BHASKAR SILICON TO SET UP PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECT

New Delhi, December 22, 2008
The Hindu Business Line

The Government has received application from Bhaskar Silicon to set up a PV project that would encompass polysilicon, silicon wafers, cells and modules, at a proposed investment of Rs 5,900 crore.

This takes the total number of proposals received by the Centre under Special Incentive Package Scheme to 17, sources said.

“Bhaskar Silicon filed its application in mid-November,” they pointed out. Company officials could not be reached for comments.

Meanwhile, the sources said the IT Ministry had not yet heard from Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on any change of business plans pertaining to its proposed semiconductor and PV projects.

The Government has received a number of proposals from corporate giants such as Videocon Industries for incentives under Special Incentive Package Scheme notified last year to encourage investments for semiconductor fabs and eco-system units.

Under SIPS, the Centre would provide incentive of 20 percent capital expenditure during the first 10 years for the units in SEZs, and 25 percent of the capital expenditure in non-SEZ units. Any unit can claim incentives in the form of capital subsidy or equity participation.

BUY FACEBOOK DATA FOR RS 60

London
The Economic Times

A probe by security experts has revealed that cyber criminals tend to work up a fortune by selling stolen Facebook profiles for an amount as low as 89p.

According to Trend Micro specialists, hackers break into social networking accounts to steal personal information of users to sell them off to criminal groups who then use the details to send "spam" messages to million others.

The wrongdoers tend to send an invitation to account holders to view videos or pictures of family and friends, which on being clicked allow access to the victims' computer, reports the Sun.

The computer is then infected with spyware to obtain a copy of their keystrokes the acquisition of which can allow access to secret information, such as passwords, bank details, and other personal fields.

While Internet banking logons cost 35 pounds each, a million international email addresses for spamming purposes can be traded for just four pounds.

The company's Rik Ferguson said: "We give away a huge amount of personal information on social networking sites. Hordes of cyber criminals are drawn to them.

MICROSOFT EYES '09 MARKET-BEATING XBOX SALES

Singapore
The Economic Times

Microsoft Corp expects its Xbox game console sales to outpace broader market growth next year, a senior executive said on Wednesday, projecting optimism despite dampened consumer spending.

Although the global economic slowdown has hit consumer demand, Microsoft expects the overall video game industry to continue growing next year as more people choose to stay at home, said Alan Bowman, Asia general manager of Xbox operations. Industry watchers expect the sector to grow in the 20 percent range this year, though Bowman declined to give specific forecasts for 2009.

"Outpacing the market is a key measure, but we've also managed to broaden the market to include people who have never played video games before," Bowman, who is based in Sydney, told Reuters in a phone interview. "So what is really driving our growth momentum right now is how we are broadening our consumer base to include not only hardcore gamers but also individuals who would have previously not thought about buying a game console."

In Asia, market research firm GfK said Xbox shipments in October grew by 53 percent compared to September after Microsoft cut the price of the console to less than $200. No figures were available for the same period last year as they only began tracking the market late last year.

The Xbox outsold rival Sony's PlayStation 3 in Japan in September, its first monthly unit sales win in Sony's home base. However, it still lags behind Nintendo's Wii console, which sold over 2 million units in the US in November.

Microsoft has sold about 25 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide since its introduction in late 2005, compared to 14.4 million units for Sony's PlayStation 3 and 30 million of Nintendo's Wii units, which both came out in late 2006.

GLOBAL SOLAR CELLS BODY SETS UP INDIA OFFICE

Chennai/Bangalore
Business Standard

SEMI, the global industry body of the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic (PV) industries, has formally marked its presence in India by setting up an office in Bangalore.

Having the solar photovoltaic market as its initial area of focus out of India, SEMI will form a PV advisory committee comprising executives from major solar cell, module, equipment and material manufacturers to support various SEMI initiatives in India, Paul Davis, executive vice-president of SEMI, said.

PV advisory members include Applied Materials, Signet Solar, Tata BP Solar India, Titan Energy Systems, Moser Baer India and Oerlikon Solar India. All association activities in the solar photovoltaic space in India will now come under the aegis of SEMI’s PV group, which is a global initiative of SEMI.

The PV group has established committees in most major PV regions of the world, including China, Europe, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and North America.

SEMI India president Sathya Prasad said that his organisation’s focus on the solar PV industry coincides with the growing solar PV market opportunities in India. SEMI plans to hold an international PV exposition, Solarcon India, at Hyderabad in November next year to scope out manufacturing opportunities in the PV market.

As more than 15 companies have announced plans to set up fab operations in India, Prasad expected significant growth in the India PV market. “Schemes like the semiconductor incentive policy will help investment flow into the region, which could reach as much as $10 billion by 2010,” Prasad said.

PV cell module installations have grown at an average annual rate of 35 percent since 1998.

About 90 companies are involved in the $17.2-billion solar PV industry in India, of which nine are manufacturers of solar cells, 19 are solar module makers, and 60 are assemblers and suppliers of solar systems.

India is expected to ship about 130 MW of solar power in 2009, from 30 MW this year, and become the fourth largest generator of solar energy in the coming years. Current growth projections for the Indian market range from 25-50 percent. On the demand side, India has a long-term goal of generating 10 percent of its power requirements from renewable sources by 2032.

EFFORTS ON TO DEVELOP IT INDUSTRY IN BIHAR

Salem
The Hindu

The Bihar Government has initiated efforts to develop Information Technology industry in the State taking Tamil Nadu as model, its Information Technology Minister Anil Kumar said.

After visiting the Vinayaka Missions University (VMU) here on Monday, Anil Kumar told media persons that the Bihar Government had taken up infrastructure development projects including construction of IT towers to attract IT companies to invest in the State and create employment opportunities for the youth.

The Minister also said the government was making efforts to promote technical education in the State as a large number of students from Bihar were going out every year to pursue higher education in other States.