIC INDICATORS 2 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 9

FB Vs Google Plus tech wars

No to deregulate savings rate: RBI

COVER STORY 3 PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK 4 BUSINESS NEWS 5-8 MISCELLANEOUS NEWS 10 GENERAL AWARENESS 11

TOP 10 HEADLINES OF THE WEEK

1. India may no longer be outsourcing hub. 2. IIM graduates choose manufacturing over finance roles. 3. Global slump in economy a boon for India, only if it doesn't get worse. 4. Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Idea in pact to offer Pan India 3G services. 5. Final 'Harry Potter' wields big wand at box office. 6. Indias share in global video gaming business set to increase. 7. FB vs Google Plus tech wars: Why Facebook should begin to worry. 8. Mercedes Tiny Smart Takes on Big Boys in China. 9. Sachin Tendulkar on Coca-Cola cans as part of 100th century celebrations. 10. Bombs explode at rush hour in Mumbais crowded business areas.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Current Market Rates as on 21st July11 Rupee/US Dollar Rupee/Pound Values 44.43 71.89 Stock Market Indices as on 21st July11 BSE SENSEX NSE (NIFTY) Values 18,446 5,541

GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX

The Global Hunger Index is just one of the indicators that convey a variety of information in a discrete bit of information. The GHI as its called gives developing countries scores based on three other indicators: the proportion of people who are undernourished, the proportion of children under five who are underweight, and the child mortality rate. The worst possible score is 100, but in practice, anything over 25 is considered alarming.

Hunger in Indian states: Alarming Twelve Indian states have "alarming" levels of hunger while the situation is "extremely alarming" in the state of Madhya Pradesh, says a new report.

COVER STORY: ANYTHING FOR NEWS

Fall of an empire: News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch knew something about power and how to wield it. In Britain, the media magnate's backing was long seen as a prerequisite for anyone hoping to become prime minister. In the US Murdoch's Fox News has helped drive debate and the growth of the right-wing Tea Party. But 7/7 which also coincides with the terror attack on Britain marks the death of the biggest-selling English-language newspaper on earth with 2.6 million daily readers. News of the world faces a spate of phone hacking charges. It was exposed that its journalists had paid a private investigator to hack into the mobile phones of a murdered 13-year-old girl, victims of the 7/7 terrorist bombings, 9/11 victims, Iraq war officials. Murdoch claims he was unaware that the company was also paying the legal fees of Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator under contract to The News of the World who was convicted in 2007 of hacking into the phones of staff members of the royal family. Selling News worldwide: When Rupert Murdoch first entered India in the mid-1990s with the launch of Star India, the network's mix of cricket, MTV, Bollywood and soap operas proved a wildly popular cocktail of entertainment with many of the country's 1.2 billion people. Murdoch saw Asia's potential at a time when regional broadcasting wasn't considered viable across a highly fragmented and culturally diverse region. It is estimated that Star India made $106 million in profits last year off revenues of $545 million, glowing results in a market with rampant piracy of cable signals and low fees. He owns 26 percent of the popular Hindilanguage news channel Star News, meeting the needs of many of India's 138 million TV households. With Murdoch now facing a parliamentary inquiry in Britain, an FBI probe in the United States, and a possible review of media laws in Australia, some say he might face fresh scrutiny in India and Asia. Anything for News: News of the World's relationship to scandal long predates Murdoch's ownership. In 1996 the paper began paying celebrities to disclose personal secrets about themselves; often with disastrous consequences for them and their associates. The actress Diana Dors -facing debt and unpaid taxes - allowed the paper to write an expose about her life for 35,000. Serialized over 12 weeks, the film bombshell divulged details about her dead husband's sex addiction. It was a huge sell among audiences. News of the World reporter Mazher Mahmood would masquerade as Arab sheik. Behind velvet ropes at VIP after-parties, the fake sheikh made friends with celebrities and their hangers-on. And he'd often catch them behaving in horrific ways. Stars were exposed doing drugs - and selling them. Back in 2000, News of the World came up with a campaign to "name and shame" child abusers. The paper began publishing the names and photographs of known sex offenders in the country. The outing spawned a spate of mob attacks on the homes of the people named. In one instance an innocent man who was mistaken for one of the photographed pedophiles in the paper had his home vandalized. Time to regulate? It is true that all media organizations from time to time use tactics that may, to some, seem morally dubious like paying to elicit information or subterfuge. In a country like Britain or for that matter any, there is sometimes no other way to obtain information of vital public importance. Had The Daily Telegraph not paid its sources, all common public would have seen of the MPs' expenses would be acres of blacked-out paper. The clear danger now is that some would push hard for a regulatory system criminalizing payments for official information, for instance. That would be wrong, because the failure here was not of regulation. Phone hacking is already against the law. It is the collective failure of the broader political system and of the journalists. According to blogger Paul Stains, Consumer power has already proven itself as a way to regulate the press. In the end Murdoch closed the News of the World because he feared an advertiser and consumer boycott. If you disapprove of a newspaper don't buy and read it. That is simply the most powerful restraint you have on newspaper proprietors in a free democracy. Even Rupert Murdoch fears his customers. Lesson for Indian Media: It is understandably difficult to adhere to high moral principles to expose plain wrongdoing let alone criminality. Indias News of the world moment came with the Cash for Votes scam wherein opposition party leaders collaborated with a certain media to expose the rampant buying of MPs by the government. Ideally, soliciting information even for public good should be done by just means because we assume a bribe giver is as much an offender as a bribe taker. Or perhaps change our definitions to give media a bit more freedom. However freedom doesnt mean irresponsibility. The media as the fourth estate and a pillar of democracy must realize that with the great power of information comes greater responsibility to people.

PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK

Shahrukh Khan: The Baadshah
Shahrukh Khan the inimitable king of the silver screen is also the baadshah of the biggest brands. Right from TAG Heuer to ITC Sunfeast biscuits to Airtel he is a favorite of many brands. He has also been roped in as the brand ambassador for the B school IIPM. His life has been an inspiration for the youth. The fact is that you cannot miss his name while you scroll TV channels or newspaper. He is undeniably an instant brand reminder. There are no qualms in referring him as a giant of the silver screen. Capturing the silver screen: The journey of Shahrukh Khan to becoming the King Khan started with TV serial called "Fauji" (1988), that won him instant recognition. He made his debut on the silver screen with the film Dewaana and since then there is no looking back. Today, he charges around 12 crore for a movie. In 2005, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian Cinema. Though Shah Rukh Khan believes that he is an actor not a businessman, his ventures speak otherwise. He has made some smart business moves. The Extravagance: Shahrukh Khan lives for a purpose and believes that he is born for a purpose. He believes he needs to give back to the entertainment industry which made him so successful. Though he believes he is not a businessman he has always been entrepreneurial. He started his production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and produced and starred in Main Hoon Na, which has been a hit. He further carved the path of a shrewd businessman when his production house in 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the BCCI backed IPL cricket competition. His extravagance has been under the scanner of the IT department. The I-T department has questioned whether the Rs. 17.84 crore Signature Villa on The Palm Jumeirah was a gift, as the actor claims, or payment for Shah Rukh Khan's endorsement of the Palm Jumeirah. His latest movie RA One is anticipated to be in 3D. To cash in on the movies popularity Ra One is all set to become a Sony Playstation Game. The video game version will simply be called Ra. One The Game and it has been developed exclusively for PS2 and PS3 by Sony in London. With so many successful ventures Shahrukh Khan surely sees business in all his ventures.

Rebekah Mary Brooks: Brute Power

Referred to as the flame haired Queen of Fleet Street Rebekah Brooks was the chief executive of News International from 2009 to 2011. She has served as the youngest editor of a British national newspaper, News of the World and is the first female editor of The Sun. Her thirst for being associated with the big wigs led to being questioned for her alleged involvement in the News International phone hacking scandal and is accused of corruption. Her rise up the corporate ladder reflects a mix of ruthlessness and dazzling charm. The mercurial rise: Rebekah Brooks started her life as a secretary and 22 years later she ended up as the right hand woman of the most powerful man in the world of journalism, Mr Rupert Murdoch. Coupled with her charm she has an extraordinary ability to make friends in high places which was evident in the guest list to her wedding, two years ago which read like a Who's Who of modern Britain. Her proximity to the Rupert Murdoch family is evident in the fact that it took 12 days to finally let her go from the News International. After Brooks took over as an editor of The News International at the age of 31, she broadened the appeal of the newspaper by flashing the front page with celebrity news. Rebekah Brooks the fifth daughter of the Murdoch family wrote to the Scotland Yard offering to be interviewed as a witness in phone-hacking scandal. She was later on arrested. The fall: Mrs. Brooks was defended by both Rupert and James Murdoch during the investigations of the News of the World scandal. But she was arrested by the police for her involvement in the phone hacking scandal and the police corruption investigations. Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders questioned the timing of the arrest. Just two days before she had to appear in front of the various MPs she was arrested. Bury your mistakes, Rupert Murdoch is fond of saying. This time it surely will cost a lot for him. Life of Mrs. Brooks has been like a rollercoaster ride from a swift rise to a sudden fall. With the support offered by her boss she might be left scot free.

BUSINESS NEWS
1) India may no longer be outsourcing hub- ET 15 July India may no longer be outsourcing hub as UK companies such as Aviva, BT & Santander move work to home country. A high UK jobless rate & a need to better connect with their customers, coupled with rising costs in India compel Aviva, BT & Santander to move work back home. Last week, another UK-based telecom firm New Call Telecom decided to move its call centre back to Lancashire from Mumbai. On Tuesday, shares of MphasiS fell over 6% as banking group, Santander, moved its retail banking-related call centre services from the Indian vendor back to the UK. For many, having a UK customer call centre has also become a differentiator in commoditised markets such as voice telephony services, say experts. It is also viewed as 'patriotic'. "The whole issue around accents just became really big in the UK, for some reason it was never seen as a problem in the US. It just got highlighted a lot in the UK and then some companies started using it as marketing tool too," said Pramod Bhasin, ex-CEO and non- executive vice chairman of the country's largest BPO firm Genpact. 2) IIM graduates choose manufacturing over finance roles- TOI 14 July 10% more students across IIMs choose manufacturing over finance. The figure is set to go up further in next 3 years. The slower-than-expected growth in the country's factory output may send markets in a tizzy every now and then. But, management graduates passing out of premier B-schools are betting big on manufacturing. Volatility in the global financial markets is pushing fresh graduates to brick and mortar industries. An increasing number of students passing out from the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are choosing careers in manufacturing over traditional finance roles post-slowdown. On an average, 10% more students across IIMs have taken up jobs in core sectors this year as compared Traditionally, MBAs prefer services sector with finance, marketing and consulting roles.

to

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3) Global slump in economy a boon for India, only if it doesn't get worse- ET 16 July Together with China, India will stand out as an island of growth in an otherwise bleak global economic landscape, helping it attract more capital flows and investments. The renewed crisis of confidence in the global economy could well benefit India, if it does not blow up into something bigger. Recent evidence points towards a moderation in global growth as the developed world is struggling with debt and unemployment, and the emerging markets are fighting inflation by sacrificing growth. Search for returns is likely to send investors scurrying to India, expected to expand at about 8% in 2011-12 while the rest of the world sees a moderation in growth to 3.2% during 2011. India's relative insulation from the rest of the world is another tick mark in its favour. Exports have a small 13% share in GDP, though rising fast at over 30% after the financial crisis, and its public debt is mostly internal. Public and private consumption combined has a 70% share in India's GDP. The strong domestic orientation of the economy was largely the reason India managed a 6.8% growth in 200809, the high point of the financial crisis. 4) Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Idea in pact to offer Pan India 3G services-ET 14 July In an effort to reduce cost and offer Pan India 3G service, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have started sharing their networks to provide seamless service to their customers. The three will now use each other's networks through inter and intra-circle roaming arrangements where they do not have licences. " Vodafone has entered into a bilateral roaming agreement, both inter and intra circle, with Idea and Airtel to provide 3G services to our customers in the circles where we have not built our own 3G network, in order to bring a pan-India experience of 3G services to our customers," Vodafone said in a statement. However, nobody divulged the revenue sharing arrangement among the operators. 5) Final 'Harry Potter' wields big wand at box office- Reuters 17 July Deathly Hallows II is the 8th & final movie in the Harry Potter franchise & the first in 3D. It raked in $82.5 mn worldwide in 3 days. Harry Potter's final film adventure has bolted to a big start at worldwide

box offices, breaking the record for midnight screenings in the U.S. and Canada with $43.5 million and setting the stage for a massive weekend debut. Box office watchers predict domestic (U.S. and
Canada) sales for the three-day weekend will hit $125 million to $150 million, but with the midnight record that range could be low. Even if the box office total hits that forecast, it would be the highestgrossing "Harry Potter" debut and put the movie within striking distance of the biggest opening weekend ever.

6) Indias share in global video gaming business set to increase - WSJ 15 July Indias share of the $67bn global video gaming business is just $0.2bn, but much of that is set to change with improved connection speeds & bandwidth as now we have 3G. India's gamers and mobile-phone companies are betting that the rest of the world's fascination with mobile-phone games and applications will catch on here, and are looking for a cricket-based game that could become all the rage like Angry Birds (a game developed by Finland-based Rovio Mobile). India plays a small part in the world's video-gaming industry -- 10 billion rupees ($225.12 million) in 2010, according to KPMG, vs. $67 billion globally, according to Gartner, -- but much of that is set to change with third generation telephony. The next phase for mobile phones was launched this year and has improved connection speeds and bandwidth that are needed for online and mobile gaming the main reasons that gaming in India hadn't picked up. Mobile operators view has changed toward mobile gaming. "They are slowly realizing the importance of games as a premium (value-added) segment, especially to drive the adoption of faster data speeds provided by 3G," according to the Ernst & Young report on India's gaming industry released in 2010. 7) Realty Market Crisis Throw Up Opportunity for Group-Buying Sites- TOI 15 July Jitendra Rathod had spent almost three months looking for an apartment in Mulund, a fast growing suburb in central Mumbai. He knew that developers were struggling to find buyers and were sitting on huge inventories, so he expected a good discount. Much to his surprise, no builder was willing to budge an inch. Rathods luck changed when he joined a group buying portal that brings buyers together for bulk deals. A few rounds of negotiations later he bought an apartment from the same builder at a price 10% lower than what he was offered barely two weeks ago. groopoffers.com have popped up overnight. New players such as GemiDeals.com, dealflats.com, 21flats.com,

8) IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd wins Coffey International Award for 'm-Powering Farmers' -ET 14 July A unique mobile technology based concept to improve the yield, productivity, income and quality of living of illiterate farmers in rural India has scooped the Coffey International Award as part of Business in the Community's 2011 Awards for Excellence on 5th July, 2011. Now in its 14th year, the Awards for Excellence is a prestigious annual showcase by UK of the best responsible businesses in action. The Awards highlight the best examples of the positive impact businesses are having in the environment, amongst their employees, through the supply chains and in the local communities in which they operate. 9) Trai adamant wants 74 permits cancelled- ET 16 July The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has told the government that about 210 MHz, or units, of valuable 2G spectrum can be freed up if the telecom department accepts its recommendations for cancelling 74 mobile service licenses. The telecom regulator has told the government that about 210 MHz, or units, of valuable 2G spectrum can be freed up if the telecom department accepts its recommendations for cancelling 74 mobile service licences for failure to roll out services. The regulator has reminded the government that airwaves thus freed up can be auctioned, which will bring in revenues for the exchequer. 10) NSSO survey shows poverty is coming down and rural wages are rising - TOI 16 July Real spending by each person in rural India rose 6.3% in 5 years of Congress rule as compared to 1.2% during 5 years of BJP rule according to the NSSO survey. Finally, theres some good news for the United Progressive Alliance government. Consumption numbers for the past six years show that real incomes have grown much faster under the Congress-led coalition than during the National Democratic Alliance era. Whats more, poverty is trending down and rural wages are growing smartly. The 2009-10 survey by the National Statistical Survey Organisation (NSSO) shows real spending by each person in rural India rose 6.3% in the five-year period from 2004-05 to 2009-10, when the UPA in power. Urban Indians did even better. The average persons spending in urban areas went up 12.9% under the UPA (20042009) compared to a 6.7% jump under the NDA regime (1999-2004). The numbers also show that the percentage of poor Indians, using the Suresh Tendulkar methodology, also fell to about 32% of the population in 2009-10 from 37% in 2004-05. This seems to validate the UPA governments claim that its policies and schemes have eased poverty.

11) Borrow it Bindaas Offers Online Sari Rental- WSJ 14 July Borrow it Bindaas, a U.S.-based online sari rental boutique helps US guests & Indians dress up in designer saris for Indian Weddings in USA. Riddhi and Siddhi Khara, twins and two of the founders of Borrow it Bindaas, hope their service will help solve the perennial clothing conundrum faced by Indian wedding-goers across the United States: What to wear, and more importantly, where to get it? With 2,000 members since its launch in late May, the site currently displays almost 100 sari options at rental costs that range from $40 to $200, though clients also have the option to purchase for a higher price. The cost includes a sari, two blouses, and a petticoatthe latter two items being vital foundation garments. 12) Indian consumers still most bullish globally: Nielsen-Reuters 17 July Global consumer confidence fell in the second quarter to its lowest level in a year and a half as an uncertain economic outlook, a deepening euro zone debt crisis and rising inflation made people more cautious, a survey showed on Sunday. Indian consumers were still the most bullish globally but less so than in the first quarter. Consumers in Asia generally remained much more optimistic than in other regions -- with the notable exception of the Japanese and South Koreans who were among the most pessimistic globally -- but rising inflation tempered Asian purchasing power. India's score in the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index fell 5 points from the previous quarter to 126. It was well below the country's record 137 index reading in the second half of 2006, the highest reading for any country in the index's six-year history. The index's global average reading dipped 3 points from the first quarter to 89, its lowest since the fourth quarter of 2009. A score below 100 signals pessimism about the outlook. 13) AI faces Rs 67,000 crore worth losses and debt-BT 18 July Facing a massive cumulative loss and debt burden totalling about Rs 67,000 crore, Air India hopes the government would take an expeditious decision to infuse more funds to boost its rapidly dwindling financial position. What is worse is that the ailing national carrier would have to repay a whopping Rs 20,415 crore worth of loans before the end of this fiscal year. If it defaults, the amount would invite loan loss provisioning which the banks may oppose, official sources said. A meeting of the Group of Ministers slated for tomorrow is expected to decide on moving the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs soon for additional equity infusion of Rs 1,200 crore and take a series of other steps to soar up the airline's financial position. Latest estimates show that the ailing carrier was facing a net cumulative loss of Rs 20,320 crore between April 2007 and March 2011. 14) Are E-Retail Firms in India Building a Bubble Again?-ET 19 July Flush with cash from venture capital and private equity funds, online retailers are pursuing a single minded strategy of acquiring as many customers as they can as soon as they can. To stake out the largest possible territory, they are cutting prices so deep that even costs are not being covered, he says. Finally this is why ecommerce is hot. The growth is there and profits too -when businesses scale after 3-4 years, Vaitheeswaran says. One of Vaitheeswarans competitors is Sachin Bansal, a former Amazon India employee and the co-founder of Flipkart.com, one of the countrys largest online retailers for books and electronics. He is now racing to set up a delivery network that will ship goods to the doorstep of customers. In the next few weeks, Flipkart Logistics will start operations in 15 cities, shipping items such as television sets and washing machines. Bansal is hoping this flurry of activity will raise revenues at his four-year-old firm to 500 crore at the end of March 2012. 15) NREGS may be Informally Shut Down in Peak Season-ET 19 July The UPA government has advised states to suspend its rural job guarantee programme during peak farming periods, adopting a wink and a nod strategy to stay legally clear and yet head off complaints the vote-winning scheme was causing a shortage of hands on farms. The UPA government has advised states to suspend its rural job guarantee programme during peak farming periods, adopting a wink and a nod strategy to stay legally clear and yet head off complaints the vote-winning scheme was causing a shortage of hands on farms. The rural development ministry has informally asked states that they should consider deferring the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (NREGS) during sowing, transplantation and harvesting in their region.

16) N-shot in arm: AP uranium mine could be among worlds largest-ET 19 July Indias nuclear power aspirations just got a boost thanks to a lucky find. The Department of Atomic Energy has discovered that the upcoming uranium mine in Andhra Pradeshs Tumalapalli has close to 49,000 tonnes of uranium, three times the original estimate. In fact, there are indications that the total quantity may go up to 1.5 lakh tonnes, which would make it among the largest uranium mines in the world. The quantity is sufficient to support a nuclear power plant of 8,000mw capacity for 40 years. The production is expected to start in six months. Srikumar Banerjee, DAE secretary and chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, announced the huge discovery during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the seventh and eighth units of the Rawatbhata atomic power project on Monday. 17) At 5cr, state has most city-dwellers in India- TNN 19 July Maharashtras urban population grew by around 97 lakh in the last decade, taking its number of city dwellers to 5.08 crore, the highest for any state in the country, reveal provisional figures of Census 2011, released on Monday. In terms of urbanization however, it ranks third among major states. Of Maharashtras 11.23 crore population, 45.23% live in urban areas now, up from 42.43% in 2001, said Ranjit Singh Deol, director, Census operations, Maharashtra. This, though, is behind Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where the share of the urban population is 48.45% and 47.72%, respectively. Within cities like Mumbai, it is the suburban areas that are powering the urban growth. Mumbais growth percentage is nothing in comparison to those of tier two cities. Take, for instance, Thane which registered 35.94% urban growth or Pune which clocked 30.34% growth in the last decade, explained Arokiasamy. He added that Tamil Nadu always leads in terms of urbanization because it has notified many villages as town panchayats. In earlier censuses, Kerala used to have the lowest urban rate because it had classified many small towns as villages. 18) Dangerous levels of caffeine found in energy drinks-TNN 19 July Energy drinks being sold in India have dangerous levels of caffeine, a Delhi-based NGO, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), has said after conducting lab tests. According to the tests, 44% of the samples violate the maximum permissible limits of caffeine prescribed by the government. The CSE tested leading energy drink brands like Red Bull and Cloud 9, and found that many samples had breached the government set standard of 145 parts per million of caffeine. The NGO also warned that the industry was pushing for the relaxation of government norms, which would make it legitimate for the drinks to have much higher concentrations of the energy booster, laced with dangerous chemicals in them. Under the new rules, the industry wants to more than double the limits of infusing caffeine into the drinks that are usually targeted at youth and health enthusiasts. 19) Black money: $2.5 billion stashed in Swiss banks by Indian clients-ET 17 July The Swiss National Bank, the central bank of Switzerland, has estimated that Indian clients had deposits of about $2.5 billion in banks in the European nation in 2010. This is just a fraction of the $1.5-trillion figure that had been projected by political parties and non-governmental organizations, who have attacked the UPA government with their anti-corruption movement over the last few months. the liabilities of Swiss banks towards Indian holders were Swiss francs 1.965 billion ($2.7 billion) in 2009 and Swiss francs 2.4 billion (about $3 billion) in 2008. In the aftermath of the financial crisis that engulfed the West after the collapse of the Lehman Bank in the US in 2008, Swiss private banks, particularly their largest bank UBS, had suffered huge losses. Subsequently, there were substantial withdrawals of funds from Swiss banks. 20) IndiGo Hires 35 Pilots from KF-TNN July 18 Budget carrier IndiGo has hired 35 pilots from rival Kingfisher Airlines over the past six to eight months, sources told ET. Gurgaon-based IndiGo, which kicked off its expansion plans with one of the largest aircraft orders in the industry earlier this year, is looking to hire aggressively. At least half of them are from Kingfisher ATR fleet (turboprop aircraft with 60-70 seats capacity). Indias aviation sector does not allow poaching and pilots must serve a sixmonth notice to their employer before moving on to a new assignment. But industry sources said airlines have been cross hiring over the past one year, as some airlines, such as Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher, are expanding slowly while some struggling ones, such as Air India, have pilots scouting for jobs. Such pilots serve as a good resource for the fast-growing domestic aviation sector that is grappling with a shortage of trained pilots.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
21) FB vs Google Plus tech wars: Why Facebook should begin to worry-ET 17 July Google, the most popular Web site on earth, is worried about the second most popular site. That, of course, would be Facebook. Why else would Google keep trying, over and over again, to create a social network of the same type? At first, Google+ looks like a shameless Facebook duplicate, but there's one towering, brilliant difference: Circles. On Google+, you put the people of your life's different social circles into - well, into Circles. That is, groups or Categories. You drag each contact into an on-screen circle, where they tumble into place. You can drag a person into more than one circle. From now on, every time you share something - a news item, a thought, a photo, a chat invitation -you can specify exactly which Circles receive it. In one fell swoop, Google has solved the layers-of-privacy problem that has dogged Facebook for years. Google+ has a few more attractions, though, besides this clever privacy control feature. There's Sparks, which is like a personal press-clipping service (and akin to Google Alerts). 22) Mercedes Tiny Smart Takes on Big Boys in China-TNN 20 July Dong Han is an ideal customer for Mercedes Benz's booming car sales in China. A 27year-old advertising agent with a double-income household and no children, she's upwardly mobile and highly conscious of style. But it's not Mercedes' SLK sports car or top-end S class that strikes her fancy. Like a fast-growing number of affluent, hip Chinese, Dong is enamored with Daimler's other brand, Smart, the tiny but nimble, colorful two-seater that looks almost more toy than transport. Smart, along with the compact A class and B class, is part of Merc's drive to transform itself from a luxury car maker into a full-range producer. The division tallied 5,440 sales in China in the first half of this year, surpassing its entire 2010 total, and challenging sales in US, which have stalled after a promising start. 23) Lupin Looking for Buyers to Sell its Unit in India- Bloomberg 19 July Lupin, the worlds largest tuberculosis drug maker, is considering selling its unit that markets drugs in India, said two people with knowledge of the matter. Founding shareholders who own a combined 47% of the Mumbai-based company have started the process of finding a buyer for the operations. The Indian business may be worth at least $1 billion, one person said. 57.1 billion of revenue in the year ended March 31, may help finance investments in more profitable markets overseas. Lupin is the fifth-largest supplier of generic drugs in the US based on prescriptions and US sales jumped 27% to. 20.5 billion last year. Lupin said it has no plans to sell its domestic operations. By the start of the next decade, Indias drug sales will be the largest after the US, Japan and China, helped by rising household incomes, population growth and improved health insurance coverage. 24) Daimler to Launch Finance Co Next Week to Lift Sales- TOI 15 July German luxury car and commercial vehicle-maker Daimler will launch its non-banking financial business, or NBFC, early next week to boost sales of its cars and commercial vehicles. Siddhartha Nair, former executive with Daimlers corporate headquarters in Germany, will head Mercedes Benz Financial Services. The company, with an initial investment of $50 million, will support the sales of Mercedes-Benz cars and, subsequently, Daimler trucks in the country. Bharat Benz is the truck arm in India. Initially, the financial services arm will provide for the Mercedes Benz passenger car business which will be followed by Daimler trucks sometime next year. With business activities in over 40 countries, Daimler Financial Services (DFS) is one of the leading captive automotive financial services companies in the world. 25) Huawei may Bag $120-m Aircel Deal- ET 16 July Chinas Huawei is in advanced talks to land a four-circle managed services (MS) contract valued in excess of $120 million from the countrys fifth largest mobile phone company, Aircel, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told ET. Indications are the Chinese telecom gear maker may ink a three-year MS deal for handling the gamut of network management, planning and maintenance of Aircels GSM networks in Maharashtra & Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala circles. Huawei will also be responsible for the upkeep of key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs). Deal details remain under wraps but people familiar with the talks said the multi-year contract was likely to be benchmarked at roughly $15-20 million a year per circle, a senior executive familiar with the matter told ET.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
26) Sachin Tendulkar on Coca-Cola cans as part of 100th century celebrations-ET 18 July The world's largest beverages brand plans a grand tribute to Sachin Tendulkar who is one century short of becoming the first batsman to score 100 international centuries: launch some 6.5 million special Coca-Cola cans with pictures of the master batsman. The move will help the cola giant make the most out of its Rs 12-15-crore endorsement deal with Tendulkar signed early this year, and make up for not leveraging the association during the Cricket World Cup that India won. Coca-Cola is printing the cricketing legend's pictures along with statistics of his select 10 centuries on about 6.5 million cans of brand Coke to celebrate Tendulkar's hundredth international century which everyone expects in England, where India will play four tests and five one-day internationals starting July 21. 27) Bombs explode at rush hour in Mumbais crowded business areas TOI 14 July Repeatedly hitmore than ten timessince 1993, citizens of Indias financial capital are soft targets for terror outfits. Mumbaikars watched with impotent rage and sorrow as three explosions shook the city between 6.54pm and 7.06pm on Wednesday. People vented their anger at the Mumbai police who seem to be more interested in harassing innocent patrons at a pub. They also vented agear at politicians for their empty rhetoric and at the unknown faces behind yet another terror attack. India Inc showed its resilience as business and corporate heads expressed shock, but followed up with assurances that Indias economy will not be affected. Former city police commissioner M N Singh said Mumbai has a strong network of Indian Mujahideen and SIMI. While the police upgraded its infrastructure and equipment after 26/11 attack, the real focus should be on how to curb radicalisation of youth from the minority community. 28) Decade of low literacy growth slows down economic growth- ET 15 July The 2011 census shows that literacy in the country is up from 65% in 2001 to 74% in 2011. Many have hailed that as good news: the right direction, a substantial increase. It is completely agreed that it is the right direction, but we need to ask ourselves whether the increase is really substantial enough - enough in terms of the return on all the efforts being put behind education, enough in terms of meeting our economic growth goals and enough in terms of moving us towards a society where everyone is literate. In fact, the rate of growth of literacy has slowed down from the last decade to this decade, and this has serious implications on how we need to go forward. 29) Don't corrupt our people, Antony tells defence companies- TOI 14 July After eliminating American, Russian & Swedish cos from race for supplying 126 fighter aircrafts, Defense Minister AK Antony warned defence companies, not to try to corrupt our people. He also said that government would not hesitate to take extreme steps if it detects corruption in the defence acquisition process. Antony said the defence acquisition process in India is not propelled by political decisions. Up to the trial stage, technical soundness of a product will determine whether it will remain in race and after that it is the price which will determine its ultimate selection for procurement, he said. The primary objective must be to "stay competitive and yet remain cost efficient, as well as technologically and strategically reliable", he said. For this to happen, defence industrialization will have to be accelerated. He also said the private sector will have to play a bigger role in collaboration with the public sector. 30) Rocked by Explosion, Diamond Traders may Shift to New Bourse- TOI 15 July Rocked by explosion, 50% diamond traders to shift to Bharat Diamond Bourse, Bandra, which is like a fortress. Foreign buyers from the US, Japan, Hong Kong and Belgium are likely to view Wednesdays tragic bomb blasts with greater trepidation and may postpone forthcoming visits by a few weeks. After Wednesday, there is a growing feeling that a majority of the trade may prefer to hasten their imminent relocation to Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), 15 km away in suburban Bandra, to alleviate fears of overseas clients and for better security of the trade. Overseas clients of Indian diamond merchants come here to buy cut and polished diamonds "Nonetheless, we will speed up the process of moving to BDB. By Diwali, I expect 50-70% of trade to shift to the new premises. Each (trader) was waiting for the other to movenow I think we will witness a more concerted exodus."

CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES
Head Quarters: Mumbai Revenue: $8.2 billion Company Statistics: A subsidiary of Indian multinational conglomerate, the Tata Group, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an IT services, business solutions and outsourcing company offering a consulting-led integrated portfolio of IT and IT-enabled services to global businesses, delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model. TCS has over 198,500 IT consultants in 42 countries and more than 142 branches across the globe. As on March 31, 2011, TCS had a total of 54 subsidiaries. Key People: Ratan Tata (Chairman); N Chandrasekaran (Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director) TCS the IT Pioneer: Founded by JRD Tata in 1968, TCS began as the "Tata Computer Centre" for the Tata Group. Faqir Chand Kohli, an Indian businessman often referred to as the "Father of the Indian Software Industry" was the first General Manager of TCS. In its early days, TCS, with a staff of 10 consultants and 200 operators, undertook IT assignments with other Tata Group companies like managing the punch card operations of Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO). In 1969, TCS bagged the first banking software project - the Inter Bank Reconciliation System (IBRS) from the Central Bank of India (CBI). Its successful implementation enabled TCS to get similar orders from 14 other banks. In the early 1970s, TCS started exporting its services with its first offshore client in 1974. TCS's first international order came from business computer manufacturers Burroughs. TCS wrote code for the Burroughs machines for several US-based clients. In 1979, TCS delivered an electronic depository and trading system called SECOM for SIS SegaInterSettle, Switzerland, one of the most complex projects undertaken by an Indian IT company. In late 1998, the company decided to concentrate on new revenue opportunities including Y2K and Euro conversion. A major area of focus in the late 1990s was e-business. All TCS products and platforms were webenabled. It also decided to specialize in e-business consulting offering ebusiness solutions in various functional processes including customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), business intelligence and management information systems (MIS). TCS Today: In 2008, the company went through an internal restructuring exercise to make the organization more responsive. Described by the media as India's best kept secret, a serious challenge faced by the company was the business process outsourcing (BPO) backlash in the US. Today it is the largest provider of information technology services in Asia and second largest provider of business process outsourcing services in India. It has strategic partnerships (partnerships with major technology players) with Cisco, Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, RIM, SAP, Sun and Xerox. It has solutions partnerships (partnerships with niche players) with Adobe, Red Hat, SAS, Symantec, TIBCO and Universal KUBE Inc. INTELLIGENCE BYTES: TCS was the country's first infotech company to record a turnover in excess of $1 billion. On 9 August 2004, TCS became a publicly listed company, much later than its rivals, Infosys, Wipro and Mahindra Satyam. TCS introduced the concept of Offshore Development Centres, where TCS engineers based in India worked on projects for clients abroad and saved costs for both TCS and its clients. TCS pioneered several best practices in the Indian IT industry, following a unique factory approach in managing its functions including product development, creating new infrastructure and human resource management. TCS set up India's first software research and development centre, the Tata Research Development and Design Center (TRDDC) in Pune in 1981. TCS entered into an agreement with Ferrari in December 2008, for an enhanced technology and marketing partnership. As part of the deal, the Tata logo was displayed on the Ferrari F1 car for the 2009 Formula 1 season. In 2011, the company entered the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) market with cloud-based offerings.

FINANCE NEWS
1. Banks not in favour of savings rate deregulation now Reuters 14 July Banks are not in favour of Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) proposal to deregulate savings deposit rate--the only regulated one in the system now--citing the current volatile market environment. Savings deposits that are a source of low-cost funds for banks form 22% of banks' total deposit base. Already banks' cost of funds have gone up after the RBI mandated that banks calculate interest paid on savings deposits on a daily basis and later in May raised rates on such deposits to 4%. Bankers feel if the savings deposit rate has to be deregulated, they must be allowed to charge for services provided like ATMs, fund transfers & cheque books as banks have witnessed their credit growth easing due to the rise in interest rates, and higher deposit rates would add to the pressure on margins. While established banks are against it, savings rate deregulation would have helped newer banks to compete in the market & increase their share of savings deposit by offering more attractive rates. 2. EPFO names SBI, I-Sec, HSBC & Reliance Capital to manage its Rs 3.5-lakh-cr fund ET 15 July State bank of India, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership (I-Sec PD), Reliance Capital and HSBC Asset Management Company have been appointed as fund managers for the Employee's Provident Fund Organizations (EPFO) more than 3-lakh- crore corpus for the next 3 years. The four asset management companies were chosen by the Central Board of Trustees-the EPFO's top decision making body-out of five shortlisted by the EPFO's financial advisory committee. ICICI Prudential AMC, the 5th contender, was dropped despite being the best performing fund manager on account of its fees being higher than others. The performance of the fund managers will be reviewed after one year by the CBT and if they do not come up to expectations, they could be dropped. The EPFO had appointed multiple fund managers for the first time in July 2008 for earning better returns on deposits for its 4.72 crore subscribers. The term of the four fund managers, ICICI Prudential AMC, HSBC AMC, Reliance Capital and SBI expired on March 31 2011. 3. Banks get more spend of your card Financial Express 14 July In 2010-11, transactions through credit cards in the country went up by 22.15% to touch Rs 75,515.68 crore in value. In 2006-2008, banks went in for aggressive competition launching a new credit card almost day, leading to worsening credit quality & delinquency rates on cards shot up to almost 10%. Banks were then forced to cancel cards and cut credit limits, shifting focus to debit cards and secured loans. Banks have again started marketing their cards aggressively. With income levels rising, consumer spends on credit cards have also started rising. Debit card transactions considered safer for both banks and customers went up by 46.46% in the last fiscal to Rs 38,691.88 crore. The latest jump in debit and credit card transactions signals a continuation of the growth observed in the last fiscal. Debit card use is expected to rise sharply as Indian customers generally prefer to be safe and cautious while dealing with plastic money. 4. Bank can't just cancel credit card: Court Financial Express 14 July A District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum bench held ICICI Bank guilty of deficiency in service and criticized the bank for misbehaviour by its staff with the consumer. The order came on a complaint filed by Delhi resident G L Aggarwal, who had tried to make a payment at a petrol pump, when the card was rejected by the swiping machine indicating that the card was blocked. On contacting the customer care, the banking officer used derogatory language. The forum said the bank was bound to inform the consumer before blocking the card. It noted that the bank had put the consumer in an embarrassing situation which caused him mental agony and harassment and awarded a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the complainant. 5. NPAs highest in smallest home loan bracket Business Standard 13 July High inflation and the sharp rise in interest rates by banks after the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary tightening has taken a toll on small borrowers ability to repay loans. According to recent finance ministry data that captures the performance of public sector banks, instances of home loan defaults contributing to gross non-performing assets (NPAs) was the highest in the category of loans up to Rs 2 lakh. Since borrowers in this category primarily belong to the low-income group, the rise in rates has hurt their repayment ability, said a senior State Bank of India official. RBI has increased policy rates 10 times in the last 15 months. The substantial rise in monthly instalments, coupled with inflation, lead to an erosion in repayment capacity. Instances of defaults were lower in case of loans in the higher brackets like Rs 5-10 lakh and above Rs 25 lakh loans. Loans of above Rs 25 lakh are taken by borrowers who are salaried employees or run established businesses, indicating a greater ability to absorb a rise in easy monthly instalments.

6. Mobile transactions to soar in India: BCG Business Standard 14 July Payments and banking transactions through mobile phones in India are expected to touch $350 billion (Rs 1,560 crore) by 2015, according to The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm. This will provide banks, telecom operators, device makers and service providers an opportunity to earn fee income of $4.5bn. It is far less costly to offer banking and payment services using mobile technology than to build new (bank) branches in a country that, outside of major cities, is still largely rural, BCG said in its study, Digital India The rush to mobile money: madness or masterstroke?. While State Bank of India has joined hands with Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, has formed a partnership with Vodafone for mobile banking ventures. Axis Bank and Idea Cellular have also set up a similar venture. Nokia recently teamed with Union Bank of India and Obopay to offer mobile banking services. 7. RBI asks banks to open 25% new branches in unbanked rural areas ET 15 July The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) advised banks, while preparing their annual branch expansion plan, to allocate at least 25% of the total number of branches proposed to be opened during a year in unbanked rural centres. The authorization for branches in Tier 1 and Tier 2 centres will now factor in whether at least 25%, of total number of branches to be opened, are in unbanked rural areas. Unbanked rural centres (Tier 5 and Tier 6 centres) are those that do not have a brick and mortar structure of any commercial bank. At present, banks are permitted to open branches in Tier 3 to Tier 6 centres (having population up to 49,999 as per census 2001) without prior permission from the RBI. However, opening branches in Tier 1 and Tier 2 centres (with population 50,000 and above) require prior permission of the RBI except in north eastern states and Sikkim. 8. Finance ministry bars SEZ developers from selling controlling stake in their ventures ET 16 July In a move to prevent special economic zones (SEZs) from turning into real estate projects, the finance ministry has barred SEZ developers from selling controlling stake in their ventures. The SEZ law prohibits sale of land but some developers have tried to offload controlling stake in their ventures, forcing the finance ministry to take up the issue. SEZs, which were envisaged as enclaves of export infrastructure excellence, enjoy substantial tax concessions from the government. But dilutions in tax benefits over the years have made them less attractive for developers. The latest restrictions, which deny the developers an exit option, would add to their woes. Diversion of land acquired for industrial use to residential projects would become increasingly difficult after the Supreme Court took strong exception to such change in land use in the case of Noida Extension where the court has asked that land such acquired be returned to the farmers from whom it was purchased. 9. Citi has $22 bn exposure to five crisis-hit European nations ET 17 July Banking major Citigroup, which fought the financial meltdown with American taxpayers' money, has exposure of at least $22 billion to five European nations -Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain (GIIPS)-- grappling with debt woes. The debt turmoil in all these five nations has raised alarming concerns for the overall health of global economy. Among them, Greece and Portugal are fighting severe financial crisis, which even threatens to result in sovereign defaults. Citi's $13 billion exposure includes $2 billion worth assets held in various trading portfolios that are marked-to-market daily. According to Citi, it also has a $9 billion unfunded exposure, primarily to multinational corporations which are headquartered in GIIPS countries. Citi's latest quarterly profit of $3.34 billion came on the back of lower credit costs and improved showing in investment banking segment. 10. Banks set goals for their branches to sell equity mutual funds ET 19 July Bank managements have set aggressive sales targets for their branches across the country to sell equity SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) schemes. State Bank of India plans to sell 25 lakh SIP units this financial year ending March 31, 2012. Axis Bank intends to sell 5 lakh SIP units. Banks including Punjab National Bank and Union Bank, which partly own mutual funds, are also selling schemes through their extensive branch network. This will boost banks' fee income, which includes commission from selling mutual funds and insurance. Rather than lump sum investments, distributing SIPs is relatively risk-free and easy to sell. Banks' focus to sell mutual fund schemes will be a huge relief to the asset management industry that has been reeling under the impact of a slew of regulations in the past two years. In August 2009, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) banned mutual funds from charging investors to pay distributors, resulting in distributors selling fewer equity schemes as they claimed marketing these products were no longer viable for them.

11. Wall Street Journal attacks News Corp. critics ET 18 July The News Corp-owned Wall Street Journal blasted critics for double standards and insisted that the phone-tapping scandal in Britain should not tarnish all of Rupert Murdoch's media empire. The powerful Journal, the flagship of Murdoch's US print operations, warned against any US investigation of News Corp. under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, designed to halt the bribing of foreign officials. Applying this standard against British tabloids could turn payments made as part of traditional news-gathering into criminal acts. The newspaper, owned by Dow Jones & Co, taken over by News Corp. four years ago, accused politicians and competitors of using the phone-hacking years ago at a British corner of News Corp. to assail the Journal, and perhaps injure press freedom as well. The editorial pushed blame for the scandal onto British police, British politicians and British media in general for "decades" of "buying scoops and digging up dirt on the famous." 12. Additional equity infusion of Rs 1,200 crore for Air India ET 19 July More funds for cash-strapped Air India are on the anvil with the Group of Ministers (GoM) approving in-principle an additional equity infusion of Rs 1,200 crore. The GoM also granted approval for payment of Rs 532 crore for operating VVIP and rescue flights for the government and formation of strategic business units for ground handling. Against the backdrop of the state-owned airline's massive cumulative loss and debt burden of about Rs 67,000 crore, the GoM headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had a meeting and discussed finance issues confronting the ailing carrier. Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav said the GoM also asked the finance committee to prepare a note on Air India's turnaround plan. The national carrier has to repay a whopping Rs 20,415 crore worth of loans before the end of this fiscal year. 13. Barclays to wind up its medium and small business division ET 20 July Barclays, the UK's second-largest bank, plans to wind up its medium and small business division in India as cross-selling of investment banking and normal banking was not developing as expected. The business that gobbled quite a bit of capital is generating a meagre revenue stream for the investment banking divisions. In 2009-10, Barclays reported a net loss of Rs 550 crore, against a net profit of Rs 30 crore in the previous year. Barclays is restructuring its corporate finance business, scouting for buyers for its credit card business and has trimmed its retail portfolio "following a sharp rise in delinquencies in 200809," according to rating agency Crisil's report about the bank. The bank will sharpen its focus on India's large corporates, multinationals and financial institutions, who can benefit the most from the Barclays' complete suite of products and its international reach and presence. 14. Cashless hospital claims deadlock ends ET 20 July The deadlock on cashless hospital claims has ended with health insurance firms and all big hospitals, except Apollo Hospitals, agreeing on a revised set of tariffs for 42 common procedures. The development brings relief to many individual policyholders whose cashless payment facility at big hospitals had been suspended last year following allegations by the insurers that hospitals were overbilling policyholders. Four public-sector insurance firms - New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance Company - had withdrawn cashless treatment facility at large hospitals in July last year, alleging that their business had become unviable as hospitals were overbilling policyholders who had opted for the cashless payment route. Under the new terms, insurers have placed hospitals under five categories, based on parameters of quality, specialty and accreditation, among others and fixed different tariffs for hospitals across the categories. 15. Vodafone to list in India soon Financial Express 20 July The countrys second largest GSM operator Vodafone plans to list in India soon and the timing will depend on market conditions, as per the CEO and MD of the company, Marten Pieters. The statement is significant since Vodafones 33% JV partner, the Essar Group, is exiting for $5.6 billion. Once the transaction gets completed, Vodafones stake in the company would increase to 75%, 1% above the 74% foreign direct investment cap for the sector. The company has said it would either induct an Indian partner or go for a listing to pare its equity within the 74% cap. Currently, among the top mobile operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular are already listed. With tariffs at rock bottom rates and stagnant revenues, funds would be needed by operators to expand their operations and take on growing competition. Vodafone has already invested $23 billion in the country, including $12 billion for acquisition of the Hutchison stake.