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News Snippets - July 2000 Reliance Petroleum posts Rs 324 cr. maiden net - Economic Times UK's Royal & Sun outsources to India, 1000 jobs could be lost - Reuters Infosys bags multi-million dollar IKON contract - CNN-fn India acquires Russian submarine - Press Trust of India A Remarkable Life in India - New York Times Star TV invests in Indian education portal - Reuters Reliance Petroleum's Jamnagar unit posts Rs 324 cr. maiden
net RELIANCE Petroleum, the world’s largest grassroots refinery, has announced maiden operating results for its 27-million-tonne refinery project at Jamnagar. The company has declared sales of Rs 5,983 crore and a net profit of Rs 324 crore. Based on a full-year performance, RPL seems on course to join Reliance as India’s largest private sector company in terms of sales, assets, net worth and net profits. RPL has processed 5.8 million tonnes of crude during the quarter, which implies that the refinery was not operating at full capacity utlisation. The exports of RPL products were Rs 479 crore, placing the company among the top 10 Indian manufacturer exporters. ``RPL today accounts for about 25 per cent of India’s refining capacity’’, according to the RPL managing director Anil Ambani. RPL was built at a cost of Rs 14,250 crore and financed at a debt-equity ratio of 0.9:1. About 25 to 30 per cent of the refinery’s production comprising of products like naphtha, reformate and propylene are consumed by Reliance group companies. The company has tied up with public sector oil companies for the marketing of controlled products like petrol, diesel and LPG while it is selling decontrolled products like sulphur and naphtha directly to the market. RPL imports crude directly, through captive facilities and has dedicated crude storage facilities for over 10 million barrels. India consumed about 95 million tonnes of petroleum products in 1999-2000 and estimates for this year are 105 million tonnes. The earnings per share for the quarter are Rs 0.75 and annualized earnings are Rs 3. UK's Royal & Sun outsources to India, 1000 jobs could
be lost LONDON - British insurer Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Group Plc said on Friday it was handing some of its accounts processing work to an Indian company and was shedding 50 staff in Britain in the process. "It is a pilot study. We announced a review of support functions just over a week ago and said then there could be some outsourcing," a spokesman told Reuters, adding there would be no compulsory redundancies. "We will review the benefits. As a global operator we are not alone in looking to be operating more efficiently." Finance union UNIFI said in a statement it feared over 1,000 jobs could eventually be lost. "The fact that a major UK insurer is considering moving substantial amounts of work to India will send a shiver down the spine of all staff working in the UK finance sector," UNIFI's insurance secretary Ken McAleer said in a statement. The Indian company doing the work is a subsidiary of British Airways Plc, the Royal and Sun spokesman said. Infosys bags multi-million dollar IKON contract BANGALORE: Computer software bluechip Infosys Technologies Ltd on Wednesday said that it had bagged a multi-million dollar order to build information technology systems from U.S.-based business communications firm IKON Office Solutions. "The relationship, valued at several million dollars per year, is directly tied to helping IKON accelerate the realization of business benefits in the areas of customer relationship management, sales force empowerment, supply chain integration and human resource management," a statement from Infosys said. It said IKON provides 400,000 customers with business solutions for every office, production and outsourcing need and posted revenues of $5.5 billion during 1999. The statement said that Infosys had earlier played a key role in the implementation of IKON's information technology strategy and infrastructure. At the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Infosys share recovered to 7,440 rupees, down 36.15 at 1.18 p.m. (0748 GMT), on the news from a low of 7,210.05. India
acquires Russian submarine ST PETERSBURG: A kilo-class submarine, fitted with Klub anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM), latest sonars and having a range of 220 km, was commissioned on Wednesday in the Indian Navy by Naval Chief Admiral Susheel Kumar here. The state-of-art submarine, INS Sindushastra, is the tenth kilo-class submarine to be inducted into the Navy. Dubbed as `Black Hole' by NATO for its noiseless operation in sea depths making it invisible to the enemy sonars, the vessel has been acquired by the Indian Navy from Russia under a $200 million deal signed in November 1997 for the purchase of two kilo-class submarines. With the commissioning of Sindushastra, the Navy would acquire three kilo-class submarines currently undergoing refit at a shipyard here. These three submarines are also likely to be armed with Klub missiles with land attack capability. Indian naval crew took charge of the submarine from the Russian naval crew, which had jointly conducted trial sailings in the Baltic Sea. The handing over ceremony was attended by Indian Ambassador to Russia S K Lambah and Deputy Governor of St Petersburg Anatoly Aleksashin. Russia had delivered INS Sindhurakshak in December 1997. A
Remarkable Life in India Six decades before it became fashionable for young Americans to travel to India in search of an alternative life or a new God, the path was blazed by a strong-willed scion of a prominent Pennsylvania family. Samuel Stokes arrived in India in 1904 at age 22, with the noble purpose of doing good. He did plenty of that, as Asha Sharma—Stokes' granddaughter—chronicles in the detailed and sympathetic biography "An American in Khadi" (Penguin; 369 pages). A devout, idealistic Quaker, Stokes ignored the foreign missionary community in India and wandered the foothills of the Himalayas as a Christian fakir, penniless, helping the sick and speaking only in Hindi. A few years later he was being feted in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury as the founder of a brotherhood of wandering Christian holy men—"an irregular cavalry," in the words of another Anglican prelate, "that would deliver India to Jesus." But within two years of establishing his brotherhood in 1910, Stokes quit. He asked Indian friends to choose him a wife, discarded his Western ways, dressed in khadi (homespun cloth) and set up a home at the base of the Himalayas, in what is today Himachal Pradesh state. Thus began a philosophical voyage of discovery that led to his conversion to Hinduism in 1932. He took the name Satyanand, or "One who rejoices in the truth." If that were all there was to his life it would be unusual enough. But there was much more. Stokes was an early member of India's Congress Party and believed strongly that total independence from Britain was the only way. He was close to Mahatma Gandhi, but warned that his civil disobedience campaigns would lead to permanent chaos. In 1921, he was jailed on sedition charges, thus becoming the first American political prisoner in India. Just as he won prominence as a political activist and a champion of the rights of hill dwellers, Stokes changed direction again, this time turning to horticulture. His name is recorded in India's independence archives, but his legacy lies in apples. Stokes introduced the "American Delicious" variety to India—the only brand of apple now found in Indian shops—bringing instant prosperity to thousands of small hill farmers. Sharma has written a lively and philosophical book, reflecting closely Stokes' mixed personality and steely commitment. Star TV invests in Indian education portal NEW DELHI - India's Learning Universe Private Ltd said on Friday that media baron Rupert Murdoch's Star TV, owned by News Corp Ltd <NCP.AX>, had taken a stake in its Internet education portal, eGurucool.com. Star TV, venture capital firm Chrysalis Capital and an unidentified third international partner will jointly invest over $10 million in a second round investment in the company, the company said in a statement. Star TV has also invested in other Indian Internet ventures including real estate portal Indiaproperties.com and auction site bazee.com. Its parent News Corp has picked up 15 percent in information technology portal ITSpace.com. Domestic media reports say Star TV, which has a significant presence in India through its satellite television channels, has earmarked $100 million for equity investments in Indian Internet companies.
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