Oxford technocrat takes office as Planning Commission deputy chief

What is India News Service, 17 June 2004, 1730 hrs

Prime minister Manmohan Singh's dream team is taking shape, with old friend Montek Singh Ahluwalia taking over as deputy chairman of the Planning Commission. Infosys, India's second largest software exporter, has decided that no single client will contribute more than 10 per cent of its revenue. The Confederation of Indian Industries has urged the government to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in domestic carriers.

Ahluwalia had held the prestigious office of independent evaluator, IMF, since July 2001. He now returns from Washington to take up the deputy chairman's post. The prime minister is the chairman of the Planning Commission. Ahluwalia has earlier held key positions in government.

As part of its risk management strategy, Infosys has decided it will not allow any client to contribute more than 10 per cent of its revenue. It fears a client who grows big may renegotiate pricing. The Nasdaq-listed company, ranked third in IT services after Accenture and IBM, has a clientele that includes ABN AMRO Bank, Microsoft, Telstra, Cisco, Lucent, Gap, Airbus, The Boeing Company, Visa International and Johnson Controls.

The CII urged civil aviation minister Praful Patel to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in domestic carriers. Private airline operators in India are opposing the idea as they feel foreign investors will divert profits to their home stations.

Overall:

Infosys set ceiling on clients: As part of its risk management strategy, it has decided to spread its business across its clientele.

Planning Commission got new deputy chief: Montek Singh Ahluwalia is a star player in the prime minister's dream team.

CII wanted more FDI in airlines: The Confederation of India Industries urged the civil aviation minister to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in the airline sector.