Nisan to make India small car Hub

India is emerging very fast as the small car hub for production and R & D.In a move that reflects the growing stature of the Indian car industry globally, Japanese major Nissan has decided to shift the entire production of its small car, Micra, from the UK to India. After production of the Micra begins here, Nissan plans to manufacture four more models in India, involving a total investment of over Rs 2,000 crore.
The move underlines the rush among automakers to rationalize production costs and move to locations that offer the best value and quality. “We have decided to manufacture the Micra at our upcoming factory at Oragadam, near Chennai,” Nissan India MD and CEO Kiminobu Tokuyama.
The company’s Chennai plant will start production from May next year, and export markets would be catered to from autumn, Tokuyama said. Nissan, he said, plans to meet Micra’s requirements for the entire European region as well as some other markets like West Asia from the Chennai plant. “We plan to start with export volumes of 1.1 lakh units, which would be gradually scaled up to 1.8 lakh units as demand goes up,” Tokuyama said.
But what prompted the step? “There are many benefits in India, including a high-quality vendor base that is also cost-effective, leading to globally-competitive pricing,” Tokuyama said. Nissan will thus emulate companies like Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki, which make small cars in India to export to Europe.

NSE to become Market Leader in Marketcap

Riding on superior technology and FII preference, the National Stock Exchange is expected to surpass its older counterpart, the Bombay Stock Exchange, in market capitalization this year for the first time in history.
According to a report by global consultancy Celent, 2009 would be the first year when NSE's market capitalisation is expected to exceed that of BSE.
"NSE is expected to overtake BSE in market capitalization in 2009. Already far ahead in turnover, NSE is expected to further its lead over its older counterpart," the report titled, 'Indian Exchange-Traded Securities: Poised for Further Growth' stated.
NSE's market capitalization stood at Rs 47,01,923 crore at the end of trade on Friday last week, not far behind the Bombay Stock Exchange's valuation of Rs 50,12,966.76 crore, according to data available on the two bourses.
In terms of the relative size of the two main Indian equity markets, NSE has become the exchange of choice, it added.
According to Celent estimates, the market turnover of NSE for 2009 would be more than two times the turnover of BSE. On August 7, NSE turnover in value terms was around Rs 17,650 crore as against BSE's about Rs 5,443 crore.

NREG to include work done on private land

THE ambit of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been significantly expanded by allowing under it work done on private land belonging to small and marginal farmers to create assets.

Small and marginal farmers are those with landholding of less than two hectares. Together, they constitute 80% of farm holdings and own 40% of the total cultivable land in the country.

According to a notification by the Rural Development Ministry, NREGS work will include “provision of irrigation facility, horticulture plantation and land-development facilities,” on land owned by small and marginal farmers.

This means that now these farmers can get assets built, like irrigation facilities, on their private fields with help of labour paid for by the Central government under the NREGS. All they need to do is get their “desired works” approved by the Gram Panchayat for inclusion under projects available for wage employment under NREGS.

Until now, workers were not allowed to work on private land except on plots owned by one of the following: SC/ST families, Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, beneficiaries of land reforms, and BPL beneficiaries under the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY).

The move is in tune with the Government’s announcement — via President Pratibha Patil’s address — that it would “enlarge the scope of works permitted under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act presently limited to unskilled manual work.”

This may be a welcome step to provide a social security cover to all Indian but corruption will be biggest hurdle in this.Sarpanchs(Village head) and Panchs may use this for the benefit of their relatives and a huge scam may go unnoticed if not properly executed.

Let's Hope that it will work in a efficient way and not become a way to spend public money for private benefit.

Private trust can invest in stock market

In a move that could bring in thousands of crores of rupees in investment into the stock markets, the government is planning to amend rules for private trust to permit them to park their funds in listed shares and specified debt securities. The government will amend the Indian Trusts Act 1882, and once amended, the legislation will enable the government to notify a 'class of securities' as eligible for investment by private trusts. The cabinet approved the amendment Bill for this in 2007 and the proposals were further amended in October last year. It has been introduced in Lok Sabha again in the current session. The proposed changes would also do away with the requirement of case-to-case approval by the government of investment into securities the funds largely parked in fixed-deposits and similar debt instruments. The trustees would now get greater autonomy and flexibility to take decisions by assessing the risk-return trade-offs. It is most likely that private trusts may be allowed to adopt the investment pattern specified for non-government provident, gratuity and pension funds. These funds are now allowed to directly park up to 15 per cent of their investible funds in shares or companies on which derivatives are traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange or the National Stock Exchange.

"It would be consistent with the current economic environment and the present shift from a merit-based regulatory regime to disclosure-based regulatory regime," the statement explaining the Bill said. There are thousands of trusts in India that include religious and charitable trusts as well as statutory trusts formed by the government and quasi-government bodies managing large sums of money.In addition, employee welfare trusts and religious and charitable trusts also have substantial funds. These include the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Ramakrishna Mission, Swaminarayan Trust and the Mata Vaishno Devi Trust.

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

The World Bank has expressed interest to support the newly launched Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) scheme for improvement of quality of secondary education in the country.

The Ministry of HRD has agreed to the proposal of the World Bank and has written to Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) for further action, DEA sources told PTI.

The Bank at present also supports the government's flagship programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which aims at universalisation of elementary education.

The Bank has taken interest in RMSA keeping in view the objective of the programme to check drop-out rate at secondary level completely by 2020.

The scheme also aims to achieve a general enrollment target of 75 per cent for classes IX-X within five years from 52.26 per cent as in 2005-06 by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of every habitation.

The government has allocated Rs 20,120 crore during the 11th Plan for the scheme.

The World Bank may provide soft loans for the scheme, sources said.

As per the provision of the scheme, Centre shall bear 75 per cent of the project expenditure during the 11th five-year plan while states' share will be the remaining 25 per cent.

Sharing pattern will be 50:50 for the 12th five-year plan.

For both the 11th and 12th five-year plans, funding pattern will be 90:10 for North Eastern States.

Apart from improving quality of education at secondary level by making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, the scheme also aims at removal of gender, socio-economic and disability barriers and ensuring universal access to secondary level education by 2017 and universal retention by 2020.

It would also provide facilities for estimated additional enrollment of 32.20 lakh children by 2011-12 through strengthening of about 44,000 existing secondary schools, opening 11,188 new secondary schools, appointment of 1.79 lakh additional teachers and construction of 80,500 additional classrooms.

The other interventions are providing infrastructure in schools such as new classrooms with furniture, library, science laboratory, computer room and disabled-friendly provisions.

Besides, more teachers would be recruited with emphasis on science, mathematics and English faculty.

Teachers would be provided in service training along with teaching aids such as ICT and special focus would be given to SC/ST/Minorities girls.

Steps such as priority for opening or upgrading of schools in areas of SC/ST/minority/weaker section concentration and enrollment drives and special coaching classes in these areas are also envisaged under the scheme.

The scheme will be implemented in a Mission mode, with a National Mission headed by the HRD Minister and a project approval board headed by Secretary of School Education and Literacy to appraise and approve state plans.

Similarly, State Missions would be set up under Chief Ministers of the States and the UTs.

The scheme envisages development of state-specific norms.

Each district will be a unit of planning. The district plan will be appraised and consolidated at the state level and the state plan will be appraised by the technical support group attached to the National Mission.

The civil construction will be through School Management and Development Committee with representation from parents, Panchayati Raj Institutions and civil society.