India's tech education statistics

There are 1,346 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake of 440,000, plus 1,244 polytechnics with an annual intake of 265,000.

My full Page article on the new Hyderabad Airport(Shamshabad) published in the Times of India (Hyderabad edition) -Special Report on 16th March.Page 2

This picture is for pictoral representation purpose only..

This City Rocks !
With all the activity happening around the city, techie Ajit Nair joins the dots and explains why the future looks pretty awe-inspiring to him
The Upbeat India Story According to a statistic India churns out 350000 engineers (one third of the entire world estimated to produce 1 million annually), 70000 MBA's and close to a million graduates every year. Four states --Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala -- account for 31 percent of India's population, but 69 percent of India's engineers. India boasts of 306 universities and 15000 colleges. Many people bet on India's generation young as we are the only nation with a huge segment of the total population between the age group of 20 - 35 years. India is young and India is booming, firing positive outlooks for almost all the sectors, ushering in an impressive middle class segment with a lot of buying clout. The Indian economy is showing signs of 9 per cent GDP growth to be sustainable in the next decade or so, which is a result of growth across sectors like IT, BPO, manufacturing and pharma. This in turn results in more real estate activity thus ensuring this spurt in real estate activity to be more fundamental by nature than purely being speculative. We are already talking about IT exports touching $60 billion dollars by 2010. Software exports stood at around $24 billion in 2006(Nasscom). The $60 billion target represents a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.3 per cent. Similarly the Indian BPO segment contributed $6.5 billion to the total software and services exports and this is to cross $8 billion in 2007. Another area of great activity is Indian tourism industry, which has the potential to grow further by 50-100 percent annually. Hyderabad - The City Of Choice Andhra Pradesh, one of the bigger states in India has a huge pool of highly qualified manpower with 29 universities producing 55,000 engineers, 110 polytechnics and 563 industrial training institutes turning out thousands more skilled workers every year. Andhra Pradesh is well connected to major Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Andhra state is home to various emerging industries like bulk drugs/pharmaceuticals, horticulture, poultry farming, spices mines/minerals, textiles/apparels and now IT. Hyderabad is known for its rich history, culture and architecture representing its unique characteristic of a meeting point for North and South India, and its multilingual culture, both geographically and culturally. Hence, Hyderabad is considered to be the gateway of southern India. With a population of approximately 6.5 million (65 lakh), it is India's 5th largest metropolis and the 41st largest metropolitan area in the world. Hyderabad has a cosmopolitan culture and a very affordable living standard compared to other competitors like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. Hyderabad actually involves twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and also has many upcoming satellite townships like Shamshabad (the location for the new airport), Gachibowli, Uppal and so on. Hyderabad is the emerging IT /Biotechnology hub of India and has a very strong background in entertainment industry. Hyderabad has initiated a whole host of investment friendly initiatives from the governments of the past and present for almost a decade now, including a mix of public, private and private-public participation. Other than the the ambitious Shamshabad international airport, a whole host of other infrastructure features such as the longest flyover in India, the IT hubs in Hi tech city, Gachibowli, Uppal, Shamirpet, the genome valley Biotechnology hub, Semiconductor Park and the Outer Ring Road (ORR) project. Like many Indian cities, Hyderabad has witnessed a remarkable growth in the real estate business, thanks to a predominantly information technology-driven boom in the 1990s and the retail industry growth over the last few years which have spurred hectic commercial activity. A number of retail malls have come up or are being built in the city. The investment friendly government has also ensured extensive investments in the digital infrastructure within the city promoting the setting up of various educational campuses by a vast array of firms. Some of the very notable educational investments in pipeline being - Vedanta university, Birla campus, many prestigeous US universities etc.The city hosts two Central Universities, two Deemed Universities, and six State Universities. Shamshabad - the future outlook The new airport, widely tipped to be among the best in Asia having world class facilities is expected to cater a total of around 7 million passengers per year in the intial phase and finally upto 50 million passengers per year.This multi million dollar project has been built in an area of around 5,500 acres of land and will have the longest runway among Indian airports.The new airp[ort project also envisages plenty of real estate development within the airport like hotels, convention centers, shopping malls/entertainment complexes and Free Trade Zones etc. There is laso going to be a lot of business activity with regards to the adjacent Air Cargo comples and an MRO(Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility) near or inside the airport. Hence, Shamshabad is witnessing many related investments in the area of hospitality, education, IT, ITES, Biotech parks, business parks, Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and housing coming up in and around the new International Airport. The Fabcity investment alone is around $3 billion and promises to generate an emplyment of around 1.5 million people by 2015 (both direct and indirect). The Fabcity project spanning over 1500 acres of land, being developed by a consortium of firms including both AMD and Intel, will open up a new business avenue of high end chip designing/testing and manufacturing, currently manufactured in few countries only. This is an extremly important project for India as it takes the Indian economy into the next level of the business learning curve. The second phase work on Fabcity project is set to commence from April 2007. Government of Andhra Pradesh has allotted close to 5000 acres of land for Software and Hardware park near Shamshabad ensuring a slew of MNC investments into these parks.. Other Related Investments in Shamshabad The Mucherla IT park - It is located around 14 kms from the new airport has 850 acres of land, where 20 acres have been allotted to dell.Infosys is setting up a 550 acre campus, the biggest software facility in India. Amusement Park - Asia's biggest Amusement park being developed close to Shamshabad airport is to attract thousands of tourists everyday. Apparel Park - Spread over 176 Acres of prime Industrial land complete with banks, post offices, exhibition halls and shopping complexes is a conglomeration of several garment making units. Dubai Garments companies such as Vetco, Atraco and Cristal Garments located in Jabel Ali Free Zone have already decided to shift their operations to Apparel Park. Videocon Project - Videocon International, the country's largest Consumer electronics manufacturer plans to pump Rs. 500 Crores into its state of the art manufacturing facility in the next 3-4 years. Astra Micro Wave Products Ltd - Engaged in the manufacture of Communication related products including radar subsystems for defence and telecommunication sectors has embarked on a plan to set up its third plant near research centre Imarat. International University - 100 Acres allotted for the International University in Hyderabad will provide quality education for International scholars. The International University is sure to attract nearly 10,000 international scholars every year. AP Housing Board Township - Proposed 125 Acres township with Malaysian collaboration. In addition HUDA (hyderabad urban development authority) plans to auction a mega venture of 350 acres and develop a 600 Acres Township at Maheshwaram Mandal Nova Park - 3000 Acres of land has been allotted near the hardware park for the proposed NOVA Park. According to real estate experts once the adjacent ORR (Outer ring road) project is completed the existing prices in and around Shamshabad like Kothur; Mansanpally could go up by another 20-25 percent. The ORR project is a six lane express way encircling Hyderabad city and runs very close to the Shamshabad Airport. The dedicated airport rail link between Begumpet and Shamshabad will bring down the travel time from the city center to Shamshabad by more than 50 per cent and will also provide connectivity to the other big projects in and around Shamshabad airport. There have been various pending proposals for more real estate activity in and around Shamshabad. The rail link modeled on the lines of the rail corridor in Hong Kong and London could bring down the average travel time from 90 minutes to 22 minutes. Andhra Pradesh government has recently sabctioned the Shamshabad Police Station as the biggest police station in Hyderabad with a force of more than 200 personnel and this facility will also be the most modern police station in the state. MMTS(multi model transit system) Railway Station - The main MMTS Railway Station in Timmapur directly links this zone to the Cargo hold of the International Airport. With a sanction of 230 Crores for the development of Timmapur MMTS Railway Station, work is progressing at a rapid pace. What's more, the Outer Ring Road coupled with the Express Highway and MMTS Railway connectivity will lead straight to the IT Hub of Gacchibowli and Madhapur. For the area, it will mean a straight access to the future. (The writer Ajit Nair, is with Kenexa Technologies.)

Milan 0 - 2 Arsenal: A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words

How important is this moment for us ...this is going to help us rediscover our season....Cesc Fabregas hugging his mentor and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after that 84th minute wonder strike against European Champions AC Milan.

I loved this comment on Eduardo from Arsene...

Query - on the reported 'Eduardo' chants by Villa fans ...( Aston Villa football fans where trying to take advantage of Arsenal players mentallity post that horrendous tackle on Arsenal center forward Eduardo by chanting Eduardo...

Wenger's quid pro quo reply to the query -

"You expect better from people who come to football stadiums. It looks that intelligence and stupidity can have no limits. Unfortunately stupidity has won."

In different moods... and with friends...

Look @ Eduardo's Leg...this will happen to a top notch professional football player.

Why is Budget presented on the last working day of February?

Some more interesting facts on Indian Budget...Source - rediff.com

If it's February, it's time for the Budget. Budgets have always been presented on the last day of February. So B-day is always on February 28, except on leap years when it is presented on February 29.

This year, the Budget will be presented on February 29. This will be Chidambaram's first Budget on February 29 (all his other six Budgets were presented on February 28). Morarji Desai has presented two Budgets on February 29.

Why Budget is tabled on the last working day of February?
The finance minister is required to submit the Budget to the Parliament usually on the last working day of February so that the Lok Sabha has one month to review and modify the Budget proposals.

The Budget proposed by the finance minister comes into effect after parliamentary discussion on the Budget has been completed by April 1.

Who decides the Budget day?

In India, the Budget is presented in Parliament on a date fixed by the President.

The Budget speech of the finance minister is usually divided in two parts. Part A deals with general economic survey of the country while Part B relates to taxation proposals.

The General Budget is presented at 11 a.m. on the last working day of February, i.e. about a month before the commencement of the financial year except in the year when general elections are held.

In an election year, Budget may be presented twice -- first to secure vote on account for a few months and later in full.

How the Sensex (Indian Stock Barometer) is calculated

A very interesting and informative article....Source - Rediff and Commodity Online
For the premier Bombay Stock Exchange that pioneered the stock broking activity in India, 128 years of experience seems to be a proud milestone. A lot has changed since 1875 when 318 persons became members of what today is called The Stock Exchange, Mumbai by paying a princely amount of Re 1.

Since then, the country's capital markets have passed through both good and bad periods. The journey in the 20th century has not been an easy one. Till the decade of eighties, there was no scale to measure the ups and downs in the Indian stock market. The Stock Exchange, Mumbai in 1986 came out with a stock index that subsequently became the barometer of the Indian stock market.

Sensex is not only scientifically designed but also based on globally accepted construction and review methodology. First compiled in 1986, Sensex is a basket of 30 constituent stocks representing a sample of large, liquid and representative companies.

The base year of Sensex is 1978-79 and the base value is 100. The index is widely reported in both domestic and international markets through print as well as electronic media.

The Index was initially calculated based on the "Full Market Capitalization" methodology but was shifted to the free-float methodology with effect from September 1, 2003. The "Free-float Market Capitalization" methodology of index construction is regarded as an industry best practice globally. All major index providers like MSCI, FTSE, STOXX, S&P and Dow Jones use the Free-float methodology. (See below: Explanation with an example)

Due to is wide acceptance amongst the Indian investors; Sensex is regarded to be the pulse of the Indian stock market. As the oldest index in the country, it provides the time series data over a fairly long period of time (From 1979 onwards). Small wonder, the Sensex has over the years become one of the most prominent brands in the country.

The growth of equity markets in India has been phenomenal in the decade gone by. Right from early nineties the stock market witnessed heightened activity in terms of various bull and bear runs. The Sensex captured all these events in the most judicial manner. One can identify the booms and busts of the Indian stock market through Sensex.

Sensex Calculation Methodology

Sensex is calculated using the "Free-float Market Capitalization" methodology. As per this methodology, the level of index at any point of time reflects the Free-float market value of 30 component stocks relative to a base period. The market capitalization of a company is determined by multiplying the price of its stock by the number of shares issued by the company. This market capitalization is further multiplied by the free-float factor to determine the free-float market capitalization.

The base period of Sensex is 1978-79 and the base value is 100 index points. This is often indicated by the notation 1978-79=100. The calculation of Sensex involves dividing the Free-float market capitalization of 30 companies in the Index by a number called the Index Divisor.

The Divisor is the only link to the original base period value of the Sensex. It keeps the Index comparable over time and is the adjustment point for all Index adjustments arising out of corporate actions, replacement of scrips etc. During market hours, prices of the index scrips, at which latest trades are executed, are used by the trading system to calculate Sensex every 15 seconds and disseminated in real time.

Dollex-30

BSE also calculates a dollar-linked version of Sensex and historical values of this index are available since its inception.

Understanding Free-float Methodology

Free-float Methodology refers to an index construction methodology that takes into consideration only the free-float market capitalisation of a company for the purpose of index calculation and assigning weight to stocks in Index. Free-float market capitalization is defined as that proportion of total shares issued by the company that are readily available for trading in the market.

It generally excludes promoters' holding, government holding, strategic holding and other locked-in shares that will not come to the market for trading in the normal course. In other words, the market capitalization of each company in a Free-float index is reduced to the extent of its readily available shares in the market.

In India, BSE pioneered the concept of Free-float by launching BSE TECk in July 2001 and Bankex in June 2003. While BSE TECk Index is a TMT benchmark, Bankex is positioned as a benchmark for the banking sector stocks. Sensex becomes the third index in India to be based on the globally accepted Free-float Methodology.


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Example (provided by rediff.com reader Munish Oberoi):

Suppose the Index consists of only 2 stocks: Stock A and Stock B.

Suppose company A has 1,000 shares in total, of which 200 are held by the promoters, so that only 800 shares are available for trading to the general public. These 800 shares are the so-called 'free-floating' shares.

Similarly, company B has 2,000 shares in total, of which 1,000 are held by the promoters and the rest 1,000 are free-floating.

Now suppose the current market price of stock A is Rs 120. Thus, the 'total' market capitalisation of company A is Rs 120,000 (1,000 x 120), but its free-float market capitalisation is Rs 96,000 (800 x 120).

Similarly, suppose the current market price of stock B is Rs 200. The total market capitalisation of company B will thus be Rs 400,000 (2,000 x 200), but its free-float market cap is only Rs 200,000 (1,000 x 200).

So as of today the market capitalisation of the index (i.e. stocks A and B) is Rs 520,000 (Rs 120,000 + Rs 400,000); while the free-float market capitalisation of the index is Rs 296,000. (Rs 96,000 + Rs 200,000).

The year 1978-79 is considered the base year of the index with a value set to 100. What this means is that suppose at that time the market capitalisation of the stocks that comprised the index then was, say, 60,000 (remember at that time there may have been some other stocks in the index, not A and B, but that does not matter), then we assume that an index market cap of 60,000 is equal to an index-value of 100.

Thus the value of the index today is = 296,000 x 100/60,000 = 493.33

This is how the Sensex is calculated.

The factor 100/60000 is called index divisor.


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The 30 Sensex stocks are:

ACC, Ambuja Cements, Bajaj Auto [Get Quote], BHEL, Bharti Airtel [Get Quote], Cipla, DLF, Grasim Industries [Get Quote], HDFC [Get Quote], HDFC Bank, Hindalco Industries [Get Quote], Hindustan Lever [Get Quote], ICICI Bank [Get Quote], Infosys [Get Quote], ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Udyog [Get Quote], NTPC, ONGC [Get Quote], Ranbaxy Laboratories [Get Quote], Reliance Communications [Get Quote], Reliance Energy [Get Quote], Reliance Industries [Get Quote], Satyam Computer Services [Get Quote], State Bank of India [Get Quote], Tata Consultancy Services [Get Quote], Tata Motors [Get Quote], Tata Steel [Get Quote], and Wipro [Get Quote].

A world-class Hyderabad airport? Not too sure

Something Interesting on our new Hyderabad Airport


While the media celebrates the creation of a truly world-class airport at Hyderabad, spare a moment for the toll, literally, this will take on users, right from the couple of hours it'll take to get there from the centre of town to the Rs 700 that each passenger will pay as user development fee each time he/she flies.

Given the existing airport is in the centre of town and there's no UDF, it's easy to see why passengers are up in arms. Indeed, if you think the goings on in the Delhi airport are a scandal, what's happening in Hyderabad is a lot worse.

In Delhi, the problems stem from the GMR group's interpretation of the concession; in Hyderabad, the problems stem from the huge post-bid concessions given to the GMR group.

To begin with, the bidding itself was curious. The state government owned the land of the new airport and so carried out the bidding. But since the concession (more on this later) was signed with the government of India's ministry of civil aviation, the actual negotiations took place with the GoI!

So, the state government selected the GMR group on the basis of its bidding and, in the process of negotiating with the GoI, a host of additional concessions were added on. Needless to say, if these concessions were known earlier, others would have liked to bid as well, and perhaps a lot more than GMR, which is going to give just 4 per cent of its revenues to the AAI.

As in the case of the Delhi airport, the GMR group has a host of subsidiaries (six) to help reduce the divisible pool of revenues, which include, if you please, those from a 308-room hotel.

What were these post-bid sweeteners? For one, the government promised that the existing Airports Authority of India airport, which serviced around 6 million passengers and gave AAI annual revenues of around Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion), would be closed down. It also promised no new airport was going to be set up within 150 km of the GMR one for 25 years. The aviation policy, on the other hand, allows such airports to be set up, with some concessions though.

So, in Delhi, for instance, if a new airport is to be set up, the GMR group gets the right of first refusal if it bids up to 10 per cent less than the top bidder. Then, to help make the new concessionaire make some more money, the concession allowed charging of a user development fee.

On the face of it, a UDF seems fair enough and is equivalent to paying tolls to help fund an expressway. But since a UDF is based on the cost of a project, it's important to ensure this cost is not over-stated. There is nothing in the concession that deals with this. All it says is that the final cost will be audited by the ministry of civil aviation.

But auditing, as we know, is just about ensuring there's a bill to match each item of expenditure; it's not about ensuring all parts of a project are competitively bid out or benchmarking of costs with other projects. The concession is also silent on whether this UDF will take into account the earnings the GMR group will make from other airport-related operations.

Essentially, in sectors where cost-plus regimes are still in vogue, such as in power, there are elaborate rules/guidelines on how costs are to be determined/apportioned, but there is nothing of the sort for the UDF in the concession agreement.

Sadly, the central government's dubious role extends even further. The ministry of civil aviation, which granted the Hyderabad concession, has actually no right to do so since it doesn't even own the airport/land! In Delhi and Mumbai, the AAI signed the concession since it, not the ministry, owned the airports. In this case, since the AAI couldn't sign, the ministry helpfully stepped in!

Big deal, some will say since, under the law, only the central government has the right to grant licences for setting up new airports -- so, concession or licence, they're both really the same thing. Well, not really since a licence does not entail any obligations on the part of the licensor while a concession does.

It was under the concession, for instance, that the central government promised to shut down the existing airport, to give GMR monopoly rights and UDF -- and since all these are in the concession, GMR has a legal right to them. None of these sweeteners could have been given under a licence.

Postscript: Several of the irregularities in the Delhi airport are now being fixed thanks to media and other pressures. It'll be interesting to see if the same happens in Hyderabad.

Source - Rediff.com; Business Standard

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