I share a post from my friend Eugenio Monetiro in Portugal Thanks
renebarreto Face book http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=name&id=100000303072789 BLOG: GOANWORLD > http://worldgoan.blogspot.com Twitter : http://twitter.com/GOANWORLD 888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 ----- Forwarded Message ---- Eugénio Monteiro Lisbon, 5th February 2010 · Here is a fresh‘Newsletter’ translating the variety of innovative ideas coming up from the Indian entrepreneurs to help solving the day-to-day problems of the people, namely the poor: Insurance for poor, mobile banking on low-end handsets, focussing on rural-specific products in India, opening of community shops, etc., etc. · For those looking to outsource publishing, good news too: Publishing has become extremely attractive in India . * How can a Country help others in a very efficient way? Look how India did and does in Afghanistan and how Afghan people feel what India is doing for them. * India’s Infrastructures built under the PPP concept is attracting many foreign firms. Will it be there room for your firm? * And don’t forget to go into these two links. Tell me if the first one is not amazing! The second is on the code of conduct for Ministers of the Government, to avoid conflict of interests: 1. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tv/TED-India-Pranav-Mistry/videoshow_ted/5231080.cms and 2. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/Declare-your-business-interests-PM-tells-ministers/videoshow/5531731.cms Futhermore, I would like to highlight some of the news (full news at www.AAPUI.org): - India shows way with ‘insurance for poor’ plan India’s ambitious Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) is set to make its mark beyond borders. The first-of-its-kind cashless insurance scheme with biometric smart cards, targeted at BPL-below the poverty line families, is to be adopted by Pakistan and Bangladesh while Nepal has evinced keeninterest. This, after the World Bank took note of the success early and spread the good word. The RSBY team from Union labor ministry has been invited to a workshop in Bangkok next week where it will share details of the scheme and related issues with countries looking to implement health insurance for the poor. Deals with Bangladesh and Pakistan may be finalized soon. The workshop, ‘Implementing Targeted Health Insurance Scheme’, will be held in Bangkok on January 25-26. Crucially, Aradhana Patnaik, labor commissioner, Jharkhand, has been chosen to be the face of the scheme. She will share details about the ground level implementation of RSBY. The naxal-affected state, notorious for maladministration, is said to be doing well in RSBY. Anil Swarup, in-charge in labor ministry, will lead the delegation. - World can learn from India 's move on Afghanistan : UK envoy " India 's approach is probably what the rest of the world needs. We could learn some lessons from India ," the British envoy here said while outlining the agenda of the London conference set for Jan 28. Lauding India 's multifarious reconstruction activities in Afghanistan , Stagg said the conference will be a good opportunity for New Delhi to showcase its role in rebuilding that country. "It's an opportunity for external affairs minister SM Krishna to showcase what India is doing," he said. " India 's effort is under known and undervalued. There is very little awareness about India 's role," he said. The British envoy's remarks come close on the heels of a new opinion poll, commissioned by by BBC, ABC and German TV ARD, in which Afghans rated India as the most favorable foreign country in Afghanistan and rejected a role for Pakistan in their country. India has pledged $1.3 billion for a wide array of reconstruction activities ranging from education to building roads, bridges, power stations to digging tube-wells, and grassroot development projects. India is the largest regional donor to the strife-torn country - Telcos add 19.1 million new users in December 2009 The Indian mobile service providers added a record 19.10 million users in December 2009, higher than 17.6 million added in November. This is also the highest monthly growth recorded by any telecom market ever globally. The total number of mobile phone users in the country now stands at 525.15 million compared with 506.04 million in November. The country’s landline user base slipped from 37.16 million in November to 37.06 million at the end of December. - SBI to offer mobile banking on low-end handsets “About 25% of banking transactions at SBI now happen using alternate channels like ATMs, internet/mobile banking and the ratio will rise further,” Mr Krishnakumar said. He also indicated that SBI had teamed up with IBM for building a data-mining system for effective use of customer-centric information. “We have already launched the project,” Mr Krishnakumar said here on Wednesday, on the sidelines of an IT event in the city. “Earlier, we faced difficulty in offering mobile banking facilities to our customers with low-end handsets. But now we have overcome this. We specifically asked Spanco to develop solutions for any new handsets that hit the market cutting across the price range.” - Nestle, Glaxo focus on rural-specific products in India Companies like Nestle and GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) are now taking a different route and launching products specifically for rural markets. GSK (maker of Horlicks), for instance, has launched Asha -- a low-cost variant (40 per cent cheaper than Horlicks) for rural markets only. Asha tastes slightly different and is priced at Rs 85 for a 500-gram pouch pack -– close to half the price of the original. Nestle, too, recently launched Rs 2 and Rs 4 products -- Maggi Masala-ae-Magic and Maggi Rasile Chow, products which be first marketed in areas with low purchasing power. Maggie Rasile Chow has been developed especially for the rural/semi urban markets to provide low-cost, light meal fortified with iron. Masala-ae-Magic is a taste enhancer containing iron, iodine and vitamin A. Shivani Hegde, general manager (foods), Nestle India , says these products were developed to address the widespread concern about micro-nutrient malnutrition in India . - Siemens to set up 6 hubs, recruit 8,000 To support the growth plan, Siemens will increase its workforce by 3000 people in 2010 to 20,000. Total headcount is expected to increase to 25,000 by 2012. The company's worldwide president and CEO Peter Loescher said India has the people, the products and innovation power. ‘‘And that's why we are expanding our presence here." For manufacturing of wind turbines, Bruck said the company has identified 2-3 sites in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat and are in discussions with the respective state governments for setting up the plant. ‘‘We will decide on the exact location in 2-3 weeks." The plant would be operational by 2012 and will produce turbines with a capacity of 200 MW per year initially. Besides, wind power turbine, execution of full turnkey power plants solutions will be another centre of competence for the company in India . On the back of capacity addition and new products, the company expects revenues to jump 10-fold to Rs 6,500 crore by 2020 from Rs 650 crore at present. The company makes telecom equipment, electrical devices, X-ray machines and hearing devices among others in the country. The company will also look for opportunities in the airport and ports sectors, Bruck said, but declined to give specifics. - Biyani opens community shops The group is now setting up a first of its kind community/family shopping format in Malleswaram in Bangalore . ‘‘We have tied up with dozens of local shops to give them an organised retail platform. By doing so, we want to become part of the social fabric and get closer to the community. We are looking at an integrated, inclusive approach to independently cater to each of these communities that live here.’’ The 70,000 sqft pilot store in Malleswaram will be open on February 6. Two existing Big Bazar outlets in Banasankari and Old Madras Road will also be converted into community shopping centres. Later, the format will be replicated in other cities. - Publishing: India remains top outsourcing destination The survey conducted by research firm Valuenotes Database among 237 publishers, consultants and service providers, largely from the US and UK, notes that India remains a favoured publishing sourcing destination with 66 per cent of the respondents rooting for it. India was followed by the US with 30 per cent, the Phillippines (18 per cent), UK and China (16 per cent each), Vietnam (8 per cent) and Australia (5 per cent), with the remaining 18 per cent in favour of other upcoming destinations. Some 64 per cent of the publishing buyers (companies outsourcing publishing work) have been outsourcing different aspects of their work, and would continue to do so, the survey said. Eight per cent of the companies are not outsourcing at present, but are considering the possibility, while another 8 per cent said they were outsourcing some aspects of their work, but intended to stop the practice soon. Five per cent of the respondents were unsure about whether to outsource, while the remaining 15 per cent definitely had no plans to outsource. - Four PPP port projects get approval A high-level panel, headed by the Finance Secretary, Mr Ashok Chawla, has cleared four port expansion projects entailing an estimated investment of US$ 890.36 million in three states. As per an official statement, an approval for the development of mega container terminal at the Chennai Port at an estimated cost of US$ 675.17 million has been granted by the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC). The project to develop a multi-purpose berth at the Paradip Port in Orissa to handle clean cargo at an estimated cost of US$ 83.67 million was also cleared by the committee earlier this month. The development of the second North Cargo Berth at the Tuticorin Port in Tamil Nadu for handling bulk cargo at a cost of US$ 71.76 million also received approval. The fourth project that received clearance is for the development of container terminal at the New Mangalore Port at an estimated cost of US$ 59.6 million. - Govt may allow Islamic banking, eyes $1tn funds Aggressively pitching for $1 trillion worth of Sharia-compliant funds from the Gulf countries for investments in its infrastructure development, the UPA government has drafted a report on Islamic banking even as RBI and the finance ministry are jointly working on necessary legislative changes to implement the same. A committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary and comprising secretaries from other ministries, including finance, submitted a report to the government recently on the prospects of Islamic banking in the country and on drawing investments from abroad, Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson K Rahman Khan said on Wednesday. - India Inc upbeat: 71% of companies currently hiring The quarterly global survey asked more than 6,000 firms in 30 countries that whether they were hiring at managerial and professional level and planned to do so in the coming quarter as well. As much as 71 per cent of Indian companies surveyed said they were currently hiring compared to around half in September, the survey revealed. Nigeria (79 per cent) is the only country to have a higher rate of hiring than India 's. "Confidence is back at its peak in the Indian job markets, its happy days again for job seekers," Antal International Managing Partner Joseph Devasia said. Enjoy reading. Best regards, Eugenio Viassa Monteiro
