Modi would enjoy diplomatic immunity if he becomes PM: US report

WASHINGTON: The nine-year US visa ban on Narendra Modi will automatically be lifted and he would enjoy diplomatic immunity if he becomes the prime minister, a Congressional report said on Monday. 

"Modi is widely considered to be one of the front-runners as prime ministerial candidate of his Bharatiya Janata Party. If Narendra Modi were to become Prime Minister of India, he would automatically be eligible for an A-1 (diplomatic) visa as head of state, regardless of the purpose of his visit," the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its communication to US lawmakers. 

In 2005, the US had denied visa to Modi in the wake of the 2002 Gujarat riots and has since not revoked its decision. 

The seven-page report 'Visa Policy: the case of Narendra Modi' was prepared by the CRS — an independent and bipartisan wing of the US Congress — at the request of several lawmakers who have been opposed to a US visa to Modi. 

The views and reports of the CRS are meant to keep the lawmakers informed and is non-binding either on the Congress or the US Government. 

Led Congressmen Republican Joe Pitts and Democrat Keith Ellison lawmaker had asked a set of five questions on the prospects of US granting a visa to Modi if he is elected as the Prime Minister of India. 

The lawmakers had asked 'What is the process for approval of a US visa if Modi were to apply for one?' and 'Were Modi elected Prime Minister of India, how would his ascension likely affect his prospects to receive a US visa? Would the US be required to grant him a diplomatic visa? How might the International Religious Freedom Act be interpreted should he apply for a visa?' 

The report dated March 18 was made public on March 31. It also refers to the recent cases in which Modi was given a clean chit by the courts and investigative agencies. 

In December 2010, a Special Investigative Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India had found "no substantial incriminating evidence" that chief minister Modi had let the rioters rampage against the Muslims in February 2002, it said. 

"On the other hand, the Gujarat high court continues to criticize chief minister Modi for his 'inaction and negligence' during the violence," the report said. 

The report said Modi as the Prime Minister would enjoy diplomatic immunity. 

However, it is only US President Barack Obama who can exercise his authority to deny a visa to Modi as the Prime Minister of India if he deems that would be detrimental to the American interest. 

In August 2011, Obama had issued a proclamation in this regard pertaining to foreign nationals involved in war crime or systematic violence systematic against civilian populations.

NAGESH DUBEY

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Modi would enjoy diplomatic immunity if he becomes PM: US report

A US congressional report says that visa ban on Narendra Modi will automatically be lifted if becomes the Prime Minister.

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WASHINGTON: The nine-year US visa ban on Narendra Modi will automatically be lifted and he would enjoy diplomatic immunity if he becomes the prime minister, a Congressional report said on Monday. 

"Modi is widely considered to be one of the front-runners as prime ministerial candidate of his Bharatiya Janata Party. If Narendra Modi were to become Prime Minister of India, he would automatically be eligible for an A-1 (diplomatic) visa as head of state, regardless of the purpose of his visit," the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its communication to US lawmakers. 

In 2005, the US had denied visa to Modi in the wake of the 2002 Gujarat riots and has since not revoked its decision. 

The seven-page report 'Visa Policy: the case of Narendra Modi' was prepared by the CRS — an independent and bipartisan wing of the US Congress — at the request of several lawmakers who have been opposed to a US visa to Modi. 

The views and reports of the CRS are meant to keep the lawmakers informed and is non-binding either on the Congress or the US Government. 

Led Congressmen Republican Joe Pitts and Democrat Keith Ellison lawmaker had asked a set of five questions on the prospects of US granting a visa to Modi if he is elected as the Prime Minister of India. 

The lawmakers had asked 'What is the process for approval of a US visa if Modi were to apply for one?' and 'Were Modi elected Prime Minister of India, how would his ascension likely affect his prospects to receive a US visa? Would the US be required to grant him a diplomatic visa? How might the International Religious Freedom Act be interpreted should he apply for a visa?' 

The report dated March 18 was made public on March 31. It also refers to the recent cases in which Modi was given a clean chit by the courts and investigative agencies. 

In December 2010, a Special Investigative Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India had found "no substantial incriminating evidence" that chief minister Modi had let the rioters rampage against the Muslims in February 2002, it said. 

"On the other hand, the Gujarat high court continues to criticize chief minister Modi for his 'inaction and negligence' during the violence," the report said. 

The report said Modi as the Prime Minister would enjoy diplomatic immunity. 

However, it is only US President Barack Obama who can exercise his authority to deny a visa to Modi as the Prime Minister of India if he deems that would be detrimental to the American interest. 

In August 2011, Obama had issued a proclamation in this regard pertaining to foreign nationals involved in war crime or systematic violence systematic against civilian populations.

   

  NAME

SARVESH KUMAR SINGH

  PGDM 2 nd SEM

Markets extend dream run; Sensex, Nifty soar to all time highs

The benchmark indices of BSE and NSE continued their dream run ahead of polls, scaling new all-time highs on strong capital inflows from foreign funds, expectations of RBI keeping key rates unchanged in the next week's policy meet and a stable government assuming charge at the Centre after the general elections.

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Shares of PSU, power, banking, capital goods, metal, realty and refinery firms firmed up sharply on good buying support.

ONGC and RIL shares rose despite the Election Commission directing the Centre to put on hold the proposed hike in natural gas prices from April 1.

Mid and small-cap indices shot up by 3.21% and 2.45% respectively on strong demand from retail investors.
However, shares of IT and Pharma sectors declined on profit-booking.


The BSE Sensex opened higher at 21,827.50 and rose further to an all-time intra-day high of 22,363.97 before ending at a new closing peak of 22,339.97, a gain of 584.65 points, or 2.69%, over the last week.
The NSE 50-share Nifty rose by 201 points, or 3.09%, to register a historic closing high of 6,695.90. It recorded a life-time intra-day high of 6,702.60.
Hectic activity on expiry of derivative contracts on March 27 also helped domestic markets to remain upbeat.

Consistent pumping of money by FIIs boosted the market sentiment as they invested net Rs. 7,562.57 crore during this week, including the provisional figure of March 28, as per the SEBI data.
IT stocks declined on profit-booking following rise in the rupee value against the dollar which will adversely affects operating profit margins of IT firms in dollar terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports.


The Reserve Bank of India's first Bi-monthly monetary policy statement 2014-15 on Tuesday, April 1, will dictate near term trend on the bourses, a broker said.
Outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections also the another factor which will decide the future of the market.
Twenty-three scrips out the 30-share sensex pack ended higher while seven others closed lower. SBI spurted by 11.74%, Tata Power 8.95%, Hero MotoCorp 8.83%, Coal India 8.54%, Bharti Airtel 8.12%, Gail India 7.80%, Hindalco 7.55%, BHEL 6.81%, NTPC 5.64%, Tata Steel 5.26%, Axis Bank 5.14%, Icici Bank 5.08%, SSLT 4.28%, Bajaj Auto 4.11%, HDFC 3.74% and Maruti Suzuki 3.31%.
However, Dr Reddy's Lab fell by 6.08%, Sun Pharma 3.57%, Wipro 2.93%, Infosys 1.10%, Cipla 1.88% and TCS 0.94%.
Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, PSU rose by 8.17% followed by Power 6.71%, Banking 5.67%, CG 5.43%, Metal 5.40%, Realty 4.32%, Oil&Gas 4.15% and Auto 2.91% while HC fell by 2.45% and IT 1.10%.

Total turnover at the BSE and NSE was Rs. 13,922.82 crore and Rs. 72,548.61 crore, respectively as against last weekend's level of at Rs. 17,642.28 crore and Rs. 46,276.43 crore

shailendar kumar
pgdm 2sem
times of india

New iPhone 6 screens to enter production as early as May: sources

TUE, APR 01 2014

Tokyo: Apple Inc. suppliers will begin mass producing displays as early as May for the next iPhone, expected to be launched this autumn, with a 4.7-inch screen likely to be produced first while a 5.5-inch version could be delayed, supply chain sources said.

Japan Display Inc., Sharp Corp. and South Korea’s LG Display Co. Ltd have all been tapped to make the screens, said the sources, who asked not to be identified.

Representatives for the three suppliers and for Apple declined to comment.

Both iPhone 6 screens will be larger than the 4-inch panels on Apple’s existing iPhone 5S and 5C models.

Larger iPhones, the subject of months of speculation, would mark yet another incremental tweak to the popular smartphone line and an attempt to catch up to rivals like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

The company that helped to define American technology innovation is under increasing pressure to once again revolutionise the gadget industry, but CEO Tim Cook, while promising only “new product categories” for 2014, has played his cards close to his chest.

Apple’s shares have languished below $600 since November 2012, in part because of worries about smartphone market saturation and its ability to stay at the forefront of tech innovation.

Both iPhone 6 screens are expected to use in-cell touch panel technology—built into the screen and allowing for thinner construction than with standard touch panel films—that was introduced with the iPhone 5, the sources said.

But due to difficulties with in-cell production technology for the larger 5.5-inch size, one of the sources said, a decision was made to begin mass production with the 4.7-inch version alone.

Production of 5.5-inch screens is expected to start several months later, with the possibility of a shift to a film sensor instead of in-cell technology for that size, the source said.

Japan Display will be the first supplier to start production, at its flagship plant at Mobara, east of Tokyo, as early as May, the sources said. The others are due to begin output around June. Reuters

ABHISHEK KUMAR

PGDM 1ST YR

Google Can Handle Data, But Can It Handle Actual Shoppers?

31-03-2014

GOOGLE is set to open up its first retail location in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood, according to news reports earlier this month. Specifically, Google has signed a lease for 8,000-square feet at 131 Greene St., which at current market rents for the submarket represent a sizeable investment for just about any company except Google.

Rent aside, the stakes are still huge for Google, assuming the report—and it is hardly the first–is true. Google has, one could conclude, been practicing for this day with various endeavors such as the floating barge showroom, its Winter Wonderlab pop up stores in certain cities and, of course, its Chrome Zone sites in select Best Buys.

But those have all been partial attempts at a retail presence, with the emphasis on technology and gadgets.

With a full-fledged retail presence, Google is going to have to, well, actually sell. This may not seem like a tall order for a company that probably knows more about our tastes, secret fears and wish lists than our parents or spouse, but it is. That is because in the brick-and-mortar world of retailing, selling also includes customer service and after service.

                                                                          NAME MITHILESH CHAUBEY

                                                                                                      PGDM 2 SEM

.

In battling Maruti Suzuki, fund managers find voice

Maruti Suzuki has over Rs 70 billion invested in funds, according to its annual statement

MUMBAI: In forcing automaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd to backtrack on a controversial production deal with its Japanese parent, a group of Indian fund managers scored a rare win that heralds increased activism for an Indian fund industry long seen as timid.

Across emerging markets, shareholder activism tends to be rare, with unhappy investors typically expressing discontent by dumping their shares. In the case of Maruti, that would have meant ditching a company that sells half the passenger cars in India and is a staple of institutional portfolios.

"This particular episode has brought many of the fund managers and institutions together," said Chandresh Nigam, chief executive of Axis Asset Management, one of the seven fund firms that succeeded this month in their challenge to the deal between Maruti and Suzuki Motor Corp.

Previous attempts by investors to take on controlling shareholders in India, known as promoters, have run out of steam. Last year, Swiss cement maker Holcim Ltd's plan to consolidate holdings in two Indian cement makers stirred up investors, but proceeded after a divided opposition was unable to muster enough votes.

The revolt against Maruti was different because seven fund managers running a combined $80 billion, or more than half the assets under management in India, joined forces in an unprecedented show of cooperation.

"Normally, just a single institution acting will not work anyway. The next stage should be if we can formalize or semi-formalize a platform," Nigam said.

In India, regulators have long tried to force fund managers to be more vocal. Securities Exchange Board of India ( SEBI) Chairman U K Sinha has criticised money managers for not complying with a 2010 requirement that funds vote at annual meetings.

Last year, India replaced a five-decade old companies law in a bid to curb the power of promoters. New rules restrict the number of board seats held by promoters and give oversight of audit and remuneration to independent directors.

"Shareholder activism has been gaining popularity in India and Maruti just cements that," said Simone Reis, co-head of M&A at law firm Nishith Desai Associates. "Just because a promoter is a bigwig doesn't mean the investors won't voice their concerns," she said.

A bigger test, however, would be taking on one of the family-run firms that predominate in corporate India including big names like Reliance Industries Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd, fund managers say.

Family-run firms in India often have few senior professional managers, making it harder for public shareholders, which are seen as outsiders, to effect changes.

The failure of local fund managers to stand up more for their investors has had a damaging impact on the investment culture in India, where retail investors have been heavy sellers of stocks since markets crashed in 2008.

Even India's rally to record highs this month has failed to sway individual investors, with gains driven primarily by foreign institutions.

Some industry insiders, who declined to be identified, said fund managers are reluctant to challenge corporate decisions in part because companies are themselves huge fund investors, accounting for nearly half of assets under management.

Maruti Suzuki, for example, has over 70 billion rupees invested in funds, according to its annual statement, equivalent to more than 1 percent of the combined assets in money market and debt funds in India.

Fund houses dismissed the notion of a conflict.

"These are two independent things. Some investor investing in liquid or treasury products is independent of our duty which is to take care of the retail investor," said Sundeep Shikka, president and CEO of Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd, which was among the group to take on Maruti.

Highway robbery

Investors in Maruti worried that a January plan under which it would buy cars from a new Suzuki plant in India instead of making them in-house was a move by the Japanese company to reassert control over Maruti and deprive it of the benefit of an expected surge in sales in coming years.

"This is highway robbery," one of the fund managers who spearheaded the opposition recalled thinking.

Like other individual fund managers opposed to the deal, the manager declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Starting with a secret meeting of three managers at the Trident Hotel in south Mumbai, the group grew to seven from fund houses including HDFC Asset Management, DSP Blackrock, ICICI Prudential, UTI Asset Management, and SBI funds Management.

The managers worried that other global firms with Indian-listed subsidiaries, such as Unilever Plc or Nestle SA might try something similar.

"If we don't do this now, then tomorrow every other company will do it," another of the seven told Reuters.

What followed was behind-the-scenes lobbying of regulators and Maruti Suzuki's independent directors, culminating in a letter that was eventually signed by 16 institutional investors.

Victory came on March 15, when Maruti Suzuki said it would seek minority shareholders' approval and made key changes regarding how the production plant would be funded and valued in case the deal is terminated. 

                                                                                                                 NAME RAHUL SINGH 2

                                                                                                                              PGDM 2 SEM

 

                                                                                                                                  

Google Can Handle Data, But Can It Handle Actual Shoppers?

31-03-2014

GOOGLE is set to open up its first retail location in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood, according to news reports earlier this month. Specifically, Google has signed a lease for 8,000-square feet at 131 Greene St., which at current market rents for the submarket represent a sizeable investment for just about any company except Google.

Rent aside, the stakes are still huge for Google, assuming the report—and it is hardly the first–is true. Google has, one could conclude, been practicing for this day with various endeavors such as the floating barge showroom, its Winter Wonderlab pop up stores in certain cities and, of course, its Chrome Zone sites in select Best Buys.

But those have all been partial attempts at a retail presence, with the emphasis on technology and gadgets.

With a full-fledged retail presence, Google is going to have to, well, actually sell. This may not seem like a tall order for a company that probably knows more about our tastes, secret fears and wish lists than our parents or spouse, but it is. That is because in the brick-and-mortar world of retailing, selling also includes customer service and after service.

 SUMIT KR SINGH

PGDM 1ST YR

HUL takes the Bollywood route for product launch

HUL ties up with film producers of ‘2 States’ to promote its new shampoo brand   

Mumbai: In-film product placements and co-promotion are not new to Bollywood. But Hindustan Unilever Ltd ( HUL ), the country’s largest fast-moving consumer goods company by sales, is taking it to another level with its brand Sunsilk.

In an unusual deal, HUL has tied up with film producers Sajid Nadiawala and Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd’s in their venture 2 States, in which the shampoo brand has been so well-plaited that the movie’s release dovetails with the launch of its new variant—Sunsilk Natural Recharge.

HUL is hoping that 2 States, which releases in cinemas on 18 April, will add some lustre to its new launch.

The film, based on author Chetan Bhagat’s book of the same name, is about a young couple’s journey from their campus days to marriage. The film that features actor Arjun Kapoor as Krish Malhotra, a fun-loving Punjabi, and Alia Bhatt as Ananya Subramaniam, a stunningly smart girl from a Tamil-Brahmin family, is a humorous take on inter-community marriages in India.

In the film, Bhatt’s character gets picked up by HUL during campus placements to work as a brand manager on Sunsilk. Her assignment is to launch the new variant of the shampoo in the market.

Apoorva Mehta, chief executive officer of Dharma Productions, said the company could not have found a better fit than Sunsilk to reflect the confident and attractive personality of Ananya. “It also helps that hair plays a big role for us in showcasing her personality transformation from her college days to being a professional,” Mehta said.

Clearly, filmmakers and production houses are waking up to the merits of such brand tie-ups to help them cover production costs and cut their risk even before the film hits the theatres. Advertisers are beginning to realize that coming on board fairly early at the scripting stage can help them integrate their brand more seamlessly and therefore create a stronger connect with audiences who may have developed a blind spot for traditional commercial messages such as television ads.

“We got involved at a fairly early stage so it gave us the time and flexibility to integrate our brand into the storyline,” said Srinandan Sundaram, general manager, hair care, HUL.

He said the story and characters offered an opportunity for the perfect brand fit. “We explained to Dharma (Productions) in detail the personality of character and worked on certain scenes where the brand could come in. We got detailed character sketches which were in sync with the brand values. Everything else just flowed,” said Sundaram.

Although the shampoo variant was launched in the market in February, as it takes a month for it to get into all the retail outlets, the idea of tying up with the movie was aimed at creating buzz around the launch platform of 2 States. “The advertising and marketing will take off now and we have a lot of activities planned around this,” he said.

According to estimates by two independent sources, a consumer products company such as HUL would spend about Rs.30 crore in marketing and promoting a product variant in the first quarter of its launch.

“Considering that the launch is coinciding with the onset of summer when the tendency of consumers to wash their hair is much more, the marketing would be far more aggressive,” said an analyst who did not want to be identified, citing company policy. Of this amount, nearly 50% would have been diverted towards the association with a film such as 2 States, experts said.

Branded content in films is increasingly becoming popular for advertisers to cut the clutter. “Films are very much a part of popular culture and a passion point with the target audience of the brand. So it made perfect sense to do this,” said Amin Lakhani, leader, South Asia, Team Unilever, at Mindshare, the media-buying and planning company that worked on this deal.

This deal comes on the heels of HUL’s recent deal with youth channel MTV India, which will launch six films that are inspired by the philosophies of different HUL brands such as Sunsilk, Tresemme, Ponds, Lakme and Close Up, among others.

Filmmakers are beginning to see value in chasing such deals. In 2013, Mere Dad Ki Maruti by Y-Films, a label of Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd (YRF), was almost like a 101-minute commercial for Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s vehicle Ertiga.

According to Ashish Patil, vice-president, YRF, the total project cost—which included cost of production, prints, publicity and distribution—was pegged at approximately Rs.11 crore. Nearly 80% of this was covered by its brand partners alone.

“Today, as a filmmaker, you don’t have a choice. As soon as you have a working script in place, the first thing you do is look for possible brand fits. Not only is it an additional revenue stream which can offset production costs, but it’s also something you can leverage, to bring in marketing dollars,” said Patil.

However, he said that most advertisers still rush to a film at the last minute. “In that sense, Bollywood is still very underleveraged. Few brands actually have a movie strategy, so to speak. However, there are certain companies such as Unilever and Samsung now which actually factor in films into their plan,” he added.

 

ABHISHEK KUMAR

 

PGDM 1ST YR

Android app by Indian developer caught mining bitcoins

0
inS

NEW DELHI: Songs, an app probably used by a few million Indian Android users, was among the two apps recently caught covertly using smartphones for mining bitcoins and dogecoins.

Security researchers at Trend Micro, a company that makes antivirus and other security applications, recently wrote in a blog that 'Songs' and 'Prized - Real Rewards & Prizes' were using smartphones to covertly mine for virtual currency.

Mining virtual currency like bitcoin or dogecoin requires lots of computing power. If an app uses a smartphone to mine virtual currency, the process is likely to keep the processor running at 100%, resulting in poor battery life and heating of the device.

Trend Micro said the apps being used for bitcoin and dogecoin mining were injected with ANDROIDOS_KAGECOIN, a malware.

"(Some) coin mining apps were found outside of the Google Play Store, but we have found the same behaviour in apps (Songs and Prized) inside the Google Play Store. These apps have been downloaded by millions of users, which means that there may be many Android devices out there being used to mine cryptocurrency for cybercriminals," a Veo Zhang, a mobile threat analyst with Trend Micro wrote in the blog.

"Analyzing the code of these apps reveal the cryptocurrency mining code inside. Unlike the other malicious apps, in these cases the mining only occurs when the device is charging, as the increased energy usage won't be noticed as much."

After the Trend Micro blog post, Prized and Songs were removed from the Play Store by Google.

Of the two, Songs was more popular. It was downloaded five to 10 million times and had a rating of 4 stars. Songs claimed to give users free access to Bollywood and songs in regional languages like Punjabi and Tamil.

On the Play Store, clicking on the developer's website specified in the description page of Songs let to an error. While the developer was listed as "Da Xpert" for the app, the email address of the app hinted it was created by one Mukesh Verma. TOI wrote to the specified email address, seeking response on the Trend Micro report, but did not receive any reply.

Trend Micro said that it believed "with thousands of affected devices, cybercriminal accumulated a great deal of dogecoins."

"Reading the app description and terms and conditions on the websites of these apps, users may not know that their devices may potentially be used as mining devices due to the murky language and vague terminology," wrote Zhang.

"Users with phones and tablets that are suddenly charging slowly, running hot, or quickly running out of batteries may want to consider if they have been exposed to this or similar threats," Zhang advised Android users. 

 

         NAME-

SARVESH KUMAR SINGH

 PGDM 2nd SEM

market

In battling Maruti Suzuki, fund managers find voice

Maruti Suzuki has over Rs 70 billion invested in funds, according to its annual statement

| Mar 31, 2014, 09.31AM IST

MUMBAI: In forcing automaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd to backtrack on a controversial production deal with its Japanese parent, a group of Indian fund managers scored a rare win that heralds increased activism for an Indian fund industry long seen as timid.

Across emerging markets, shareholder activism tends to be rare, with unhappy investors typically expressing discontent by dumping their shares. In the case of Maruti, that would have meant ditching a company that sells half the passenger cars in India and is a staple of institutional portfolios.

"This particular episode has brought many of the fund managers and institutions together," said Chandresh Nigam, chief executive of Axis Asset Management, one of the seven fund firms that succeeded this month in their challenge to the deal between Maruti and Suzuki Motor Corp.

Previous attempts by investors to take on controlling shareholders in India, known as promoters, have run out of steam. Last year, Swiss cement maker Holcim Ltd's plan to consolidate holdings in two Indian cement makers stirred up investors, but proceeded after a divided opposition was unable to muster enough votes.

The revolt against Maruti was different because seven fund managers running a combined $80 billion, or more than half the assets under management in India, joined forces in an unprecedented show of cooperation.

"Normally, just a single institution acting will not work anyway. The next stage should be if we can formalize or semi-formalize a platform," Nigam said.

In India, regulators have long tried to force fund managers to be more vocal. Securities Exchange Board of India ( SEBI) Chairman U K Sinha has criticised money managers for not complying with a 2010 requirement that funds vote at annual meetings.

Last year, India replaced a five-decade old companies law in a bid to curb the power of promoters. New rules restrict the number of board seats held by promoters and give oversight of audit and remuneration to independent directors.

"Shareholder activism has been gaining popularity in India and Maruti just cements that," said Simone Reis, co-head of M&A at law firm Nishith Desai Associates. "Just because a promoter is a bigwig doesn't mean the investors won't voice their concerns," she said.

A bigger test, however, would be taking on one of the family-run firms that predominate in corporate India including big names like Reliance Industries Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd, fund managers say.

Family-run firms in India often have few senior professional managers, making it harder for public shareholders, which are seen as outsiders, to effect changes.

The failure of local fund managers to stand up more for their investors has had a damaging impact on the investment culture in India, where retail investors have been heavy sellers of stocks since markets crashed in 2008.

Even India's rally to record highs this month has failed to sway individual investors, with gains driven primarily by foreign institutions.

Some industry insiders, who declined to be identified, said fund managers are reluctant to challenge corporate decisions in part because companies are themselves huge fund investors, accounting for nearly half of assets under management.

Maruti Suzuki, for example, has over 70 billion rupees invested in funds, according to its annual statement, equivalent to more than 1 percent of the combined assets in money market and debt funds in India.

Fund houses dismissed the notion of a conflict.

"These are two independent things. Some investor investing in liquid or treasury products is independent of our duty which is to take care of the retail investor," said Sundeep Shikka, president and CEO of Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd, which was among the group to take on Maruti.

Highway robbery

Investors in Maruti worried that a January plan under which it would buy cars from a new Suzuki plant in India instead of making them in-house was a move by the Japanese company to reassert control over Maruti and deprive it of the benefit of an expected surge in sales in coming years.

"This is highway robbery," one of the fund managers who spearheaded the opposition recalled thinking.

Like other individual fund managers opposed to the deal, the manager declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Starting with a secret meeting of three managers at the Trident Hotel in south Mumbai, the group grew to seven from fund houses including HDFC Asset Management, DSP Blackrock, ICICI Prudential, UTI Asset Management, and SBI funds Management.

The managers worried that other global firms with Indian-listed subsidiaries, such as Unilever Plc or Nestle SA might try something similar.

"If we don't do this now, then tomorrow every other company will do it," another of the seven told Reuters.

What followed was behind-the-scenes lobbying of regulators and Maruti Suzuki's independent directors, culminating in a letter that was eventually signed by 16 institutional investors.

Victory came on March 15, when Maruti Suzuki said it would seek minority shareholders' approval and made key changes regarding how the production plant would be funded and valued in case the deal is terminated.

Vimal Singh pgdm 1st 2nd sem

eals | Free Classifieds

2

PC, tablet, ultramobile and mobile phone shipment will grow 6.9% in 2014: Gartner

PC, tablet, ultramobile and mobile phone shipment will grow 6.9% in 2014: Gartner

I

CHENNAI: Worldwide combined shipment of devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) is projected to reach 2.5 billion units in 2014, a 6.9 % increase from that in 2013, according to Gartner.

Device shipment grew 4.8% in 2013. Sales of traditional PCs would continue to hamper the overall growth of devices and substitution from PC to tablet would decline, the company said.

"Tablet substitution of notebooks will start to dissipate from this year onwards as consumers and businesses align the right device with the right usage pattern. As they do this, we will see where dedicated devices (such as tablets), or hybrid devices (detachable or convertible devices), fit in the overall portfolio of devices," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.

As the overall device market starts to saturate, the increasing pressure on margins will continue and vendors will look at different ways to cope with the ongoing issue of lower margins, according to Gartner.

While the trend of declining prices is inevitable, consumers increasingly value other features in a device — beyond just the price. For example, new tablet users look for smaller screens and greater portability, while current tablet users look for better connectivity in their tablet replacements.

Mobile phones, the largest segment of overall device market, are expected to reach 1.9 billion units in 2014, a 4.9% increase from 2013.

Growth in 2014 is projected to come from the lower end of the premium phone market and the higher end of the basic phone market. "While the lack of compelling hardware innovation marginally extended replacement cycles in 2013, we've witnessed an upgrade path in the emerging markets. Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe have all upgraded their phones, which will help compensate for mature market weakness in the near term," said Annette Zimmermann, principal research analyst at Gartner.

In 2014, the worldwide tablet market is forecast to grow 38.6% as overall adoption continues to grow faster in markets outside North America. "The adoption of tablets has been largely concentrated in the US, with the dominance of Apple. Market dynamics in other regions are different, as the uptake of lower cost, smaller, non-branded tablets, becomes more apparent," said Atwal.

Worldwide shipments of traditional PCs are forecast to be 276.7 million units in 2014, a 6.6 % decline from 2013. "The traditional PC category continues to decrease, with only about two-thirds of notebook and desktop replacements remaining within this category. The majority of the remaining one-third will move to ultramobiles, while others will not be replaced at all," said Atwal.

In the operating system (OS) market, iOS tablet growth has slowed in North America and Apple will need to reinvigorate its replacement cycle. Google's objective is to increase Android's footprint, and it is still on target to sell over one billion devices in 2014

 

                                                                                                NAME HIMANSHU CHAUDHAYI

                                                                                                                      2 SEM