Friday, January 28, 2011

Karnataka church attacks: Government gets clean chit

Finally, some good nehhws for the beleaguered BJP government in Karnataka. A commission set up to investigate a series of attacks on churches in 2008 has said neither the government nor the police can be faulted.

"There is no basis to the apprehension of Christian petitioners that the politicians, BJP, mainstream Sangh Parivar and state government directly or indirectly, are involved in the attacks."

On who was responsible, the report suggests, "The attacks are indulged in by misguided fundamentalist miscreants of defined or undefined groups or organizations against Christians and Christianity who have mistakenly presumed that they would be protected by the party in power with their policies at the relevant time."

In September 2008, churches were vandalized in different parts of Karnataka like Mangalore,Udupi, Kolar, Bellary. A commission headed by BK Somasekhara, a former judge, was assigned to investigate the attacks.

The Chief Minister at that time had described the attacks as a conspiracy to disrupt law and order.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Few areas ‘left out’ of pulse polio drive

A few areas in Uttarahalli were 'left out' during the annual National Pulse Polio programme on Sunday.

According to an official of the Health Department the areas near Bhuvaneshwarinagar with an estimated 300 children escaped the notice of the authorities due to reorganisation of wards. The authorities said that the immunisation drive will be carried out during the door-to-door survey which began on Monday. The locality was covered last year.

The BBMP sources said the achievement of the vaccination programme was reckoned not on the basis of wards, but on the areas covered. There was a conflict of jurisdiction between the Palike and the Health Department, an official admitted.

Commissioner Siddaiah said that the Palike will repeat its performance of achieving 99 percent coverage this year too. 


Thursday, January 20, 2011

Australia v England - second ODI live!

BREAKING NEWS - AUSTRALIA ALL OUT FOR 230 NOW INNINGS BREAK

Australia Struggled to score against England
WICKET! Australia 230 all out (Marsh c Bell b Tremlett 110) Tremlett ends the innings with the next delivery. Marsh flicked the ball to deep midwicket, where Bell took a superb and unobtrusive two-handed catch to his left. So, Australia are all out for 230, and 188 of those came in two partnerships. It was, as they don't say, an innings of five fifths: four quick wickets, a big partnership, four quick wickets, another big partnership, and then two wickets in two balls.

Australia's total is below par, but that wonderful 110 from Shaun Marsh has given them a chance; with Chris Tremlett taking three for 22, it's been a good day for the World Cup rejects. Anyway, England need 231 to win. They should win this match three times out of four, maybe four out of five. But Shaun Tait could make such assumptions look stupid. See you in half an hour.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jan/20/australia-england-second-odi-live

SC decries forceful religious conversions

The Supreme Court, while upholding life imprisonment for Dara Singh and Mahendra Hembram, main accused in the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in Orissa's Koenjhar district in January 1999, also came down heavily on Christian missionaries for indulging in forceful conversions.

The bench of justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan observed that there cannot be any justification for interference in someone's belief while decrying forceful conversions.

While delivering the verdict in the murder case on Friday the court observed that investigations reveal that Staines was involved in conversions and there are materials to suggest that the missionaries were indulging in forceful conversion in the area.

Dara Singh's lawyer SS Mishra said that the missionaries were indulging in forceful conversions and his client just wanted to threaten them and not kill Staines.

"There are materials which suggest that forceful conversion was there. However, so far as the material for conviction is concerned Supreme Court maintained the judgement of the High Court. There is no direct evidence, no one had seen crime done by accused. It appears that they had gone to threaten and teach them a lesson and not kill Staines," said Mishra.

Staines and his two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6) were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a van outside a church at Manoharpur village in Koenjhar district of Orissa on January 22, 1999 by Dara Singh and Mahendra Hembram.

Both Singh and Hembram have been sentenced to life in the case.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Australia hopeful Hussey can make World Cup

Australia hopeful Hussey can make World Cup
Australia are hoping that the World Cup schedule will give Michael Hussey enough time to recover from the serious hamstring injury that has ruled him out of the remaining one-day matches against England and put him in major doubt for the global tournament. Hussey underwent surgery on Tuesday after tearing the muscle off a bone during the first one-dayer at the MCG and faces a lengthy rehabilitation program.

Adding to the problem of risking Hussey at the World Cup is that the captain Ricky Ponting is still recovering from the broken finger he sustained during the Perth Test and which subsequently required an operation. Although Ponting is much less of a concern for the tournament proper, there remains the chance that Australia could travel with two unfit frontline batsmen in their squad.

"What gives us the leeway is the gap between games," Michael Clarke, Australia's stand-in captain, said. "We've got two practice games and then I think our first actual game is February 21. I think there's a bit of a gap there as well. There's a bit of time which is on our side. I'm hearing good reports that they're confident if all goes well they can get him [Hussey] fit to take part in the World Cup. It's just a matter of when he'll be fit and if selectors are willing to take that risk to take him not being 100%.

"I guess the concern is we're trying to get the skipper as fit as possible so hopefully he can take part in those two practice games. The selectors have to weigh up if we can we take Hussey as well, knowing he mightn't be fit for those first couple of games. We'll know more in time. I think the main thing right now is that Huss does everything in his power to make it heal. We just sit, watch closely and keep our fingers crossed in the hope that he pulls up well."

The odd nature of the injury has made it difficult for Cricket Australia to accurately predict when Hussey might return and they won't have a clearer picture for a number of weeks, which pushes them even closer to the World Cup. "As this is an unusual injury in cricket we will be closely monitoring his progress and making appropriate progressions," Alex Kountouris, the CA physiotherapist, said. "As yet we have not determined a fixed time for his return to cricket training and playing. This will become clearer in the next two or three weeks."

However, a leading sports doctor has said Hussey faces a long period on the sidelines and that the World Cup will be out of reach. "Our experience with that particular injury, it's a three-month plus [recovery time] in most sports," Peter Larkins told the Sydney Morning Herald. "The fact he had surgery ensures he won't be going to the World Cup.''

Shaun Marsh, the Western Australia batsman, has been drafted into the squad for the next three matches against England and would be the player to step up if Hussey was ruled out of the World Cup squad but Clarke knows they are massive shoes to fill.

"He's been a huge player, not only this summer in the Test format but over a long period of time in one-day cricket," he said. "I think in the subcontinent conditions are going to be quite tough for the middle-order players and I think his experience and knowledge in those conditions would be really helpful."

Ponting, meanwhile, is around the squad in Hobart and will spend other periods with them during the remainder of this series. It isn't impossible that he could squeeze in a match before the summer is finished.

"I think it's more day-by-day, keep seeing Alex, keep seeing how it's healing then they make a plan as soon as they can," Clarke said. "I'm confident Ricky will be right to play the World Cup, it's just about how much batting he gets under his belt leading up to that first game. The sooner the better I think for our team."

US, China have enormous stake in each other''s success: Obama

US, China have enormous stake in each other''s success: Obama
Extending a red carpetwelcome to Chinese President Hu Jintao, US President BarackObama today said the two countries have enormous stake in eachother''s success, but gently reminded him about America''sconcerns on human rights in the Communist nation.

"At a time when some doubt the benefits of cooperationbetween the United States and China, this visit is also achance to demonstrate a simple truth.

We have an enormous stake in each other''s success,"Obama said welcoming Hu on the south lawns of the White House.

Hu was accorded a 21 gun salute, as he arrived at the WhiteHouse for his formal welcome ceremony. A group of Tibetanactivists held a peaceful protest in front of the White House.

Hu arrived Washington yesterday on a four-dayState visit to the US, the first for a Chinese president in13 years and the third one for the Obama Administration afterIndia and Mexico.

With a 21 gun ceremonial salute, as Hu arrived atthe White House, Obama shook his hand and bowed his head justslightly.

Thereafter he walked with Hu as they greeted VicePresident, Joe Biden, and his wife, the Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and othersstanding on the South Lawn.

The two leaders then greeted guests and stopped bySasha Obama, who was standing with some kids and waving asmall Chinese flag. Moments later, Obama said the US welcomesChina''s rise as a strong, prosperous and successful member ofthe community of nations.

"Indeed, China''s success has brought with iteconomic benefits for our people as well as yours," he said ashe recollected the State visit of the then Chinese leader DengXiaoping some 30 years ago, which is considered as animportant milestone in normalisation of relationship betweenthe two countries.

"Looking back on that winter day in 1979, it is nowclear the previous 30 years had been a time of estrangementfor our two countries; the 30 years since have been a time ofgrowing exchanges and understanding," he said.

Obama said the US-China cooperation on a range ofissues has helped advance stability in the Asia-Pacific and in the world. At the same time the US President gently remindedHu, also General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party ofChina, about the human rights in his country.

"History shows that societies are more harmonious,nations are more successful and the world is more just whenthe rights and responsibilities of all nations and all peopleare upheld, including the universal rights of every humanbeing," Obama said.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Australia’s Schwarzer: Our current form has us in a strong position



Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer feels the current form of the team has them in a good position in the 2011 Asian Cup.

The Fulham gloveman is adamant that the current day Socceroos have learnt a valuable lesson from the disappointment of 2007 when they were eliminated by Japan in the quarter-finals after a poor group stage performance.

Four years ago, the Socceroos ended their opening three matches with a lucky draw with Oman, a 3-1 loss to eventual winners Iraq and a 4-0 win over Thailand.

This year they have beaten India and drawn with co-tournament favourites South Korea and Schwarzer feels that is a much better position to be in as they strive to redeem themselves from the previous failure.

“That was something very, very much at the front of our minds because we made it very clear that for this tournament - especially the players that were there in 2007 and are here now - that we did not want to go through the same sort of process we did then,” he told afcasiancup.com.

“It was important that we got off to a good start and it was important that we played some decent football as a team.

“We are very united as a group and we are determined to perform better than we did four years ago.”

Australia next meet Bahrain in their final group stage match on Tuesday afternoon (Wednesday 12:00am AEDT). Their current group standing means they cannot lose the encounter whilst a win or a draw will be enough to put them into the Round of 8.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Creating more walls than Brics


 JOHANNESBURG - South Africa has finally edged closer to becoming a member of the ""elite"" grouping of the Bric nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China), following the recent expression of support by China and Russia for Pretoria's bid. It is expected that South Africa will be accepted formally as a new Bric member at these emerging powers' next summit in April.

The Bric states wield significant diplomatic and economic clout and have become crucial powerbrokers in the evolving, albeit volatile, multi-polar world order.

They are the four biggest economies in the developing world and Goldman Sachs has predicted that, thanks to their rapid growth rates, the combined economies of the Brics could overtake those of the current wealthiest countries in the next four decades. They account for 40% of the world's total foreign exchange reserves. They represent more than 40% of the world's population and more than a quarter of the world's land area.

Unlike most Western countries, the Brics (with the exception of Russia) weathered the global economic recession relatively well. This was partly as a result of their pursuit of unorthodox economic policies, which have eschewed the neoliberal nostrums embodied in the now discredited so-called Washington Consensus. The Brics, notably China, have played a pivotal role in cushioning global growth during the recession and have actively championed the reform of the international financial system within the G20.

It is not surprising, therefore, that South Africa finds close association with the Brics alluring. Yet amid South Africa's apparent diplomatic triumph a number of questions remain unanswered about the purpose and benefit of positioning the country within the Bric grouping. It is not clear what South Africa's motivation for joining the group is and what it seeks to gain from its membership. It is not evident what South Africa's strategy to the Brics is and how this fits into the country's wider global strategy.

This is all the more important given that Brics are not a formal political club or economic bloc, with clearly defined and coherent objectives and programs. It is a construct of Jim O'Neill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, that is based on certain assumptions and projections, which may or may not materialize. In any case, the notion of Bric as an analytical category is problematic and has outlived its usefulness. How, for example, does one justify the inclusion of the failing Russian state in the group and the exclusion of Turkey, a resurgent geopolitical powerhouse and a fast-growing economy -- the sixth largest in Europe?

--Ibsa and Brics

How cohesive the Brics will be is another matter of concern, not least because its agenda runs the risk of being burdened by contentious issues, such as competition between China and India, China's historical alliance with Pakistan, Beijing's campaign against India's (and Japan's) bid for United Nation Security Council permanent membership and unresolved border disputes between Beijing and Delhi. Moreover, it bears stating that while India, Brazil and South Africa rank among the world's leading democracies, Russia and China are not known for their democratic practices.

What South African policymakers need to explain is how our country's imminent membership of the Brics will affect its role in the Ibsa (India, Brazil and South Africa) Dialogue Forum, which was set up in 2003 in terms of the Brasilia Declaration. The declaration set out a broad agenda for cooperation among the three countries, which included an ambition to alter the balance of power between rich and poor countries by democratizing global decision-making bodies, such as the UN, and international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, developing alternatives to the current model of globalization and giving shape to the ideal of promoting the economic and social interests of the South.

Does South Africa's elevation to Bric membership imply that this transformative policy agenda will now be promoted within the confines of the Brics and does it signal the beginning of the end of the Ibsa forum?

Given the extensive financial and human resources required to drive and maintain effective club diplomacy, our policymakers will have to accept that the Brics and Ibsa are essentially competing entities and that it will not be possible in the long run for South Africa to sustain both of them.

Membership of the Brics has been touted by some government officials and business commentators as providing a big opportunity for South Africa to leverage trade and investment relations with these countries. This is not a convincing argument. South Africa does not need to become a Bric member to maximize economic cooperation with these countries; it can do so at a bilateral level.

Since 1994 South Africa has developed strong bilateral economic relations with all the Brics and has signed strategic partnership frameworks with some of them. China, the bedrock of the group and the only credible contender for global superpower status, has become South Africa's single biggest trade partner.

But this steady economic progress has masked inescapable facts: despite the vast commercial opportunities the Brics offer, access to its markets has been constrained by a range of tariff barriers as well as complex and restrictive domestic regulations.

--Brics relations

As World Bank studies have shown, it is far easier to do business in South Africa than it is in the Brics. Compounding these market access challenges has been the reality that the Brics are our competitors in sectors such as steel, clothing and textiles and the automotive industry. Also, despite sanguine public pronouncements, South Africa has yet to upgrade its limited trade pact with Brazil to a comprehensive agreement and its negotiations on a preferential trading arrangement with India has been proceeding at an excruciatingly slow pace.

As such, the Brics are barren ground for yielding significant trade and investment opportunities. Against this backdrop, it is not clear how Brics membership will make up for the failure to extract meaningful economic benefits at the bilateral level.

Cultivating strong relations with the Brics is not only important, it is also in South Africa's interest. The global financial crisis has underscored the importance of diversifying South Africa's export markets away from Europe -- which currently absorbs 40% of our exports -- and of exploring new markets, particularly those in the fast-growing developing economies. The Brics should be an integral part of this diversification strategy, but strengthening links with them should not be the country's all-consuming foreign economic policy goal. South Africa's evolving South-South strategy should include Africa, the Middle East and other Asian and Latin American countries.

South Africa's engagement with the Brics must be guided not by ideological whims, but by a strategic paradigm that is grounded in our country's domestic needs and fundamental interests.

South Africa has in the past earned international recognition on the basis of its own intellectual and normative weight. It has always championed multilateralism, offered innovative ideas on vital global governance issues and demonstrated leadership in conflict resolution, peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction in several parts of Africa. Moreover, the country has over the years developed a fluent narrative of global development, especially on the imperative of bridging the North-South chasm. What happened to all that conceptual clarity, diplomatic finesse and self-assurance?

The carefully cultivated image of South Africa as an assertive regional power sits uneasily with that of a country begging for acceptance into the Brics' informal deliberations. The specter of South Africa rejoicing at being invited to join an amorphous entity such as the Brics is plainly degrading and it is an affront to our national pride. South Africa needs to ponder its foreign policy identity and strategic posture in a changing and complex global environment.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Garmin® introduces dēzl™ for over-the-road truck navigation

(NewDesignWorld Press Center) - Kan Business Wire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, announced today the dēzl series, a new line of Garmin navigators designed exclusively for the over-the-road trucking industry. The dēzl boasts a large five-inch display, a built-in loudspeaker, and offers a number of additional user-friendly features including truck-specific points of interest (POIs) with The National Truck & Trailer Services (NTTS) Breakdown Directory, hours, fuel and mileage logging, truck speed limits and advanced navigation and route planning and calculation with Garmin’s nüRoute™ technology. The dēzl series will be showcased in the Garmin booth (South Hall #35831) at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
“The dēzl is designed to satisfy the navigation needs of the trucking industry,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Big enough to be seen and loud enough to be heard in the trucking environment, the dēzl is pre-loaded with truck-specific features that can save drivers time, money and fuel, making it the ultimate combination of practicality and convenience.”
The dēzl series is comprised of two models: the dēzl 560LT, a lifetime traffic-enabled model that notifies drivers of traffic delays and road construction and suggests detours around them; and the dēzl 560LMT that adds lifetime map updates, letting users download the most up-to-date maps and points of interest up to four times a year.
Garmin is the only navigation provider to incorporate locations in the NTTS Breakdown Directory – the most comprehensive guide to semi truck repair facilities nationwide – in addition to its points of interest content that are designed to be relevant to the trucking industry. With more than 30,000 repair and heavy duty towing services for the continental United States and Canada, this preloaded guide provides fleets and owner operators with up-to-date information enabling them to make better decisions about over-the-road repair, compare prices, services and check availability 24 hours a day.
Safer, smarter routing in the cab
• Preloaded with detailed maps that provide turn-by-turn directions and call out streets by name, the dēzl devices feature specialized routing to support truck-related restrictions that are customizable by height, weight, length and hazardous materials. Simply enter your truck’s profile and dēzl guides you onto truck-verified roads that are suitable for your truck’s characteristics. Users can maintain multiple truck profiles and can change the active profile at any point.
• To help you keep track of your time on the road, these units automatically archive the number of miles driven in a given state or province, and can aide drivers in logging fuel purchases and usage. They can also help drivers log service hours by recording driving status and warn of violations in advance. This data can be exported from the unit and can be beneficial in submitting the quarterly International Fuel Tax Agreement Documentation (IFTA) drivers are required to submit.
• dēzl can make finding pit stops a cinch with the exit services feature that allows drivers to quickly search for upcoming highway exits for food, fuel, lodging, rest areas, truck stops and weigh stations.
• Lane assist with junction view helps you navigate with confidence while dēzl directs you to the appropriate lane, with realistic images of upcoming complex junctions where available.
nüRoute predictive routing
• Providing efficient routing and realistic arrival times, trafficTrends™ recommends routes using historical traffic data and recurring trends about traffic in your area at any given time or day.
• Making your commute easier than ever, the dēzl series remembers your frequent destinations and uses myTrends™ to predict your destination without you needing to activate a route, displaying your arrival time and best route based on relevant traffic information.
Customize your dēzl
• Users can give a one- to five-star rating to any point of interest. When the unit is connected to a myGarmin account, they can submit their ratings and receive an updated community database of ratings from other users.
• Owners can save time by customizing their device’s main menu to display their favorite and most-used icons for quick navigation.
• dēzl is portable and multimodal and can easily be switched from truck to car or RV/caravan mode, so that you can take it with you from vehicle to vehicle.
The dēzl 560LT has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $469.99, and the dēzl 560LTM is priced at $529.99. Both devices are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2011. Visit www.garmin.com for more information.
Since its inception in 1989, Garmin has delivered 72 million GPS enabled devices – far more than any other navigation provider. Garmin’s market breadth in the GPS industry is second to none, having developed innovative products and established a leadership position in each of the markets it serves, including automotive, aviation, marine, fitness, outdoor recreation, tracking, and wireless applications.
About Garmin
Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin is registered trademarks, and dēzl, nüRoute, trafficTrends and myTrends are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Notice on Forward-Looking Statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 26, 2010, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of such Form 10-Q is available atwww.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Mkts may correct 8-10% from current level: Ajay Srivastava


The markets closed last week on a disastrous note. The Sensex nosedived close to 500 points while the Nifty ended at 5,904. For the week, the key indices closed down 4%.

The fall was always on the cards with spiraling inflation and high crude oil prices, says Ajay Srivastava, CEO of Dimensions Consulting. “The government is not responding to high inflation so far,” he adds, “The macroeconomic factors suddenly seem to tell us that it is graying in the horizon and is not brightening up.”

However, he believes there will be some pockets which will continue to outperform the rest of the market. “Pharma and consumer sectors will still outperform on uninterrupted government spending to the space,” he says. His picks from the consumer sector include P&G, Unilever, Colgate and Godrej Consumer.

Going forward, he says markets could correct 8-10% from current levels. “Companies are likely to see margin contraction in 2011.”

Below is a verbatim transcript of Ajay Srivastava's interview with CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee. Also watch the accompanying videos for more.

Q: What have you made of the events of last week and do you think the market might continue to underperform in the near-term?

A: Definitely, with this kind of inflation rate, oil at USD 92 per bbl which has never been good for India ever, the weak policy framework along with what’s happening in Parliament. You have a set of situations where we need quick responses. However, the government is not responding as fast as it should, inflation is still as high as ever and interest rates are becoming an issue.

In all certain circumstances, the macroeconomic factor suddenly seems to tell us that it is graying in the horizon and is not brightening up. However, there are also pockets of areas which we believe will still outperform the rest of the market like pharma, the consumer because I don’t think government is going to stop spending on National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme etc.

Come the budget, more money will go into those schemes to handle the political situation at this point of time. There are pockets of good things but overall, in the economy we are definitely much weaker than what we were in November or October.

Q: Is there a downside to this market overall in the near-term?

A: We believe that another 8-10% is what is rightfully so, unless the budget corrects it. If we travel back, reverse from Nifty at about 5,400-5,500, we think that that’s the level at which the market will or should go down to, before it starts to stabilise and move up. So 8-10% we believe is another one which should happen if things continue the way they are.

Q: Do you see this as a temporary problem just for the next two-three months till inflation comes under control or do you think this year could be a sticky year?

A: This year is going to be a sticky year for a lot of industries, purely because the revenue expansion of the companies is not happening, the margin contraction is happening. Our costs are going up but the revenue expansions are not going up for whatever reasons they are. Therefore, it is going to be a very sticky year.

I don’t think we are talking of very high growth rates for the next financial year at all by any standard. On a whole, it’s going to be a very tricky year for most of the companies. We are quite sure that profit margins are going to drop in 2011-12.

Q: Which are the consumer sectors you think will relatively outperform the market?

A: If you put companies in perspective, look at P&G, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate, or even local Indian companies which are there in this segment, the Dabur, Godrej Consumers, these are the companies which are going to gain in this market. This is because the government spending plan will continue to be very high in the market that they are in today.

These too, can pass on the cost and with a much larger base their economics are improving. These companies will definitely stand to gain given the fact that the government is very clear, as it is going to spend more money in rural areas. These are the plays which have done very well last year and will continue to do well this year too, no matter what happens to the market.

Q: What do you do now with the autos this year?

A: We must buy companies where there is a hedge. In autos, Mahindra & Mahindra form a perfect hedge to the market. They are moving into segments which have nothing to do with auto like defence and other sectors, where there is a perfect hedge.

Autos on a standalone basis cannot have a very good run this year because the margins are going to be under tremendous pressure. Every raw material supplier we meet says we ask for a price increase from the main companies whether its Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda.

They all facing huge pressure from the suppliers, so there has to be margin compression coming in the pure play auto companies. We would say - go to companies where there is a hedge and stick with those companies rather than a pure play company, for the next quarter or so.

Q: Would you buy banks after the correction?

A: Not right now. I would still start to accumulate things like HDFC Bank. We would try to get out of nationalise banks totally because the environment is telling another story that NPAs will mount in the segment where nationalise banks are in, small companies, trading companies, medium range companies etc.

This is a time to look at an HDFC kind of bank which has got a cleaner portfolio rather than sticking on to nationalize banks. A lot of people are still sitting in the stock - they went ahead, had a good run last year but nationalise banks are going to be the first hit in terms of the interest rate problem and the economy.
However, he believes there will be some pockets which will continue to outperform the rest of the market. “Pharma and consumer sectors will still outperform on uninterrupted government spending to the space,” he says. His picks from the consumer sector include P&G, Unilever, Colgate and Godrej Consumer.

Going forward, he says markets could correct 8-10% from current levels. “Companies are likely to see margin contraction in 2011.”

Below is a verbatim transcript of Ajay Srivastava's interview with CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee. Also watch the accompanying videos for more.

Q: What have you made of the events of last week and do you think the market might continue to underperform in the near-term?

A: Definitely, with this kind of inflation rate, oil at USD 92 per bbl which has never been good for India ever, the weak policy framework along with what’s happening in Parliament. You have a set of situations where we need quick responses. However, the government is not responding as fast as it should, inflation is still as high as ever and interest rates are becoming an issue.

In all certain circumstances, the macroeconomic factor suddenly seems to tell us that it is graying in the horizon and is not brightening up. However, there are also pockets of areas which we believe will still outperform the rest of the market like pharma, the consumer because I don’t think government is going to stop spending on National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme etc.

Come the budget, more money will go into those schemes to handle the political situation at this point of time. There are pockets of good things but overall, in the economy we are definitely much weaker than what we were in November or October.

Q: Is there a downside to this market overall in the near-term?

A: We believe that another 8-10% is what is rightfully so, unless the budget corrects it. If we travel back, reverse from Nifty at about 5,400-5,500, we think that that’s the level at which the market will or should go down to, before it starts to stabilise and move up. So 8-10% we believe is another one which should happen if things continue the way they are.

Q: Do you see this as a temporary problem just for the next two-three months till inflation comes under control or do you think this year could be a sticky year?

A: This year is going to be a sticky year for a lot of industries, purely because the revenue expansion of the companies is not happening, the margin contraction is happening. Our costs are going up but the revenue expansions are not going up for whatever reasons they are. Therefore, it is going to be a very sticky year.

I don’t think we are talking of very high growth rates for the next financial year at all by any standard. On a whole, it’s going to be a very tricky year for most of the companies. We are quite sure that profit margins are going to drop in 2011-12.

Q: Which are the consumer sectors you think will relatively outperform the market?

A: If you put companies in perspective, look at P&G, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate, or even local Indian companies which are there in this segment, the Dabur, Godrej Consumers, these are the companies which are going to gain in this market. This is because the government spending plan will continue to be very high in the market that they are in today.

These too, can pass on the cost and with a much larger base their economics are improving. These companies will definitely stand to gain given the fact that the government is very clear, as it is going to spend more money in rural areas. These are the plays which have done very well last year and will continue to do well this year too, no matter what happens to the market.

Q: What do you do now with the autos this year?

A: We must buy companies where there is a hedge. In autos, Mahindra & Mahindra form a perfect hedge to the market. They are moving into segments which have nothing to do with auto like defence and other sectors, where there is a perfect hedge.
However, he believes there will be some pockets which will continue to outperform the rest of the market. “Pharma and consumer sectors will still outperform on uninterrupted government spending to the space,” he says. His picks from the consumer sector include P&G, Unilever, Colgate and Godrej Consumer.

Going forward, he says markets could correct 8-10% from current levels. “Companies are likely to see margin contraction in 2011.”

Below is a verbatim transcript of Ajay Srivastava's interview with CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee. Also watch the accompanying videos for more.

Q: What have you made of the events of last week and do you think the market might continue to underperform in the near-term?

A: Definitely, with this kind of inflation rate, oil at USD 92 per bbl which has never been good for India ever, the weak policy framework along with what’s happening in Parliament. You have a set of situations where we need quick responses. However, the government is not responding as fast as it should, inflation is still as high as ever and interest rates are becoming an issue.

In all certain circumstances, the macroeconomic factor suddenly seems to tell us that it is graying in the horizon and is not brightening up. However, there are also pockets of areas which we believe will still outperform the rest of the market like pharma, the consumer because I don’t think government is going to stop spending on National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme etc.

Come the budget, more money will go into those schemes to handle the political situation at this point of time. There are pockets of good things but overall, in the economy we are definitely much weaker than what we were in November or October.

Q: Is there a downside to this market overall in the near-term?

A: We believe that another 8-10% is what is rightfully so, unless the budget corrects it. If we travel back, reverse from Nifty at about 5,400-5,500, we think that that’s the level at which the market will or should go down to, before it starts to stabilise and move up. So 8-10% we believe is another one which should happen if things continue the way they are.

Q: Do you see this as a temporary problem just for the next two-three months till inflation comes under control or do you think this year could be a sticky year?

A: This year is going to be a sticky year for a lot of industries, purely because the revenue expansion of the companies is not happening, the margin contraction is happening. Our costs are going up but the revenue expansions are not going up for whatever reasons they are. Therefore, it is going to be a very sticky year.

I don’t think we are talking of very high growth rates for the next financial year at all by any standard. On a whole, it’s going to be a very tricky year for most of the companies. We are quite sure that profit margins are going to drop in 2011-12.

Q: Which are the consumer sectors you think will relatively outperform the market?

A: If you put companies in perspective, look at P&G, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate, or even local Indian companies which are there in this segment, the Dabur, Godrej Consumers, these are the companies which are going to gain in this market. This is because the government spending plan will continue to be very high in the market that they are in today.

These too, can pass on the cost and with a much larger base their economics are improving. These companies will definitely stand to gain given the fact that the government is very clear, as it is going to spend more money in rural areas. These are the plays which have done very well last year and will continue to do well this year too, no matter what happens to the market.

Q: What do you do now with the autos this year?

A: We must buy companies where there is a hedge. In autos, Mahindra & Mahindra form a perfect hedge to the market. They are moving into segments which have nothing to do with auto like defence and other sectors, where there is a perfect hedge.

Autos on a standalone basis cannot have a very good run this year because the margins are going to be under tremendous pressure. Every raw material supplier we meet says we ask for a price increase from the main companies whether its Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda.

They all facing huge pressure from the suppliers, so there has to be margin compression coming in the pure play auto companies. We would say - go to companies where there is a hedge and stick with those companies rather than a pure play company, for the next quarter or so.

Q: Would you buy banks after the correction?

A: Not right now. I would still start to accumulate things like HDFC Bank. We would try to get out of nationalise banks totally because the environment is telling another story that NPAs will mount in the segment where nationalise banks are in, small companies, trading companies, medium range companies etc.

This is a time to look at an HDFC kind of bank which has got a cleaner portfolio rather than sticking on to nationalize banks. A lot of people are still sitting in the stock - they went ahead, had a good run last year but nationalise banks are going to be the first hit in terms of the interest rate problem and the economy.

Q: We have been talking about the relative outperformers over the last few weeks which are Reliance, TCS basically IT. What do you expect from these two clusters?

A: IT in my view will give about 10-15% plus return in terms of stock prices. I think that’s all about there is, except that IT doesn’t get the mood going in the market. Retail people are not really into IT stocks. By and large, they want more volatility; they want more excitement in the market.

IT is good, it’s a stable performer, you can invest in it but it’s not the same driver it used to be about eight-ten years back and that’s not driving the market sentiment as well. People want 10-15% from IT. The real news what people feel comes in from the midcap market.

The metals and the banking space is where the participation is much more and that is where the problem starts. These are the sectors which are volatile. They should not go down or should not go up in the manner that we want it to go up. So IT, consumer, and pharma are nice but whether they can take the index up, I doubt it as the weightage is much smaller.
Autos on a standalone basis cannot have a very good run this year because the margins are going to be under tremendous pressure. Every raw material supplier we meet says we ask for a price increase from the main companies whether its Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda.

They all facing huge pressure from the suppliers, so there has to be margin compression coming in the pure play auto companies. We would say - go to companies where there is a hedge and stick with those companies rather than a pure play company, for the next quarter or so.

Q: Would you buy banks after the correction?

A: Not right now. I would still start to accumulate things like HDFC Bank. We would try to get out of nationalise banks totally because the environment is telling another story that NPAs will mount in the segment where nationalise banks are in, small companies, trading companies, medium range companies etc.

This is a time to look at an HDFC kind of bank which has got a cleaner portfolio rather than sticking on to nationalize banks. A lot of people are still sitting in the stock - they went ahead, haHowever, he believes there will be some pockets which will continue to outperform the rest of the market. “Pharma and consumer sectors will still outperform on uninterrupted government spending to the space,” he says. His picks from the consumer sector include P&G, Unilever, Colgate and Godrej Consumer.

Going forward, he says markets could correct 8-10% from current levels. “Companies are likely to see margin contraction in 2011.”

Below is a verbatim transcript of Ajay Srivastava's interview with CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee. Also watch the accompanying videos for more.

Q: What have you made of the events of last week and do you think the market might continue to underperform in the near-term?

A: Definitely, with this kind of inflation rate, oil at USD 92 per bbl which has never been good for India ever, the weak policy framework along with what’s happening in Parliament. You have a set of situations where we need quick responses. However, the government is not responding as fast as it should, inflation is still as high as ever and interest rates are becoming an issue.

In all certain circumstances, the macroeconomic factor suddenly seems to tell us that it is graying in the horizon and is not brightening up. However, there are also pockets of areas which we believe will still outperform the rest of the market like pharma, the consumer because I don’t think government is going to stop spending on National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme etc.

Come the budget, more money will go into those schemes to handle the political situation at this point of time. There are pockets of good things but overall, in the economy we are definitely much weaker than what we were in November or October.

Q: Is there a downside to this market overall in the near-term?

A: We believe that another 8-10% is what is rightfully so, unless the budget corrects it. If we travel back, reverse from Nifty at about 5,400-5,500, we think that that’s the level at which the market will or should go down to, before it starts to stabilise and move up. So 8-10% we believe is another one which should happen if things continue the way they are.

Q: Do you see this as a temporary problem just for the next two-three months till inflation comes under control or do you think this year could be a sticky year?

A: This year is going to be a sticky year for a lot of industries, purely because the revenue expansion of the companies is not happening, the margin contraction is happening. Our costs are going up but the revenue expansions are not going up for whatever reasons they are. Therefore, it is going to be a very sticky year.

I don’t think we are talking of very high growth rates for the next financial year at all by any standard. On a whole, it’s going to be a very tricky year for most of the companies. We are quite sure that profit margins are going to drop in 2011-12.

Q: Which are the consumer sectors you think will relatively outperform the market?

A: If you put companies in perspective, look at P&G, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate, or even local Indian companies which are there in this segment, the Dabur, Godrej Consumers, these are the companies which are going to gain in this market. This is because the government spending plan will continue to be very high in the market that they are in today.

These too, can pass on the cost and with a much larger base their economics are improving. These companies will definitely stand to gain given the fact that the government is very clear, as it is going to spend more money in rural areas. These are the plays which have done very well last year and will continue to do well this year too, no matter what happens to the market.

Q: What do you do now with the autos this year?

A: We must buy companies where there is a hedge. In autos, Mahindra & Mahindra form a perfect hedge to the market. They are moving into segments which have nothing to do with auto like defence and other sectors, where there is a perfect hedge.

Autos on a standalone basis cannot have a very good run this year because the margins are going to be under tremendous pressure. Every raw material supplier we meet says we ask for a price increase from the main companies whether its Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda.

They all facing huge pressure from the suppliers, so there has to be margin compression coming in the pure play auto companies. We would say - go to companies where there is a hedge and stick with those companies rather than a pure play company, for the next quarter or so.

Q: Would you buy banks after the correction?

A: Not right now. I would still start to accumulate things like HDFC Bank. We would try to get out of nationalise banks totally because the environment is telling another story that NPAs will mount in the segment where nationalise banks are in, small companies, trading companies, medium range companies etc.

This is a time to look at an HDFC kind of bank which has got a cleaner portfolio rather than sticking on to nationalize banks. A lot of people are still sitting in the stock - they went ahead, had a good run last year but nationalise banks are going to be the first hit in terms of the interest rate problem and the economy.

Q: We have been talking about the relative outperformers over the last few weeks which are Reliance, TCS basically IT. What do you expect from these two clusters?

A: IT in my view will give about 10-15% plus return in terms of stock prices. I think that’s all about there is, except that IT doesn’t get the mood going in the market. Retail people are not really into IT stocks. By and large, they want more volatility; they want more excitement in the market.

IT is good, it’s a stable performer, you can invest in it but it’s not the same driver it used to be about eight-ten years back and that’s not driving the market sentiment as well. People want 10-15% from IT. The real news what people feel comes in from the midcap market.

The metals and the banking space is where the participation is much more and that is where the problem starts. These are the sectors which are volatile. They should not go down or should not go up in the manner that we want it to go up. So IT, consumer, and pharma are nice but whether they can take the index up, I doubt it as the weightage is much smaller. d a good run last year but nationalise banks are going to be the first hit in terms of the interest rate problem and the economy.

Q: We have been talking about the relative outperformers over the last few weeks which are Reliance, TCS basically IT. What do you expect from these two clusters?

A: IT in my view will give about 10-15% plus return in terms of stock prices. I think that’s all about there is, except that IT doesn’t get the mood going in the market. Retail people are not really into IT stocks. By and large, they want more volatility; they want more excitement in the market.

IT is good, it’s a stable performer, you can invest in it but it’s not the same driver it used to be about eight-ten years back and that’s not driving the market sentiment as well. People want 10-15% from IT. The real news what people feel comes in from the midcap market.

The metals and the banking space is where the participation is much more and that is where the problem starts. These are the sectors which are volatile. They should not go down or should not go up in the manner that we want it to go up. So IT, consumer, and pharma are nice but whether they can take the index up, I doubt it as the weightage is much smaller.
Q: We have been talking about the relative outpeHowever, he believes there will be some pockets which will continue to outperform the rest of the market. “Pharma and consumer sectors will still outperform on uninterrupted government spending to the space,” he says. His picks from the consumer sector include P&G, Unilever, Colgate and Godrej Consumer.

Going forward, he says markets could correct 8-10% from current levels. “Companies are likely to see margin contraction in 2011.”

Below is a verbatim transcript of Ajay Srivastava's interview with CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee. Also watch the accompanying videos for more.

Q: What have you made of the events of last week and do you think the market might continue to underperform in the near-term?

A: Definitely, with this kind of inflation rate, oil at USD 92 per bbl which has never been good for India ever, the weak policy framework along with what’s happening in Parliament. You have a set of situations where we need quick responses. However, the government is not responding as fast as it should, inflation is still as high as ever and interest rates are becoming an issue.

In all certain circumstances, the macroeconomic factor suddenly seems to tell us that it is graying in the horizon and is not brightening up. However, there are also pockets of areas which we believe will still outperform the rest of the market like pharma, the consumer because I don’t think government is going to stop spending on National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme etc.

Come the budget, more money will go into those schemes to handle the political situation at this point of time. There are pockets of good things but overall, in the economy we are definitely much weaker than what we were in November or October.

Q: Is there a downside to this market overall in the near-term?

A: We believe that another 8-10% is what is rightfully so, unless the budget corrects it. If we travel back, reverse from Nifty at about 5,400-5,500, we think that that’s the level at which the market will or should go down to, before it starts to stabilise and move up. So 8-10% we believe is another one which should happen if things continue the way they are.

Q: Do you see this as a temporary problem just for the next two-three months till inflation comes under control or do you think this year could be a sticky year?

A: This year is going to be a sticky year for a lot of industries, purely because the revenue expansion of the companies is not happening, the margin contraction is happening. Our costs are going up but the revenue expansions are not going up for whatever reasons they are. Therefore, it is going to be a very sticky year.

I don’t think we are talking of very high growth rates for the next financial year at all by any standard. On a whole, it’s going to be a very tricky year for most of the companies. We are quite sure that profit margins are going to drop in 2011-12.

Q: Which are the consumer sectors you think will relatively outperform the market?

A: If you put companies in perspective, look at P&G, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate, or even local Indian companies which are there in this segment, the Dabur, Godrej Consumers, these are the companies which are going to gain in this market. This is because the government spending plan will continue to be very high in the market that they are in today.

These too, can pass on the cost and with a much larger base their economics are improving. These companies will definitely stand to gain given the fact that the government is very clear, as it is going to spend more money in rural areas. These are the plays which have done very well last year and will continue to do well this year too, no matter what happens to the market.

Q: What do you do now with the autos this year?

A: We must buy companies where there is a hedge. In autos, Mahindra & Mahindra form a perfect hedge to the market. They are moving into segments which have nothing to do with auto like defence and other sectors, where there is a perfect hedge.

Autos on a standalone basis cannot have a very good run this year because the margins are going to be under tremendous pressure. Every raw material supplier we meet says we ask for a price increase from the main companies whether its Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda.

They all facing huge pressure from the suppliers, so there has to be margin compression coming in the pure play auto companies. We would say - go to companies where there is a hedge and stick with those companies rather than a pure play company, for the next quarter or so.

Q: Would you buy banks after the correction?

A: Not right now. I would still start to accumulate things like HDFC Bank. We would try to get out of nationalise banks totally because the environment is telling another story that NPAs will mount in the segment where nationalise banks are in, small companies, trading companies, medium range companies etc.

This is a time to look at an HDFC kind of bank which has got a cleaner portfolio rather than sticking on to nationalize banks. A lot of people are still sitting in the stock - they went ahead, had a good run last year but nationalise banks are going to be the first hit in terms of the interest rate problem and the economy.

Q: We have been talking about the relative outperformers over the last few weeks which are Reliance, TCS basically IT. What do you expect from these two clusters?

A: IT in my view will give about 10-15% plus return in terms of stock prices. I think that’s all about there is, except that IT doesn’t get the mood going in the market. Retail people are not really into IT stocks. By and large, they want more volatility; they want more excitement in the market.

IT is good, it’s a stable performer, you can invest in it but it’s not the same driver it used to be about eight-ten years back and that’s not driving the market sentiment as well. People want 10-15% from IT. The real news what people feel comes in from the midcap market.

The metals and the banking space is where the participation is much more and that is where the problem starts. These are the sectors which are volatile. They should not go down or should not go up in the manner that we want it to go up. So IT, consumer, and pharma are nice but whether they can take the index up, I doubt it as the weightage is much smaller. rformers over the last few weeks which are Reliance, TCS basically IT. What do you expect from these two clusters?

A: IT in my view will give about 10-15% plus return in terms of stock prices. I think that’s all about there is, except that IT doesn’t get the mood going in the market. Retail people are not really into IT stocks. By and large, they want more volatility; they want more excitement in the market.

IT is good, it’s a stable performer, you can invest in it but it’s not the same driver it used to be about eight-ten years back and that’s not driving the market sentiment as well. People want 10-15% from IT. The real news what people feel comes in from the midcap market.

The metals and the banking space is where the participation is much more and that is where the problem starts. These are the sectors which are volatile. They should not go down or should not go up in the manner that we want it to go up. So IT, consumer, and pharma are nice but whether they can take the index up, I doubt it as the weightage is much smaller.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

IPL auction: Players under hammer


The auction for Season 4 of Indian Premier League (IPL 2011) began in Bangalore on Saturday. A total of 350 will go under the hammer, down from 416 after the initial list was pruned.

Following is the list of players with their reserved tiers.

First Tier ($400,000): Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh, Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Brian Lara, Chris Gayle.

Second Tier ($300,000): Jacques Kallis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Zaheer Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Shaun Tait, Andrew Symonds, Angelo Mathews and Kumar Sangakkara.

Third Tier ($200,000): Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Shakib Al Hasan, Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Dirk Nannes, Eoin Morgan, Robin Uthappa, Sanath Jayasuriya and David Hussey.


The full list of players going under hammer:
Player/Country/Reserve price (in dollars)

Adam Gilchrist (Australia) --$400000 (Sold to Kings IX for $900,000)

Brett Lee (Australia) --$400000

Shaun Marsh (Australia) $400000

James Anderson (England) --$400000

Kevin Pietersen (England) --$400000 (Sold to Deccan Chargers for $ $650, 000)

Stuart Broad (England) --$400000

Graeme Swann (England) --$400000

Luke Wright (England) --$400000

Michael Yardy (England) --$400000

Rahul Dravid (India) --$400000 (Sold $500, 000)

Anil Kumble (pulled out) (India) --$400000

Yuvraj Singh (India) --$400000 (Sold to Sahara Pune Warriors for $1.8mn)

Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) --$400000 (Sold to RCB for $550, 000)

Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) --$400000 (Sold to Kochi for $475, 000)

Ross Taylor (New Zealand) --$400000 (Sold to Rajasthan Royals for $1mn)

... contd.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Gabriel India projects growth touching 15% in coming months

Gabriel India projects growth


Q: In the month of December, we have seen CV makers come out with a robust set of numbers. You have an 85% market share in supplying to this CV segment. What is the kind of volume growth you are seeing in the last quarter and any plans to increase your prices because many of these players have also gone on and hiked the prices of cars?
A: We have seen robust growth coming in the last quarter. We are also projecting a good growth in the coming months at around 15% or so. The prices of course continue to be an issue within this industry. There is always continuous pressure from the suppliers who want to increase the prices and the customers who resist all such attempts.
We were able to, to some extent, neutralise the cost increases which happened with the raw material in 2010 but again, the material pricing continues to show upward pressure. There is a huge amount of resistance on the OEMs to compensate for those increases.But not only the raw material prices, it is also the conversion cost, the process cost which is going up.
In fact we are finding it difficult to manage even our man power cost which is also going through the roof. All these things need some kind of pricing adjustments from the customers, which we are in dialogue with but we are finding it a tough call.
Q: As your Q2 numbers would reflect, your margins were down to about 8.7%, that is a decline about 1 percentage point. Are we going to witness a similar margin compression or do you expect in Q4 you will be able to renegotiate some of your contracts with the OEMs?
A: We would try to renegotiate but the pressure is there. We are quite worried about this aspect that our margins have shown a decline of close to 1% or so. We are in touch with the customers. We hope for the best.
Q: What is the expectation for the margin picture for the entire year?
A: What we have seen in the first three quarters should continue. Historically, if you look at the last quarter, it has been always been better than the previous three quarters. You can extrapolate. We would be going ahead with a trend of three quarters on the plus side.
Q: You indicated about 15% growth. How is export looking for you and any plans to scale up your exports?
A: Our export is not a very significant component of our total turnover. This year, we are likely to do anything around Rs30-35 crore from exports, which is a mixed bag of the octroi market as well as OEMs. The focus is definitely on exports now which we want to take up significantly, as part of our market portfolio. But again that is a long haul.
In the next two-three years, we believe that we will have a significant amount of exports with us. The Rs 30-35 crore has come from virtually non-existent exports has been the first attempt which we have succeeded I would say but as terms of percentage of our total turnover is concerned, it is insignificant right now.