The importance of being Pranab

- Story Dated: Thursday, April 5, 2012 14:53 hrs IST 

 By Kumar Anshuman

July 21, 1969. It was around 7.30 p.m. in Birbhum, West Bengal. The ears of Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee and Abhijit Mukherjee were glued to the radio. The Bangla news bulletin started and the first headline was American astronaut Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. Then came the news they were waiting for—five persons from Bengal were elected to the Rajya Sabha. Pranab Mukherjee, Kamada’s son and Abhijit’s father, was the second name mentioned.
Mukherjee, now 76 and Union finance minister, has come a long way since then. He has handled all important portfolios except home ministry at least once in his 41 years in Delhi. He became a deputy industry minister in 1973, and since then has been a vital cog in every Congress government. As BJP leader L.K. Advani once pointed out: “Sometimes I think what would have happened to the UPA government had there not been a person called Pranab Mukherjee.”
Mukherjee’s importance in the United Progressive Alliance government is evident from the fact that he heads all but one of nine empowered groups of ministers. Then there are 15 groups of ministers which he leads.
On March 16, he presented his eighth Budget (including one interim Budget)—second only to Morarji Desai, who presented 10 of them. Mukherjee’s first stint in the North Block was in 1982, under Indira Gandhi. When he read a Budget speech which lasted one hour and thirty-five minutes, Indira said: “The shortest finance minister has presented the longest budget.”
In his current tenure, India remained relatively immune to the financial turmoil around the globe owing to his perfect blending of adeptness and caution. “This man is extraordinary,” said K.V. Thomas, minister for food and consumer affairs. “For every issue he has a solution.”
Some call him Mr Fixit, some vintage wine. He makes a statement and an issue gets resolved. “He is the best prime minister we are yet to have,” said Arun Shourie, writer and former Union minister.
His money management skills were evident even in his childhood. A young Mukherjee—or Poltu, as he was called at home—used to go grocery shopping. Though his mother gave him the exact amount required, Poltu could manage something for his pocket money. “Ma has counted out the exact change, but is she going to measure the exact weight of the groceries?” he would tell his elder brother Piyush.
“He is always flexible and I have never seen him being adamant on something,” said Kaushik Basu, chief economic adviser, finance ministry. Mukherjee is not an economist. He taught political science in a government college in Bengal. “He is a statesman who understands what is going to happen in future,” said Abhijit, his son and legislator from Nalhati, West Bengal.
Bureaucrats admire Mukherjee’s abilities to multi-task and give space to everyone. Said Basu: “At one moment he discusses some economic issues with great interest. At the very next he would be talking on a political issue. The switch-over is so smooth and articulate.”
Mukheerjee’s memory and knowledge of different subjects are impeccable. “He is a scholar and you come to know it when you meet him,” said Basu. Whenever an illustrious economist or scholar comes to India, Basu ensures that they meet Mukherjee. “It is something the both sides enjoy,” said Basu. Recently, when Jacques Dreze, economist and father of development economist Jean Dreze, came to India, Basu took him to Mukherjee’s North Block office. Dreze asked something about the history of the building. To Basu’s astonishment, Mukherjee started talking about things like where Lord Mountbatten sat and also where Liaquat Ali Khan sat in the building on the opposite side of the road.
When Basu was editing The New Oxford Companion to Economics in India with Annemie Maertens, there was a chapter on Budget making in India which he wanted Mukherjee to write. Mukherjee agreed but could not find time to write it. Finally, one day Basu went to him with a recorder and asked him to dictate. Mukherjee started right from Budgets in the 1930s. “What was amazing was the dates, the figures on the size of the Budget and other statistics came out fluently without a mistake,” said Basu.
As a political heavyweight Mukherjee’s credentials are acknowledged even by the opposition parties. “He follows certain basic principles and is fully aware of rules and procedures,” said Somnath Chatterjee, former Lok Sabha speaker. When Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav became Uttar Pradesh chief minister, he came to Parliament to thank everyone. He greeted everyone with folded hands but touched Mukherjee’s feet. Mukherjee likes the young faces in politics and is fond of the youth brigade of ministers in the Union government. “I am very happy to see young boys like you doing so well,” he told Union Minister Sachin Pilot at the January annual lunch at his house.
Mukherjee’s ability to tackle problems could be attributed to the friendships that he has made in the long political career. In 1967, C.N. Annadurai invited Bengal chief minister Ajoy Mukherjee for a rally in Madras. Ajoy sent a young Pranab as his representative. At Madras airport, it was M. Karunanidhi who received him. The relationship still continues, and whenever the DMK, a UPA member, is unhappy with a decision taken in Delhi, Mukherjee flies to Chennai.
A workaholic, Mukherjee’s day starts at six in the morning. He takes a walk in the lawn for about half an hour and then reads newspapers over several cups of tea. Around 9 a.m. he takes a bath and performs his daily puja. Then he leaves for office, often skipping breakfast. On a normal day at office, he stays till around 10.30 p.m. Then he meets people who come to see him and reaches back home around midnight. “When I want to talk to him, I usually check in between his meetings and work. I wait till he finishes his day,” said Abhijit.
Mukherjee has a sweet tooth. “If he sees rasagula, before my mother or my wife could stop him, he would gulp one or two pieces,” said Abhijit. During the days of Budget preparation, he stays late in the office. And meetings happen over jalebi, balushahi and coffee. “He loves balushahi,” said Basu.
Over the years, Mukherjee has become short-tempered, which is widely accepted because everybody knows he will calm down the very next moment. He knows the world has changed as well. “Today, India has global responsibilities of a kind that it didn’t have earlier. Our presence at the high table of global economic policy makers is a matter of some satisfaction. It, however, places new responsibilities on our shoulders,” he said during the Budget speech.
Mukherjee is deep-rooted in history and politics, which reflects in his decision making. Despite his hectic schedule, he takes care of his constituency, Jangipur. “Every day he would call and take note of the happenings in Jangipur,” said Mohammad Shorabuddin, Congress legislature party chief in Bengal. During Durga Puja, he makes it a point to go to his village in Birbhum and perform puja at his family temple. He is president of the managing committee of the college where he taught more than four decades ago. And he still listens to the call, as he told THE WEEK a few years ago: “My mind says I should say goodbye to politics. But my heart does not allow it.” May his heart prevail.
with Rabi Banerjee 

Lounge break

 

 Lounge break 

By Kumar Anshuman

Story Dated: Monday, September 10, 2012 10:47 hrs IST 

 It's lunchtime at Google's Gurgaon office. A lavish buffet has been arranged in the sprawling cafeteria. On one side is Chinese, on the other Italian. There is an array of other food as well, from Andhra-style mutton to Punjabi rajma. The menu and the food easily match those of any five-star hotel.
Welcome to the new-age ‘canteens'. Gone are the days when an office cafeteria was a place to eat the food you brought from home or the subsidised thali provided by your employer. They now reflect the identity and work culture of an organisation. In fact, the human resources departments of many companies have special strategies for cafeterias.

“The cafeteria at our office was not just thought about as a place where employees could have their meals,” says Manoj Garg, head of HR (consumer business and central functions), Bharti Airtel. “It was planned as a place where employees could bond together in their free time, have informal meetings, brainstorm, or have a chit-chat over coffee.” Airtel took special care in designing the cafeteria while building its office in Gurgaon. Ace architect Hafeez Contractor designed the building as well as the cafeteria. The sprawling space is surrounded by glass facades, letting natural light pour in.
“The cafeteria should be a place where the employees feel detached from their work,” says Sharad Goyal, human resource head of Google India. “If you make the workplace convenient, you can expect the best out of people. Here, cafeteria plays a vital role.” A mix of colours makes the cafeteria in Google's Gurgaon office vibrant. Even the chairs and tables are designed to match the ambience.
British banking giant Standard Chartered's India headquarters in Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai has a 400-seater cafeteria. In compliance with the group's global standards, its capacity is in the ratio of one seat per five employees. The cafeteria design is inspired by the Liverpool Football Club, of which Standard Chartered is a sponsor. “This not only complements our sponsorship of Liverpool Football Club but also resonates with our staff, many of whom are passionate about football,” says a Standard Chartered spokesperson.
mjunction, a joint venture between Steel Authority of India Ltd and Tata Group, has a city theme cafeteria in its Kolkata office. The walls of the café are painted by a graffiti artist from Mumbai. “Being an outsourcing company, we have people working in different shifts. The objective of the cafeteria is to provide them a non-office environment,” says Viresh Oberoi, chief executive officer and managing director of mjunction.
Food gets as much attention as the ambience in these cafes. “At Airtel, we champion diversity by both bringing together and serving people from various geographies,” says Garg. “Our cafeteria culture, too, is reflective of our belief in inclusivity and diversity.” It is visible at the food counters—there's something for everyone, from south Indian to continental. While soups, salads, pickles and desserts are staple, there are dedicated days every week for special street food. Seasonal specials are also included in the menu.
At Google's office in Gurgaon, juices, carbonated drinks and coconut water are available 24x7. For the health conscious, calorie content per 100 gram of the food is mentioned at the counter. mjunction has a food committee which decides the weekly menu and circulates it on the internal network. “A regular audit of the food is done to check the quality and healthiness,” says Oberoi.
Havells India, which makes lights and electrical appliances, does not emphasise much on the ambience but gives great food to its employees. “This is something Havells has always been proud of,” says Rajesh Gupta, group chief financial officer and director of finance. There is only one buffet counter at Havells' Noida office, which serves “homely food”. The employees are discouraged to bring food from home. “If someone has been advised to have something, he is free to do so, but otherwise we all have lunch here,” says Gupta.
The company runs the cafeteria on its own. There is a catering team which takes care of purchase, and quality of every item used is ensured. “We don't outsource anything,” says Gupta. There are three different rates for the employees of different levels. 110 for the lower level, 125 for mid-level executives and 160 for managers. “From security guard to the top management, everybody has lunch in the cafeteria,” says Gupta.
Today's jobs demand extended working hours, and employees often spend more time at workplaces than at homes. “It becomes very important for them to enjoy the work and the workplace,” says Goyal. “Cafeteria helps them in unwinding and having fun in the office.” Moreover, an office cafeteria is a bridge that connects employees with the company's culture.

I clicked this picture while coming back from Amritsar somewhere around Ludhiana. Its a 750 meter long turban and the vehicle has been designed to provide space for it.

Tragedy of errors

- By Kumar Anshuman/Patna

 Tue Dec 11 16:10:07 GMT 2012

With 1,760 beds, the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) is Bihar's biggest hospital. And it arguably produces the best doctors in the state. But when it came to a real crisis test, all claims fell flat.
Disaster management was at its nadir, as at least 16 people—mostly women and children—were killed and more than 100 were injured in a stampede on the first day of the Chhath Puja in Patna on November 19. The PMCH, which is close to the puja venue, Adalatganj Ghat, could not even provide basic treatment to the injured.
Why was the hospital not on alert when thousands of people had gathered on the banks of the Ganga to offer their prayers at sunset? And what was the state administration doing?
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had returned after his Pakistan visit the day before the puja. On the same day, he personally oversaw the arrangements for the puja. Cruising on a steamer with his cabinet colleagues, he waved to the devotees on the banks, and  apparently quipped to his secretary that his next cabinet meeting could be held at the venue.
Chaos erupted after one of the two temporary bamboo bridges built for the festival collapsed. The police present on the site guided the petrified people to use a nearby pontoon bridge.
The mad rush was triggered when someone shouted that the metal structure was in contact with an electric live wire. Most deaths occurred while people crammed into a narrow lane linking the venue to the main road.
And when people took the injured to PMCH, mayhem welcomed them. Witnesses alleged that the medical staff on duty were throwing victims beside a staircase, declaring them dead. But around eight 'dead bodies' turned out to be alive!
“There was no one to treat my wife,” said Roshan Kumar, who lost his wife and two children. “The doctors ran away seeing the rush.”
Even DGP Abhayanand was reportedly seen scurrying around the hospital corridors, shouting, “Any doctor here?”
Principal Secretary (health) Vyas Ji said the doctors fled “fearing for their well-being”, as people were turning violent. By the time the doctors were persuaded to return, it was too late.
“It was a complete administration failure,” said RJD MP Ram Kripal Yadav. “How could the government believe that the bamboo bridge would take the load of such a huge crowd?”
Politics, obviously, has taken the front seat after the incident. And it has come at a bad time for Nitish, whose popularity has been fluctuating of late. RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav wasted no time to declare: “This is the beginning of the end for Nitish’s government.”
He sought the chief minister's resignation and slammed him for not visiting the accident site. The government stuck to the routine drill: it announced ∃2 lakh compensation for the 
families of the dead, and ordered a probe by home secretary Amir Subhani. The health department, too, has ordered a probe into 
allegations of “absentee doctors” at PMCH.
Nitish, meanwhile, tried to appear unruffled. He cancelled a feast planned for JD(U) leaders to mark the completion of seven years in power, and assured that strict action would be taken against those responsible for the stampede. He, however, defended the arrangements at the puja venue, citing that the bridge collapse did not lead to the tragedy. “Point of inquiry is what led to the stampede,” he said.
In his trademark style, Nitish trashed the opposition broadsides. “Politics should not be played at the time of a tragedy,” said Nitish. “I don’t take notice of their comments.” But he 
better take notice of the people's anger.

 

Will compensate fare hike with better service 

By Kumar Anshuman

Story Dated: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 14:53 hrs IST 

Interview/Pawan Kumar Bansal, railway minister

 Pawan Kumar Bansal has a challenging task: turn around the Railways' fortunes. Immediately after taking charge, he spoke to THE WEEK about the way forward for his ministry.
What would be your immediate focus?
Rail services have fallen in the last few years. There are increasing numbers of complaints with regard to the services. Safety and security are big concerns... and these areas need immediate attention. We will work on that accordingly.
Do you have any plans to correct the anomalies?
I am a regular rail traveller, as I go to Chandigarh every week. People have come to me during my travels and said that even if you hike the fare, provide us good service. So we intend to better the service. I have just taken charge. I will meet the board members and officials in the coming days to decide on the action plan.
Are you hinting at an increase in fares?
Fares won't be increased for the sake of increase. It will be increased in a manner that consumers will not complain about. We will compensate the hike with better and timely service. But it won't be done in a hurry.
What are the other areas where you plan to focus?
We need to expedite work on Dedicated Freight Corridor, since this will benefit the people. Modernisation of Railways has started and it needs impetus at the moment. Wait for a few days and you will see the changes coming in.
Any specific regions you would be focusing on?
All the regions will get their due from the Railways. With support from officials and the people, we will do all the necessary things.

Crowd pullers

- By Kumar Anshuman

Wed Oct 31 18:21:15 GMT 2012

Monday, October 15: Toyota introduces limited edition versions of its compact Etios, sedan Corolla Altis and sports utility vehicle Fortuner.
Tuesday, October 16: Maruti launches the Alto 800, a revamped version of the all-time best-seller. Tata Motors introduces a face-lifted Manza sedan.
Wednesday, October 17: A day of the SUVs. Tata Motors launches the Safari Storme and Mahindra introduces the Ssangyong Rexton in India.
Thursday, October 18: Honda launches the automatic version of its compact Brio.
No, the Auto Expo has not started ahead of schedule. The back-to-back launches are an attempt by the carmakers to cash in on the shopping spree in the festive season. More importantly, it is the last shot at a revival in a disappointing year for the industry.
All is not well in the automobile sector, which had been a major force behind the growth of the Indian consumer market. Though the passenger vehicle segment showed a 7 per cent growth in the quarter ended in September against the same period last year, there are many dots that remain unconnected. The passenger car sales showed a negative growth in the quarter, compared with the same period a year ago. In September, it dropped 5.6 per cent, prompting the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) to revise its growth forecast for the industry for 2012 from 10-12 per cent to 9 per cent.
Reasons are many for the slowdown—from high fuel prices to hard interest rates. The good thing is, carmakers have aggressive plans to overcome it. With the festive season about to start, the industry is pinning its hope on the new launches. “For September 2012, automakers posted poor year-on-year sales,” said Yaresh Kothari, analyst at the stock broking company Angel Broking. “However, this comparison is meaningless considering the shift in festive season to October-November this year from October in 2011.”
Those who do not have new launches are trying to catch the attention of the buyers with new or limited edition variants of existing models. “We have introduced a whole new range of limited edition vehicles to provide our customers something new and trendy for the festive season,” said Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director, marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. Toyota's limited edition line-up includes Etios TRD Sportivo, Corolla Altis and Fortuner TRD Sportivo.
The Maruti Alto lost its crown as India's best-selling car to the bigger sibling Swift sometime in April. Now the compact is ready for a comeback in a new skin. “The Alto is an aspiration of many of the middle class in the country,” said Mayank Pareek, chief operating officer, Maruti Suzuki. “The start of the festive season is the best time for a launch, as we have always seen an increase in demand during this season.” The Alto 800 has already had more than 21,000 bookings and is attractively priced at 02.44 lakh for the base model.
The most eagerly waited among the recent launches was the Rexton by Mahindra's Korean subsidiary Ssangyong. Priced at around 018 lakh, it will compete in the mid-level SUV segment with the likes of Fortuner and Renault Koleos. Mahindra, which tasted success last year with its XUV 500 soft-roader, is again betting high on SUVs. It has also launched a compact SUV called Quanto. 
“It is the completion of a dream at Mahindra to straddle the entire product spectrum in the SUV segment with a diverse portfolio of offerings at distinctive price points and value,” said Pawan Goenka, president, automotive and farm equipment, Mahindra & Mahindra.
SUVs bucked the gloom in the sector with a rising demand in big cities. Earlier, they have more takers in small cities and rural areas. In the quarter ended in September, SUV sales went up by more than 50 per cent. “We were the first to introduce SUVs in India,” said Karl Slym, managing director, Tata Motors. “With the new Safari Storme we now leverage our experience and customer understanding, creating an ideal SUV for today’s motorists, who desire in their vehicle a perfect combination of versatility and luxury.”
In the premium segment, Mercedes-Benz has launched sport editions of its popular C Class and the E Class saloons. The company, however, attributed the launch to the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix, rather than the festive season. “The launch of these cars coincides with the Indian Grand Prix fever which is soon going to grip the nation, especially after the tremendous success of the last year's race,” said Debashis Mitra, director, sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz India.
More cars are getting the final touches in the factories—the new Beetle from Volkswagen; a hatchback, a multipurpose vehicle and a sedan from General Motors; and the much anticipated EcoSport and the new Endeavour from Ford. “Historically festive seasons have changed the course of market and it has always helped the industry,” said Vishnu Mathur, director-general, SIAM. The stakes are higher this time.

HellPG!

- By Kumar Anshuman

Tue Oct 23 12:21:45 GMT 2012

On September 13, the Union government capped the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to six per household a year. Although such a move had been in the offing for a while, its sudden announcement, sans any blueprint on how to implement the scheme, threw consumers and distributors off balance.
“This has created complete chaos,” said Shailesh Jain, president, All India Indane Distributors Association. “The biggest problem is that now we have the same 14.2kg cylinder at four different prices.” According to Jain, there is no clarity on how to distribute the four categories of cylinders: subsidised, non-subsidised, commercial and exempt.
Adding to the confusion, the government announced three extra subsidised cylinders for consumers in Congress-ruled states. Distributors, however, say they are yet to receive notification from state governments. “We have read about the decision to give three extra cylinders, to be subsidised by the state, for domestic consumption,” said Kristofer Atharva, an LPG distributor in Mumbai. “But we haven't received any notification from the state government.” According to Atharva, distributors are unsure whether the subsidy would be given to them or to the company directly.
“This needs to be clarified to reduce the woes of consumers and oil marketing companies,” said George Paul, executive director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. “First, state governments will have to decide whether to give subsidy to all consumers or only to target groups such as families below poverty line.”
Also, a mechanism for paying the subsidy to the oil companies needs to be set up. One way would be to pay the Union government, which, in turn, would pay the oil companies. “All this is still not worked out, so the announcement is merely a political stunt,” said an LPG distributor.
Many people complain that six subsidised cylinders a year are inadequate for joint families. “Most of the times, six cylinders a year are sufficient for a nuclear family,” said Sachin Patil, a domestic consumer in Mumbai. “It might not be the case for joint families. The black marketing of domestic cylinders to commercial users such as restaurants and LPG vehicles will remain a worry.”
In rural Maharashtra, where most of the households have joint families and many vehicles run on LPG, the possibility of hoarding is alarmingly high. “We are completely clueless about how the state administration is going to act against the hoarding and illegal use of LPG,” said Mukteshvar Munashettivar, general secretary, LPG Consumers Association.
Saiyed Asif, a domestic consumer in Delhi, complained that subsidised cylinders were hard to get. “Whenever I call the agency people, they say that subsidised cylinders have not come and only cylinders with market price are available. According to the agency, a cylinder will cost me around 01,000,” he said.
Jain, however, denied it. “No distributor can charge extra. Six subsidised cylinders are a consumer's right. Everyone will get that,” he said.
In Karnataka, though, distributors have been implementing the scheme without any hassle. “The scheme is already operative and there is no shortage of cylinders. Consumers are getting them on time,” said N. Sathyan, secretary of All India LPG Distributors Federation (Karnataka Circle).
The real pinch of the subsidy cap is being felt by anganwadis, non-governmental organisations, government-run hostels, hospitals and schools implementing the mid-day meal scheme. Though these organisations were not under the domestic household category earlier, they used to have a quota of subsidised cylinders, considering the social welfare schemes they were implementing. “Under the new scheme, only domestic households are entitled to subsidised cylinders,” said Sathyan. “The quota for social welfare institutions has been removed. So they will have to buy cylinders at market rate.”
Oil companies are now focusing on identifying more than one connection under the same address. “If there are more than one connection under the same name and address, we immediately disconnect all but one,” said George Paul. “However, there are cases in which on the same address, there are multiple connections with different names. In such cases, we are trying to figure out whether these are separate families.”
Several Union ministers have voiced their opposition to the decision to cap the number of subsidised cylinders. Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal wants the petroleum ministry to continue providing subsidised cylinders for the mid-day meal programme. In a recent Union cabinet meeting, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar raised the problems faced by the residents of housing societies, who are given cylinders registered under the name of the society.
The complaints have prompted the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to prepare a blueprint on how to implement the scheme effectively. It will be presented to the Prime Minister's Office on November 15. Until that plan is implemented, consumers and distributors will have to bear the brunt of the hastily taken decision.
with Niranjan Takle & Abhinav Singh

Gas Trouble
Cost of LPG cylinders
 in Delhi
Subsidised – Rs410.50
Non-subsidised – Rs895.50
Exempted – 11,075
Commercial (19kg) – Rs1,536

Source: BPCL

Talking on Lok Sabha TV on six years of MGNREGA: Analysis and way forward.

Frosting over Robert - By Prabha Jagannathan and Kumar Anshuman Tue Oct 16 11:02:49 GMT 2012 Rumours of shady deals of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, had for long been floating around in political circles. But they never appeared in the media—until activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal took him head on. Kejriwal revealed that Vadra had taken an interest-free loan of Rs65 crore from real estate giant DLF to buy properties worth hundreds of crores at prices far below the market rate. Documents presented by him showed that five companies floated by Vadra in or after November 2007 had total share capital of Rs50 lakh. They all had a common address—268, Sukhdev Vihar, New Delhi—and had no visible business activity. Yet, in three years, the companies acquired properties that were worth well over Rs300 crore at the time of acquisitions. “What's interesting is that the seed money for these acquisitions has come from unsecured interest free loans from DLF,” said Kejriwal. “The bulk of properties were purchased from DLF at a rate which was far below the market price.” The documents show that Vadra bought seven flats in DLF Magnolias in Gurgaon for Rs5.2 crore and a 10,000sq.ft penthouse in DLF Aralias in Gurgaon for Rs89 lakh. Also, one of Vadra's companies bought a 50 per cent stake in DLF Hilton Hotel in Saket, Delhi, for Rs31.7 crore. “The market value of this property was well over Rs150 crore,” said Kejriwal. It is alleged that Vadra was given unsecured loans in exchange for political favours. According to Kejriwal, the Congress government in Haryana gave 30 acres meant for the construction of a hospital to DLF for developing a special economic zone—a move that was later reversed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It is also alleged that the Haryana government modified the bidding process for the construction of a 350-acre golf course so as to benefit the company. DLF, however, denied the allegations. “We wish to categorically state that DLF has given no unsecured loans to Mr Vadra or any of his companies,” said the company in a statement. “An amount of Rs65 crore was given as business advance for the purchase of land as per standard industry practice.” According to DLF, Vadra purchased apartment in Aralias in September 2008 at Rs12,000 per square foot, which was the prevalent market price then. Vadra, the company said, paid a total of Rs11.90 crore for the apartment. “The allegation that seven apartments in Magnolias were sold for Rs5.2 crore only is also completely baseless,” said a company official. The allegations, however, have done the damage. The share price of DLF, which is already reeling under debt, has started falling. Goldman Sachs has downgraded DLF, advising investors to avoid buying its shares. The Congress, however, is the hardest hit. With Assembly elections looming in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, party leaders are struggling to contain the damage. Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid scrambled to Vadra's defence, saying an attack on the integrity of the Gandhi family was an attack on the Congress itself. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram ruled out an inquiry into the issue. “Unless there is a specific allegation of quid pro quo or corruption, private transactions cannot be allowed to be questioned on the basis of imputations and insinuations,” he said. Evidence that Kejriwal's allegations had hit home came on October 5, when Sonia issued a brief statement defending Vadra. “There has been no misuse of the office of the Gandhi family or any misuse by Robert Vadra. Vadra is a businessman. His transactions are transparent and above board,” she said. Vadra, too, maintained that he had done no wrong. “I am a private law-abiding citizen.... My business transactions are fully reflected in financial statements filed before appropriate government authorities in compliance with the law,” he said. Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi dared Kejriwal to take the matter to court if he had any proof of Vadra's wrongdoing. Said a Congress leader: “If they had proof, the India Against Corruption, which is chock-a-block with PIL lawyers such as Prashant Bhushan, would have gone to court. It is clear that the allegations are baseless. Their aim is to milk the issue for political capital.” Senior lawyer Harish Salve, who has represented DLF in the past, indicated that DLF, Vadra and the Congress might consider suing Kejriwal for defamation. “Allegations have to hold up as evidence in court,” said a senior Supreme Court lawyer. “A quid pro quo between the respective governments and DLF, which has to answer to its shareholders, has to hold up in court. Under the Companies Act, there is no apparent illegality.” Prasanth Bhushan, however, asserted that there was indeed a case against Vadra. “Prima facie, the facts show the commission of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act as well as the Income Tax Act,” he said. Then why not go to court? “This battle will be fought in the court of the people of this country,” Kejriwal said. He upped the political ante by demanding that the Haryana government issue a white paper on land deals since 2007. He said that he had more exposes up his sleeves to hit the Congress hard. Curiously, the opposition BJP has been soft-pedalling the issue. It reluctantly demanded an inquiry into Vadra's business dealings, fearing that it could prove to be a double-edged sword politically. “The BJP is a responsible political party and we have never taken up charges unless it is backed by strongly documented proof or reports from agencies such as the Comptroller and Auditor General,” said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman. The BJP, however, will be hoping to reap the benefits of the controversy in the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The Congress can do little now, except go on the defensive and work hard to put its big-ticket reforms back in the spotlight. Property listed in the balance sheet of Vadra’s companies * 50 per cent share in DLF Hilton Hotel, Saket, Delhi - Rs31.7 crore * 10,000sq.ft apartment in DLF Aralias, Gurgaon - Rs89 lakh * Seven flats in DLF Magnolia -Rs5.2 crore * One flat in DLF Capital Greens - Rs5 crore * Plot in Greater Kailash II, Delhi - Rs1.2 crore * Land in Bikaner - Rs1.02 crore * Six additional properties in Bikaner - Rs2.43 crore * Land in Manesar, Haryana - Rs15.38 crore * Land in Palwal, Haryana - Rs42 lakh * Two plots in Hayatpur, Gurgaon - Rs4 crore * Six plots in Hassanpur, Haryana - Rs76lakh * Two plots in Mewat, Haryana - Rs95 lakh * Agriculture land in undisclosed location - Rs69 lakh

Renault launches Scala - By Kumar Anshuman Mon Oct 15 08:01:01 GMT 2012 Renault India has announced the launch five new vehicles in the next 18 months—the new Scala is fifth in the lineup. Scala comes after Renault’s serial launch of four vehicles—the premium saloon car Fluence, luxury SUV Koleos, premium hatchback Pulse & the SUV Duster. According to the company Renault Scala, a premium A3 segment sedan, is a logical progression for Renault India to further strengthen Renault product portfolio in the Indian car market. The car has been placed to compete with the likes of Nissan Sunny. During the launch of the Scala, Marc Nassif, MD, Renault India Pvt Ltd, commented: “With the launch of the premium sedan Scala Renault India is now present across all segments of the Indian car market with products which meet customer expectations and aspirations. This will further enhance Renault’s presence in the country. Loaded with features and powered by Renault’s new generation 1.5 dCi (K9K) engine Renault has tried to bring comfort, convenience, styling, safety and technology with smart pricing. ENGINE & TRANSMISSION The Renault Scala will be available in both variants­—petrol and diesel. For the diesel variant it will use the reliable and fuel efficient 1.5 K9K dCi diesel engine delivering a powerful performance of 86PS@3750rpm as maximum power with a peak torque of 200Nm@2000 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission with a fuel efficiency of 21.64kmpl. The powerful petrol variant uses the 1.5 XH2 engine with a displacement of 1.5 litre. It produces a maximum power of 99PS@6000rpm with a peak torque 134Nm@4000rpm. The petrol engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission with a fuel efficiency of 16.95kmpl. FEATURES & EQUIPMENT Scala comes with features like premium leather upholstery, steering mounted audio controls, automatic climate control, follow me headlamps,  multifunctional smart key, electrically adjustable and foldable outside rearview mirrors (ORVM). The exterior of the car has an elegant design—chrome radiator grill, smoke-styled headlamps, dual tone rear bumper, chrome finish door handles, rear chrome garnish and 15 inch sporty alloy wheels. The traveling comfort is further enhanced by the separate rear comfort blowers. The armrest at the rear seat provides an added comfort with wide and stylish seats. The Renault Scala is loaded with safety features like dual airbags for the driver, and the passenger, ABS with EBD and brake assist, anti-pinch power window and speed sensing auto door lock. Renault Scala will be available at a price ranging from Rs 6.99 lakh to Rs 9.57 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Renault Scala will be manufactured at the Renault manufacturing facility in Oragadam, Chennai, and will be available at all Renault dealerships across the country in five exciting colors—Pearl White, Metallic Silver, Metallic Red, Metallic Blue and Solid Black.

Camry, born in India - By Kumar Anshuman Mon Oct 15 07:58:27 GMT 2012 It was first introduced in 2002 in India and till date it was available as a completely built-up unit (CBU) from Japan. But now, Camry is available with all assembling done here in India. Toyota announced the launch of a new Camry—its seventh generation—today in Delhi. Camry will be assembled at a separate assembly line within Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s (TKM) second plant located in Bidadi, near Bangalore, in Karnataka. The all new Camry has been styled befitting a prestige sedan. The company claims the car offers best-in-class cabin space, derived from the impressively designed wide body. The super silent passenger cabin provides a luxurious and quiet ride. This further reinforces the growing importance of TKM in Toyota’s global operations. The new Camry is currently being manufactured in 10 plants across the globe and TKM will be the 11th one. “The local production of New Camry of global standards will mark an important milestone in the history of TKM,” says Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, Toyota India. The new Camry comes with an Emotional and Rational Appeal (ERA), thereby making it the New ERA Sedan. It offers excellent space, high power, torque, fuel economy at par with the segment in the industry, excellent driving stability and drive comfort. Camry has been a champion when it comes to design and the new model is quite closed to expectations.  The car has wide, luxurious and firmly planted front design. The roof design has also been advanced leading to more head room. The hood has also been elevated to give it a stately look. The car has got smart entry system with concealed sensors which sense human presence. The interiors have been carefully crafted to provide a heightened sense of luxury and space that creates an emotional appeal. It has got 8-way power adjust driver and passenger seats with easy access buttons. Curved roof lining liberates generous headroom. New seat design and larger sliding range creates more legroom at rear.  The new vehicle is powered with a powerful new gasoline engine, 2.5 liter Dual VVT-i, that generates maximum power of 181PS@6000rpm and highest torque of 231NM@4100rpm. It comes with a 6-speed automatic transmission with a sequential shift. The new model is priced at  23,80,000 (ex showroom Delhi) and  is available in four vibrant colours—white pearl crystal shine, silver metallic, attitude black and beige metallic.

Elantra reborn - By Kumar Anshuman Mon Oct 15 07:54:45 GMT 2012 Hyundai Motor India Ltd on Monday announced the launch of the neo-fluidic Elantra in India. The new edition boasts of futuristic design, luxurious interiors, advanced high-end features and cutting-edge technology. This is the fifth version of the car which was first launched in 1990. The current version was first launched in the US and Korean market and is doing very well in terms of sales. Speaking at the launch, Mr B.S. Seo, Managing Director & CEO, HMIL said, “The Elantra has received an overwhelming response worldwide. We are confident that it will set a new benchmark in the executive car segment in India. With contemporary styling, design and all the advanced features the neo-fluidic Elantra will give an immense driving pleasure and comfort to the customers in India.” The fifth generation neo-fluidic Elantra comes with various segment unique features like front ventilated seats, and advanced safety features like vehicle stability management (VSM), silica tyre and solar glass. Additionally it also sports a number of high-tech features like smart key with push button start, 10-way adjustable power driver seat with lumbar support, dual zone FATC, auto cruise control, automatic headlight control, 16-inch Alloy wheels and much more. To ensure enhanced comfort and convenience, the neo fluidic Elantra offers features like electrically adjustable, foldable and heated outside mirrors with turn indicators, rear AC vents, cooled glove box, eco-driving indicators, 2 DIN MP3 audio-with-USB player, with Aux-in and iPod cable feature for unlimited music access. The audio control on the rear armrest is a delight for the backseat passenger. Another noticeable aspect of the car is its safety features. Hyundai has gone a step ahead in the security features. It comes with six airbags, and has got speed sensing auto door lock and impact sensing auto door unlock. To assist safe and easy parking, the Elantra also offers rear Parking Camera with display on electro chromic mirror (ECM) along with the parking sensors. With all these features Elantra becomes the first car in the ultra-sedan segment with security features matching the luxury sedan. The neo-fluidic Elantra will be available with two engine options—1.8L petrol dual VTVT delivering 149.5PS@6,500rpm of maximum power and 18.1Kgm@4,700rpm of peak torque and the 1.6L diesel VGT CRDi delivering 128PS@4,000rpm of maximum power and 26.5Kgm@1,900-2,750rpm of peak torque. Both the petrol and diesel versions offer the segment unique choice of 6-speed manual transmission and 6-speed automatic transmission. The company claims that 1.6 L Diesel engine offers a mileage of 22.7kmpl (ARAI figure) while the 1.8L petrol version clocks 16.3kmpl (ARAI figure). The petrol engine model starts at an attractive price of Rs 12,51,000 and goes up to Rs 14,74,000. The diesel engine model starts with a price of Rs 12,91,000 and goes up to Rs 15, 85,000. There are not much cars in Rs10 to Rs15 lakh segment. Maruti launched Kizashi but the car is not doing well. Corolla Altis is a good car but Elantra takes a lead in pricing and better facilities. The car has got pre-bookings of over 750 units which reflect the demand prospect of the car.

Total Recall - By Kumar Anshuman Mon Oct 15 07:49:26 GMT 2012 Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) announced the recall of Corolla Altis (July 30, 2008—December 31, 2008) and Camry (September 1,2006—July 31, 2008) vehicles over a quality issue. The Power Window Master Switch (PWMS) of approximately 8,700 vehicles in India will be inspected. Toyota had received complaints that the power window on the driver’s side does not work smoothly and sometimes emits smoke. Based on the complaint, the company announced the recall of around 74,30,000 vehicles across the globe. The Indian announcement is also part of the global recall. On certain Corolla Altis and Camry models, the PWMS had become notchy or dysfunctional. This could be due to wear and tear of specific contact points in the PWMS over time. Owners of the vehicles, covered under this Recall Campaign will receive a notification by letter or call from Toyota. The Recall Campaign will be conducted from November onwards, across all authorized Toyota dealers in India. Customers can also contact the nearest dealer to find out if their vehicles fall under this category. Authorized Toyota dealers will inspect and replace, if deemed necessary, the faulty component free-of-charge. The repair is expected to take approximately one hour, depending on the dealer’s work schedule. No other Toyota models, sold in India, are covered by this campaign. The company will also notify Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), as part of the voluntary code on vehicle recall, even though the recall does not fall within the purview of any safety hazards. The company has requested its customers not to panic as this is not a safety hazard but only a precautionary measure, voluntarily carried out by the company. Toyota was considered to be a brand with pristine quality but in recent past the company has to recall around 1.4 crore vehicles across the global due to various technical faults. The current recall will add further to the growing dissatisfaction over its vehicles.

Scooter got hotter - By Kumar Anshuman Mon Oct 15 07:24:49 GMT 2012 Remember Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday on a Vespa? The movie immortalised the Vespa. Now, Bollywood is rediscovering the scooter. Think Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om or Kareena Kapoor in 3 Idiots or the scooter in the song Bhag bhag D.K. Bose... from Delhi Belly. And, the comeback of the two-wheeler is a reflection of the changed perception about scooters in the Indian market. In the mid-1980s, Japanese makers, through joint ventures, launched the era of the 100cc bikes. Stylish, light, four-stroke and fuel-efficient, motorcycles edged out scooters. And, this was at a time when owning a scooter was aspirational for the Indian middle class. TV commercials like the Hamara Bajaj jingle showcased the bond Indian families shared with their scooters. In 2012, everything has changed, including the scooter. From being a stolid family vehicle, the scooter has become classy, trendy, cool and funky for its new target customers. “Yes, in the last decade the scooter market has been growing significantly,” said Ravi Chopra, CMD, Piaggio Vespa Pvt Ltd. “Year on year the category has been growing faster than the overall two-wheeler category.” This growth is significant because while the entire two-wheeler industry has grown at 6 per cent, motorcycles have grown only at 2 per cent till August 2012, as compared to the same period last year. Though motorcycles have a larger base, the growing acceptance of automatic scooters has pushed every manufacturer to fight for a piece of the pie. The growth in scooters is so significant that Hero Motocorp has sold 45,000 scooters, its highest sales ever, in August. Today, every fifth two-wheeler sold in India is a scooter. Strangely, the company which once led from the front has now quit the scooter market. Bajaj Auto is a bike manufacturer today, and has decided not to re-enter the scooter market. So, the credit for the second wave must go to Activa, by Honda Motors, which was launched in 2001. There is no doubt that films have helped a lot in generating a demand for scooters. Kareena’s scooter in 3 Idiots is an important cog in the story, with its own character woven into the film. It created a lot of demand among girls, and among youth in general. “With changing lifestyles and aspirations, the film industry’s portrayal of new-age women riding scooters is on the rise,” said the spokesperson for Honda Motors. “Such promotions do bring the segment into limelight and expand awareness about the ease of convenience automatic scooters provide for mobility.” But, some manufacturers are not convinced about this. “Perhaps it has helped in some way, but we are not sure how much,” said Chopra of Vespa. “Being featured in Bollywood movies helps in a subconscious way.” There are few changes in scooters of yore and now. “The new-age scooter is fully automatic,” said Viren Popli, executive vice-president, Mahindra Two Wheelers. “Apart from having four-stroke engines, better fuel efficiency and the need for minimal parking space are the other highlights. In fact, parking is one aspect where scooters score over bikes.” The automatic scooters are convenient for commuting in city traffic. The target customer, too, has changed for companies. The new Vespa with its retro styling costs over 060,000, a first for scooters in India. It, perhaps, signals the start of a luxury segment in scooters. “Vespa in India will meet the aspirational needs of the fashion, style and brand-conscious youth who would like to be exclusive, distinctive and a breed apart,” said Chopra. “It is for those who want to ride in style and make a fashion statement as well. It is not just a scooter, but a means of expression and an extension of their personality.” Manufacturers are mostly marketing scooters among women and girls and placing it as secondary two-wheeler in the house. “Honda’s scooter portfolio caters to the varied needs of the customers, including the new age Indian lady,” said the spokesperson. “We have Activa, the first choice of a family, the stylish Dio for youngsters and Aviator for premium male customers.” Said Popli: “The customer is predominantly a working woman or young girl child, but the scooter is now preferred by everyone in the family to travel to nearby places like the vegetable market or grocery shop.” Mahindra has five brands of scooters, including Flyte, which appeared in 3 Idiots. Yamaha, a leading motorcycle player, has joined the fray by launching its Ray brand of scooters in September. “The decision to enter the scooter segment in India was arrived at by seeing the huge demand that this segment is witnessing in the country, with college students and young working women showing increased affinity to purchasing lightweight and highly efficient scooters,” said Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO and MD, India Yamaha Motor. Currently, there are seven active players in the scooter market. Honda Motors tops the chart; every second scooter sold is a Honda. And newcomers like Mahindra, Yamaha and Vespa are doing everything to woo buyers. Mahindra’s brand ambassador is Kareena; Yamaha has Deepika. Hero has roped in Priyanka Chopra, while TVS Motors has Anushka Sharma. “In our case, Kareena as a sales girl brought our dealership alive,” said Popli. But some like Vespa do not think that they need a brand ambassador. “We have no brand ambassadors. We believe Vespa is our hero,” said Chopra. “The marketing strategy aims to connect with people who look at an automobile as a statement and not just a means to commute.” The auto companies may differ on marketing and promotional strategies of their brand, but they all admit that the scooter market is growing. “The continuous effort by us to innovate and provide additional value to the customers helped improve the image of scooters in the mind of customers and led to the revival of scooter segment,” said the Honda spokesperson.

Can Fish Talk On Mobile

The TTSL Outreach Program, along with the BREW application that can download data from satellites, is all set to change the fishing industry.
The safety and well being of those venturing into the sea to get their livelihood is a primary concern for fisherwomen, who anxiously wait for the safe return of the fishermen in the wee hours daily. But for fishermen, the daily fish catch is the only thing they worry about.
There is a saying down south that you don’t need to work if you know how to fish. Technology has its impact on every aspect of life and fishing is no exception. Fishermen use fish traps
or nets to catch fish. Now, the mobile phone will act as fish trap and will guide fishermen toward the fish.
In a bid to help fishermen, Tata Teleservices has partnered with Qualcomm, the Nasscom Foundation, the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, and the Indian Center for Oceanographic Studies, to run a pilot project that will be launched sometime this year. The users of Tata Indicom will be able to locate the exact position of fish in the sea on their cell phone.
What an Idea!“Every market has a space and every space has a market. You just need to have the eye to identify it,” says Yogesh Kochhar, head, Corporate Sustainability, Tata Teleservices. On a trip to South India, Kochhar and his team noticed that not too many people use mobile phones in coastal regions. People in coastal areas have minimum connections with the outer world. They get married in nearby locations and everybody is engaged in fishing. Therefore, logically, they don’t need a mobile phone. “When I asked a person why he doesn’t use a mobile, the person
laughingly said, ‘because fish don’t use mobile phones,’” says Kochhar. Though Kochhar laughed off the reply as casual and humorous, deep inside he was troubled and shocked by it. There were two options available to his team. The first and easier one was to laugh off the idea about fish using mobile phones, and the second was to take it as a challenge and make fish talk. But how would fish use mobile phones? After few brainstorming sessions, they finally got the underlying statement in the fisherman’s reply. The idea was to connect fishermen to the fish through mobile phones. Kochhar was quite happy with this finding, though he knew it was not going to be an easy task. “At least I got an objective and am very clear about what to do. The only remaining part is execution,” exclaims Kochhar.

Idea Meets Invention
After initial planning, TTSL discussed the plans with the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Puducherry, to identify the community and area where the pilot can be carried out. Together they decided on Veerampattinam on the outskirts of Puducherry. Kochhar went to meet the director of the Indian Center for Oceanographic Studies (INCOIS), and spent a day with him talking on the possible roadmap. INCOIS is an organization that maps the sea region throughout
the country on different parameters. They research on the availability of resources in the sea. But they don’t provide any report on fish availability.
After several discussions, it was found that INCOIS provides the location of chlorophyll in seawater. “This was something like a eureka for us. Since chlorophyll is life for them, wherever there is chlorophyll in the sea, fish will be there,” Kochhar says happily. “There is a isconception
that fish is available everywhere in the sea. I have personally seen fishermen going in to the sea and after three-four hours coming with as low as a 10 kg catch,” he adds.
Invention Drives ExecutionOn the execution level, the challenge was to map the longitude and latitude of the places where there is chlorophyll in the sea. In addition, the measurement of wave heights and wind velocity was also important to forecast weather conditions and to prevent fishermen from going into
the sea during bad weather. When all this was done, TTSL developed a special application with
Qualcom, called BREW. This application downloads data from the satellite that maps chlorophyll in the sea on servers installed at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, and this will uplink through the TTSL network via the BREW application, thus showing fishermen where the fish are available in the sea, also informing them about wave heights and wind velocity. This will bring
down fishermen’s time at sea, keep them safe, and help them return to the shore with a bigger catch. The MSSRF is regularly keeping a track of the developments, and the initial responses have been encouraging. And things won’t end there. The objective is that the phone also provides fishermen with market linkages. “There is a great disparity in the delivery and price mechanism. Fishermen get at least ten times less than the price at which fish are available to customers like you and us,” laments Kochhar. “We will try to remove those middle layers that
make most of the profit and bear minimum risk,” he adds. Fishermen will be provided with information on mandi prices across coastal areas and it will be connected to MCX in the
near future.
On the whole, through the use of Tata Indicom mobile phones, not only will fishermen get big catches, the phone will also ensure the best price for their catch. Simply put, this project hopes to be a benchmark for the power of communication.
Going AheadTTSL is eyeing the 8,100 km coastal area of the country as a business opportunity for this service. Kochhar doesn’t forget to thank his friends from Qualcom, who looked over the application development part, MSSRF, INCOIS, and some NGOs involved in the project. Rajiv
Narayan, vice president, Corporate Affairs, TTSL, guided the whole project. Kochhar sums up by saying: “There was a space and we created the market.”
Fish search chlorophyll for their life and now the mobile will also search chlorophyll. Both are looking for the same thing, but the purpose is different. While the fish looks for chlorophyll to save its life, the mobile will search for it to save the livelihood of fishermen.

Learning The Number Game From The Neighbor

The early introduction of Mobile Number Portability in Pakistan can work as an ideal road map for the scenario after MNP in India.

Capability to retain the mobile number while having the liberty to choose the network of choice promotes and protects the interests of subscribers. It also reinforces the availability of a wide range of high quality, efficient, cost effective and competitive telecommunication services and promotes rapid modernization of telecommunication systems and services. Mobile Number Portability (MNP) also allows the new market entrants to compete with the incumbent operators on level playing field. Due to this reason two new entrants in the Pakistan mobile market, Telenor and Warid were constantly advocating for the introduction of MNP. According to them Pakistan was an ideal case for MNP. “For growing markets like Pakistan, MNP implementation can stimulate a noticeable change to the offerings of the cellular mobile industry by virtue of a flexibility, which is Subscriber oriented, enabling the subscribers to switch their mobile network service provider without requiring a change in their existing mobile number; thereby, promoting competitive environment,” says Omer Haider, General Manager, Govt Relations and Regulatory Affairs, Waird Telecom (pvt) Ltd. “The presence of six cellular mobile network operators with different market share & network coverage, and diversified set of value added services with highly competitive tariff packages, has the potential to attract the subscriber to switch network which offers the best combination to suit the subscriber’s requirements. MNP, in this regard, can generate a stir in the overall Quality of Service (QoS) offering by the players in the cellular network industry of Pakistan,” he further adds. Syed Hasnat Masood, director, Corporate Communications, Telenor Pakistan also echoes the same tune. “The primary intention of MNP has been to provide customer the liberty to choose any network without letting go of a particular mobile number including the code. That makes the competitive environment fairer than before, since now the customers are not forced because of the "number consideration" to stay with an operator they do not like,” says Syed.

With all these talks going on, Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was introduced in Pakistan on 23rd march this year. The Pakistan Telecom Authority, regulatory body for the telecom industry announced that if the customers port their number, they would have to stay for a minimum period of six months with the new operators. For every number, which is ported out from a donor operator to a recipient operator, the recipient operator pays Rs.500 as inter-operator settlement. Realistically speaking, it takes about 3-4 days in case of a prepaid number to be ported out and ported in, and in case of a postpaid number it takes on average 9-10 days due to related financial settlements. Besides, the user has to complete certain formalities such as filling out of form at the walk-in-centers or franchises at the end of the recipient operator, submitting NIC Copy, paying a processing fee, and additionally clearing dues in case of a postpaid number. “Once acceptance is received from the donor operator‚ customer will be able to port his number with in matter of few hours to a few days. Normally donor operators will be able to send acceptance‚ for prepaid numbers in about one day. Actual porting time may depend on the type of connection and any contractual or financial obligations customer may have to fulfill toward the Donor operator,” says Omer.
Before and after MNP

Pakistan is one of the fastest growing mobile markets among the emerging telecom markets and it has a visible impact on the economy of the country. According to a study by Deloitte, Mobile sector contributed a total of Rs. 312 billion to the economy in 2006, representing more than 5% of the GDP. Deloitte further explores that mobile communication in Pakistan has raised GDP growth rates by 0.12% for each 1% increase in penetration. As a result, the increase of about 28 million in mobile subscribers base in the year 2005-06 may have contributed 1.7% of the country’s GDP growth. During this year, the mobile sector grew by 80% whereas average growth rate in last 4 years is more than100%. The total mobile subscriber base till August 2007 is 68.5 million as compared to 34.5 million and 12.7 million in 2006 and 2005 respectively. This tremendous growth is attributed to many internal and external factors starting from deregulation down to implementation of Mobile Number Portability. Pakistan mobile industry is witnessing increasing net addition to total subscriber base for last five years. According to Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) report, the net addition was more than 21 million in 2006 indicating 1.75 million average additions per month. In 2007, the net addition was more than 27 million increasing average addition to 2.3 million per month. In the terms of revenue, with 78% increase in subscriber base and 95% increase in investments, mobile revenue grew by 48% only in 2006-07. The mobile industry was growing at an average rate of 80% till last year, however the growth rate dropped this year. Following the normal trend, the industry is moving towards stability and the cost of attracting and retaining subscribers is increasing. Telenor and Warid have witnessed huge growth in their total revenues that have grown by more than 200%. Revenues of Mobilink and Ufone grew at proportional rate. Despite this, Mobilink sustained its position as a major contributor in the total revenue of the industry with almost 50% share, due to its sizeable presence. There was a decline in the Instaphone’s revenue for another consecutive year. Out of the total industry revenue, more than 90% came from voice services and almost 5% from the data services.

For analyzing the after effect of MNP, we will have to look at the statistics in a different way. Out of the total 68.5 million mobile subscription, 66.6 millions are prepaid users and only 1.8 millions postpaid users. This ratio is acting as a big deterrent for MNP. In general perception, postpaid users are considered to be the serious users, since they are fixed customers for any operator. They have fewer tendencies to change their numbers in comparison to prepaid users. Now if we talk about the individual performances of the companies, the subscribers of Mobilink, the largest operator, increased by 50% (9 million). Despite such a substantial rise, the total subscriber share of Mobitel decreased from 50% in the year 2006 to 41% in the year 2007. This clearly indicates that Mobitel acquired new customers but also lost a good chunk of its existing customers and a part of this can be attributed to MNP. Ufone, the second largest operator, has seen an increase in subscriber base by 85% in 2007 but its market share remained constant at 22%. There are two operators in Pakistan, which started their operations in 2004 and have grown up remarkably during these three years. Telenor not only added almost 7 million subscribers in the year 2007 but also improved its subscriber share to 17% in 2007 from 10% in 2006. It seems obvious that Telenor acquired maximum customers lost by Mobilink. Telenor bagged upon better quality of service and offering features like fast Internet access through their networks. At the time of introduction of MNP, Telenor was the only company with its whole network completely EDGE enabled. The company has largely attracted the upper level business users by these offerings. Undoubtedly, Telenor is the largest beneficiary of the MNP. The second operator in question is Warid Telecom. Like Telenor, Warid also registered high growth after commencing services in the Pakistan market. The total subscriber’s share of Warid stood to 17% in the year 2006-07 from 14% in the year 2005-06. In the year 2006-07, these two were the only operators who increased their subscriber’s percentage. They added more than 3 million subscribers in the last six moths alone.

The first six months after the introduction of the MNP is considered to be the deciding factor for any market because this is the time when maximum users port their number. For obvious reasons, MNP has made a transformation in the market but against the normal expectations, it has not happened in a big way. In a market of more than 60 million subscribers, the transfer rate has been less than one percent. The operators blame this on the low awareness about MNP in the market. “Customer awareness remains very low as no mass awareness and effective advertisement campaigns have been executed- neither by the regulator nor by the operators. Without public awareness true potential of MNP has not been fully realized,” says Omer. “With increased awareness of MNP, we will see greater impact on portings, quality of networks and customer services,” agrees Syed Hasnat.

The immediate effect of MNP is the improvement in the quality of service of all the providers. To compete with new players like Warid and Telenor, Mobilink has improved its quality of service exceptionally. The focus has shifted from addition of new customers to retention of existing customers.


India on the go

India is going to have the MNP from January next year. In the first stage, it will be introduced in four metros. The announcement came at a time when experts were debating over the right time for MNP. From the operator’s side it has got mixed response. As expected GSM operators are not among the happier lot. T V Ramachandran of the Cellular Operators' Association of India says,” Mobile Number Portability has been introduced to benefit a particular operator that is seeking to enter the GSM segment.” The arrow has been marked towards Reliance, which has got national licenses off late to start its GSM services. MTNL has welcomed the steps taken by the Government in announcing Mobile Number portability. MTNL is confident that it will generate additional opportunity for MTNL as it is expected that some of the high-end customers will be facilitated to migrate to MTNL. MTNL had entered GSM Mobile Services almost six years later than the competitors due to various reasons which included the court case filed by the competitors to prevent MTNL's entry into Mobile Services. According to MTNL, the high-end customers, who had already subscribed to the competitors, could not migrate to MTNL since such customers do not prefer a change of number. The steps taken by the Government to provide number portability will facilitate MTNL to cater to the needs of such customers. Reliance Communications chief Anil Ambani also expressed his happiness over the announcement. "This is a forward-looking initiative. It is pro-competition, pro-consumer and above all, pro-choice. For the first time, in the four metros GSM operators will face real competition," says Ambani. As expected CDMA association AUSPI has also welcomed the decision. S C Khanna of AUSPI says, “It is an important and effective tool for ensuring effective competition and improved quality of service in the mobile telecom service sector, which will ultimately benefit the subscribers at large." Vodafone and Bharti refused to comment on this when contacted.

Future ahead

India is a bigger market as compared to Pakistan. According to TRAI report, the total mobile subscribers in India till June 2007 are 184.92 million. The GSM operators command 73% of the total number while rest is with CDMA operators. The postpaid customers, which are considered to be the serious users, amount around 12% of the total mobile subscribers. Considering this size the market has enough opportunities if not great. It will provide a battlefield for customer retention, specially, when new players like Reliance and Spice are trying to roll out a national GSM service. But with teledensity as low as 15%, it would be interesting to see whether the service providers will concentrate more on exploring new areas and adding more customers than retention of existing customers. “Since the telecom market is far from saturated, the implementation of MNP is likely to face stiff resistance from operators. The reason for this is the high implementation costs which the regulator might not allow firms to transfer to subscribers. Secondly, India predominantly has been a prepaid market and it is much more convenient to obtain a prepaid connection than to wait for the completion of the porting process,” feels Romal Shetty, executive director, KPMG. “Although MNP will be a challenge in terms of implementation, costs, pricing and benefits to the subscribers and operators, it will surface in India due to the growth of the market and increased competition,” he further adds.

From the experience of other nations, the first six months after the introduction will decide the euphoria of MNP. Once the operators arm themselves with better quality of service, the effect will be less visible. For all that, we will have to wait till April next year, when MNP will finally hit the door.