Inflation forecast at 5.3 per cent for 2007-08
New Delhi: NCAER has projected a 5.3 per cent inflation rate in 2007-08.

NCAER said that despite the inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index breaching the six per cent level in February and March, the average growth in prices was 5.3 per cent in 2006-07. The projections for the average inflation are the same for the current financial year.

While 'supply shocks' had triggered the price rise, the actual cereals stock (both rice and wheat) of 17.4 million tonnes with Government agencies in March was higher than the buffer stock norm of 16.2 million tonnes for March-end, NCAER said.

Last year the stock of wheat had touched a low of two million tonnes in April as against the norm of four million tonnes. Hence a relatively higher stock of 5.4 million tonnes at the end of March-should be a sign of comfort NCAER said.
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Telecom user base zooms to 189.92 million in Q3
New Delhi: India added 20.08 million wireless subscribers in the quarter ended December 2006, taking the gross telecom subscriber base to 189.92 million. However the growth has brought down average revenues for the operators as tariffs have touched low levels.

The all India blended ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) per month for GSM services has declined by 6.2 per cent from Rs337 in the previous quarter to Rs316 in the December quarter.

The good part is that quality of service performance of the basic and cellular service providers has improved as compared to the previous quarter in several parameters.

The wireless market grew at 15.5 per cent in the quarter ending December 2006 by adding 20.08 million subscribers.

The gross subscriber base of the wire-line and wireless services together reached 189.92 million in the quarter ending December, 2006 from 170.02 million as on September 2006, showing an increase of 11.70 per cent, said the TRAI's quarterly performance indicator.

The overall growth for the year (December 2005 to December 2006) stood at 52.20 per cent. The tele-density in the quarter has reached 17.16 compared to 15.41 at the previous quarter and the subscriber base for wireless services has increased from 129.54 million to 149.62 million and that of fixed line service has decreased from 40.5 million to 40.3 million, it said.
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Outsourcing to grow: Nasscom
New Delhi: According to Nasscom's Strategic Review 2007 while outsourcing momentum is growing the contract values and their duration in software services segment are declining as companies are renegotiating a large number of old deals to realign their business priorities with changing market trends.

An analysis of 64 large deals awarded at the start of the decade reveals that more than half witnessed some restructuring or renegotiations.

About one-fourth of the deals were re-negotiated, incorporating an expanded scope of work, with the new deal not always going to the incumbent service provider.

As an impact of restructuring or renegotiations, large deals were split into relatively smaller and shorter contracts distributed between multiple vendors. Consequently, average total contract value and duration reported a steadily declining trend.

In all the deals, the share of contracts worth 50-200 million dollars increased from about half in 2001 to over 70 per cent in 2006. However, the share of large deals with contract value of over one billion dollars declined from eight per cent in 2001 to five per cent in 2006.

The declining trend in the average total contract value and duration should not be mistaken for a slowdown in outsourcing momentum, which in fact is growing.
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Government changing rules for courier parcels
New Delhi: The government is planning to allow courier companies to deliver letters weighing less than 150 gm only if they charge customers two-and-a-half times more than what the government charges for its Speed Post service. For non-urgent couriers, the difference would be as much as five times.

The sub-150 gm is a crucial high-volume category comprising bills, cheques, vouchers and letters. Based on the minimum weight and distance category of speed posts, customers would have to shell out an extra Rs60-100. Nearly 40 to 45 per cent of all couriers are under 150 gm.

While this is likely to render private courier firms uncompetitive in the sub-150-gm category, it is a relief from the government's original move to ban courier companies from delivering letters below 500 gm.
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