BJP Leader promising Good governance

BJP leader Mr LK Advani kicked off his election campaign here promising good governance, security and recovery of the black money stashed in Swiss banks. While most of the other speakers blasted Mr Naveen Patnaik, terming him as a betrayer and criticised him for his inability to learn Oriya even after a decade, Mr Advani said that the break up in the 11-year-old alliance had provided a challenge as well as an opportunity to the BJP. "Every crisis creates both dangers and opportunities," he said while referring to Chinese script wherein crisis has two characters ~ danger and opportunity. Drawing parallels from the past, he said that the BJP was thrown out of the erstwhile Janata Party formation and it had grabbed the opportunity to grow. "Here the BJD has unwittingly provided us with an opportunity once again," he said.

"Coalition politics and alliances had been foreseen by Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee way back in 1952 itself," he said while explaining how the Jan Sangh with only three seats in parliament had formed a national parliamentary group of 31 members. Even in those days Orissa’s Ganatantra Parishad was represented. Greeting the people of Orissa on the eve of statehood day, Mr Advani said that it was a welcome coincidence that he was here for the birthday celebrations of the state. The BJP leader went on to dwell on the glorious history of Orissa and its immense potential.
Asserting that the BJP had a vision and a blueprint for progress and development, good governance and security of the nation, Mr Advani referred to the IT Vision developed by his party. "Every citizen will have an identity card, a National Registration of citizens will be done to end infiltration," he said. The BJP leader took a dig at the Congress saying that the UPA government had drawn sharp criticism from the Supreme Court on the issue of illegal immigration. He assured that if the BJP led NDA was voted to power it will establish a special cell in the ministry of tourism to develop and connect far flung untapped tourist spots. "Religious tourism or pilgrims from all over the world and belonging to all faiths need to be provided with facilities and this special cell will cater to their requirements," he said
Significantly, he spoke of the Golden quadrangle project initiated during theNDA regime, the PMGSY for rural connectivity ete before reviving the inter-linking of rivers project conceived by during the NDA regime. "It will go a long way to solve the problems of drought and floods," he said.
He iterated his appeal to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to initiate steps for disclosure of Indian account holders who had stashed huge amounts in Swiss Banks. "The PM should take up the issue in the G-20 Summit," he said, explaining how the USA had exerted pressure on the Swiss to reveal names of its nationals. Top BJP leaders including state president Mr Suresh Pujari, Mr Samir Dey, Mr Biswabhusan Harichandan and others spoke but it was Mr Anadi Sahu and Mr Bijay Mohapatra, two new recruits and seasoned campaigners who drew maximum cheers with their sharp attack on Mr Patnaik and the BJD.
Addressing an election meeting at Paikamal in Bargarh district, Mr Advani came down heavily on the UPA government on the economic front. "Price rise continues to take a toll on the common man despite tall claims of the UPA government on low rate of inflation," he said.
He assured the people of the backward region that if NDA government comes to power, Padmapur sub-division of Bargarh district would be included under KBK programme for its social and economic uplift. State president of BJP Mr Suresh Pujari, Mrs Radharani Panda BJP candidate from Bargarh parliament constituency, Mr Pradip Purohit the party candidate from Padmapur Assembly seat, Mr Aswini Sarangi also addressed the gathering.

Source : www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=248980

Growth in World tourism - 2009

Reservations in the first two months of 2009 in world scale decreased with 18% compared to the same period last year. The main decrease in the percentage comes from the European countries and America. There is a positive trend only in countries in Middle East and Asian ones, which tourism is developing very well. Data was presented at a meeting of World Tourism Organization in Baku. This is what charwoman of State Agency for Tourism Anelia Krushkova told FOCUS News Agency. It is expected “growth” in world tourism to be between 0 and -1% in 2009. Biggest plus for Bulgaria at the moment is the price of the service and bind of service quality and the price. The result is attractive price at the basis of the service provided, Anelia Krushkova pointed. Tourism condition as well as the measures, which were taken for decreasing reduction of the number of tourists were considered at a meeting of World Tourism Organization in Baku.

Source : www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n176142

Zero gold import during March -domestic demand

Gold imports fell to zero for the second month in a row in March, owing to absence of demand in the domestic market following highgold prices, which are still ruling over Rs 15,000 per 10 grams level."Gold import during March is zero due to lack of demand because of high prices. Unless the prices goes down, there will be hardly any imports," Bombay Bullion Association Director Suresh Hundia told PTI.Imports during March 2008 stood at 21 tonnes. The total imports during January-March 2009 were at 1.8 tonnes as compared to 61 tonnes a year ago.When asked if festive occasions like 'Akshaya Tritiya' - a festival which is considered auspicious to buy gold - will boost demand, Hundia said, it all depends on the prices. "To buy gold you need money and unless the prices are favourable there will be no demand," he pointed out."In the spot market, if the prices goes down below Rs 14,900 per 10 grams level, then there is every chance that it might slide to Rs 13,500 per 10 grams level in April," Satsangi said.Gold prices in the domestic spot market were ruling at Rs 15,100 per 10 grams today, while in the international market it was at 918 dollars an ounce (28.34 grams).Brokerage firm SMC Global Vice-President Rajesh Jain opined that the gradual recovery seen in the equity market might prove negative for gold."If gold prices goes down USD 900 an ounce level then correction will definitely take place," he said.Most likely prices will dip during April and it will rule at Rs 14,000-14,500 per 10 grams level in the domestic spot market and in the global markets it may rule at USD 830 an ounce, he added.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com/Zero-gold-imports-in-March-due-to-sluggish-domestic-demand/articleshow/4339846.cms

Laxman is the only player in the top 20 - upward movement,

Riding on the match-saving hundred against New Zealand in the second cricket Test, Indian batsman VVS Laxman today returned to the top-20 of the ICC Rankings, up six places to 15th in the latest list. In the rankings for Test bowlers, Indian pacer Ishant Sharma`s 3-95 in the drawn match helped him leapfrog Jacques Kallis of South Africa, Pakistan`s Danish Kaneria and England`s Monty Panesar to a career-best 17th spot. Laxman struck a fighting unconquered century that helped India salvage a draw in the second Test against New Zealand in Napier yesterday. The stylish right-hander followed up his 76 in India`s 305 all out in the first innings with an unbeaten 124 as the tourists finished 476-4 after being forced to follow on. After his excellent performances with the bat, Laxman jumped six places to put himself in 15th position, just behind Sachin Tendulkar, who contributed 49 and 64 in the match, the ICC said in a statement.
Opener Gautam Gambhir was the highest-ranked India batsman in fifth place and his knock of 137 in the second innings has not only strengthened his current position but has put him within striking distance of fourth-placed Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka.
While Laxman is the only player in the top 20 to make an upward movement, India`s stand-in captain Virender Sehwag is the only batsman in the top-20 who has slipped down the ladder. The opener has dropped two places to 17th position after scores of 34 and 22.
The table is still headed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies who leads Pakistan captain Younis Khan by a very small margin while Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is in third position. Sri Lanka`s iconic spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is the still the number-one ranked bowler with South Africa`s Dale Steyn in second spot and Mitchell Johnson of Australia in third place. In the ICC Test Championship table, India will retain its third position behind Australia and South Africa irrespective of how the Wellington Test pans out.
If India wins the match and the series 2-0, it will stay on 118 Ratings Points while New Zealand will also stay on 81 Ratings Points. However, if New Zealand turns the tables on India and wins the Test to square the series, India will slip to 115 Ratings Points while New Zealand will rise to 85 Ratings Points.

Source : cricket.zeenews.com/fullstory.aspx?nid=19053

IPL with a single captain - Shah Rukh

Sourav Ganguly reached Mumbai on Tuesday to discuss captaincy issues with the Kolkata Knight Riders team owner Shah Rukh Khan who has also invited coach John Buchanan.

A lot of speculations were made as to who would be the new captain of the Indian Premier League team KKR in the second season, especially after John Buchanan came up with his theory of ‘rotating captains’. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan said on Monday that his team will go ahead in the second season of the Indian Premier League with a single captain only and Sourav Ganguly is still the main man of the team. While walking the ramp in the Lakme Fashion Week, SRK said that Twenty20 is a new format of the game and there is always a room for innovation. However, KKR will sport only one captain in all the matches of the IPL 2 in South Africa, contrary to what coach John Buchanan had proposed a couple of days ago.
Buchanan came up with a theory of having ‘multiple captains’ in the team; one for fielding, one for batting, one for bowling and one for the toss as well. The concept created an outrage in the team’s home city, Kolkata, as it the idea seemed more of a conspiracy to dethrone Sourav Ganguly from the captaincy of the team.
Shah Rukh, however, nullified all arguments after he said that the ‘rotating captains’ theory will not be followed in South Africa and it will be only in case of some emergency that a stand-by captain kept. He also said that it is he who’ll be taking all the decision regarding the team and he has given no free-hand to anybody regarding any issues in the team.
“Like the film Chak De India, there can be just one ‘gunda’ (boss) in the team and that is me,” said SRK. He also added that, “There has never been anything anti-dada. We love him and all the decision will be made with his consent.”

Source : cricket.zeenews.com/fullstory.aspx?nid=19058

$ 50bln trade fund - Zoellick

World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced a $50 billion global trade liquidity program on Tuesday and urged G20 leaders to support the effort to reverse a sharp drop in trade due to the global economic crisis. In a Newsmaker speech at Reuters ahead of the Group of 20 summit in London, Zoellick said the World Bank expects world trade volumes to fall by 6 percent this year, the largest decline in 80 years. While he offered few details about the programme, which is being considered by the World Bank board later on Tuesday, Zoellick said the drop in world trade was exacerbated by a shortfall in trade credit, which allows exporters and importers to settle accounts.
"These public funds can be leveraged through a risk-sharing arrangement with major private sector partners, " Zoellick said.
Working with the World Trade Organization, the World Bank could also tap resources and the experience of national export credit agencies, he said. In updated forecasts, the World Bank now projects the global economy to contract 1.7 percent this year, the first decline since World War Two, Zoellick said. Previously, the poverty-fighting institution said the world economy would likely shrink somewhere between 1 and 2 percent this year. Growth in developing economies was expected to slow to a tepid 2.1 percent this year, Zoellick said, as global demand, private capital flows and remittances all fall.
To address the crisis, Zoellick said the G20 should begin by reforming and empowering existing institutions like the World Bank, WTO and the International Monetary Fund, including by giving rising emerging powers a bigger say in decisions. The G20 should also give the institutions greater oversight of national policies to improve transparency, accountability and ensure better policy coordination.They should do this by endorsing a WTO monitoring system to prevent a further build up of trade restrictions even if the measures do not necessarily violate WTO rules, and should accept the "moral suasion" of public reviews that name and shame countries.
"No one should want isolated infringements to become a pattern, eroding one of the most important bulwarks between this crisis and the 1930's," said Zoellick, the U.S.'s former trade representative.

Source : in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-38800120090331?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Indian rupee gains extended

March 31 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee extended gains in afternoon trade on Tuesday tracking the dollar's weakness against major currencies and a rise in the domestic sharemarket but dollar demand from importers capped a sharper rise.
* At 12:30 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 50.86/88 per dollar, off a high of 50.83 and higher than its Monday's close of 51.17/19.
* The dollar gained against the yen but retreated against other peers as safe haven bids eased for the time being. The dollar index .DXY, a gauge of the U.S. unit's performance against majors, was down 0.3 percent.
* Indian shares .BSESN were trading more than 1 percent higher on track to post its first quarterly rise since 2007, but investors were wary as the market seesawed through much of the morning. [.BO]
* Dealers said oil refiners and importers were seen buying dollars to meet month-end payments and stronger demand later in the session was likely to pressure the rupee lower.
* In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at 51.0325 and 51.0300 respectively, with the total traded volume on both exchanges at about $354 million. (Reporting by Swati Bhat; editing by Sunil Nair)

Source : in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINBOM41766620090331

Good buying Interest - realty, pharma, IT, capital goods, FMCG and auto stocks

At 13.37 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 190 points and trading near its day’s high. All BSE sectoral indices were trading positive. The BSE metal index outperformed the other sectoral indices; it was up over 3.5%. Good buying interest was seen in realty, pharma, IT, capital goods, FMCG and auto stocks. Stocks like Reliance, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI and SAIL were major contributors to the indices. Out of Sensex 30 stocks, only HDFC was trading in red.

At 13.37 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 190.61 points or 1.99% at 9758.75, and the Nifty was up 58.85 points or 1.98% at 3037.The market breadth was positive, about 1680 shares advanced, 1262 shares declined, and 140 shares were unchanged.
Ambareesh Baliga of Karvy Stock Broking sees a mild pullback during trade today but does not think it will be strong enough to take the market beyond the 3,100-3,150 level. After this pullback, he expects the markets to be in a range of around 2,800-2,850 over the next five or six sessions. Till the elections, Baliga estimates the Nifty to be rangebound between 2,700 and 3,050. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices were up 2% and 1% respcectively.
Top gainers on the BSE Midcap were ICSA at Rs 89 up 15.66%, Gitanjali Gems at Rs 46.65 up 11.20% and Bhushan at Rs 364 up 9.59%.
Top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors at Rs 184.20 up 6.91%, Jaiprakash Asso at Rs 83.60 up 6.50%, Tata Steel at Rs 208.80 up 6.45%, Hindalco at Rs 52.50 up 4.58% and ACC at Rs 590.45 up 4.51%.
Cigarette major ITC was trading at Rs 184.70 up 3.24% from its previous close of Rs 178.90.
Refinery major HPCL was trading at Rs 266.70 up 1.43% from its previous close of Rs 262.95.

Source : www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/local-markets/mkts-surge-metals-reality-pharma-it-capital-goods-up/391134

HSBC says 1,200 workers face axe

HSBC recently approved a £12.5bn share sale. Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, has said up to 1,200 of its staff in the UK could face redundancy. The bank said the individuals who could be affected by job losses are being briefed on Wednesday. HSBC has not received taxpayer support amid the financial crisis, but just approved a £12.5bn ($18.3bn) rights issue to strengthen its finances. At least a third of the staff cuts will come from back office operations such as call centres, a spokesman said.

'Difficult decisions'

An operation centre in Leamington Spa, near Warwick, will lose 280 positions and a call centre in Newport, Wales, will be shut down, and about 150 jobs will be lost in London, HSBC spokesman Tim Pie said. Shares rose 1.4% to 396.75 pence. HSBC cut about 500 jobs from its London head office in December. "This is a kick in the teeth of the bank's employees Derek Simpson, Unite
"The operating environment for banks in the UK is extremely challenging and will remain so for some time," HSBC UK managing director Paul Thurston said in the statement.

"There are difficult decisions that have to be made as we adapt to a new environment," Mr Thurston said. Its rights issue, backed by shareholders last week, will be the biggest in UK corporate history. Job cuts "Unite can see no justification for the efficient and dedicated staff in the UK to lose their jobs and all basic and standard current accounts to be serviced from India," said Derek Simpson, the joint general secretary of the Unite union. "This is a kick in the teeth of the bank's employees." Financial firms have been cutting workers and trying to raise money as they struggle to cope with the worst crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

BBC News is tracking where jobs have been created and lost around the UK BBC UK jobs tracker . The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is one of several banks that have been bailed out by the UK government in exchange for stakes, has said it will cut 2,700 jobs in the UK. In January, Barclays cut 4,200 jobs from its UK banking business, with half coming from back office operations and the other half coming from its fund management, private banking and investment banking units.
Insurers Royal Sun Alliance, Legal & General and Standard Life have all said they will cut jobs.

Source - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7962833.stm

To build a Website

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Hawaii Tourism

Opportunities exist to help turn around the state’s top industry, said presenters at the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s spring marketing update this week.
They include reductions in airline fuel surcharges, the potential of increased air seats from Asia and the Mainland, hotels willing to offer package deals, and sustained interest in Hawaii as a visitor destination, especially as it celebrates 50 years of statehood.
The key is to capitalize on the opportunities.
As David Uchiyama, the HTA’s vice president for tourism marketing, said: “We feel the pendulum is slowly changing.”

source : www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/03/23/story13.html?ana=from_rss

S Kumars JV With DKNY

Textiles firm S Kumars Nationwide is close to forming a joint venture with global fashion accessories firm DKNY, the Economic Times said on Monday, citing a person close to the development.
Both firms are in final stages of discussion and an announcement is expected in a fortnight, the paper said, citing the source.
S Kumars is likely to pick up the majority stake in the JV which will procure textiles worth over $250 million from it.
The joint venture, which will have the right to appoint all future franchisees of DKNY, could lead to the entry of DKNY stores in India, the report added.
DKNY is a brand owned by the French luxury firm Louis Vuitton. S Kumars will become the sole supplier to over 70 DKNY stores globally, if the deal goes through, the paper said.
Officials at S Kumars were not immediately available for comments.
In February, S Kumars group firm Brandhouse Retail formed a joint venture with Italian apparel brand Oviesse.

source : in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090323/744/tbs-s-kumars-in-talks-for-jv-with-dkny-p.html

Downturn Threaten - Cambodian Garment

Mon Moeun, one of thousands of Cambodians pulled out of poverty by a job in the garment trade since foreign investors arrived in the 1990s, may be back rearing pigs soon after a collapse in demand from Western countries.
Many garment factories in Cambodia are closing as shoppers in the United States, Europe and elsewhere cut back on clothing purchases due to the global financial crisis.
Garments are Cambodia's biggest export earner and its economy may shrink this year due to the drop in demand.
Moeun and his wife have suffered a double blow. They used to earn $80 a month each as garment workers, sending half of it back to support their 8-year-old son living with Moeun's parents in the southern province of Takeo.
Then, three months ago, their factories shut without notice.
"We see hard times ahead when we get back to the countryside, raising pigs and planting vegetables to make a living," said Moeun, 39, chatting with friends under a tree near a shuttered factory on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh.
More than 1,000 workers were owed pay when South Korean-owned Da Joo (Cambodia) Ltd. closed. It has become an all too familiar story.
At its peak, Cambodia's garment sector boasted almost 300 factories employing 340,000 workers, many of them women from the countryside.
Foreign companies started to move into the impoverished Southeast Asian country after U.N.-sponsored elections in 1993, fuelling an economic revival after 30 years of civil war and the horrors of the Khmer Rouge "killing fields" in the 1970s.
The monitoring of work conditions by the International Labour Organisation helped lure brands such as Adidas, Nike and Gap, keen to avoid bad publicity from sweatshops. Cambodia's membership of the World Trade Organisation from 2004 provided another boost.
Factories sprang up where once there were green rice fields around the capital and garments became Cambodia's biggest export earner. They brought in $2.78 billion in 2008, but that may drop about 30 percent this year, said Kaing Monika, spokesman of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC).
Exports of garments to the U.S. market dropped nearly 40 percent in January compared with a year earlier. Some 70 percent of the clothes go to the United States, 25 percent to Europe and the rest mainly to South Korea and Japan.
So far about 20 out of 291 factories, owned mostly by Taiwanese, Chinese, South Koreans and Malaysians, have closed their doors, Monika said. Other factories, at best, were running at 70 percent of capacity now. Some had no orders at all.
Some 70,000 workers have been laid off since last year and another 100,000 jobs are under threat over the next two years, according to the country's leading labour union, Chea Mony.
Another laid-off worker, 28-year-old Sar Bunthoeun, said his mother would suffer now he can no longer send back $40 a month. "I'll return to my old job as a barber. It's my fate," he said.
ECONOMIC SLUMP
The sector represents about 16 percent of Cambodia's GDP, so the factory closures will hurt, with a ripple effect in the countryside as the money sent home by garment workers dries up.
The International Monetary Fund says the economy could shrink 0.5 percent in 2009 and the garment trade slump is a big factor.
But Kang Chandararot, director of the Cambodian Institute of Development Study (CIDS), said even if the double-digit growth of recent years was out of reach, 4 or 5 percent may be possible thanks to a bountiful rice crop in 2008/09 and the record $950 million in aid pledged by international donors for 2009.
"Cambodia could use the aid of nearly $1 billon to invest in infrastructures to stimulate its economy," Chandararot said.
People surviving on less than $1 a day are deemed to be living in poverty. Garment workers earn on average $2.7 a day so the loss of these jobs will hurt.
"More people will be pushed into poverty," said Huot Chea of the World Bank in Cambodia.
Historical data is lacking in Cambodia, but the World Bank says 45 to 50 percent of the people lived in poverty in 1994. Prime Minister Hun Sen says that was cut to 30 percent by 2008 thanks to the garment sector, tourism and agriculture.
Analysts doubt the job losses will undermine the grip on power of Hun Sen, who has run the country for 23 years, but some are worried about social problems.
"The massive layoffs of workers could lead to social unrest, with more armed robberies or drug smuggling," Chandararot of the CIDS said.
And he foresaw land disputes as people returned to the countryside. "What is most likely is that they will fight over the land needed to make a living in the future," he said.
Hun Sen called on aid donors at a meeting on March 12 to join with the government to provide a social safety net to help workers who had been laid off. He also said the government would try to find new export markets in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has urged the government to make foreign-owned factories deposit funds with the Treasury so that workers can get what they are owed in the event of bankruptcy.
There have been reports of looting of machinery but, in some instances at least, it's more a question of workers and management trying to find ways to pay wages.
Chhen Mey, 30, was a supervisor at a factory of Malaysian-owned L.A (Cambodia) Garment Pte. Ltd, which closed in late 2008 with the loss of 2,180 jobs.
A Reuters reporter saw L.A workers carrying sewing machines onto trucks, heading for auction. "If we don't sell the machines, we'll have no money to pay the unpaid workers," Mey said.
Albert Teoh is the director of a Malaysian-based company with three factories that used to export goods worth over $160 million a year under the 'Target' brand and employed 12,000 workers.
He is worried that in the next few months most of the subcontractors for the factories will have folded.
"There's no way to make profits. How to survive the crisis is our main priority, really," Teoh said.

source : in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090323/371/tbs-feature-global-downturn-threatens-ca.html

Basgo - J&K

The spires of ruined temples and the walls of a castle silhouetted dramatically against the blue sky. Testimony to ancient power and glory, Basgo stands on a hilltop, just where the Indus Valley turns into a gorge. About 14 km west of Leh, this was a centre of influence in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was made the capital by Tsewang Namgyal, who was busy extending Ladakh's boundaries. There, he embellished the palace, which still exists, though in lunar disrepair, and set up the first and most spectacular of the temples, the Maitreya. Basgo looks down from the barren hills onto the green plains below. Ghosts still roam its streets.
In its streets, you'll find the Maitreya Temple, which is one of the most beautiful in the state and houses the only existing 16th- century murals in Ladakh. The other two temples are equally interesting. There's the Ser Zang or 'Gold and Copper Temple' that takes its name from the Buddhist scriptures which were sheathed in these metals. Inside is a two-storey high statue of Maitreya with murals of Tilopa, Naropa and Milarepa in an alcove behind his head. You'll find some exquisite Tibetan and Indian icons as well, preserved in glass cases. The third temple is smaller and tends to arouse more curiosity because of its spectacular tantric frescoes--again behind the main image--detailing the sexual dynamics of monks and divinities. Basgo is rocky, which makes climbing occasionally difficult, and it's best to be out of the place before nightfall.
Did you know: In 2007, UNESCO's Asia Pacific Heritage Award went to the Maitreya Temple Complex at Basgo. The people of Basgo have, since the early 1990s, volunteered their time, money and materials to preserving the temples. The villagers carried the stones, to support the retaining wall, on their backs.
Getting there: Base yourself in Leh and drive down.
When to go: September to November and March to May.

source : in.news.yahoo.com/248/20090320/1610/tls-basgo-ladakh-jammu-and-kashmir.html

Beach in Australia

Wildlife experts were struggling Monday to save a pod of 80 whales that came ashore near Margaret River on Australia's west coast.
Residents of Margaret River, 270 km south of Perth, called in help after finding the pod of False Killer Whales at Hamelin Bay.
'Quite a group of people tried to push the ones that were still alive back out to sea,' a caller to national broadcaster ABC said. 'We think six or seven have swum back out to sea, but there's a good chance they will beach themselves further up, but at least they were breathing and swimming.'
A Department of Environment and Conservation spokeswoman confirmed the beaching and that a rescue team was on its way to Hamelin Bay.
Opinions differ on why strandings happen. Whales are highly socialised animals and seemed wired to come to the aid of one of their number that gets into difficulties in shallow water.

source : in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090323/902/twl-eighty-whales-beach-in-australia.html

Reliance Gas Deal

Reliance Industries is expected to sign a deal with some of the country's fertiliser firms to sell gas from its Krishna-Godavari Basin, the Hindu Business Line reported on Monday, citing anonymous sources.
Reliance was expected to seal the gas sale deal with 12 fertiliser firms next week, the newspaper said quoting unnamed sources.
It said fertiliser firms had initially rejected the agreement as they objected to certain clauses.
Reliance is due to begin pumping natural gas from the deep-sea block in weeks.

source : in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090323/744/tbs-reliance-fertiliser-cos-to-sign-gas.html

NANO Launch

Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata is all set to launch the Nano, the 4-seater, 100,000-rupee price tag super-cheap car for the masses, today.
Described as 'people's car' by Ratan Tata, customers can expect to own a car at a price between Rs. 1.20 lakh and Rs. 1.30 lakh, depending on the version of Nano.
The Nano would come in three versions-standard and two deluxe models with air conditioning.
After the launch in Mumbai, Nano would be displayed at the company's dealerships from the first week of April, while the bookings would start from the following week. The booking amount is fixed at Rs. 70,000.
Only 50,000 cars will be available in the first year from Tata facilities in Pune and Pantnagar. Tata is waiting for the 250,000-unit capacity in Gujarat to come onstream to meet public demand for the vehicle.
Tata Motors Ltd moved in its ultra low-cost Nano car to Sanand in Gujarat following violent protests at Singur in West Bengal.
The car was unveiled in January 2008. It was scheduled to go on sale last October, but problems with the main plant location delayed the launch.

source : in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090323/832/tbs-tata-s-nano-to-be-launched-today.html

Tourism In India

The heightened security threat and global recession leading to negative growth in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) for the fourth consecutive month, the tourism ministry is making an all-out effort to woo back international tourists with its “Visit India” campaign.
A joint initiative by the government and the tourism industry, the campaign offers various complimentary packages developed by airlines and hotels.
“At the just concluded International Tourism Exchange (ITB) at Berlin, we had very good response. From the feedback received from tour operators, we hope for a 10 to 20 per cent increase in FTAs from European countries,” said the tourism secretary, Mr Sujit Banerjee.
He said an Online initiative has also been launched in select markets the world over and road shows are being organised in various countries to attract tourists. “With CISF agreeing to provide security to hotels and tourist sites, the security concern has been addressed,” the secretary said.
He said despite the global recession and terror attacks, India’s growth rate was 5.6 per cent last year. “We are number eight in terms of tourism growth,” Mr Banerjee said. The seven countries above India include Indonesia, Macaw, Fiji, Chile, Cambodia, Korea and Mexico.
The country had however registered negative growth for the fourth consecutive month.
While it was 2.5 per cent in November, 12.5 per cent in December, 17.6 per cent in January, the FTAs went down by 10. 6 per cent in February.
This is despite the fact that these months are considered peak months for tourism in India and FTAs had registered over 16 per cent growth between 2002 and 2007. As a part of its Visit India 2009 campaign, which aims at wooing international tourists, the tourism ministry has added wellness tourism as its fifth component. The other four components include airlines, hotels, sight-seeing tours and rural tourism.

source : www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=247549

Tourism In Canada

Canada has soared past the U.S. to become the fifth-ranked country in the world when it comes to ideal locations for developing the travel and tourism industry, according to a new report.
But Canada's pristine natural image, which is one of the factors driving Canada's high ranking, could be at risk, according to the World Economic Forum.
``Canada's natural resources constitute a key strength,'' according to the Geneva-based think-tank's annual assessment of the tourism industry's status and viability in 133 countries.
Canada jumped to fifth place from ninth while the U.S. fell from seventh to eighth in the WEF annual rankings.
Switzerland, Austria and Germany remain the top three, holding identical spots to 2008, while France jumped from 10th to fourth in the new ranking.
The unstable and impoverished African nation of Chad is in last place.
While the WEF points out that Canada has nine sites recognized by the United Nations as world heritage areas, it noted that Canada's reputation is in question by Canadian tourism industry executives in areas such as carbon dioxide emissions and the number of endangered species.
``This is of particular concern given the importance of the natural environment for Canada's tourism, coupled with the fact that, in recent years, sustainable tourism has become a sensitive issue among consumers.''
The WEF, which interviewed about 13,000 executives around the world, including 79 Canadians, assesses a variety of factors that make countries attractive for tourism developers.
They including transport and tourism infrastructure such as highways and air services, as well as regulatory issues, access to labour, safety and security, health, government policy toward tourism, and natural and cultural resources.
WEF spokeswoman Jennifer Blanke said Canada gained ground in this year's survey partly because countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia fell sharply in several areas.
She noted that Canada's ranking is aided by ``excellent'' natural and cultural resources, the world's top-ranked air infrastructure system, and a perception in the business community that Canadian governments are making more efforts to promote tourism overseas.
She said it's unclear whether a recent attack on Canada's image as a credible environmental steward will impact the 2010 results.
The internationally-renowned magazine National Geographic, in a glossy photo spread, presented a devastatingly bleak account of northern Alberta's landscape as a result of the oilsands industry.

source : www.ottawacitizen.com/Canada+improves+ranking+tourism+industry+development/1353393/story.html

India may Miss Revised Export Target

With the global economic crisis not showing any signs of abatement, India may miss the export target of $175 billion for 2008-09, which was recently revised downwards from $200 billion.
“If we touch exports of $170 billion, it will be good. We will not touch $175 billion,” Commerce Secretary Gopal K Pillai said today.
India had exported close to $162 billion worth of merchandise goods in 2007-08.
Overseas sale of Indian goods has been shrinking for four consecutive months ending January 2009.
The commerce ministry estimates that total exports in March would be around $12 billion, a drop of about 30 per cent over $17 billion seen in the same month of 2008.
Initial export figures available with the ministry suggest that exports in February also dropped 13.7 per cent ($13.04 billion).
Recovery in second quarter: The commerce secretary said exports would recover from the current slump in the second quarter (July-September) of next fiscal as some sectors like textiles and gems and jewellery were showing signs of recovery. “I expect in the April-June period, exports will stabilise and thereafter there would be recovery,” said Pillai.
“Textile is now stabilising. Though they have not got orders for six months, but exporters from the sector have orders for at least 60-90 days. Most of the mills are now operating. Lack of orders is slowly going away. Even in gems and jewellery, there is a slight pick up. Handicrafts are still down. Leather is picking up. By the end of this month, we would have reached the bottom. Thereafter, I am hopeful that we will stabilise,” said Pillai.
The government has announced a series of measures since December 2008 to boost exports, which include interest subsidy on export related loans as well as additional reimbursement of taxes paid on inputs used to manufacture items for overseas sales.

source : www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-may-miss-revised-export-target-too/352409/

Indo China Trade Issues

China has said it will prefer bilateral route to resolve dispute with India over restrictions on imports of Chinese goods, especially toys. However, it doesn’t rule out approaching the multilateral trade forum, World Trade Organisation (WTO), in the case of a deadlock. India and China, on Thursday, set up of a joint official panel to sort out trade-related issues.
“We do not rule out litigation at WTO. However, traditionally, we want to settle issues through bilateral discussions. Right now, we are in bilateral consultation (with India),” visiting Chinese vice-minister for commerce Zhong Shan told reporters after a meeting with Indian commerce secretary GK Pillai.
Mr Zhong, who is also scheduled to meet the revenue secretary and the director-general of safeguards — the department which recommends additional import duties on products that have witnessed a sharp increase in imports — said that in case China decided to approach WTO, it won’t be against a particular country. “Our disputes would be only against moves which breach WTO rules,” he said.
China has already issued a complaint at WTO against quality restrictions placed by India on Chinese toys. However, it has not filed for a dispute yet.
Mr Pillai explained Mr Zhong that India’s quality restrictions on toy imports from China were mainly on health grounds and would soon be imposed on other countries as well as the domestic toy industry.
India, which had lifted the six-month ban on Chinese toy imports in January, had placed quality restrictions. It allows only those Chinese toys that meet international quality standards. China, in its complaint to WTO, had said that India breached WTO conditions of national treatment — which state that goods from a WTO member country are to be given similar treatment as domestically-produced goods — and most favoured nation — which lays down that all WTO member countries should be treated alike.
The Chinese minister also discussed the 14 anti-dumping cases on Chinese products sold in India at prices lower than those applied in the domestic market. India is planning to levy additional import duties, known as safeguard duties, on a number of products from China including soda ash and some chemicals where there has been a surge in imports.
The joint panel, which will include joint secretaries, will monitor developments such as import surges and decide if it could be addressed without resorting to trade curbs, Mr Pillai said. India-China trade increased sharply to $51 billion in 2008-09 from $38 billion in the previous fiscal with China running a $10-billion trade surplus.

source : www.economictimes.indiatimes.com/Economy/Indo-China-panel-to-resolve-trade-issues/articleshow/4289860.cms

Tourism In Singapore

In this year’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, Singapore was named the most competitive Asian destination for travel and tourism, moving six spaces to claim the tenth place for the most competitive global destination distinction. This year’s report, with the theme “Managing in a Time of Turbulence,” looks closely at the impacts of oil prices on the tourism industry and also price competitiveness in attracting customers. Switzerland, Austria and Germany were named the top three, with their positions unchanged from 2008. France shot up from tenth to fourth, followed by Canada at fifth up from last year’s ninth position. Singapore was the only Asian destination to make the top ten.
“We are pleased to have improved our ranking in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 to be among the top ten countries globally and the only Asian country in the top ten out of 133 countries,” said John Gregory Conceicao, Director Strategic Planning, Singapore Tourism Board. “This is an indication of Singapore’s strengths in its tourism management and infrastructure. It will in turn strengthen our efforts to ride out the current downturn and position ourselves for future growth,” he added.
Singapore’s ‘excellent’ transport infrastructure, both public and air, was noted in the report, as well as its human resources sector and environmental policies. “To thrive, or even survive, in this period of uncertainty and change, both the travel and tourism industry, and destinations themselves will need to approach the challenges in a holistic and systemic manner,” said Thea Chiesa, Head of Aviation, Travel and Tourism, World Economic Forum. “This would allow innovative ideas to emerge, new directions to be taken, new alliances to be forged and profits to be reaped. This comprehensive approach to travel and tourism competitiveness taken in the report aims to contribute to this discussion,” added Cheisa. Spain (sixth), Sweden (seventh), United States (eighth) and Australia (ninth) rounded out the top ten destinations.

source : www.travelbizmonitor.com/singapore-named-asias-most-competitive-tourism-destination-5635

Web Domain Business

It Is tempting to think that the explosion of interest in web-domain names was a phenomenon confined to the beginnings of the dotcom era in the Nineties.
However, nothing could be further from the internet truth, says Geoff Wicks, chief executive of NBT, a London domain-name management service company.
“Every time a football club signs a new player, there will be a wave of domain names registered around their names,” he says.
“The same thing happens when companies have new products or go into new markets. People even register deliberate misspellings of the names. There’s real value in these names and they have to be looked after because companies can’t afford to lose them.”
Mr Wicks, 59, who has statistics to back up his assertions, says there are 177 million internet domain names registered around the world; the total grew 16pc last year and by 27pc in 2007.
It seems a surprisingly large number, but then there are 250 registers of internet domain names worldwide. As well as the registers for generic top-level domain names including .com .net .biz .info and .org - each country has its own register for country-code domain names, such as .co.uk in Britain.
The result, says Mr Wicks, is that a large FTSE 100 company might easily have more than 1,000 domain names registered.
It’s an expensive business with most three- or four-letter domain names costing more than $100,000 (£72,000) and some names fetching more than $1m and - because registrations might need renewing as often as every 12 to 18 months — internet domain names also need a lot of management.
NBT, founded in 1995, employs 300 staff, has a turnover of £35m and manages domain name registration for 1,500 companies, including 30 in the FTSE 100 index.
Mr Wicks expects to see growth continuing, helped by the relatively new .eu suffix and .Asia suffixes and demand in Brazil, Russia, China and India generally.
Anil Ahluwalia, associate director, Bank of Scotland Corporate, says: “Internet domain names are basically intellectual property. They’re a bit like trademarks. Companies don’t necessarily want to use them all themselves, but don’t want other people to use them.”

source : www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/businesstruth/5007877/Web-domain-name-companies-still-doing-top-business.html

India's Gold Rebound On Overseas Market

India gold futures rebounded sharply on Thursday tracking overseas markets, but a strong rupee kept a lid on gains, analysts said.
The benchmark April gold contract was 3.26 percent higher at 15,233 rupees per 10 grams at 11:21 a.m., after hitting a high of 15,292 rupees in early deals. The contract had shed 2.6 percent in the last session.
Comex April gold surged by over 4 percent after the Federal Reserve said it will buy up to $300 billion worth of long-dated U.S. government debt, which rejuvenated bullion's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
"Fed's actions added fuel to fire," said Pradeep Unni, a senior research analyst with Richcomm Global Services in Dubai.
Analysts said the yellow metal may see a further upside, but it could be restricted due to a strong rupee.
"The move by Fed would weaken the dollar and fuel gold's rally further," said Debjyoti Chatterjee, associate vice-president with MAPE ADMISI in Mumbai, adding "the momentum is very much positive in gold."
"Technically there is still room left on the higher side which might take gold northwards," said Unni, adding "If gold manages to hold above 14,850, in today's session gold might rise to 15,500."
Open interest for April gold on MCX was at 14,167 lots, down from 15,440 a day earlier. Volume on Wednesday was 86.93 kg.

source : in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-38586020090319

Tourism After Terror Attach

The department of tourism made an all-out effort to woo back intenational tourists with a vigorous Visit India campaign at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) at Berlin held from 11 to 15 March.
The campaign is a joint initiative by the government and the tourism industry to win back international visitors who have stayed away since the terror attacks in Mumbai last November, says tourism secretary Sujit Banerjee.
The Visit India campaign 2009 was made in collaboration with private sector tourism industry stakeholders in the country including hotels and airlines. The campaign offers various complimentary packages developed by airlines and hotels.
The 850-sq metre India Tourism pavillion had 81 participants that included state tourism boards, hotels and airlines.
State tourism boards from Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Pondicherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand participated with India Tourism in the ventue.
Madhya Pradesh promoted the Kanha National Park, Badhavagarh National Park and Pench National Park at ITB Berlin. Similarly, Jammu & Kashmir promoted Ladakh at ITB-Berlin with a view to drawing more tourists to the region.
Other states that participated independently at ITB-Berlin were.
According to the estimates of the India Tourism Office, after averaging 10 per cent growth up to September, international tourist arrivals to India slumped to around 5.6 per cent in 2008 to 5.37 million visitors, dropping to over 17 per cent in January, 2009.
The airlines participating in the campaign, Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines will offer a "companion-free ticket" for every ticket purchased for international and domestic flights. Connecting flights to the departing airports are included in the final travel costs.

source : www.domain-b.com/industry/Tourism/20090317_foreign_tourists.html

Telenor and Unitech Deal

Norwegian telecom major Telenor has managed to renegotiate its deal with Unitech Wireless to acquire a higher shareholding of 67.25 per cent, against the initial agreement for 60 per cent, but at the original price of Rs 6,120 crore, effectively valuing the deal 11 per cent cheaper.
The new deal puts the enterprise value — the sum of a company’s market capitalisation plus debt minus cash — of this new-generation mobile services company floated by Delhi-headquartered real estate major Unitech at Rs 10,520 crore, against Rs 11,620 crore in the agreement signed on October 28, 2008.
At the adjusted rate, the company’s equity value stands at Rs 9,100 crore, against Rs 10,200 crore in October, a loss of Rs 1,100 crore.
Telenor had also agreed to take a loan of Rs 1,420 crore on the books of Unitech Wireless, which was given by the parent company Unitech Ltd.
Sources close to the development said cash-starved Unitech, which is in the process of restructuring its debt of Rs 8,100 crore, had little choice but to agree to the new terms. The realty major’s stake in the telecom venture, which is yet to start operations, will now be 32.75 per cent, against 40 per cent in the original agreement, which is close to the minimum requirement of 26 per cent that Indian promoters need to own in telecom ventures.
“Since the rollout was being delayed, it was difficult for Unitech to walk out of the deal and start fresh negotiations with a new partner, which would have been tough in the current environment,” sources added.
On its part, Telenor was reportedly forced to revise the price owing to stiff shareholder resistance.
The subscription of new shares in Unitech Wireless will be completed in four phases. In the first phase, which is expected to be completed shortly, Telenor will invest Rs 3,050 crore and the Norwegian company’s shareholding will rise to 33.5 per cent. Following this, Unitech Wireless will return a loan of around Rs 1,250 crore to Unitech Ltd. Since Unitech Ltd is not allowed to sell its own holding, the telecom subsidiary will issue Telenor fresh shares.
Unitech Ltd has already sold its 199-room hotel — Courtyard By Marriot in Gurgaon — for around Rs 235 crore and is in talks with some high net worth individuals to sell commercial buildings in South Delhi.

source : www.business-standard.com/india/news/telenor-unitech-deal-closes-11-below-original-agreement/352166/

Reduced Airfares

The HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VAT) on March 12 worked with a group in charge of stimulating tourism in the southern part of the country.
The group said that after reducing the prices of tours by 15-35 percent, many travel companies have attracted more visitors to the region.
Especially, Jetstar Pacific and Indochina Airlines are offering a discount of 30-40 percent on their airfares. Tran The Dung, deputy head of the group in the southern region said that although their reduction in airfares is not as high as Vietnam Airlines (60 percent), it has helped the tourism market develop.

source : www.english.vovnews.vn/Home/Airlines-reduce-airfares-to-stimulate-tourism/20093/102550.vov

INR rises

The Indian rupee strenghtened in opening deals on Friday supported by the dollar's weakness against major currencies overseas, with gains in other regional shares also underpinning sentiment.
* At 9:20 a.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 51.68/70 per dollar, above its Thursday's close of 51.88/90.
* However, dealers said dollar demand from importers and oil refiners could put pressure on the rupee later in the day.
* Most Asian markets were higher with the Nikkei .N225 gaining 4.6 percent at 0340 GMT, Hang Seng .HSI up 3.7 percent and Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC rising 0.7 percent. Singapore Nifty SINc1 was 3.9 percent higher, indicating a strong opening in the local market.
* The dollar index .DXY, a guage of the U.S .unit's performance against the majors, was down 0.2 percent.

Source : in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINBOM46159020090313

Chennai

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Market losses and its effects on leaders

An Australian jobs survey on Tuesday stoked fears of rising unemployment and Japanese shares fell near 26-year lows, piling pressure on policymakers to do more to stimulate ailing economies. China's consumer prices fell 1.6 percent in the year to February, the first negative reading since December 2002, potentially giving its central bank further room to cut interest rates or use other policy tools to boost growth.

Japan's finance minister said the government would act decisively to prevent falling stock prices from triggering a credit crunch and take whatever steps were necessary to keep the world's second-largest economy afloat. As the G20 group of rich nations and big emerging powers prepares to meet in London next month, top U.S. economic officials pressed on Monday for coordinated global action to battle the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

"We'd like to act based on an agreement of countries across the globe that each nation will take whatever steps necessary to achieve an economic recovery," said Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano.

DIRE READINGS

Two private surveys in Australia showed job advertisements

plunged by a record in February, while firms reported the toughest trading conditions since the recession of the early 1990s. The dire readings will only fuel worries that official labour figures due on Thursday would show a long-awaited turn for the worse and strongly for yet lower interest rates and further fiscal stimulus.

Further information - //in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090310/748/tbs-job-losses-market-falls-pile-pressur.html

Tourism in Tamilnadu

Tourism in Tamilnadu

Tamilnadu is the down south state in India. India is a land having the quality of diversified. In Tamilnadu we have loads of places in the base of tourism. These places are of different types than of in a single kind. There are places like hills, peaks, waterfalls, wildlife sanctuaries, other than this there are different places to go all over in Tamilnadu.

Chennai

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JAI Corp Marks 10% low - March 06 2009

Shares of Jai Corp were trading down 10% early on Friday. On the BSE, the stock was trading at Rs 67, down Rs 7.15 after touching a low of Rs 59. On NSE, it was down by Rs 7.80. The stock was down 4.94% Thursday on news that the Income Tax authorities were conducting raids on the premises of its non-executive chairman Anand Jain. The scrip touched a 52 week high of Rs 744 on March 12, 2008.

Source - //economictimes.indiatimes.com/stocks-in-news-home/Jai-Corp-extends-losses-down-10

H-1B visa holders to get pink slips at Microsoft

Microsoft, which has recently announced shedding some 5,000 jobs, will be giving pink slips to H-1B visa holders too, despite acknowledging that this category of workers has a significant contribution to the company's success (See: Microsoft acknowledges H-1B visa holders contribution to success). Microsoft, in a letter to Senator Charles Grassley, has said the H-1B work visa programme helped hire the best available talent of the world.

The present Microsoft line can be seen in the context of the policies of the Obama regime, which gives preference to companies hiring Americans in giving bail-out. H1-B employees have always accounted for less than 15 per cent of Microsoft's US workforce, the level that is used in immigration law to determine whether a company is "H-1B dependent," the letter said.

Answering a specific question from the Senator on H-1B people losing their jobs, Microsoft said: "Workers on H-1B visas and other temporary work visas make up only a small percentage of our overall workforce, but they were also among the employees impacted by the reductions announced in January. Employees outside the United States were also impacted."

Source - business-standard.com/india/news/now-h-1b-visa-holders-to-get-pink-slips-at-microsoft/17/58/56121/on

Reliance Industries merges with RPL

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani agrees to combine Reliance Petroleum (RPL). Both the companies, planned to give one Equity share for the RPL shareholders and 16 for Reliance industries share (16-1). It has resulted to become the leading refineries in the world.This merger will take effect on April 2009, also plans to become one of the top 50 companies based on profitability.

RIL announced earlier to get five percent from Chevron Energy shares after decided to cease the RPL, RIL bought 22.5 crore shares, which include the 5% share of RPL from Chevron.This will raise up the company shares percent.