India Inc to conduct recruitment drive in Tihar

NEW DELHI: In a first, top executives of India Inc will conduct a recruitment drive in Tihar jail and pick 50 inmates to be employed in their business houses.

The list, which includes big names like IDBI bank , Vedanata Group, Sterlite Foundation , Agarwal Packers, Jindal Steel and Flex shoes, will carry out the "campus selection" of the prisoners, who have received professional training during their term at the jail.

"Ten companies have agreed to absorb some of our convicts when they get released from the jail. They include IDBI Bank, Vedanta Group and Agarwal Packers amongst others. We have done the profiling of 50 professionally qualified inmates. This campus selection, which is happening for the first time, will be conducted on February 5," said Sunil Gupta, law officer and spokesperson, Tihar jail said.

The jail authorities decided to go for the placement drive after they realised that even after reforming prisoners and making them professionally qualified, they do not get a job after released due to their criminal background, he said.

This job placement is being done to help the prisoners earn and live with dignity. It will also prevent them from committing crime in the future, he said.

Gupta said, "All these 50 prisoners have completed their education from IGNOU. They are highly qualified. Some are post graduates, while others are MCA and MBA qualified."

ET

Indian Navy to buy four more P-8Is aircraft

BANGALORE: The Indian Navy has decided to exercise its option for an additional four Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft in a bid to boost its maritime patrol capabilities as well as counter piracy threats and the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.

In a deal expected to range between $1 billion to $1.5 billion, the new aircraft will be in addition to the eight the Navy had ordered in January 2009, for about $2.1 billion. The new contract price is also expected to include the cost of aero-structures and avionics.

“The Indian Navy has received the necessary government approvals and has decided to go ahead with the contractual processes to acquire four additional P-8I aircraft under the options clause,” Commander PVS Satish, public relations officer for the Indian Navy told The Economic Times.

According to sources, Boeing has already submitted its draft offset contract to the defence ministry last week. “The government is considering exercising the option of adding four P-8I aircraft,” Dr Vivek Lall, vice-president, Boeing Defence, Space & Security told ET. The P-8I, which is based on the Boeing next-generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that the defence vendor Boeing is developing for the US Navy. India is the first international customer for the P-8 platform.

The first of the eight P-8I aircraft, which were bought through the direct commercial sales route with Boeing, are expected to be delivered to India within 48 months of the original contract signing. The aircraft are of supreme strategic importance for India’s naval forces, with the country looking to enhance its role in the high seas.

Further, the global community has been clamouring for India to play a more dominant policing role against sea piracy in the Straits of Malacca, which is one of the busiest commercial and military sea-routes in the world, and along the East African coast.

Also, in the ongoing scramble for sea power in the world’s thirdlargest ocean, India has been desperate to stop what it perceives as a growing Chinese hegemony in the region. Separately, Boeing has also submitted a reply to the Navy’s Request for Information for six medium-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft as well.

However, ministry sources did not confirm whether any of the other global defence vendors had responded to the same.
Others expected to be in the running for the contract include Russia’s Ilyushin, France’s Dassault and EADS . Like most defence deals pursued in India, the acquisition of the MRMR aircraft has followed a long and tortuous route. With the original global Request for Procurement issued in 2008, before the Mumbai attacks, the same was later scrapped by the defence ministry on certain technical grounds.

The current RFI also specifies the aircraft should be able to carry out electronic intelligence gathering and counter-measures, besides maritime patrol and search and rescue within an operational envelope of 350 nautical miles or almost 650 kilometres, as well as a patrol endurance of at least three and a half hours.

There are additional requirements that the aircraft be capable of carrying at least two anti-ship missiles and a jamming pod. As with the P-8I, the navy has specified in the RFI that certain pieces of equipment must be indigenous, like Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator with Secure Mode, MSS Terminal, BFE, Datalink and Speech Secrecy Equipment and vendors must indicate their commitment to integrate this equipment into the aircraft.

ET

Rupee opens 2 paise lower against dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee opened 2 paise lower at Rs 45.64 per US dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange today amid demand for the American currency from importers and appreciation of the greenback against other currency rivals overseas.

The rupee had strengthened by 13 paise to Rs 45.62/63 per dollar in the previous session.

Forex dealers said gains registered by the dollar against euro overseas, in addition to demand from importers, mainly weighed on the rupee sentiment.

However, a higher opening in the stock market and closure of Asian markets to mark the Lunar New Year restricted the rupee losses, they said.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by 57.32 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 18,147.94 in opening trade today.

TOI

Sensex advances for second day; shoots up 358 points

MUMBAI: Shrugging off spike in food inflation and high interest rate worries, the BSE benchmark sensex today surged by over 358 points to close at 18,449.31 on aggressive value buying in the recently beaten stocks and indications of a steady global economic recovery.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark sensex, which had gained 68 points in the previous session, spurted by 358.69 points to 18,449.31, even as the food inflation soared to over 17 per cent for the week ended January 22 from 15.57 per cent in the previous week.

The sensex upsurge was mostly supported by most beaten stocks of metal, realty, capital goods and banking, following nearly 11 per cent fall in the market this year, which had touched a five-month low.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty shot up by 94.75 points to 5,526.75 led by Hindalco, Reliance Industries, Larsen and Toubro and State Bank of India.

US manufacturing data showed unexpected acceleration in January, the fastest pace in more than six years, signalling that the global recovery might be taking a strong hold.

European manufacturing too gained at the quickest pace in nine months, while UK production increased at a record pace in January.

Hindalco, the biggest aluminium producer, gained for the fourth day as manufacturing improved from China to the US, boosting the demand outlook. The stock gained 4.62 per cent to Rs 245.70 as copper advanced to records in London and New York, while aluminium gained by 0.4 per cent.

Foreign funds shifted focus to Indian stocks as most of the Asian markets were closed on account of Lunar New Year holidays.

The two heaviest-weighted on the sensex - Reliance Industries and Infosys gained on buying at attractive low levels and favourable reports.

RIL gained 2.40 per cent to Rs 943.50 following a steep rise in crude oil prices and Infosys rose by 0.98 per cent to Rs 3,115.85 on expectations of better earnings on expectation of a steady global economic recovery. US and Europe account for substantial share of the revenues for Indian IT firms.

The realty sector index gained the most by rising 3.93 per cent to 2,276 followed by capital goods index by 2.51 per cent to 13,390.47. The metal index rose by 2.19 per cent to 16,477.32 and banking index by 2.04 per cent to 12,111.66.

With the buying activity spilling over a wide-front, smallcap index rose by 1.21 per cent to 8,464 and midcap index by 1.09 per cent to 6,827.87.

TOI