With clients like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Bipasha Basu, German luxury car maker Audi has a vital target market in Mumbai-based film stars and is looking at a 50 percent growth in India this year. "Quite a few Bollywood stars have picked up Audi cars in India. Whether it is Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or Katrina Kaif - each of them has one Audi parked in their garage," Martin Birkner, marketing head of Audi in India, told reporters. "I won't say they make a major market for us, but they certainly are an important market for Audi, at least in Mumbai." According to Birkner, Salman is the latest to buy the car – he bought an Audi A8, while Neil Nitin Mukesh owns Q7, a recently launched SUV by Audi. A Q7 can cost anything from Rs.63 laks to Rs.76 lakhs. An Audi A8 ranges from Rs.71 lakhs to Rs.1 crore in India. Among actresses, Bipasha pampered herself with the luxury vehicle, he said.
The company currently offers a bouquet of seven cars, including sedans, SUVs, coupe and sports cars. It is considering launching more models in the coming years. "In 2008, we sold 1,050 cars in India and we have a revised target of 1,600 cars by the end of 2009. We have had considerable growth since last year, so we are projecting a nearly 50 percent growth this time," he said. He said Asia is fast emerging as a strong customer base for the company but still has time to get used to premium and luxury cars. "We are the segment leaders in Europe and our sales there are currently stagnating. But we see that the Asian region is still not fully developed in the sense that even though there is a huge amount of cars here, not many people go for luxury or premium cars," said Birkner. To promote the brand, Audi India has been partnering with Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) for the last four seasons. This year they are displaying Q7 and sports car Audi R8, which is one of the most popular models, at the ongoing fashion and luxury event being held at Pragati Maidan here. A toy car, which costs Rs.11 lakh, is also catching people's fancy. Birkner, who has come from Mumbai to attend the event, said WIFW provides an ideal platform for them to meet "right and influential" people who can become potential buyers. "Such events provide a perfect platform to meet people who are interested in premium cars. So we get a chance to build the right contacts here," he said.
Earlier this month, Audi organised an amateur golf tournament called Quattro Cup. This was the second tournament sponsored by the company and the finals were held in Hyderabad and the winners will be taken to Sydney in December.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Outsourcing jobs pushed to rural India
In India, a growing number of outsourcing companies are moving simple typing jobs from high - tech hubs to the vast, poor rural area under a win-win strategy. RuralShores is one of the companies. The Bangalore - based business consulting company has set up three data processing centers in Bagepalli, a small town in rural Karnataka State in Southwest of India, hiring around 100 local young people with a minimum of high school education to deal with data entry. "There is a lot of talent there, and we can train them to do the job," the founder G.Srinivasan told the New York Times, and in return, he said, the company gets more profits and become more competitive.
Srinivasan said in big cities like Bangalore, companies need to pay about 7,000 rupees ($150 USD) a month for workers doing the same job, while in Bagepalli, $60 USD a month is considered "excellent." Though His workers lack of college education and English language skills, there is no problem for them to read forms, input data and even write simple E-mails in English. He said the company is planning to open 500 offices across rural india in the next five years. His confidence comes from the growing business. The three centers are serving a variety of clients including an Indian loyalty card company, a national insurance company as well as an American company which hired it as a subcontractor to track down its truck drivers' work schedules. With a population as huge as one billion, India now has only about one million people in workforce,which are only limited in major cities.
Srinivasan said in big cities like Bangalore, companies need to pay about 7,000 rupees ($150 USD) a month for workers doing the same job, while in Bagepalli, $60 USD a month is considered "excellent." Though His workers lack of college education and English language skills, there is no problem for them to read forms, input data and even write simple E-mails in English. He said the company is planning to open 500 offices across rural india in the next five years. His confidence comes from the growing business. The three centers are serving a variety of clients including an Indian loyalty card company, a national insurance company as well as an American company which hired it as a subcontractor to track down its truck drivers' work schedules. With a population as huge as one billion, India now has only about one million people in workforce,which are only limited in major cities.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
A.R. Rahman to headline Sydney Festival 2010
Oscar winner musician A.R. Rahman will headline the world famous "Sydney Festival 2010" in Australia on January 16. Rahman's two-and-a-half hour free and exclusive music-dance performance will also see over 40 Bollywood dancers, singers, and musicians at outdoor Parramatta Park near Sydney, starting 7-30 pm.
Festival website says about Rahman: "Sydney Festival is proud to celebrate this inspiring and multidimensional artist". New South Wales Premier and Festival President Nathan Rees reportedly described Rahman as "without doubt one of the world's great talents".
Acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed has applauded Rahman for creating a bridge between the music of east and west and for strengthening the worldwide market and stature of Indian music. Forty-three Rajasthani musicians from India will also stage during this Festival "The Manganiyar Seduction" concert in a whimsical custom-built 'magic box'.
Directed by Roysten Abel, the repertoire ranges from ballads about kings to mystics written Sufi songs and songs marking marriage-birth-feasts-rains; and the ensemble spans three generations. Showing multi-cultural Australia, Festival First Night will include music-dance performances by "Bobby Singh & Friends", including Australia's leading table player Bobby Singh, Sarangan Sriranganathan, The Bollywood Sensations, Rasa Duende, etc.
Festival website says about Rahman: "Sydney Festival is proud to celebrate this inspiring and multidimensional artist". New South Wales Premier and Festival President Nathan Rees reportedly described Rahman as "without doubt one of the world's great talents".
Acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed has applauded Rahman for creating a bridge between the music of east and west and for strengthening the worldwide market and stature of Indian music. Forty-three Rajasthani musicians from India will also stage during this Festival "The Manganiyar Seduction" concert in a whimsical custom-built 'magic box'.
Directed by Roysten Abel, the repertoire ranges from ballads about kings to mystics written Sufi songs and songs marking marriage-birth-feasts-rains; and the ensemble spans three generations. Showing multi-cultural Australia, Festival First Night will include music-dance performances by "Bobby Singh & Friends", including Australia's leading table player Bobby Singh, Sarangan Sriranganathan, The Bollywood Sensations, Rasa Duende, etc.
Defence releases 10Mhz spectrum for 3G
The Defence Ministry has released 10 Mhz of 3G spectrum prior to the auction for the same in January but is irked by the telecom department's non-inclusion of this fact in the information to the prospective bidders in official document.
This has complicated the matter as it may also necessitate telcos to re-work their auction strategies. So, with this spectrum release, two additional slots can be auctioned in each circle, but the DoT first has to acknowledge this, said a mobile operator.
While the Defence Ministry is peeved at DoT, saying the release of 3G spectrum (1069-1979 Mhz) band by it has not been reflected in the revised Information Memorandum, it has also expressed unhappiness over inclusion of certain bands of spectrum release for BSNL and MTNL which has not been vacated by the forces and has in fact not even been discussed between them.
"In respect of 3G spectrum for BSNL and MTNL (as appear on the revised Information Memorandum) spectrum allocated in five states -- Punjab, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam falls outside the coordinated band of 1954-1979 Mhz not in the 1969-1979 Mhz, released by defence ministry," the Defence Ministry said in a letter to DoT.
This has complicated the matter as it may also necessitate telcos to re-work their auction strategies. So, with this spectrum release, two additional slots can be auctioned in each circle, but the DoT first has to acknowledge this, said a mobile operator.
While the Defence Ministry is peeved at DoT, saying the release of 3G spectrum (1069-1979 Mhz) band by it has not been reflected in the revised Information Memorandum, it has also expressed unhappiness over inclusion of certain bands of spectrum release for BSNL and MTNL which has not been vacated by the forces and has in fact not even been discussed between them.
"In respect of 3G spectrum for BSNL and MTNL (as appear on the revised Information Memorandum) spectrum allocated in five states -- Punjab, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam falls outside the coordinated band of 1954-1979 Mhz not in the 1969-1979 Mhz, released by defence ministry," the Defence Ministry said in a letter to DoT.
Brown vows to curb entry of foreign doctors, professionals to UK
Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Thursday pledged to curb the entry of doctors and other professionals from outside Europe into the UK in a new crackdown on immigration, a move likely to adversely impact thousands of Indians. Signalling a major shift in the Labour government's immigration policy, the Prime Minister vowed to "stem rising tide of migration". He said his government plans to restrict the points based system for determining which migrants can work in Britain. "One of the reasons that immigration will fall is the tightening of the new points system and it will continue to tighten over the next few months," Brown told the 'Daily Mail' in an interview ahead of a major speech on immigration on Thursday.
Even as insisting that immigration had been a source of "economic, social and cultural strength" for Britain, Brown said the points-based system, introduced last year to control the entry of non-EU citizens to the UK by grading incomers on the skills they can offer the country, would be further toughened up. In a major policy change, Brown is expected to announce that the door is being closed to non-EU hospital consultants, civil engineers, aircraft engineers and ship's officers, the report said. "I know people worry about whether immigration undermines their wages and the job prospects of their children and they also worry about whether they will get a decent home for their families," he underlined. Brown pledged to tighten the new points-based entry system before the next general election in June next year as large-scale immigration had put key public services in the country under severe strain and may be turned into a key electoral issue by the right wing anti-immigrant parties.
The Labour government has faced controversy as local doctors have struggled to find employment. Last week, Home Secretary Alan Johnson admitted ministers had failed to grasp growing public concern about the pressures on jobs and public services. "I understand people's concerns when they hear suggestions that levels of immigration are going to rise. Especially in difficult economic times, people have concerns," said Brown, who is preparing for a tough electoral battle with the Conservative Party which is ahead in most opinion polls. He said the British citizens want "to be assured that the system is tough and fair". "They want to be assured that newcomers to the country will accept their responsibilities...obey all the laws, speaking English is important, making a contribution," he underlined.
"We ask people to show that they abide by our laws, we ask people to show that they understand our constitution and our democracy, we ask people to show that they understand the values of liberty, fair play and responsibility," Brown was quoted as saying by the British tabloid. Brown said the latest assessments were that net migration, which hit more than 290,000 in 2005, has fallen by more than 40 per cent over the last year - and pledged it would fall further. He said this is "not an arbitrary cap". "We are going to be setting out a programme for making sure that we in Britain can train our British young people and British workers who are looking for jobs," Brown underlined.
Even as insisting that immigration had been a source of "economic, social and cultural strength" for Britain, Brown said the points-based system, introduced last year to control the entry of non-EU citizens to the UK by grading incomers on the skills they can offer the country, would be further toughened up. In a major policy change, Brown is expected to announce that the door is being closed to non-EU hospital consultants, civil engineers, aircraft engineers and ship's officers, the report said. "I know people worry about whether immigration undermines their wages and the job prospects of their children and they also worry about whether they will get a decent home for their families," he underlined. Brown pledged to tighten the new points-based entry system before the next general election in June next year as large-scale immigration had put key public services in the country under severe strain and may be turned into a key electoral issue by the right wing anti-immigrant parties.
The Labour government has faced controversy as local doctors have struggled to find employment. Last week, Home Secretary Alan Johnson admitted ministers had failed to grasp growing public concern about the pressures on jobs and public services. "I understand people's concerns when they hear suggestions that levels of immigration are going to rise. Especially in difficult economic times, people have concerns," said Brown, who is preparing for a tough electoral battle with the Conservative Party which is ahead in most opinion polls. He said the British citizens want "to be assured that the system is tough and fair". "They want to be assured that newcomers to the country will accept their responsibilities...obey all the laws, speaking English is important, making a contribution," he underlined.
"We ask people to show that they abide by our laws, we ask people to show that they understand our constitution and our democracy, we ask people to show that they understand the values of liberty, fair play and responsibility," Brown was quoted as saying by the British tabloid. Brown said the latest assessments were that net migration, which hit more than 290,000 in 2005, has fallen by more than 40 per cent over the last year - and pledged it would fall further. He said this is "not an arbitrary cap". "We are going to be setting out a programme for making sure that we in Britain can train our British young people and British workers who are looking for jobs," Brown underlined.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
129 in Colorado to lose Sun Microsystems jobs
At least 128 Sun Microsystems employees in Broomfield are expected to lose their jobs as part of the technology giant's recent announcement that 3,000 in its global workforce would be laid off. As part of the layoffs, expected to take place between Jan. 3 and Jan. 17, 128 employees in Broomfield and one in Colorado Springs will be given pink slips, according to a notice Sun filed with Colorado's labor department. The 129 Colorado employees were among 715 U.S. employees identified in the notice for the reduction. It was not clear how the remaining 2,285 employees will be affected — how many layoffs will take place outside the country or if additional rounds are planned for Sun's U.S. operations. Sun officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Sun expects most of the 715 U.S. employees to be let go Jan. 3, officials said in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice received by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment late Monday. In the notice, which was dated Nov. 3, Sun officials said affected employees are being given notice about the reductions to ensure that each receives at least 60 days' notice of termination. Sun provides 60 days' pay and other benefits pursuant to law, officials said. The reductions come as Sun's acquisition by Oracle sits in limbo.
Sun expects most of the 715 U.S. employees to be let go Jan. 3, officials said in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice received by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment late Monday. In the notice, which was dated Nov. 3, Sun officials said affected employees are being given notice about the reductions to ensure that each receives at least 60 days' notice of termination. Sun provides 60 days' pay and other benefits pursuant to law, officials said. The reductions come as Sun's acquisition by Oracle sits in limbo.
Air India's losses at Rs 5,548 crore in FY09
State carrier Air India on Wednesday said that it has incurred a loss of Rs 5,548 crore in the fiscal year 2008-09. The Air India board, which met in Chennai, said the losses were primarily due to global economic slowdown, resulting in fewer passengers travelling and lower load factor.
The loss comes in the wake of IATA forecast which had predicted that the losses in the aviation industry for the year 2008 would be around $16.8 billion, followed by a loss of $11 billion for the year 2009, due to weak revenue environment and increase in operating costs.
In line with the market trend, Air India's total revenue has declined from Rs 15,252 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 13,479 crore in 2008-09. Its passenger load factor declined from 63.8 per cent in 2007-08 to 59.5 per cent in 2008-09 and the number of passengers travelling on Air India flights declined from 13.21 million in 2007-08 to 10.36 million in 2008-09.
Other major factors that have contributed to Air India's losses are steep hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF), rise in depreciation costs due to induction of new fleet and interest rates on aircraft loans and borrowings.
Air India has been spending around 10 per cent of the airline's total salary bill to pay its team of over 160 foreign pilots and hiring firms.
As revealed by the airline in response to an Right To Information application, NACIL paid Rs 93.29 crore towards salaries and expenses to the agencies which provided expatriate pilots to Air India and Air India Express last fiscal.
Of this, Air India paid Rs 46.63 crore ($93,27,644.23) while its budget arm Air India Express spent Rs 46.66 crore ($93,33,732.11) on the expat pilots during the same period.
"In addition, the company spends up to Rs 7,500 per day to accomodate foreign pilots in expensive hotels and provide chauffeur-driven air conditioned cars to them for non-flying duties as well," a Indian Pilots Guild spokesperson said.
There are 163 expatriate pilots in Air India, besides 1,253 Indian pilots and about 200 trainees.
The loss comes in the wake of IATA forecast which had predicted that the losses in the aviation industry for the year 2008 would be around $16.8 billion, followed by a loss of $11 billion for the year 2009, due to weak revenue environment and increase in operating costs.
In line with the market trend, Air India's total revenue has declined from Rs 15,252 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 13,479 crore in 2008-09. Its passenger load factor declined from 63.8 per cent in 2007-08 to 59.5 per cent in 2008-09 and the number of passengers travelling on Air India flights declined from 13.21 million in 2007-08 to 10.36 million in 2008-09.
Other major factors that have contributed to Air India's losses are steep hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF), rise in depreciation costs due to induction of new fleet and interest rates on aircraft loans and borrowings.
Air India has been spending around 10 per cent of the airline's total salary bill to pay its team of over 160 foreign pilots and hiring firms.
As revealed by the airline in response to an Right To Information application, NACIL paid Rs 93.29 crore towards salaries and expenses to the agencies which provided expatriate pilots to Air India and Air India Express last fiscal.
Of this, Air India paid Rs 46.63 crore ($93,27,644.23) while its budget arm Air India Express spent Rs 46.66 crore ($93,33,732.11) on the expat pilots during the same period.
"In addition, the company spends up to Rs 7,500 per day to accomodate foreign pilots in expensive hotels and provide chauffeur-driven air conditioned cars to them for non-flying duties as well," a Indian Pilots Guild spokesperson said.
There are 163 expatriate pilots in Air India, besides 1,253 Indian pilots and about 200 trainees.
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