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Commonwealth Games to showcase our youth power |
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The 2010 Commonwealth Games will see a major show of youth power. The gen next will be seen managing flow of traffic, information kiosks and guiding tourists at heritage sites during the mega event. For the purpose, a 20,000-strong force of volunteers is being roped in from colleges and universities. The Organising committee for the Games has already started a recruitment drive for students, who would be linked to a major ‘Sports Management System’ with data on games, venues and other operations. The tourism and culture ministry is chalking out a ‘learn and earn’ scheme for the youth. As per the plan, about 3,000 students will be imparted a special training in tourism promotion and monument conservation. The students will be deployed at strategic spots during the 15-day long event in the capital.
“The youth brigade will be deputed at all the tourist and heritage sites. About 5,000 information kiosks will be set up at the sports stadia, games village and parts of central Delhi manned by these guides. The same facility will be provided at airports, railway stations and the Inter State Bus Terminals,” a state tourism official told FE. The selected youth will be deployed with service teams as per their educaional qualifications and interests. To make the organisation foolproof, over 1,000 professionals are being roped in as well. A sports ministry official points out that youth were engaged on a large-scale in the Asiad Games of 1982 but there was no modern technology at that time to co-ordinate their tasks. The forthcomig Commonwealth Games will see modern technology enhancing the use of India ‘s youth power. Nearly 8,000 players from 71 countries will participate in the event to be hosted here in October 2010.
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India Inc plans new campaign for Davos 2007
Peter Torreele, Managing Director and member of the Board,WEF |
The World Economic Forum is preparing for the biggest annual event in its calendar, and Corporate India Inc plans to build on its India Everywhere campaign. The World Economic Forum (WEF) promises that its annual meeting next year from January 24-28 at Davos, Switzerland, will be a unique one because it believes that the world is at a crossroads, facing a whole new set of global challenges. Says Peter Torreele, Managing Director and member of the Board, WEF, “Davos 2007 is going to be one of the most important summits ever, because we have never had such an abundance, unfortunately, of instability (across the world). We have never struggled so much through the programme to put the pieces together. There are so many inter-related issues, that this summit is possibly going to be an eye-opener for a lot of people.”
Reflecting this recognition and complexity will be the agenda and main theme: The Shifting Power Equation. Around this main theme, the Summit will focus on four areas: Driving Growth; Addressing Global Fault Lines; Exploring Identity and the Communication Disconnect; and Leading in a Networked World. WEF believes that the shifting power equations across the world arise from the fact that what we are experiencing today changes not just at the geo-political level, but also at the economic and social levels. Political uncertainties are seen in Iraq, North Korea and the United States. There is also a shift from the West to East with the emergence of China and India. Adds Torreele, “It affects everybody. The discussions today in Europe on energy security are a direct consequence of the economic growth in China and India and the lack of resources. We want to make sure that we all understand and appreciate this shift and that global growth will continue.”
WEF also sees early signs that growth in the US will slow down and these could have economic consequences for the world economy as a whole. The third shift that will be on the radar is the social shift. Today, with the phenomenon of Web 2.0, there is a new horizontal community of about 30 million people connecting across borders with the same values and interests. Based on these premises, the hot topics for discussions at Davos are likely to be nuclear proliferation, climate change, Web 2.0, energy security and the possible US political climate in 2008. The Co-Chairs of the meeting will be John Browne of Madingley, Group Chief Executive, BP, United Kingdom; Michelle Guthrie, Chief Executive Officer, Star Group, Hong Kong SAR; Neville Isdell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Coca-Cola Company, USA; James J Schiro, Group Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Group Management Board, Zurich Financial Services, Switzerland and Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, Google, USA. |
Govt looking to allow up to 49% FDI in FM radio |
FDI limits in FM radio could soon be increased to 49 per cent for non-news channels and up to 26 per cent for news channels. News will also be allowed, according to Mr Anand Sharma, Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting.
“We are awaiting the comments from TRAI after which approval of the Cabinet shall be sought,” said Mr Sharma. “We are in the process of finalisation of Phase-III of this policy which shall expand FM radio services to 275 cities across the country. This policy will follow an even more liberal dispensation than before and would promote healthy competition to benefit the masses,” he added.
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Special incentives are being considered for the expansion of FM radio coverage in the North Eastern states, Jammu and Kashmir and island territories. The Minister was briefing media at a conference in the Capital. Policy initiatives for Mobile TV and Headend in the Sky were also being worked on. Pay TV homes are projected to increase from 74 million in 2007 to 115 million in 2012, and the Government reiterated its commitment to digitisation of television. Convergence of information, communication and entertainment (ICE), or the “ICE revolution”, was posing an unprecedented regulatory challenge for the Government said the Minister. The Government is also looking at reforms in the cable laws and the digitalisation of cable services.
Source: The Hindu Business Line |
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Rising valuations don't deter foreign players
BL Research Bureau Tata Teleservices' (TTSL) sale of a 26 percent stake to Japanese telecom market leader - NTT DoCoMo - for a reported $2.7 billion is yet another case of a foreign player seeking a toehold in the Indian market, by partnering a domestic player.
The foreign presence
Indian Operator Foreign Partner Foreign partner stake (%)
Bharti Telecom* Singtel 30.5
Idea Cellular Telecom Malaysia 14.99
Aircel Maxis Telecom 74
TTSL NTT DoCoMo 26
Unitech Wireless Telenor 60
Swan Telecom Etisalat 45
* Holds 45.3 percent stake in Bharti Airtel
TTSL operates in 20 circles outside Maharashtra and Mumbai and also owns a 37.6 percent stake in the listed Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd. Indian regulations allow up to 74 per cent investment by foreign investors in telecom companies. With Idea Cellular selling stake to Telekom Malaysia and Bharti Airtel already partnered by Singtel, Reliance Communications now remains the only pan-India operator that does not have significant foreign partner in the telecom business. Recent stake sales by new telecom players suggest that among foreign players at least, none has misgivings that the domestic market will reach a saturation point anytime soon. The imminent auction of 3G spectrum in January may also have prompted foreign players to make a beeline for the Indian market.
Singapore Telecommunications owns over 30 percent stake in Bharti Telecom, which in turn holds a 45.3 percent stake in Bharti Airtel. Telekom Malaysia has also been a foreign partner of Spice Communications with a 39 percent stake. Spice’s buyout by Idea Cellular has resulted in Telekom Malaysia through TMT Mauritius, holding a 14.99 percent stake in Idea Cellular. The practice of roping in a foreign partner can be attributed to the fact that Indian players, in the initial years of telecom expansion, were cash strapped and required technological inputs from foreign players. Foreign telecom operators brought in both of these aspects with them and stayed invested here, as growth numbers exceeded most expectations.
As growth opportunities abounded, foreign players have ramped up the valuations that they paid for their India foray. Aircel, in November 2005, sold a 100 percent stake for $1.08 billion, shared by an Indian partner and foreign player. Maxis Telecom made its Indian foray (from Malaysia) and took an effective 74 percent in Aircel when it had around 2.2 million subscribers. Since then, valuations have risen significantly. In early 2007 Vodafone paid a whopping $10.8 billion for a 52 percent stake in Hutchison Essar, which had 23 million subscribers Indian subscribers. When in June-July 2007, Vodafone sold its 10 per cent stake in Bharti to its promoters, (in two transactions), it got $3 billion in return. But recent stake sale by Unitech Wireless (60 per cent for Rs 6,120 Crore) and Swan Telecom (45 percent for Rs 4,100 Crore) to Telenor and Etisalat respectively, may well take the cake on valuations. Though neither of these domestic players have even rolled out their networks, let alone added subscribers, they have still raked in $2.1 billion from stake sales!
Source: The Hindu Business Line |
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