The Indian Navy is all set to join the global elite club today when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally launches the indigenously-built nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant at the naval dockyard of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.With the launch of the submarine, India will join the exclusive club of United States,Russia,China,France and the United Kingdom with similar capabilities.
With India sticking to its decision of a 'no-first-use' policy regarding nuclear weapons,a nuclear capable submarine is a must to guard against and act as a deterrent rouge nations like pak and china.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Homage To The Brave Indian Soldiers
“ When you go home,
Tell them of us and say,
For theirs tomorrow,
We gave our today. ”
On the 10th anniversary of Kargil War,let's all be grateful to all our Soldiers who got Martyred fighting for Our Great Nation.
Let's always try and make sure that the Life of Indian Soldiers who are fighting for Our Nation is given more importance.
Let's provide them the most effective and best weapons,facilities and infrastructure available.
Let's all be proud of what they have done and what they continue to do.
Let's always adore them,admire them and respect them..
Let's all say with pride that the 'Indian Soldiers are the Best'..
Tell them of us and say,
For theirs tomorrow,
We gave our today. ”
On the 10th anniversary of Kargil War,let's all be grateful to all our Soldiers who got Martyred fighting for Our Great Nation.
Let's always try and make sure that the Life of Indian Soldiers who are fighting for Our Nation is given more importance.
Let's provide them the most effective and best weapons,facilities and infrastructure available.
Let's all be proud of what they have done and what they continue to do.
Let's always adore them,admire them and respect them..
Let's all say with pride that the 'Indian Soldiers are the Best'..
'musharaff lies' A Continuous Saga
"Yes, indeed, it was a big success because it had (an) impact even on the attitudes of the Indian side. How did we start discussing the Kashmir dispute? How was it that the Indians agreed that we will discuss Kashmir and there must be a negotiated settlement? Before this there was no such thing at all," Musharraf said in an interview to Karan Thapar in his Devil's Advocate programme.
Making a strong defence of the controversial Kargil Operation, he said before that "Kashmir couldn't be spoken. Kashmir must not be mentioned even in United Nation's speeches by our leaders. This was the Indian side. (So) how did the Indians come on the negotiating table on Kashmir?"
On asked whether he would repeat the Kargil Operation, knowing that it ended up raising question marks about him personally, Musharraf replied: "I don't want to comment."
He also accepted that forces from the Pakistani Army's Rawalpindi Corps and Force Command Northern Areas were involved in the Kargil Operation contradictory to the country's earlier claim that Kargil was conducted by alleged freedom fighters and the army was not involved.
Claiming the Kargil Operation ended with Pakistani forces in a "very favourable" position, he said "Because if you are talking about India-Pakistan, Indians had moved all their forces against Kargil and there was (as a result) weakness elsewhere.
"So we knew what the Indian forces are capable (of) and what we are capable (of)...the situation was very favourable in Kargil, in Kashmir and on the entire border. We were capable of responding to any Indian action," he said.
Only a big fool like musharraf will believe that India is talking to pak because of Kargil...!!
The truth is India was stabbed in the back in Kargil,when the then Indian PM Atal Bihari Bajpayee went to pakistan with an unprecedented message of peace.
He is also mistaken if he thinks India has allowed Kashmir to be put on the dialogue table.It was pakistan which used to crow about Kashmir in every international fora,even before Kargil;that still continues.There is no change in India's position..
May be he does not know,but it's not too late for all pakis to start having the realization that India won't part with even an inch more of Indian territory to any Country in future.Indian army,people and the pro-active media will ensure that this will never happen..
Any way let him live in his own fools paradise..
The whole world knows what musharaff is best at.. "LYING.."
He is a big lair.During the Kargil war and afterwards when this liar was the dictatorial ruler of pak,he and his country maintained that pakistan had nothing to do with the Kargil intrusion and that it was all done by some so-called 'freedom fighters'..
pakistan even refused to accept the bodies of their own soldiers who got killed during thr Kargil war.It's the Indian soldiers who gave the killed pak soldiers a decent religious burial..
I don't think ,in world history there would be many instances were a country and its army chief refused to accept the dead bodies of their own martyred soldiers..
pakistan thought that by refusing to accept the dead bodies,the world will believe that pakis had nothing to do with Kargil..
To cover up his lies,musharaff dishonored his own men who fought for him and his 'Utopian Kargil plans'..
The real fact was that the whole world knew what was happening in Kargil..
It's only very recently that musharaff and pak started accepting that pak regular army soldiers were involved in Kargil backstabbing..
Any way,Indian Soldiers won in Kargil,pakistan was defeated badly.Even though some of our brave soldiers were martyred,our Nation's pride and the prestige of the Indian Army infront of the whole world got enhanced by the braveness,swiftness and effectiveness shown by the Young Indian Soldiers..
Indian forces now control most of the vantage positions all along the hilly border areas,so musharaff saying that pakistan is in a favorable position means that his wife should get his head checked..!!
pakistan was humiliated the world over..
Their then PM nawaz sherif had to rush to America to avoid further embarrassment..
With all these musharaff now claiming that Kargil was a success for pak is a 'good old paki joke'..
Nothing else..
Try to laugh pleaseee...
Making a strong defence of the controversial Kargil Operation, he said before that "Kashmir couldn't be spoken. Kashmir must not be mentioned even in United Nation's speeches by our leaders. This was the Indian side. (So) how did the Indians come on the negotiating table on Kashmir?"
On asked whether he would repeat the Kargil Operation, knowing that it ended up raising question marks about him personally, Musharraf replied: "I don't want to comment."
He also accepted that forces from the Pakistani Army's Rawalpindi Corps and Force Command Northern Areas were involved in the Kargil Operation contradictory to the country's earlier claim that Kargil was conducted by alleged freedom fighters and the army was not involved.
Claiming the Kargil Operation ended with Pakistani forces in a "very favourable" position, he said "Because if you are talking about India-Pakistan, Indians had moved all their forces against Kargil and there was (as a result) weakness elsewhere.
"So we knew what the Indian forces are capable (of) and what we are capable (of)...the situation was very favourable in Kargil, in Kashmir and on the entire border. We were capable of responding to any Indian action," he said.
Only a big fool like musharraf will believe that India is talking to pak because of Kargil...!!
The truth is India was stabbed in the back in Kargil,when the then Indian PM Atal Bihari Bajpayee went to pakistan with an unprecedented message of peace.
He is also mistaken if he thinks India has allowed Kashmir to be put on the dialogue table.It was pakistan which used to crow about Kashmir in every international fora,even before Kargil;that still continues.There is no change in India's position..
May be he does not know,but it's not too late for all pakis to start having the realization that India won't part with even an inch more of Indian territory to any Country in future.Indian army,people and the pro-active media will ensure that this will never happen..
Any way let him live in his own fools paradise..
The whole world knows what musharaff is best at.. "LYING.."
He is a big lair.During the Kargil war and afterwards when this liar was the dictatorial ruler of pak,he and his country maintained that pakistan had nothing to do with the Kargil intrusion and that it was all done by some so-called 'freedom fighters'..
pakistan even refused to accept the bodies of their own soldiers who got killed during thr Kargil war.It's the Indian soldiers who gave the killed pak soldiers a decent religious burial..
I don't think ,in world history there would be many instances were a country and its army chief refused to accept the dead bodies of their own martyred soldiers..
pakistan thought that by refusing to accept the dead bodies,the world will believe that pakis had nothing to do with Kargil..
To cover up his lies,musharaff dishonored his own men who fought for him and his 'Utopian Kargil plans'..
The real fact was that the whole world knew what was happening in Kargil..
It's only very recently that musharaff and pak started accepting that pak regular army soldiers were involved in Kargil backstabbing..
Any way,Indian Soldiers won in Kargil,pakistan was defeated badly.Even though some of our brave soldiers were martyred,our Nation's pride and the prestige of the Indian Army infront of the whole world got enhanced by the braveness,swiftness and effectiveness shown by the Young Indian Soldiers..
Indian forces now control most of the vantage positions all along the hilly border areas,so musharaff saying that pakistan is in a favorable position means that his wife should get his head checked..!!
pakistan was humiliated the world over..
Their then PM nawaz sherif had to rush to America to avoid further embarrassment..
With all these musharaff now claiming that Kargil was a success for pak is a 'good old paki joke'..
Nothing else..
Try to laugh pleaseee...
Saturday, July 25, 2009
A Major Scandal?
In a scathing report on the 2004 Gorshkov deal, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said the government is acquiring a second-hand aircraft carrier that has half the life span of a new ship and is turning up to be 60 per cent more expensive. The CAG has also alleged that the government has given undue favour and concessions to French firms in the Rs 18,000 crore deal for six Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy that was inked in 2005.
Coming down heavily on the government for choosing to acquire a second-hand carrier, the CAG report says due to the inordinate delays in delivery, the 'objective of induction' of the warship 'to bridge the gap in Indian Navy capabilities has been defeated'. "Government is now likely to pay US$ 1.82 billion for the carrier against the original contract amount of US$ 875 million," the report says. The major part of the escalation, the report says, is on account of sea trials which have been escalated almost 20 times to US$ 500 million against the earlier agreed amount of US$ 27 million.
On the Scorpene deal, the report says undue favour was given to award the mega Rs 18,000 crore contract to French firms DCNS for the submarine and MBDA for the Exocet missile systems onboard the vessel. Raising serious questions on the propriety of awarding the contract to DCNS, the report says the "Ministry/Naval HQ scaled down the original technical specifications and extended undue financial benefit to the vendor'. The report says a clause that prohibits commissions paid to agencies was not included in the contract even though it has been included in the Defence Procurement Procedure manuals of the ministry. Besides, there was an 11.06 per cent price escalation of the submarines due to a questionable formula for escalation worked out in the negotiations, the report says.
While delays and price escalations in the Gorshkov carrier have been reported in the past, the audit report brings out that failure to plan the acquisition will result in the warship having no defence against missiles and air attacks after it has been inducted into the Navy. The warship will be retrofitted with a Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) in India only in 2017, five years after its planned induction, leaving India's flagship carrier vulnerable to air attacks.
The report says the crucial arresting gear system — that is needed when the aircraft lands on the carrier — has not been finalised due to development problems. Saying that alternatives are being worked out, the report fears that this could further 'increase the risk of further delay in the delivery of the ship'.
Yahoo..
A second-hand aircraft carrier that has half the life span of a new ship and is 60% more expensive.The Government has some serious questions to answer for..!!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Augmenting our Nation's military might
Fifty-four years after the world's first nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus took to the ocean depths, smashing all submerged speed and distance records thereafter, India's long hunt for its own N-sub has finally entered the last lap.
Sources say India's first nuclear-powered submarine, built under the top-secret ATV (advanced technology vessel) project, will be 'launched' for 'preliminary trials' at the shipbuilding centre at Visakhapatnam naval dockyard around 10 days from now.
In fact, if things go as planned, it will be PM Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur who will break the 'auspicious' coconut against the ATV hull on July 26 to mark India's entry into the exclusive club of US, Russia, China, France and UK, which design and operate nuclear submarines.
Extensive sea trials will, of course, have to follow after the first of the three approved ATVs, designed to carry a miniature 80MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) and its containment vessel in the hull, is put in the water by flooding the dry dock at the naval dockyard.
"It will take a minimum of two years before the first 6,000-tonne ATV can become fully operational," said an official. Nevertheless, it will constitute a big step towards India's endeavor to build a 'credible nuclear weapon triad' — the capability to fire nukes from air, land and sea.
India does have fighters like Mirage-2000 jury-rigged to deliver tactical nukes as well as nuclear-capable Agni ballistic missiles. But airbases and missile launch infrastructure can conceivably be taken out with a crippling first-strike by an enemy. This is where the triad's third leg comes in, especially for a country like India which has a declared no-first-use nuclear doctrine.
A nuclear submarine, whose reactor usually needs to be refuelled only after a decade or more, provides a difficult-to-detect-and-target platform for launching punishing retaliatory nuclear strikes.
Even US and Russia have ensured that two-thirds of the strategic warheads they eventually retain, under arms reduction agreements, will be in the shape of SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles).
Interestingly enough, India's first ATV is to be named INS Arihant (destroyer of enemies). Incidentally, defence minister A K Antony earlier this year declared the ATV project was in the "final stages now". This was indeed a rare admission because even existence of the project, first conceived during Indira Gandhi's reign as PM in 1970 but which really got going only in the mid-1980s, has been officially denied in the past.
With a massive Rs 30,000-crore funding, it still remains largely a 'black' project even 11 years after India came out of the nuclear closet with the Pokhran-II tests in 1998.
But while a formidable weapon, a nuclear-powered submarine by itself does not give strategic deterrence. For that, ATV needs to be armed with nuclear-tipped ballistic or cruise missiles.
So, DRDO has been concurrently working on the equally hush-hush Sagarika project since the mid-1990s, under which the 700km range K-15 missile has been tested from submersible pontoon launchers till now. The next challenge is to test-fire the K-15 missile from the ATV.
Moreover, with US, Russia and China fielding over 5,000km range SLBMs, Indian scientists are also working on an SLBM variant of the 3,500km Agni-III missile. For a country which had build only two diesel-electric German-origin HDW submarines at Mazagon Docks in 1992-94, constructing a nuclear submarine was never going to be easy.
Building a SSBN or a "boomer", after all, is an incredibly complex process, with marine, nuclear and missile technologies all being integrated into a holistic whole. ATV's meandering saga has extended from Vishakapatnam dockyard, where the basic submarine hull and structure have been fabricated, to the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam, where the PWRs have been built and tested, apart from several other secretive facilities chipping in with their expertise.
Designing the miniature nuclear reactor, fuelled by highly enriched uranium, was obviously one of the main hurdles, with initial designs by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre failing to work. Then, the nuclear technical expertise of Russia and some others was sought to overcome the technical roadblocks. Now, with the ATV launch finally happening, the defence establishment is keeping its fingers crossed. The eventual aim is to field three SSBNs well before the next decade ends.
Reports timesofindia.
Sources say India's first nuclear-powered submarine, built under the top-secret ATV (advanced technology vessel) project, will be 'launched' for 'preliminary trials' at the shipbuilding centre at Visakhapatnam naval dockyard around 10 days from now.
In fact, if things go as planned, it will be PM Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur who will break the 'auspicious' coconut against the ATV hull on July 26 to mark India's entry into the exclusive club of US, Russia, China, France and UK, which design and operate nuclear submarines.
Extensive sea trials will, of course, have to follow after the first of the three approved ATVs, designed to carry a miniature 80MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) and its containment vessel in the hull, is put in the water by flooding the dry dock at the naval dockyard.
"It will take a minimum of two years before the first 6,000-tonne ATV can become fully operational," said an official. Nevertheless, it will constitute a big step towards India's endeavor to build a 'credible nuclear weapon triad' — the capability to fire nukes from air, land and sea.
India does have fighters like Mirage-2000 jury-rigged to deliver tactical nukes as well as nuclear-capable Agni ballistic missiles. But airbases and missile launch infrastructure can conceivably be taken out with a crippling first-strike by an enemy. This is where the triad's third leg comes in, especially for a country like India which has a declared no-first-use nuclear doctrine.
A nuclear submarine, whose reactor usually needs to be refuelled only after a decade or more, provides a difficult-to-detect-and-target platform for launching punishing retaliatory nuclear strikes.
Even US and Russia have ensured that two-thirds of the strategic warheads they eventually retain, under arms reduction agreements, will be in the shape of SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles).
Interestingly enough, India's first ATV is to be named INS Arihant (destroyer of enemies). Incidentally, defence minister A K Antony earlier this year declared the ATV project was in the "final stages now". This was indeed a rare admission because even existence of the project, first conceived during Indira Gandhi's reign as PM in 1970 but which really got going only in the mid-1980s, has been officially denied in the past.
With a massive Rs 30,000-crore funding, it still remains largely a 'black' project even 11 years after India came out of the nuclear closet with the Pokhran-II tests in 1998.
But while a formidable weapon, a nuclear-powered submarine by itself does not give strategic deterrence. For that, ATV needs to be armed with nuclear-tipped ballistic or cruise missiles.
So, DRDO has been concurrently working on the equally hush-hush Sagarika project since the mid-1990s, under which the 700km range K-15 missile has been tested from submersible pontoon launchers till now. The next challenge is to test-fire the K-15 missile from the ATV.
Moreover, with US, Russia and China fielding over 5,000km range SLBMs, Indian scientists are also working on an SLBM variant of the 3,500km Agni-III missile. For a country which had build only two diesel-electric German-origin HDW submarines at Mazagon Docks in 1992-94, constructing a nuclear submarine was never going to be easy.
Building a SSBN or a "boomer", after all, is an incredibly complex process, with marine, nuclear and missile technologies all being integrated into a holistic whole. ATV's meandering saga has extended from Vishakapatnam dockyard, where the basic submarine hull and structure have been fabricated, to the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam, where the PWRs have been built and tested, apart from several other secretive facilities chipping in with their expertise.
Designing the miniature nuclear reactor, fuelled by highly enriched uranium, was obviously one of the main hurdles, with initial designs by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre failing to work. Then, the nuclear technical expertise of Russia and some others was sought to overcome the technical roadblocks. Now, with the ATV launch finally happening, the defence establishment is keeping its fingers crossed. The eventual aim is to field three SSBNs well before the next decade ends.
Reports timesofindia.
Fantasy of a joint 'India-Israel-pak terror orzanization' attack on pak
I am reproducing here an unbelievable news story, that I read in the online portal samachar.com,of a so-called plan to attack pak's strategic installations.It's being reported that Indian and Israeli special services units in collaboration with a pak terrorist organization is planning the attack..!!
Surely this cannot be true.
India under Manmohan Singh planning an operation in pakistan with help from a pak terror organization..!!
Israel and CIA helping India to do this..!
Report that India has already released funds to the terror organization...!!
India planning to give 'dirty bomb' to terrorists..!!! :D
All seems to be a pulp fantasy..
And surely the so-called "Reliable sources" behind this news could only be a fantasy writer from pak..!
Some retired ISI agent..!!
Any way let's have a good laugh at this..
And if indeed one day if this fantasy becomes true,then surely I will write another blog profusely apologizing for writing this...!!
I am sure I won't have to do that... :)
Reliable sources have said that Indian and Israeli special services units in collaboration with the TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) – a terrorist organisation–are preparing an attack on one of Pakistan’s strategic installation in order to achieve multiple goals.
Well-trained TTP members, around 750, will take part in this attack. Participation of Indian and Israeli units will be confined to supervision of attack and handling post attack scenario.
India has reportedly released funds to TTP for this sole attack which will create a delicate situation for Pakistani military establishment in the world. There is also information that Indians have already planned provision of some “dirty bomb” (radioactive material) to terrorists of TTP fighting against Pakistani military for this attack.
Pakistan army already has been stretched in FATA as a result of carefully devised strategy of drone attacks by CIA which creates hatred for the army and sympathy of locals for TTP chieftain Baitullah Mehsud. It has become evident from the last three drone attacks in South Waziristan that one of them was carried out on a funeral of a TTP leader who was killed in an earlier attack on the same day.
The question here is; does CIA really want to eliminate Baitullah Mehsud and his terrorist outfit TTP?
Circumstantial evidences and confession of Baitullah’s ex-aides (Haji Turkistan and slain Qari Zainuddin) had confirmed that TTP is much more than what appears in the world media (i.e an anti-USA force in reality is a pro-US and anti-Pakistan entity).
Now this latest intelligence about a possible attack on one of Pakistan’s strategic military sites in which TTP will play a role of foot soldiers has proved beyond any doubt that TTP is foreign funded proxy force operating inside Pakistan to fulfill agenda of Pakistan ’s enemies (read India and Israel led by US).
CIA and its agents in international media are building a case against Pakistani nuclear weapons advocating the notion that these might fall into wrong hands. According to media reports Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has already said that Pakistani installations are partially under attack from militants.
How this ominous plan will be executed is still not clear but according to reliable sources, malicious activities around some of these installations have been noticed. On further investigation by Pakistani intelligence it was revealed that plan of much worse repercussions is under way.
Planning phase of this attack is carried out in Afghanistan where Indians and Israelis are training Afghan forces and intelligence.
The contemplated attack also puts a big question mark on CIA’s sincerity and credibility since without its active involvement the said plan cannot take off.
Surely this cannot be true.
India under Manmohan Singh planning an operation in pakistan with help from a pak terror organization..!!
Israel and CIA helping India to do this..!
Report that India has already released funds to the terror organization...!!
India planning to give 'dirty bomb' to terrorists..!!! :D
All seems to be a pulp fantasy..
And surely the so-called "Reliable sources" behind this news could only be a fantasy writer from pak..!
Some retired ISI agent..!!
Any way let's have a good laugh at this..
And if indeed one day if this fantasy becomes true,then surely I will write another blog profusely apologizing for writing this...!!
I am sure I won't have to do that... :)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Imprisonment for not Voting
A bill proposing compulsory voting was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday by a Congress member, a suggestion recently made by Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani .
The Compulsory Voting Bill, 2009, introduced by Delhi Pradesh Congress chief J P Agarwal seeks to make voting compulsory for every voter who is eligible to vote in an election called for by the Election Commission.
It also proposes a fine of Rs 500 or two days' imprisonment or forfeiture of the ration card of the person who fails to cast his vote.
The bill seeks to deduct 10 days' salary and delay promotion for a period of two years of a government servant who fails to exercise his franchise.
The draft legislation seeks to incentivise voting by proposing to give preference to persons in government jobs and admission in institutions of higher education if they exercise their franchise for 15 years without a break.
The bill seeks to exempt a person from voting if he is physically incapacitated because of illness of a serious nature.
Advani had mooted the idea of making voting compulsory and having fixed terms for legislatures and Parliament about two months back.
rediff.
TWO DAYS' IMPRISONMENT if not voted??
Why would any body be compelled to vote,if he does not want to vote?
If we are talking about 'forcing' some body to do some thing which he does not want to do,then this is obviously an infringement on his 'Freedom of Expression.
Some people may not want to vote,due to various reasons.One of the prime reason could be the fact that the candidates contesting in their constituency may not be good enough or might be from a criminal background..!
In such cases,people should have the option of not voting..
Some might say that, to cover such a scenario,there should be an option in the voting machine for registering a no-confidence vote against the candidates.But even then for registering such a vote,why should a reluctant voter go all the way to the voting booth,he might very well decide not to vote..!!
Any way the the proposed bill, with punishment of a fine of Rs 500 or two days' imprisonment or forfeiture of the ration card or a deduction of 10 days' salary and delay promotion for a period of two years of a government servant,is a farce..
The Delhi Pradesh Congress chief J P Agarwal seems to be out of his mind..
It's better for the Congress Part to get his head checked for coming out with such an Utopian bill,especially the proposed punishments suggested..!!
Let me say I am a person who has voted in all elections from the time I was eligible to vote.In this post,I am just expressing my humble view that nobody in our Country should be forced to do some thing which he does not want to do by threatening to impose punishments..!
A punishment proposal for not voting will surely give a bad impression about our Vibrant Democracy to the outside world.It will look as if Indians are voting fearing punishment and not out of our own free will..
Hope this Bill will end up in it's rightful place -- In The Dustbin.
TCS Stands Tall
Beating analysts’ expectations, India’s largest IT services provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a net profit (consolidated Indian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles — GAAP) of Rs 1,534 crore — up 19 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.
Its revenue for the same period stood at Rs 7,207 crore — up 12 per cent Y-o-Y. The company’s net profit was up 15 per cent sequentially (quarter-on-quarter, or Q-o-Q), while the revenue was up 0.5 per cent Q-o-Q for the quarter under review. TCS, unlike its peers, does not provide guidance. The company incurred a foreign exchange loss of Rs 85 crore.
Apart from the broad-based growth in markets like North America and aided by a semblance of stability in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) verticals, the company said strong operational execution also helped it.
In Europe, demand uptake from recently-acquired clients is helping sustain growth momentum and the pipeline remains strong, while demand from emerging markets is being driven by system integration and outsourcing engagements. But the management also accepted that currency volatility in the UK and stress due to a telecom client (BT) in the region is creating stress.
The company signed 26 new clients, of which eight were large deals. Five of these where from the US, two from Europe and one from the APAC region. The TCS management said that the deal pipeline is healthy and the company was tracking 20 odd deals.
business-standard.com
In very difficult market conditions, Tata Consultancy Services ((TCS) reported a growth of 19 per cent in its net profit at Rs. 1,534 crore for the first quarter of 2009-10 against Rs. 1,290.60 crore in the same quarter in the previous year. Revenues at Rs. 7,207 crore (Rs. 6,411 crore) were up 12 per cent. The company announced an interim dividend of Rs. 2 per share on the post-bonus equity base.
TCS’ growth in revenues was driven by a volume growth of 3.54 per cent while the operating profit was up 25 per cent at Rs. 1,803 crore. In spite of difficult conditions, the company’s net margins were at 21.3 per cent, up by 1.14 per cent.
Addressing the media here, TCS CEO S. Ramadorai said, “in a volatile and uncompromising environment, TCS has demonstrated its industry leadership by seizing opportunities for growth through operational excellence resulting in a stellar performance for the quarter. While we remain vigilant about the environment, TCS is leveraging its global presence and the investments made in developed and emerging markets to deliver our proposition of certainty, which resonates clearly with customers in these challenging times and helps us create long-term value for shareholders.”
Company CFO and Executive Director S. Mahalingam said, “the focus has been on managing the business with optimal efficiency, while investing in future growth. By maintaining rigor in pricing deals, managing employee and non-employee costs, collecting and conserving cash and moving work off-shore, we have achieved significant improvement in our margins and earnings per share.”
“During the quarter, we have won eight large size deals — five from the U.S., two from Europe and one from Asia-Pacific.
“While two of these orders are in the manufacturing verticals, the others are in different verticals,” said COO and Executive Director N. Chandrasekaran.
Growth was broad-based across markets and North America continued to maintain its hare of revenues aided by semblance of stability in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) verticals. In Europe, demand uptake from recently acquired clients is helping TCS sustain growth momentum and the pipeline remains strong, while demand from Emerging Markets is being driven by system integration and outsourcing engagements. “We are cautious about the manufacturing, Telecom and Hi-Tech verticals. The deal pipeline is healthy and we are pursuing 20 large deals. There was a 25 basis points impact on pricing and there will be pricing pressure this year.”
In terms of verticals, the first quarter saw some stability in the core BFSI segments with the U.S. leading the trend, while the U.K. and Europe are expected to stabilize in subsequent quarters. In manufacturing, the speed of demand recovery will depend on overall economic recovery. The media and retail verticals continue to grow from new deals as well as ramp-ups of large deals closed in 2008-09.
In a first for TCS, there was negative net addition of employees at 2,119. This, according to Mr. Chandrasekaran, was because the company “was controlling recruitment as per business needs. Recruitment will be skill-based. There are no salary hikes this year but we have just announced promotions.”
Utilisation was 79.2 per cent (excluding trainees) in the first quarter and 71.3 per cent (including trainees). There was a gross addition of 2,828 employees during the quarter and the attrition rate was at 11.5 per cent. The total employee strength was at 1.42 lakh.
Ajoy Mukherjee, Vice President, Head, Global Human Resources, TCS, said, “worldwide, TCSers are playing an important role to drive growth and help customers experience certainty in this environment.” During the quarter, there were 450 gross additions outside India. The Cincinnati Global Deliver Centre in the U.S. is on track to meet its target of 250 recruits for the year.
The Hindu.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) overcame a tough business environment and beat street expectations by a huge margin to post a surprise
growth in revenues and net profit for the first quarter of the fiscal, but warned that it was too early to wish away the global recession and demand uncertainty.
India’s largest software exporter posted a 23% growth in net profit at Rs 1,520 crore, helped by lower costs and higher revenues from major markets, but said pricing will remain under pressure in the next one year. Revenues were up 12.4% to Rs 7,207 crore, as the US market showed signs of stability as did the troubled financial services sector.
“It is a stellar quarter, made strong by operational execution. The global economy continues to be weak and job losses are happening all over. We are watchful of the situation and do not rule out more surprises,” said TCS managing director and chief executive S Ramadorai, reflecting the mixed trend.
The company said it would pay the variable component of employee salaries in full for the quarter, but would continue with the freeze on wage hikes for now.
The company has performed better than its closest rival Infosys Technologies with a business volume growth of 3.6% during the quarter, compared with a 1.1% volume decline announced by Infosys. Pricing pressure, however, continues and the company said there was a 25 basis points decline in pricing during the quarter.
“Pricing will not go up. We will be lucky if we maintain it,” said chief operating officer and CEO-designate N Chandrasekaran.
While the financial services sector and the US saw stability, worries remained primarily in three sectors — telecom, manufacturing and hi-tech, Mr Chandrasekaran said. There were signs of this in its first quarter performance, as revenues from a large UK-based telecom client continued to decline. The UK and Europe also did not grow as well.
The TCS stock was up 3.1% to Rs 433.60 on BSE on Friday in anticipation of the better results, the software major was to announce after market hours.
The company's improved performance was also helped by lower forex losses of Rs 85 crore and increased interest and dividend income. "Our hedges for this quarter were $123 million on which we had a forex loss of Rs 85 crore. We won't be taking any new currency hedges as the rupee is still reasonably depreciated," said chief financial officer S Mahalingam.
He said cost management initiatives had delivered margin expansion all-round. Lower costs were also on account of more work moving offshore. The offshore revenues were 50.4% of its total revenues compared with 40.9% in the year-ago period. Onsite revenues, on the other hand, have declined to 44.4% of total revenues compared with 54.9% in the year-ago period.
TCS won eight large deals during the quarter with five of them coming from the US, two from Europe and one from Asia-Pacific. They are spread across different sectors -- two being from customers in manufacturing and other six from retail, pharma, utilities among others. For the first time, the company has shown a decline in the number of net hires by 2119 people, although at gross level it hired 2,828 employees.
The company has made 111 job offers in the US for its largest delivery centre at Cincinnati. The centre has a capacity of 1000 people. Ajoy Mukherjee, head of global human resources, termed it the first large-scale hiring by the company for the Cincinnati facility.
economictimes.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Colonel S Madhav Perumal's Martyrdom for the Nation.
It's never a good news when you read or watch the sad news of Indian soldiers getting killed while on duty.Unfortunately our Country is at war at many fronts,be it with pak terrorists or with the maoist terrorists and these deaths seems unavoidable..!
Only thing that can be done is to show respect,homage and try and help the family members with heartfelt grief.
Below is a news article from rediff about the death of one such Indian soldier.One would have hoped that Martyrdom of our Nation's guardians would be given more coverage and respect they deserve than what they are currently getting...hmm
"Colonel S Madhav Perumal, who died in a landmine blast triggered by militants in Assam two days ago was cremated with full military honors in Hyderabad in the presence of hundreds of mourners including the army men.The last rites took place amid gun salute as wreaths were laid on behalf of different units of army and the state government.The state home minister Sabita Indra Reddy was among the important personalities who attended the funeral of the officer.
A medical doctor in the army Col Perumal died at a time when his family was waiting for his arrival for a brief break. Col Perumal's mortal remains were flown to Hyderabad on Tuesday and taken to military hospital and after the postmortem the body was taken to his residence in East Maredpally.
Perumal's was a multifaceted personality as he had started his career in the army as a paratrooper and then served as a doctor in the army. He had degrees in medicine, law and management. He had escaped narrowly during the Kargil war.
Col Perumal also served with the peace keeping force in Uganda for some time. "After coming home, he was to accompany his daughter Rashmi to Dehradun where she is studying LLB in Army Institute of Law", said Perumal's father-in-law Potharaju, a retired deputy superintendent of police. While Rashmi is a second year student of law, her brother Jayanth is working as a House Surgeon in army's dental hospital in Hyderabad. "He too wants in the footsteps of his father and join army", said Potharaju."
This post is just a sincere attempt to share the sorrow of the family of Colonel S Madhav Perumal,who died for Our Nation.Nothing can substitute their loss...hmm
Only thing that can be done is to show respect,homage and try and help the family members with heartfelt grief.
Below is a news article from rediff about the death of one such Indian soldier.One would have hoped that Martyrdom of our Nation's guardians would be given more coverage and respect they deserve than what they are currently getting...hmm
"Colonel S Madhav Perumal, who died in a landmine blast triggered by militants in Assam two days ago was cremated with full military honors in Hyderabad in the presence of hundreds of mourners including the army men.The last rites took place amid gun salute as wreaths were laid on behalf of different units of army and the state government.The state home minister Sabita Indra Reddy was among the important personalities who attended the funeral of the officer.
A medical doctor in the army Col Perumal died at a time when his family was waiting for his arrival for a brief break. Col Perumal's mortal remains were flown to Hyderabad on Tuesday and taken to military hospital and after the postmortem the body was taken to his residence in East Maredpally.
Perumal's was a multifaceted personality as he had started his career in the army as a paratrooper and then served as a doctor in the army. He had degrees in medicine, law and management. He had escaped narrowly during the Kargil war.
Col Perumal also served with the peace keeping force in Uganda for some time. "After coming home, he was to accompany his daughter Rashmi to Dehradun where she is studying LLB in Army Institute of Law", said Perumal's father-in-law Potharaju, a retired deputy superintendent of police. While Rashmi is a second year student of law, her brother Jayanth is working as a House Surgeon in army's dental hospital in Hyderabad. "He too wants in the footsteps of his father and join army", said Potharaju."
This post is just a sincere attempt to share the sorrow of the family of Colonel S Madhav Perumal,who died for Our Nation.Nothing can substitute their loss...hmm
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Master Population Control Technique
“Electricity in our villages can help control population growth. Electricity will lead to television in houses, which will lead to population control. When there is no light, people get engaged in the process of population growth”
“Don’t think that I am saying this in a lighter vein. I am serious. TV will have a great impact. It’s a great medium to tackle the problem”.
“When light will reach (villages), 80 percent of population growth can be reduced through TV”.
This is Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.He was addressing a function on World Population Day.
Well,Good idea.. hmm..
Hope he will submit a proposal and plan in the Cabinet meeting to provide uninterrupted electricity and TV to each and every village in the Country and control the "process of population growth"... :D
“Don’t think that I am saying this in a lighter vein. I am serious. TV will have a great impact. It’s a great medium to tackle the problem”.
“When light will reach (villages), 80 percent of population growth can be reduced through TV”.
This is Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.He was addressing a function on World Population Day.
Well,Good idea.. hmm..
Hope he will submit a proposal and plan in the Cabinet meeting to provide uninterrupted electricity and TV to each and every village in the Country and control the "process of population growth"... :D
Pattanathil Bootham
For Malayalees :
For those who plan to watch the latest Mammootty film 'Pattanathil Bootham',here is a warning.
If your intention is to watch a "Mammootty film",then please avoid watching this film.
The film is sooo poor.As a person who watched the film on the first day second show at Padma Theatre,Kochi,I can say it was very difficult to control sleep during the film.
It seems to be a film made with kinds in mind.But I am not sure,even they will like it.
The only saving grace of the film is some comedy scenes of Salim Kumar and Suraj Venjaramoodu.
The director of the film is Johny Antony.His earlier films include CID Moosa,Thuruppugulan,Kochi Raajavu,Inspector Garud.
All those films were also not that good.But 'Pattanathil Bootham' should be his worst film..!
In this film Mammootty is in a double role.One as a genie.This is undoubtedly one of his worst films,both in terms of the film and his acting.
This is also Kavya Madhavan 's first film after marriage.Even though she is the heroine,her role looks like a guest role..!!
When me and my other four friends were coming out of the theatre,we noticed that every body was passing sarcastic jokes on the film.Every body seems surprised that Super Star Mammootty agreed to do such a film..!!
For those who plan to watch the latest Mammootty film 'Pattanathil Bootham',here is a warning.
If your intention is to watch a "Mammootty film",then please avoid watching this film.
The film is sooo poor.As a person who watched the film on the first day second show at Padma Theatre,Kochi,I can say it was very difficult to control sleep during the film.
It seems to be a film made with kinds in mind.But I am not sure,even they will like it.
The only saving grace of the film is some comedy scenes of Salim Kumar and Suraj Venjaramoodu.
The director of the film is Johny Antony.His earlier films include CID Moosa,Thuruppugulan,Kochi Raajavu,Inspector Garud.
All those films were also not that good.But 'Pattanathil Bootham' should be his worst film..!
In this film Mammootty is in a double role.One as a genie.This is undoubtedly one of his worst films,both in terms of the film and his acting.
This is also Kavya Madhavan 's first film after marriage.Even though she is the heroine,her role looks like a guest role..!!
When me and my other four friends were coming out of the theatre,we noticed that every body was passing sarcastic jokes on the film.Every body seems surprised that Super Star Mammootty agreed to do such a film..!!
Demands of a monster
Pakistani terrorists Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab caught during the Mumbai terror attack which killed more than 180 people on Friday told the special court that he wants to write a letter to an unspecified recipient in Mecca.
This follows a series of requests from this monster.At first he wanted a pak lawyer to represent him.At a later instance he wanted Urdu books and papers.Later he said he was getting bored in the jail and wants another set of books...!!
Well,well,well,first of all it's not clear why this creature is given this much importance and why his demands are being highlighted.He is not a human being and his requests should not be entertained.He is some one who is caught red-handed with all the evidence possible in the world to punish him.So it's not clear why the court is taking this much time to give orders to execute this animal who was among the terror group which killed innocent civilians.
Why make him bored in the jail..!
With all the evidence in hand the court doesn't need to wait much longer,it's hoped..
Also it will be better if these sarcastic demands from this monster is not highlighted by the media.This is adding insult to injury to the memories of our people who got killed.
Mumbai was attacked on 26/11/2008.Today is 11/07/2009.Let's hope punishment will be swift and the delay in providing the right judgment won't continue this painful path for the victims and their families..
This follows a series of requests from this monster.At first he wanted a pak lawyer to represent him.At a later instance he wanted Urdu books and papers.Later he said he was getting bored in the jail and wants another set of books...!!
Well,well,well,first of all it's not clear why this creature is given this much importance and why his demands are being highlighted.He is not a human being and his requests should not be entertained.He is some one who is caught red-handed with all the evidence possible in the world to punish him.So it's not clear why the court is taking this much time to give orders to execute this animal who was among the terror group which killed innocent civilians.
Why make him bored in the jail..!
With all the evidence in hand the court doesn't need to wait much longer,it's hoped..
Also it will be better if these sarcastic demands from this monster is not highlighted by the media.This is adding insult to injury to the memories of our people who got killed.
Mumbai was attacked on 26/11/2008.Today is 11/07/2009.Let's hope punishment will be swift and the delay in providing the right judgment won't continue this painful path for the victims and their families..
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Respecting Our Martyrs
Capt Saurabh Kalia, the first to report Pakistani incursion in Kargil in 1999, was taken captive by the Pakistani troops and a few weeks later his mutilated body was handed over to Indian authorities. Ten years on, the martyr's parents fight a lone battle to highlight war crimes against their son and other Indian soldiers.
N.K. Kalia and his wife Vijaya, who have settled in this town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, have been waging a war to highlight Pakistani violations of human rights and brutalities committed on their son, Saurabh Kalia, and other soldiers during the Kargil war in 1999.
Saurabh Kalia of 4 Jat Regiment, who was the first army officer to report incursion by the Pakistani army on Indian soil had along with five soldiers - Sepoys Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh gone for a routine patrol of the Bajrang Post in the Kaksar sector when they were taken captive by the Pakistani troops May 15, 1999.
They were barbarically tortured for weeks before being killed. Their mutilated bodies were handed over to Indian authorities June 9, 1999.
"Of course, his supreme sacrifice has made us proud, but what has exhausted, disappointed and dejected us is that the nation for which he has sacrificed his life least bothered to highlight the plight of war crimes at the international fora," N.K. Kalia, 61, a retired senior scientist from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, told IANS.
"We have been shuttling between various government offices and organisations with the hope of highlighting the plight of the war victims. The Indian government has failed to deliver justice as it has forgotten atrocities meted out on six heroes. For days, they were tortured. Their limbs were chopped and bodies burnt," rued Kalia.
"Though the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the centre expressed concern over the heinous crime and promised to take up the issue at the international level, in all these years the issue got diluted," he recalled.
"Even today our only demand is that it should keep its promise so that no POWs (prisoners of war) could face Saurabh's fate. Had this happened to any American or Israeli soldier, the culprits would have been brought to justice."
Vijaya, who runs an LPG agency allotted by the Indian Oil Corporation to honour his martyrdom, asked: "Is this the way the government treats its heroes?"
To highlight the plight of the war victims, Saurabh Kalia's father has started an online signature campaign.
"The pain of losing a young son is hard to describe in words. But we feel contended with the fact that many citizens have supported us through online signature campaign. Till date more than 13,000 people have put up their signatures," N.K. Kalia said.
Saurabh Kalia, who was posted in Kargil as his first posting after passing out of the Indian Military Academy, did not even live long enough to receive his first pay packet as an officer.
Today, his photographs, his uniforms, shoes and mementos are kept in his room, which has been named 'Saurabh Smriti Kaksha' (a museum), in the Kalias' four-bedroom house in the serene hills of Palampur.
The Himachal Pradesh government as a mark of respect has raised 'Saurabh Van Vihar' in a sprawling area of 35 acres here besides renaming a street in the town as Capt Saurabh Kalia Marg. A nursing college in the proposed Vivekanand Medical Research Trust Hospital here is being raised in martyr's memory.
News Report from :msn.
N.K. Kalia and his wife Vijaya, who have settled in this town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, have been waging a war to highlight Pakistani violations of human rights and brutalities committed on their son, Saurabh Kalia, and other soldiers during the Kargil war in 1999.
Saurabh Kalia of 4 Jat Regiment, who was the first army officer to report incursion by the Pakistani army on Indian soil had along with five soldiers - Sepoys Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh gone for a routine patrol of the Bajrang Post in the Kaksar sector when they were taken captive by the Pakistani troops May 15, 1999.
They were barbarically tortured for weeks before being killed. Their mutilated bodies were handed over to Indian authorities June 9, 1999.
"Of course, his supreme sacrifice has made us proud, but what has exhausted, disappointed and dejected us is that the nation for which he has sacrificed his life least bothered to highlight the plight of war crimes at the international fora," N.K. Kalia, 61, a retired senior scientist from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, told IANS.
"We have been shuttling between various government offices and organisations with the hope of highlighting the plight of the war victims. The Indian government has failed to deliver justice as it has forgotten atrocities meted out on six heroes. For days, they were tortured. Their limbs were chopped and bodies burnt," rued Kalia.
"Though the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the centre expressed concern over the heinous crime and promised to take up the issue at the international level, in all these years the issue got diluted," he recalled.
"Even today our only demand is that it should keep its promise so that no POWs (prisoners of war) could face Saurabh's fate. Had this happened to any American or Israeli soldier, the culprits would have been brought to justice."
Vijaya, who runs an LPG agency allotted by the Indian Oil Corporation to honour his martyrdom, asked: "Is this the way the government treats its heroes?"
To highlight the plight of the war victims, Saurabh Kalia's father has started an online signature campaign.
"The pain of losing a young son is hard to describe in words. But we feel contended with the fact that many citizens have supported us through online signature campaign. Till date more than 13,000 people have put up their signatures," N.K. Kalia said.
Saurabh Kalia, who was posted in Kargil as his first posting after passing out of the Indian Military Academy, did not even live long enough to receive his first pay packet as an officer.
Today, his photographs, his uniforms, shoes and mementos are kept in his room, which has been named 'Saurabh Smriti Kaksha' (a museum), in the Kalias' four-bedroom house in the serene hills of Palampur.
The Himachal Pradesh government as a mark of respect has raised 'Saurabh Van Vihar' in a sprawling area of 35 acres here besides renaming a street in the town as Capt Saurabh Kalia Marg. A nursing college in the proposed Vivekanand Medical Research Trust Hospital here is being raised in martyr's memory.
News Report from :msn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)