Telecom @ a Glance

964 million

India is the world's second-largest telecommunications market, with 964 million subscribers as of November 2014.

35 per cent

The Indian telecom sector has witnessed an average growth of close to 35 per cent a year.

700 million

India will be home to 700 million of the world's 4.7 billion global internet users by 2025.

9.5 billion

The mobile value added services (MVAS) industry is expected to reach 9.5 billion by the end of this year.

The $1bn club

Eight Indian companies are among the 107 global firms whose valuations are $1 billion or more.According to New York-based venture capital tracker CB Insights, the Indian companies in the elite league are Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola, Paytm, Zomato, MuSigma, Quikr and InMobi.

E-visa for Chinese

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new electronic visa scheme for Chinese nationals on Friday , putting an end to decades old complaint about cumbersome and delayed visa procedures of the Indian government. The announcement, made before a large gathering of cheering students at the premier Tsinghua University , made Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi so happy that he asked the assembled students to once again cheer and thank Modi for the “gift“.
“It's a big piece of news. Let's thank the Indian Prime Minister for the gift,“ Wang said, suggesting he was pleasantly surprised at hearing this after a day spent in hard bargaining over more than two dozen issues.The e-visa decision had not figured while 24 different agreements were being hammered out during delegation level talks.Sources said the Indian side wanted to make the announcement as a unilateral gesture by India for the Chinese people.Therefore, when foreign secretary S Jaishankar was asked about it after the agreements were signed, he said there had been no decision on it.
Seen from the viewpoint of negotiations, Modi has taken a major initiative going beyond the structured negotiations of officials from both sides to persuade Chinese leaders to accept at least one of his proposals.
The PM even spelled out what he wanted saying India and China would jointly establish an Asian century if Beijing supported India's expectations to join the Security Council and Nuclear Suppliers' Group. At the same time, he appreciated China's decision to open a second route for pilgrims to Mansarovar in Tibet.“China and India will advance with more solid steps,“ the Chinese foreign minister known for his measured style of talking said at the event, which was also attended by ambassadors Andrey J Denisov of Russia, M Fazlul Karim of Bangladesh, and Mohamed Faisal of the Maldives. “India's economic development is a source of opportunity for China,“ Wang said. Earlier, students in the function hall of Tsinghua University rose and gave the PM a tumultuous welcome as he walked in with Wang, Jaishankar, and ambas sador Ashok Kantha. His speech was interrupted at least six times by cheering students of masters and Ph.D programmes.
“Perhaps, the most significant change of this era is the re-emergence of China and India,“ Modi told students. “India is the next frontier of economic revolution. We have the demography for it. About 800 million people in India are below the age of 35. Their aspirations, energy , enterprise and skills will be the force for India's economic transformation. We now have the political mandate and the will to make it happen.“Asia's voice will be stronger and our nations' role more influential if India and China speak in one voice ­ for all of us and for each other,“ the PM said.

Mumbai Metro-III on fast track

The third phase of the Metro project--Colaba to Seepz via Bandra--has just inched a notch ahead. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation has finalized a general consultant to oversee the 33.5 km project, thereby fast-tracking its implementation. The general consultant will be responsible for a range of tasks which include supervising works and ensuring safety of the project besides evaluating quality and environmental aspects. The consultant will also be tasked with evaluation of bids for civil work of the Metro project, assistance in appointing contractors, reviewing and proof-checking of detailed designs and preparation of tender de sign and documents for procurement of track work, system components, supervision of supply besides other duties.
The third phase of the Metro corridor has been mired in controversy over the issue of rehabilitation of tenants, especially in Kalbadevi and Girgaum. Besides, citizen groups have protested against construction of a depot in Aarey colony .
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has appointed an international consortium led by AECOM Asia, Hong Kong (which is in a joint venture with JV with Padeco, Japan, LBG Inc, USA and Egis Rail, France) as general consultants for the Metro-3 corridor.
An official of MMRC said, “The consortium, selected from out of four international contenders, is expected to assist MMRC in all activities of implementation of the Metro-3 project.“
The appointment of the general consultants is in keeping with an agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency at the time of appraisal of loan over the quality-and-cost-based selection.
Moreover, MMRC has received an encouraging response from national and international companies to construct the 33.5-km long Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 corridor.
Also, MMRC last week invited applications to appoint a consultant to prepare a plan for rehabilitation of the for project-affected people of the Metro-III project in Kalbadevi and Girgaum.

2nd steep hike!

In the second steep hike this month, state-run fuel retailers raised petrol price by Rs.3.13 a litre and diesel by Rs.2.71 on the back of rising international crude rates and falling value of the rupee against the dollar. In Mumbai, petrol will now cost Rs.73.97 (up from Rs.70.84) and diesel will set you back by Rs.59.58, up from 56.87.
The increase in other states will vary depending on local taxes. After the latest revision, petrol costs Rs.66.29 a litre in Delhi and diesel Rs.52.28 from Saturday . This is the fourth increase in fuel prices this year and second in a row in the past 15 days. On March 1, petrol price rose by Rs.3.18 and diesel by Rs.3.09. Before that, petrol had become costlier by 82 paise and diesel by 61 paise in February. State-run fuel retailers revise petrol and diesel prices on 1st and 15th of every month on the basis of average imported cost and rupee-dollar exchange rate in the previous fortnight.
Petrol prices had been reduced by Rs.17.11 a litre between last August and this February .

Candid, Constructive & Friendly....

Prime Minister Narendra Modi did some straight talking about India's unease over aspects of China's foreign policy . He also pointed out that the source of terrorism for both India and China was the same, without naming any country . “I stressed the need for China to reconsider its approach on some of the issues that hold us back from realizing the full potential of our partnership. I suggested that China should take a strategic and long-term view of our relations,“ Modi said.
A visiting head of government laying down his country's interests in the Great Hall of the People is not an everyday occurrence. For many here, used to the gentle wording of international diplomacy , this came as a surprise. Modi took up the issue of terrorism while talking to students at the Tsinghua University in Beijing late in the afternoon. “We both face instability in “We both face instability in our shared neighbourhood that can threaten our security and slow down our economies,“ Modi said. “The spreading tide of extremism and terrorism is a threat we both face; for both, its source is in the same region,“ he added. At the joint press conference, Modi described his conversations with the Chinese leadership as “candid, constructive and friendly“.
“We covered all issues, including those that trouble smooth development of our relations,“ Modi said. The PM also indicated that bonding with India could be a better option for China instead of relying on the policies of countries that produce terrorism, sources said.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang was equally candid.“We do not deny there are some disagreements between us but there's a mechanism and sufficient political maturity to address these,“ he said.“We stand ready to work with India to bring China-India relations to new heights,“ he said. The two Himalayan neighbours need not even bother about Western countries trying to keep them apart, Li suggested without naming any country . “I suggested that China should take a strategic and long-term view of our relations. I found the Chinese leadership responsive,“ Modi said at the presser, well attended by Western and Russian media.He also expressed happiness about Chinese responses to India's concerns over the border issue.“I found sensitivity to our concerns on this issue; and, interest in further intensify ing confidence building measures. I also reiterated the importance of clarification of Line of Actual Control in this regard,“ he said.

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited on Thursday, was inspired by ancient Nalanda. “To me it appears from the architectural study of Nalanda that monastery (No 1) was the library from where the famous Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hsuan Tsang) had copied the books and carried them to China,“ said former superintending archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) (Patna Circle) Muhammad K K. “The Chinese traveller wanted to have the Wild Goose Pagoda modeled after Nalanda. It was this library that the invader Bakhtiyar Khilji had destroyed,“ Muhammad said. The Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 652 AD in recognition of monk Hsuan Tsang's 17-year journey to India and his efforts to popularize Buddhism in China.

Somewhere in Rajasthan....