IBM launches user group forum in Karnataka

IBM has announced the launch of the Rational User Group forum 2004 in India. The forum offers technical insight and expertise to better equip the IBM Rational development community with information, to help maximise the benefits of using Rational's tools, services and best practices.

The forum will also allow customers expand their knowledge base and enhance skill levels. Through this IBM hopes to achieve a membership of at least 2,500 members by year-end and also act as motivators for developers in the market place.

Sops for farmers, govt employees

Amidst speculation that Karnataka might go in for Assembly polls in tandem with Lok Sabha elections, chief minister SM Krishna has announced fresh sops, offering farm credit at 8.5 per cent interest from April 1 and setting up of a new pay commission for the five lakh government employees.

As an extension of his 2004-05 'son of the soil' budget presented on 5 February , Krishna told the Assembly that credit to farmers would be provided at 8.5 per cent interest,slashing by 0.5 per cent the slab offered by the centre in its interim budget.

Tamil Nadu
Wipro to join e-governance plans

Infotech major Wipro plans to associate itself in a major way with the Tamil Nadu government in the latter's e-governance initiatives. This was conveyed by Azim Premji, the chairman of Wipro, to chief minister J Jayalalithaa during their meeting here.

According to a government press release, Premji explained during the meeting the efforts being made by Wipro to introduce e-governance measures in many states and assured chief minister J Jayalalithaa that Wipro and the Tamil Nadu government could be partners in the same way.

SHFL launches property portal

Sundaram Home Finance Limited (SHFL), a subsidiary of Sundaram Finance Company, has launched its property portal, www.sundaramhomefinance.com. Addressing a press conference Nitin Palany, the managing director of Sundaram Home Finance, said, "Our portal will offer information on current residential projects in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore. We have invested about Rs 5 lakh in the portal."

At present, the portal has 425 projects listed. To be updated on a weekly basis, the portal will enable customers apply for home loans online. Nitin Palany said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had given a in- principle approval for a $20-million loan with a tenure of 10 years.

There has been a delay in availing the ADB loan with the ministry of finance freezing the external commercial borrowings route for banks and non-banking financial companies. The company expects to close the current fiscal with a profit before tax of Rs 7crore, loan portfolio of about Rs 650 crore and disbursements of Rs 400 crore.

Palany said the company was expecting to record disbursals of Rs 400 crore this fiscal. "The company's loan portfolio at the end of March this year is expected to touch Rs 650 crore," he added. According to Palani as part of future capital requirements, the company would consider various options including going in for a rights issue or an IPO.

Maharashtra
Rose exports bloom

This is a Valentine's Day special, even the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray will not object to!

Maharashtra's humble farmers are set to despatch a bouquet of 70 lakh plus red roses to meet the cupid day requirements of Europe and rake in foreign exchange.

Confirming the high export of roses to Europe (pre-dominantly to Holland) from the state to meet the Valentine's Day demand in Europe, director (marketing) of the Maharashtra Agricultural Marketing Board (AMMB) Ram Kharche said that compared to flower exports last year, this year there is a sharp increase.

"All kinds of flowers like carnations, lilies, zerberas and anthuriums are exported each year. But roses are the main component of exports to Europe. In the coming years this is set to grow further with the state government having demarcated 250 hectares of land in Talegaon (Pune) for horticulture. Already 70 entrepreneurs have been identified and next year will witness larger exports," Kharche added.

One of the 20 large exporters of cupid's floral insignia (read the red rose) Aurun Shroff, executive director of Deccan Florabase Ltd said: "When it comes to meeting Valentine's Day demand in Europe, Bangalore is probably ahead of Maharashtra in terms of quantities of flowers exported for this occasion. However, if the year-long quantities of flowers exported out of India to Europe is taken into account then Maharashtra is numero uno."

Arun Shroff said that there has been a constant effort on the part of the state government to strengthen horticulture that has resulted in even small farmers today practising green house cultivation, that provides the floral product that is popular in European countries like Holland.