the tyre industry is mainly dominated by the organised sector, the unorganised sector holds sway in bicycle tyres. The major players in the organised tyre segment consist of MRF, Apollo Tyres, Ceat and JK Industries, which account for 63 per cent of the organised tyre market. The other key players include Modi Rubber, Kesoram Industries and Goodyear India, with 11 per cent, 7 per cent and 6 per sent share respectively. Dunlop, Falcon, Tyre Corporation of India Limited (TCIL), TVS-Srichakra, Metro Tyres and Balkrishna Tyres are some of the other players in the industry. MRF, the largest tyre manufacturer in the country, has strong brand equity. While it rules supreme in the industry, other players have created niche markets of their own
the tyre industry is highly raw-material intensive, with raw material costs accounting for 70 per cent of the cost of production. Fortunately for the industry, the rubber and carbon black prices have taken a beating recently, which means lower costs for the tyre industry. The export-import policy allows free import of all types of new tyres and tubes. However, import of retreaded tyres, either for use or for reclamation of rubber is restricted. This has led to used tyres being smuggled into the country under the label of new tyres. Though tyre import and all raw materials for tyres except natural rubber are under open general license (OGL), only import of natural rubber from Sri Lanka is eligible under OGL.
Friday, December 12, 2008
wats new in job market?
For those who assumed that the current global crisis is restricted to banks and ‘financial world’ alone, here is a rude awakening.
Automotives, manufacturing and even telecom companies have now started to face the heat. This means the worst nightmare stares at the employees of these companies in Europe and the US. The result: Pink slips.
Last week, the big three car manufacturers of Detroit in the US, led by General Motors (GM), sought a bailout package of $25 billion from the Congress in the US because they are on the brink of bankruptcy. There are no indications that the package would be approved. Two-and-a-half-lakh workers are employed by GM alone currently.
Companies such a Rolls Royce have also announced huge job cuts. British Telecom, a top telecom player in the UK, has announced that 10,000 jobs would be cut. The main reasons given for these job cuts are to prune costs and create more leaner organisations
Indian auto ancillary companies supply parts to these companies. These include players such as Sundram Fasteners and Bharat Forge. If the auto majors go bust, then these companies may face erosion in revenues apart from the possibility of not being able to easily recover earlier dues.
At another level, Indian IT companies also have GM as their client. For example, Wipro Technologies and Satyam Computers are IT vendors of GM. Between them, they had won a $450-million deal in 2006, for a period of five years.
So, considerable revenues are at stake for these companies; not to mention the fate of employees working on these projects.
The British Telecom (BT) case is a bit different. Its presence in India is more through Tech Mahindra (through BT Global Services). BT has announced that in the trimming of its global workforce, the agency and contract workers are more likely to face the axe. In any case, BT’s own presence in India is limited and, hence, fears of job loss are minimal.
Meanwhile Citigroup has announced it would cut over 50,000 jobs to bring down employee costs drastically.
In October, TCS acquired the back-office operations of Citigroup in India — Citigroup Global Services (CGSL) for $505 million.
This acquisition also means that TCS would take over the entire workforce of CGSL, which is around 12,400. The job cuts may minimally affect Citigroup employees in India.
The employees of the now defunct Lehman Brothers, which employed around 170 people in its Mumbai office, will be absorbed by Nomura Holdings, which bought Lehman’s Asia-Operations.
Overall, the job cuts by large companies outside India have had limited ramifications for the Indian workforce. India being a low-cost market may be a favoured destination by global majors rather than one where they might have to trim jobs.
Automotives, manufacturing and even telecom companies have now started to face the heat. This means the worst nightmare stares at the employees of these companies in Europe and the US. The result: Pink slips.
Last week, the big three car manufacturers of Detroit in the US, led by General Motors (GM), sought a bailout package of $25 billion from the Congress in the US because they are on the brink of bankruptcy. There are no indications that the package would be approved. Two-and-a-half-lakh workers are employed by GM alone currently.
Companies such a Rolls Royce have also announced huge job cuts. British Telecom, a top telecom player in the UK, has announced that 10,000 jobs would be cut. The main reasons given for these job cuts are to prune costs and create more leaner organisations
Indian auto ancillary companies supply parts to these companies. These include players such as Sundram Fasteners and Bharat Forge. If the auto majors go bust, then these companies may face erosion in revenues apart from the possibility of not being able to easily recover earlier dues.
At another level, Indian IT companies also have GM as their client. For example, Wipro Technologies and Satyam Computers are IT vendors of GM. Between them, they had won a $450-million deal in 2006, for a period of five years.
So, considerable revenues are at stake for these companies; not to mention the fate of employees working on these projects.
The British Telecom (BT) case is a bit different. Its presence in India is more through Tech Mahindra (through BT Global Services). BT has announced that in the trimming of its global workforce, the agency and contract workers are more likely to face the axe. In any case, BT’s own presence in India is limited and, hence, fears of job loss are minimal.
Meanwhile Citigroup has announced it would cut over 50,000 jobs to bring down employee costs drastically.
In October, TCS acquired the back-office operations of Citigroup in India — Citigroup Global Services (CGSL) for $505 million.
This acquisition also means that TCS would take over the entire workforce of CGSL, which is around 12,400. The job cuts may minimally affect Citigroup employees in India.
The employees of the now defunct Lehman Brothers, which employed around 170 people in its Mumbai office, will be absorbed by Nomura Holdings, which bought Lehman’s Asia-Operations.
Overall, the job cuts by large companies outside India have had limited ramifications for the Indian workforce. India being a low-cost market may be a favoured destination by global majors rather than one where they might have to trim jobs.
RECESSION- DEFINED
A recession is a decrease of less than 10% in a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The decrease must last for more than one consecutive quarter of a year. The GDP is defined as the sum of private spending and government spending on goods, services, labor and investment.
The terms recession and depression are often confused. It can be said that a recession is in general not as severe as a depression. A recession tends to resolve more quickly.
Not everyone agrees on a specific definition for determining an economic recession, but most can point to several factors, which can cause a recession. Either significant drop in prices, or significant increases in prices can occur. A drop indicates that people may spend less money, thus the GDP is decreased. An increase in price may also reduce both private and public spending and thus decrease the GDP.
In some ways, it is quite natural for countries to experience mild recessions. This is a built-in or endogenous factor of a society. Spending and consumption are going to increase and decrease, as will prices. However, another factor besides these occasional built-in drops in spending is needed to evoke a recession. Usually, something changes quickly and provokes sharp increase or decrease in prices. In the 1990s, the telecom industry had made huge amounts of money and began to overreach its expectations in terms of assessing future demand. Suddenly, the previously looked for demand was much lower than expected, leading to mass layoffs, decrease in production, and thus decrease in spending. For example, sometimes recession is evaluated in terms of the country’s jobless rate. When this is the case, and people find jobs, failure to evaluate changes in income can make the economy appear more productive than it actually is. A former telecom employee who now works at Wal-Mart may have a job, but this job is not equivalent to former work in compensation. So analysis of only one aspect of a recession should not be used to indicate economic recovery
The terms recession and depression are often confused. It can be said that a recession is in general not as severe as a depression. A recession tends to resolve more quickly.
Not everyone agrees on a specific definition for determining an economic recession, but most can point to several factors, which can cause a recession. Either significant drop in prices, or significant increases in prices can occur. A drop indicates that people may spend less money, thus the GDP is decreased. An increase in price may also reduce both private and public spending and thus decrease the GDP.
In some ways, it is quite natural for countries to experience mild recessions. This is a built-in or endogenous factor of a society. Spending and consumption are going to increase and decrease, as will prices. However, another factor besides these occasional built-in drops in spending is needed to evoke a recession. Usually, something changes quickly and provokes sharp increase or decrease in prices. In the 1990s, the telecom industry had made huge amounts of money and began to overreach its expectations in terms of assessing future demand. Suddenly, the previously looked for demand was much lower than expected, leading to mass layoffs, decrease in production, and thus decrease in spending. For example, sometimes recession is evaluated in terms of the country’s jobless rate. When this is the case, and people find jobs, failure to evaluate changes in income can make the economy appear more productive than it actually is. A former telecom employee who now works at Wal-Mart may have a job, but this job is not equivalent to former work in compensation. So analysis of only one aspect of a recession should not be used to indicate economic recovery
Thursday, December 11, 2008
OUR oWN APOLLO
Apollo Tyres declares lockout in Kalamassery unit
KOCHI: The recession-hit tyre major Apollo Tyres on Saturday declared a lockout in its Kalamassery unit in Kerala, which employs 1,100 people, accusing the trade unions of going on an “illegal'' strike and resorting to negative and non-cooperative attitu de.
A company release said it was forced to take drastic measures to increase efficiency and reduce cost as it had been hit by recession. The workmen had been resorting to “illegal'' stoppage of work and acts of indiscipline, disrupting the normal working o f the plant causing heavy loss of production, it charged.
It alleged that the workmen yesterday indulged in violent acts of obstructing and preventing the loaded trucks from transporting tyres meant for export threatening the drivers and preventing them from moving out. Later, they stopped all work inside the p lant from 6.15 pm and resorted to “sudden illegal strike'', the release said.
Explaining about the causes that led to the current situation, the release said the Kalamassery unit was a high cost centre in terms of cost of production of tyres. To tide over the situation, management had been trying its best to improve and utilise th e machinery to its optimum capacity in sections like curing and extrusion. The management had been requesting for continuous cooperation with unions for the past several months. But the unions have taken a “negative and non-cooperative attitude'' even to giving the agreed output as per the terms of a long term settlement. On December 4, in the curing section, the operators after making seven rounds of output instead of 10 rounds stopped the operation causing loss of tyre production
KOCHI: The recession-hit tyre major Apollo Tyres on Saturday declared a lockout in its Kalamassery unit in Kerala, which employs 1,100 people, accusing the trade unions of going on an “illegal'' strike and resorting to negative and non-cooperative attitu de.
A company release said it was forced to take drastic measures to increase efficiency and reduce cost as it had been hit by recession. The workmen had been resorting to “illegal'' stoppage of work and acts of indiscipline, disrupting the normal working o f the plant causing heavy loss of production, it charged.
It alleged that the workmen yesterday indulged in violent acts of obstructing and preventing the loaded trucks from transporting tyres meant for export threatening the drivers and preventing them from moving out. Later, they stopped all work inside the p lant from 6.15 pm and resorted to “sudden illegal strike'', the release said.
Explaining about the causes that led to the current situation, the release said the Kalamassery unit was a high cost centre in terms of cost of production of tyres. To tide over the situation, management had been trying its best to improve and utilise th e machinery to its optimum capacity in sections like curing and extrusion. The management had been requesting for continuous cooperation with unions for the past several months. But the unions have taken a “negative and non-cooperative attitude'' even to giving the agreed output as per the terms of a long term settlement. On December 4, in the curing section, the operators after making seven rounds of output instead of 10 rounds stopped the operation causing loss of tyre production
CRUNCHES IN EMPLOYMENT.WHERE TO GO?
The unemployment rate for Americans ages 25 to 29 years-old jumped to 7.3 percent in November from 5 percent a year earlier, while for Americans 20 to 24 it rose to 10.4 percent from 7.7 percent. The national unemployment rate is 6.7 percent
It's also common for young Americans to head to graduate school or extend their undergraduate education rather than enter the workforce during tough economic times. Mann observed slight increases in graduate school enrollment during 1990 and 1991.
"Getting a master's or a PhD eventually does equate to a higher salary," Mann said. "Especially when your job prospects aren't that bright, you might be more willing to forgo two years in the workforce to get more education to increase your marketability."
Many college graduates in the Valley are grappling with the decision to take a service job or continue to hold out for a position that utilizes the skills they gained in college.
It's also common for young Americans to head to graduate school or extend their undergraduate education rather than enter the workforce during tough economic times. Mann observed slight increases in graduate school enrollment during 1990 and 1991.
"Getting a master's or a PhD eventually does equate to a higher salary," Mann said. "Especially when your job prospects aren't that bright, you might be more willing to forgo two years in the workforce to get more education to increase your marketability."
Many college graduates in the Valley are grappling with the decision to take a service job or continue to hold out for a position that utilizes the skills they gained in college.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
INDIA + RUSSIA
Russia has offered a sweetener in the form of a 30 per cent discount on the $2-billion price tag for each of its new nuclear reactors under discussions for sale to India. Besides, the Russians are open to deputing its nuclear fuel firm, TVEL Corporation, to deliver uranium not just to the Russian-built stations, but for existing heavy-water units in the country as well, including the Tarapur station, according to Government sources.
India, on the other hand, has promised the Russians an increased role in the sector. Over and above the agreement signed for four additional reactors at Koodankulam, where two reactors are already under construction, talks have been initiated for building a seventh and eighth reactor units through Russian assistance at the same site. The Russians are also lobbying hard for earmarking at least one more new site, other than Koodankulam, for setting up Russian design reactors.
Even as the price of each reactor is $2 billion, the Russians have offered the discount based on plans to start serial production of reactors for the Indian nuclear industry. Much of the equipment and components are proposed to be manufactured in India, thereby bringing down costs. After factoring in the discount, the cost of construction for a mega watt (MW) for each new reactor comes to roughly Rs 7 crore (at current exchange rates).
In the case of first two ‘VVER-1000’ units that are currently under construction at Koodankulam, the total construction cost was estimated at $2.6 billion. At current exchange rates, it translates to around Rs 6.5 crore/ MW. The Russian Government had provided India with a long-term credit, which covers almost half of the cost of the first two units. NPCIL expects the first Koodankulam unit, when operational, to be able to sell power at less than Rs 2.50 a unit (kilowatt hour). Pacts signed
Russia and India had, last Friday, signed an inter-governmental agreement for cooperation on the construction of four additional reactors at Koodankulam.
They also signed a protocol on fuel supplies, with TVEL agreeing to deliver fuel worth $700 million to India.
These deals include an assurance of uranium supplies for a number of existing Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, including uranium dioxide pellets for the Tarapur station
India, on the other hand, has promised the Russians an increased role in the sector. Over and above the agreement signed for four additional reactors at Koodankulam, where two reactors are already under construction, talks have been initiated for building a seventh and eighth reactor units through Russian assistance at the same site. The Russians are also lobbying hard for earmarking at least one more new site, other than Koodankulam, for setting up Russian design reactors.
Even as the price of each reactor is $2 billion, the Russians have offered the discount based on plans to start serial production of reactors for the Indian nuclear industry. Much of the equipment and components are proposed to be manufactured in India, thereby bringing down costs. After factoring in the discount, the cost of construction for a mega watt (MW) for each new reactor comes to roughly Rs 7 crore (at current exchange rates).
In the case of first two ‘VVER-1000’ units that are currently under construction at Koodankulam, the total construction cost was estimated at $2.6 billion. At current exchange rates, it translates to around Rs 6.5 crore/ MW. The Russian Government had provided India with a long-term credit, which covers almost half of the cost of the first two units. NPCIL expects the first Koodankulam unit, when operational, to be able to sell power at less than Rs 2.50 a unit (kilowatt hour). Pacts signed
Russia and India had, last Friday, signed an inter-governmental agreement for cooperation on the construction of four additional reactors at Koodankulam.
They also signed a protocol on fuel supplies, with TVEL agreeing to deliver fuel worth $700 million to India.
These deals include an assurance of uranium supplies for a number of existing Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, including uranium dioxide pellets for the Tarapur station
WHAT WE SHOULD DO?
In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly designated 9 December as the International Anti-Corruption Day. In a year where one of the defining images was of our parliamentarians waving wads of cash during the trust vote and India actually slipped from 72nd position to 85th position in Transparency International's corruption index, this is a good opportunity to reflect on our failure to tackle corruption.
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