GDP growth at Fiscal Year 2009-10: 7.4 per cent
According to the estimates by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Indian economy has registered a growth of 7.4% in Fiscal Year 2009-10 (exceeding the government forecast of 7.2%). The growth is driven by robust performance of the manufacturing sector on the back of government and consumer spending. According to government data, the manufacturing sector witnessed a growth of 16.3% in January-March 2010, from a year earlier. The farm output rose at an annual rate of 0.7% during the quarter on the back of a good winter harvest. The government estimates the economy to grow at a rate of 8.5 per cent in 2010-11 driven by better farm output and a global recovery.
Rising consumer demand sees more private equity deals: E&Y
The Indian consumer sector is witnessing heightened levels of interest from both private equity (PE) and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the back of rise in consumer demand in India, according to an Ernst & Young (E&Y) transactions report.
PE investment rises over 3-fold in Jan-April 2010
Investment by private equity (PE) companies rose over three-fold during January-April this year as compared to the same period last year. The comparative figures are $3,044 million (Rs 14,521 crore) and $837 million (Rs 3,993 crore). These investments were driven by energy and healthcare services sectors. The number of deals rose from 73 to 92, shows data compiled by Venture Intelligence.
Industrial output grows by 13.5 per cent in March 2010
The industrial output posted a robust expansion of 13.5 per cent in March 2010, maintaining its double-digit growth for the sixth consecutive month making the policymakers and analysts to be on an optimistic note about the future. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the financial year 2009-10, stood at 10.4 per cent as against 2.8 per cent in 2008-09. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission hoped that the factory output would close 2010-11 with a double-digit.
India's April car sales rise 39.5%, best in a decade
Sales figure for the month of April 2010 are out and the growth registered by the automotive industry in various segments is impressive. Passenger vehicles sales in April 2010 grew by 33.93% to 182,181 units, reports Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The growth within this segment was largely driven by a 39.48% growth witnessed in passenger car sales. Commercial Vehicles segment recorded a significant growth of 64.49% at 49,086 over 29,842 in the same period last year. Three wheelers segment witnessed a sales increase of 20.41% over April 2009. Two wheeler segment also continued the growth trend registering an upswing of 22.07% at 855,670 compared with 700,987 in the corresponding period of last year. Scooters managed to make a comeback posting a sales increase of 52.63% compared with April 2009. Exports continue to grow stronger for the industry as overall exports posted a growth of 87.61% as reported by SIAM.
MCA to ease paid-up capital norms for firms
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has decided to relax the norms for companies to maintain minimum paid-up capital. The proposed scheme applies to companies, public and private, listed or unlisted, and even subsidiaries or Indian arms of foreign companies operating in India.
SEBI eases listing rules for SMEs
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed share-listing norms for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by allowing them to disclose their financial results every six months instead of three months, as is the norm for bigger companies. Companies listed on the SME exchange will not be required to send a full annual report to their shareholders and also need not publish their financial results as required in the main stock exchange.
Tamil Nadu government to automate irrigation, water flow
In a pioneering initiative, the water-short state of Tamil Nadu will be automating the operation of its canal system, irrigation assets and water bodies by using the latest technologies and developing an Enterprises Information Management System (EIMS). This is part of a five-year, $550-million (Rs 2,520-crore) World Bank project, sanctioned in 2008, to expand and revamp the state's irrigation systems and water bodies. The information technology part of the project is about $200 million (Rs 900 crore). This IT automation is meant to allow the state authorities to release and control the flow of irrigated water from a remote location, based on real-time demand of farmers across the state. Such automation of a water system is prevalent in Australia and parts of the US, but is a new concept elsewhere.
Banks on expansion spree as licensing norm eased
Banks double expansion plans after RBI's decision to allow them to open branches in Tier-III to VI cities without prior permission. An easing of the requirement to take the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) permission for opening new bank branches has led to a substantial rise in their number. In December 2009, RBI allowed domestic scheduled commercial banks (other than regional rural banks) to open branches in Tier-III to Tier-VI centres (with population up to 49,999) without prior permission. The impact: Banks plan to open almost double the number of branches this year, compared to last year.
SBI forms JV for POS terminals
State Bank of India has selected a consortium of Visa International and Elavon as partners for a joint venture, which will set up six lakh point of sales terminals - swipe machines for registering payments through credit and debit cards. The partners have not disclosed details of the deal size.

Cabinet nod for 12 highway projects
The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure on Thursday approved expansion of 12 National Highway projects and development of a multi-purpose berth at Paradip Port at a total cost of around Rs 14,000 crore. Some of the major projects approved included the four-laning of the 174-km long Nagpur-Betul section of NH 89 in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Cabinet also approved the implementation of two laning of Dindigul-Theni section of NH45 and Theni Kumli section of NH 220 and the six laning of 59.87 km long Hosur-Krishnagiri section of NH-7 in the Tamil Nadu. The Cabinet also approved a proposal to build multipurpose berth to handle clean cargo including containers at Paradip Port on BOT basis.
India to get first runway on a river
An engineering marvel is getting ready at the Chennai airport, a runway bridge across the Adyar River that can even take the weight of an A380 aircraft. The bridge is being built so that the secondary runway can be extended over the bridge to the other side of the river. The country's first bridge over which a runway will be laid, will be supported by 477 pillars. Around 2,440 pre-stressed concrete girders will be placed over the pillars to make it an integrated structure. The bridge will be 200m long across the river and 462m wide. About 50% of the work on the bridge has been completed. Airports Authority of India (AAI) is hoping to complete the works by November this year.

IT / Telecom / Biotech News
Private equity firms clinch deals worth $225 million in IT-BPO fields
The Private Equity (PE) funds snapped up deals worth over $225 million in the IT and BPO space between January and April, more than double the levels seen the same time last year, according to data by Grant Thornton. The deal volumes too have surged - 19 deals were reported this year compared to 14 deals in the corresponding period during the previous year.
Government relaxes work visa norms for IT companies
In A major relief to the over $60-billion IT industry, the government has relaxed employment visa norms for the sector, allowing companies to hire foreign nationals as per their requirements, effectively removing the ceiling of 20 such employees per company. The ministry of external affairs has circulated new guidelines to all missions abroad informing them of the relaxation in procedures for information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS) companies.
European bloc will remain major outsourcing market: Nasscom
Germany is the largest IT market in the pack, purchasing over $36 billion worth of IT services, followed by Switzerland ($7 billion) and Austria ($3 billion). Indian IT industry's revenue from Germany, Austria and Switzerland could increase four fold to $10 billion by 2020, as potential clients mull nearshore and offshore options to overcome cost pressures and resource crunch, a report by Nasscom said. Large Indian tech vendors such as TCS and Infosys currently offer application development, infrastructure services, engineering services, production support, and BPO services to clients in the region, although Indian industry's total revenue from this market has been less than $2.6 billion. TCS, for instance, serves 65 German and Austrian companies.
India can become global competency centre for cloud services'
Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft, stated that India will see a surge in cloud computing services, driving growth in domestic IT usage, besides supporting companies globally in their transition in this sphere.
HCL bags $500-mn IT outsourcing deal from Merck
India's fifth-largest IT services company HCL Technologies on Tuesday bagged a $500-million strategic IT outsourcing contract from the US-based Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD). The pact with one of the largest drug makers in the world may indicate the return of the large-ticket deals in the Indian IT sector.
Wind River mulls R&D centre
California-based device software optimisation (DSO) provider Wind River Systems, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation in July 2009, is planning to set up a research and development (R&D) centre in India to focus on innovation to its product line.
SAP acquires Sybase for $5.8 billion
SAP's $5.8-billion acquisition of Sybase is designed primarily to enable the former to offer its business applications for people on the move. Sybase brings a powerful mobile platform that is widely used to deliver applications on smart phones and other mobile devices.
Nokia-Siemens to source components from India
Telecommunication equipment major Nokia Siemens is planning to source components worth Euro 500 million, an increase of around 50 per cent compared to last year. Meanwhile, the company has developed renewable energy solutions for telecoms operators. The solution would help the operators to handle frequent power cuts in rural parts of India and will reduce the operating cost, according company's senior official.
Unimark Remedies bets big on biocatalysis technology
Bulk drug maker Unimark Remedies is eying an 8-10 per cent share of the global market for at least three drugs that are produced through the biocatalysis route, a greener, cleaner, and more economic way to manufacturing chiral drugs, by 2013-14 when these drugs become generic. The company has set up the first of its kind Biotechnology Center in the country at its Bavla site near Ahmedabad that is dedicated to the research and development of recombinant biocatalysts with an investment of Rs 10 crore.

Corporate News
DHL Global setting up free trade warehousing zone
DHL Global Forwarding, the freight forwarding division of the leading global logistics player DHL International GmbH, will set up India's first free-trade warehousing zone, at an investment estimated at US$ 10 million (around Rs 47 crore) at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
Automotive research body inks pact with Dutch company DSM Engineering
DSM of the Netherlands and Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) have entered into an alliance to develop new lighter materials that could substitute metals in the automotive industry and help auto components shed weight.
Nissan starts production of compact car Micra
Nissan Motor India announced the start of production of its 'Made-in-India' compact car (hatchback) Nissan Micra at its manufacturing plant at Oragadam, near Chennai.
Avantha acquires US healthcare BPO firm
Gautum Thapar's Avantha Group on Wednesday announced that it had acquired US (Florida)-based Pyramid Healthcare Solutions in a deal that values it at $20 million (Rs 92.54 crore). Avantha has paid $14.5 million upfront and the balance will be paid after two years for a 100 per cent stake in Pyramid.
Coal & Oil enters into shipping contract with Korean firm
The $600 Million Coal and Oil has entered into a long-term shipping agreement with $5 billion Korean company STX Pan Ocean to carry coal for Coastal Energen. The ten-year-contract will commence from 2012 and STX Pan Ocean is in the process of placing new building ship orders for three to four geared ‘kamsarmax' bulkers (82000 DWT) to service the business. The total value of the ships is estimated to be around $140-150 million.
Cinepolis of Mexico to invest (US$ 350 million)
Cinepolis, a Mexico-based multiplex operator, is looking at expanding its footprint in India. The company started operations in India last year and has planned to invest $350 million (Rs 1,600 crore) in the next five years to operate 500 screens in 40 cities. Founded in 1971 in Mexico, it is the world's fifth largest movie theatre circuit, operating 2,257 screens across 240 cinemas in six countries. The company operates its screens under four brands that span segments. It has a global workforce of 15,190 people.
ArcelorMittal plans power venture in India
ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steel producer, has planned a foray into power generation in India. This will be the L N Mittal-promoted group's second project in the energy sector; it has 49 per cent equity in HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd that is implementing a petroleum refinery project in Bhatinda, Punjab.