Nano, the Rs 1-lakh car, hits the road

MUMBAI: Tata Motors has commercially launched its people's car, Nano, promising to stick to the Rs 1,00,000 price tag for the base model.Nano hits the road.


"From today onwards, the product will be available in the showrooms... There will be three versions - the base version, which is the one we promised to the people of India and two upper tier versions...," Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata told a news conference.

The higher-end versions will have air-conditioning, power brakes and power windows, among others.

"We hope this day we will usher in a new form of transport," Tata said, adding that the endeavour was never to build the cheapest car but to provide an affordable form of transportation. He, however, hastened to add that "we made a promise and that we've kept the promise."

The booking of the Nano will begin on April 9 and remain open till April 25.

The delivery of the first lot of Nano cars will begin in early July, he said, adding that applications for booking of the car will be available in 30,000 locations in 1,000 cities across India.

State Bank of India will be the qualified banker for collection of bookings in 850 cities, he said.

The car can be booked by just paying Rs 2,999 upfront while the rest can be secured by way of loan, he said.

There will be 15 preferred financiers for the booking whose names will be disclosed in three days.

As the Nano made its commercial debut, automotive industry experts opined that the Rs 1-lakh wonder from the Tata stable can give an additional 14 million Indian families access to an affordable car, thus creating a niche segment.

"It definitely is a major milestone in the mobility paradigm for India and perhaps the world," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) director general Dilip Chenoy said, adding it has the potential to create a new segment of customers in the existing market.

According to market research firm Crisil, Nano's price reduces the cost of ownership of an entry-level car by 30 per cent and to below three times the cost of owning a motorcycle.

"This will make the car affordable to an additional 14 million families, including a section of 58 million two- wheeler owners," Crisil said.

Source From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/specialcoverage/articleshow/4305642.cms

EC action hasty, harsh and politically motivated:
Varun

NEW DELHI: A defiant Varun Gandhi on Monday hit back at the Election Commission for asking BJP not to nominate him for the Lok Sabha polls, and
accused the panel of taking "hasty" and "harsh" action "pressurised by political considerations".

The BJP candidate from Pilibhit said the EC action was in "utter disregard of the principles of natural justice" as it had passed the censure "without any attempt to ascertain the truth".

Making it clear that he would not withdraw from the polls, 29-year-old Varun said, "I believe my real court of appeal lies with the people."

Varun, who is contesting Lok Sabha elections for the first time, also said, "The EC's eagerness to exercise its 'recommendatory jurisdiction' begins and ends with my case alone. This itself, coupled with the haste with which the EC has acted, leaves one to believe that the action has been pressurised by political considerations."

With his party standing by him, Varun said by making "adverse remarks and recommendations to the BJP and all other parties, the EC has acted beyond its jurisdiction and has surpassed its powers including under Article 324 of the Constitution".

"It is astonishing that such harsh censure should be used without any attempt to ascertain the truth," said Varun, who has come under attack for his alleged anti-Muslim speeches recorded on tapes, which he claimed have been doctored.

A day after EC recommended to BJP that he should not be fielded because of his hate campaign, Varun said the EC had given him no chance to clarify.

Varun said he had asked for the material forming the basis of the EC notice to enable him to respond appropriately to the same. "But sadly in utter disregard of the principles of natural justice, the EC has in haste and unusually censorious language passed an opinion," he wrote to the EC.

The BJP candidate also said the EC had taken the action without providing him personal hearing, the report against him or any materials on which that report is based.

He claimed that the EC did not show him or even sought out for itself the original recording, if at all it exists.

The EC gave the recommendation without "examining the authenticity or source of the tape that was sent to it which on a cursory glance shows that there has been splicing, repetition and interpolation during the so-called editing process as evident from the media logo seen in the footage. The short jumpy sequences also establish that the tape has been edited," Varun said.

Varun also alleged that the EC's action came without it "independently applying its mind and conducting a thorough examination of the material".

The BJP candidate said, "I cannot help but express my deep disappointment over the unseemly haste in which the EC has passed an opinion without giving me even a fair opportunity to appear in person or through counsel to establish my innocence."

Adopting an aggressive approach, he said, "I must point out that there are several candidates in the fray even today who have been convicted of or are being tried for crimes which carry a far larger sentence than the one of which I am accused."

He said the newspaper reports over the last few days have indicated that "people against whom cases are pending in the context of the 1984 riots have also been given tickets by a major political party."

Source From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/EC-action-hasty-harsh-and-politically-motivated-Varun/articleshow/4306081.cms

L&T, Spice Corp, Tech Mahindra shortlisted for Satyam bidding

Satyam Computer on Monday shortlisted B K Modi's Spice, L&T and Tech Mahindra, among others, to move to the second stage of the bidding process, when these companies will be given financial data to decide on their auction prices.
Sources said the Satyam board has shorlisted six bidders comprising L&T, Tech Mahindra, Spice, and private equity players. Spice chief B K Modi and a spokpesperson of Tech Mahindra declined to comment, saying they are bound by the non-disclosure agreement. The L&T spokesperson too declined to comment.
Satyam shares were down 3.76 per cent at Rs 42.25, pulling down its valuation since Friday to Rs 2,876 crore.
As per the bidding process schedule, short-listed bidders will be given access to business, financial and legal diligence materials provided they execute a non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreement, a stand-still pact and a "no-claims" undertaking.
There is no reserve price for the auction, leaving the bid prices wide open.
A senior Spice Corp official told PTI the company received an e-mail from the Board of Satyam informing it (Spice) of its shortlisting, and financial and legal data would be available from tomorrow.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/23114646/LampT-Spice-Corp-Tech-Mahi.html

Satyam Computers bags dairy firm deal

New Delhi: Satyam Computer Services has bagged a contract from a country-based dairy processor Vijay Dairy and Farm Products to automate and integrate their key business processes, the company said on Monday.

Under the contract, Satyam would implement SAP business solution for the dairy firm and automate and integrate their key business processes across the country to speed up workflows and lower the cost of operations, it said in a statement.

However, IT solution provider has not revealed the financial details of the contract.

For the Hyderabad-based firm, which is currently in the midst of various probes due to a huge corporate fraud, the order came as a huge breather. The company has lost many key clients since January when its founder admitted to having cooked the company books for years together.

“We understand the business challenges faced by Vijay Dairy and Farm Products and will deliver a solution to transform their entire procurement-to-sales process,” Satyam's SAP and Managed Testing Practice Global Head Manish Mehta said.

Vijay Dairy and Farm Product Managing Director J Madhan Mohan said, “Managing our supply - especially procurement and pricing -- is a complex process that will now be simplified.”

Source From: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/satyam-computers-bags-dairy-firm-deal/88427-7.html

England an attractive venue for IPL2: Modi

England's chances of becoming the Indian Premier League host have brightened after IPL chairman Lalit Modi said the presence of a large Asian community makes it an attractive venue for the Twenty20 event, which was shifted out of India owing to security concerns.

"England is a very attractive venue. It is easy to access from India and there is a large Asian community to tap into.

The IPL, is a big competition. We would bring around 100 million dollar of revenue to the British economy and anybody in a recession would want to have us," Modi, who is due to arrive here on Monday for discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board, told 'The Daily Telegraph'.

A spokeswoman of the ECB said that a statement would be issued as and when a decision was taken. Modi said the prospect of England hosting the IPL is "very real".

Cricket South Africa has already submitted a written proposal to Modi and he is awaiting a similar offer from the ECB, the report said.

Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of the MCC, yesterday spoke to Modi to offer Lord's as a venue.

The ECB's executive board held a teleconference on the matter on Friday and security issues, the broadcast contract with Sky TV and the hangover from the Stanford debacle were major concerns.

The IPL is due to begin on April 10, the day after the English first-class season starts, and will run until May 24, less than two weeks before the start of the World Twenty 20. It is due to feature five England players including Kevin Pietersen, who has been named as captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The ECB would need to squeeze in 59 matches and some counties will not want to see their own tournaments getting disrupted for the IPL.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke said yesterday the board "stands ready to help".

"We have opened discussions with the BCCI and I think there is a strong desire to come to England," ECB chief executive David Collier said.

"We have opened discussions with Sky and clearly that is one of the things on the agenda. We realise this is an unusual set of circumstances and we expect to have a meeting with the BCCI in the coming week and a decision has to be made soon," he added.

Source From: http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/SPOEN20090088538/story.html