IIFT Compendium 2012

SC orders Sahara to refund Rs. 24,400 crore

The Supreme Court held that the economic offences committed by Saharas must be dealt with by an iron hand and directed the Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd. (SIRECL) and the Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd. (SHICL) to refund over Rs. 24,400 crore collected from 2.21 crore depositors through the optimally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs) by way of bonds. A Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and J.S. Khehar said they should refund the amounts collected through Red Herring Prospectus (RHPs) dated March 13, 2008 (Rs. 17,400 crore) and October 16, 2009 (over Rs. 7,000 crore), along with 15 per cent interest to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from the date of receipt of the subscription amount till the date of repayment, within three months. The sum should be deposited in a nationalised bank bearing the maximum rate of interest. The court appointed the retired Supreme Court judge, B.N. Agrawal, to oversee whether directions issued by this court are properly and effectively complied with by the SEBI (WTM) from the date of this order.

CAG pulls up hydro-power PSUs for project delays

The functioning of state-run power companies has come under strong criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The CAG has faulted NHPC, THDC, SJVN and NEEPCO for poor implementation of their hydro power projects, resulting in Rs.14,700 crore cost over-runs. CAG has stated that delay in implementing 16 hydro power projects by power PSUs leads to cost over-runs of Rs.14,700. Out of the 16 projects, as many as 11 are being implemented by NHPC. The company is a joint venture partner with the Madhya Pradesh government in another project. There are two plants of NEEPCO and one each of THDC and SJVN. All these 16 hydro plants together have a generation capacity of 6,794 MW. Out of them, THDCs 400 MW Koteshwar plant, NHPCs 120 MW Sewa-II and 510 Teesta V are already running. The 520 MW Omkareshwar plant - jointly owned by NHPC and the Madhya Pradesh government too, has started generation. NHPC's 2,000 MW Subansri lower, 800 MW Parbati-II and NEEPCO's 600 MW Kameng are some of the ongoing projects.

Chola MS launches motor policies online

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company has introduced Policy on the Go, a mobile application to generate quotes and issue motor policies online, thus bringing down the turnaround time from four days to just a few hours. The insurance agents and direct sales teams of Chola MS can now use their Android-run smart phones to fill in insurance applications. The mobile application will generate instant quote, taking into account various factors, including the year of registration, engine number and so on. Once the customer cheque is realised, the policy will be issued and e-policy will be sent to the customer.

Private sector to add 45 GW of power generating capacity in 12th plan

Planning Commission is banking high on private sector for power generation in the 12th plan (2012-17). The panel in the final document of 12th plan says that share of the private sector in power generation is likely to nearly double in the 12th plan. The document says that private sector is likely to add over 45 gigawatt (GW, 1 GW = 1,000 mega watt or MW) of power generating capacity in the next five years. In the 11th plan, private sector added 24 GW power generating capacity which was commendable in comparison of its share of 2 GW in the 10th plan. Private companies contributed 26 per cent - Rs1,66,000 crore - of the total investment of Rs6,18,000 crore in the power sector during the 11th plan.

Fiat India lost Rs 432cr decade-old excise case

Fiat India has lost an almost decade-old battle with the excise department which had slapped a Rs 432 crore duty on the company for Uno cars sold below cost price between 1996 and 2001. Justice H L Dattu of the Supreme Court set aside the order passed by the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal and restored the order by the adjudicating authority. The excise department had discovered that the company was importing car kits in completely knocked down (CKD) and semi-knocked down condition and the cost of production of a single car was Rs 3,80,883 (CKD) and Rs 3,98,585 (SKD), respectively, against the assessable value of Rs 1,85,400.

Agriculture University develops new wheat varieties

Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University at Hisar has developed two improved varieties of wheat suitable for cultivation in the north-western plains and peninsular zones of the country. ViceChancellor Dr. K. S. Khokhar said that these varieties also possess good quality high protein content and resistance against several diseases. Universitys scientists had developed the WH 1105 variety of normal wheat and WHD 948 of durum wheat for irrigated and timely sown conditions. Dr. Khokhar said that at the All-India Wheat and Barley Research Workers Meet held recently at Durgapur (Rajasthan), the Central Variety Identification Committee headed by Dr. S.K. Datta, Deputy Director-General (Crop Sciences), ICAR, had identified the WH 1105 variety for commercial cultivation in the north-western plain zone consisting of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu region and the foothills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. WHD 948 has been identified for cultivation in Maharashtra and Karnataka, added Dr. R. P. Narwal, Director of Research.

Ispat merges with JSW Steel

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel, announced the merger of renamed JSW Ispat with itself, 20 months after acquiring a controlling stake in rival Ispat Industries. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the merger with a swap ratio of 1:72, that is, one equity share of JSW Steel for every 72 shares of JSW Ispat. In December, 2010, JSW Steel came in as a major investor in Mittal-owned debt laden Ispat Industries by investing Rs.2,157 crore and became the largest shareholder. The downstream units of both companies will be transferred to a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSW Steel and the appointed date of the merger will be July 1.

Super Wi-Fi' to offer city-wide wireless internet

Move over Wi-Fi, there's a new wireless technology coming. So-called "Super Wi-Fi," which offers a bigger range than existing hotspots, is being deployed in the United States and generating interest in a number of countries, including Britain and Brazil. Super Wi-Fi is not really Wi-Fi because it uses a different frequency and requires specially designed equipment, but it offers some of Wi-Fi's advantages, and more. The name was coined by the US Federal Communications Commission in 2010, when it approved the deployment of unused broadcast television spectrum, or so-called "white spaces," for wireless broadband. India shines at worlds biggest jewellery museum

For thousands of years, India has been known as a land of gold and precious stones and nothing symbolises it more than the globe of jewels at the worlds biggest jewellery museum in Tehran. The net gold used in the globe, ordered by Naseer-ed-din Shah in 1869 AD, is 34 kg and the total weight of stones diamonds, rubies, emeralds and others is over 3.6 kg. The total number of stones used is 51,366 pieces. While the oceans and seas are identified in emeralds and lands in rubies, Southeast Asia, Iran, England and France are specified in diamonds. The Treasury of National Jewels, managed by the Central Bank of Iran, has a large number of diamonds that can be traced to the Golconda mines of Andhra Pradesh. The diamonds from India include the worlds largest pink diamond the famous Darya-i-Nur or Sea of Light. This is the sister diamond to the worlds largest cut diamond, the Koh-i-Noor, which is its Persian name and means Mountain of Light. Both were taken by Nader Shah, who invaded India in 1739. The Sea of Light takes the first place among the diamonds in the Treasury. The weight of the diamond is approximately 182 carats and its colour is pale pink one of the rare colours for diamonds. The frame is set with 547 diamonds and four rubies.

Jaguar turns the corner with Tata

Jaguar Land Rover cranked up production to 24 hours at its plant near Liverpool, England, adding 1,000 jobs to help meet demand for its hot-selling and acclaimed Range Rover Evoque. Now, the company is readying the release of its much-anticipated Jaguar F-Type roadster. Four years after being bought by Tata Motors , the well-known but somewhat faded British brands are regaining some of their lost lustre, racking up big sales from Shanghai to London. The success has stunned analysts and investors, many of whom had said that Tata Motors was making an expensive mistake when it acquired Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motor for $2.3 billion in June 2008.

M&M to expand businesses in Sri Lanka; to launch 2-wheelers

Diversified conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra is embarking on a major expansion drive for its range of businesses in Sri Lanka, the largest vehicle export market for the group, by foraying into two-wheeler and aviation segments. The group is also keen on exploring possibilities in financing, hospitality, housing and IT sectors. The group, which has already sold its first aircraft in Sri Lanka and will launch its scooters by the end of 2012, is undergoing a brand building exercise in the country by joining hands with Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) as the title sponsor for the first edition of the tournament.

RPower starts mining at Sasan

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power has commenced production of coal at mines allocated to it in Sasan, Madhya Pradesh. Coal from the mines, produced ahead of schedule, will be used to generate electricity at

the companys Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant. There will be annual production of 20 million tonnes from the Moher and Moher-Amlohri coal mines associated with the Sasan project. For the Sasan mines, we have deployed the largest, mining equipment ever used in Indian mining history to produce coal, J. P. Chalasani, CEO, Reliance Power, said.

Tata Motors launches Xenon pick-up

Tata Motors, has launched the Xenon pick-up. The Xenon will be offered in single and dual cab versions. There are four colour options Arizona Blue, Mineral Red, Arctic Silver and Arctic White. Tata Xenon single cab also comes with power steering, adjustable steering column, and cushioned bucket seats in front. The dual cab variant comes fully-loaded with features such as HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), power windows, central locking, and seats with lumbar support as standard fitments.

Sundaram Business Services enters U.K. market

Sundaram Business Services (SBS), the BPO arm of Sundaram Finance, has announced its foray into the U.K. BPO market. The company will offer in the U.K. services in areas such as fund accounting and equity research support to mid-sized accounting firms, broking houses and hospitality companies that have an outsourcing requirement of 10-50 seats. The company has already a presence in the Australian BPO market. The company said there were around 3,000 accounting firms in the U.K., the second biggest BPO market in the world after the U.S. It believed that there would be a huge potential to be tapped.

Atanu Sen is new MD & CEO of SBI Life

Atanu Sen has taken over as the new Managing Director and CEO of SBI Life Insurance from M. N. Rao, who retired on August 31. His previous assignment was Deputy Managing Director and Chief Credit and Risk Officer of SBI.

Hero MotoCorp forays into global mkt

Indias largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp forayed into the international market under its newly incorporated brand identity by launching as many as 14 models in Sri Lanka. The company, which went solo after breaking up its erstwhile joint venture with Honda, has appointed ABANS Group as its sole distributor in the island nation to sell the products through a channel of 50 outlets. The Sri Lankan market plays a significant role in the companys plans to expand its global footprint and so it has chosen the country as the first international market to launch the new brand identity, Hero MotoCorp Managing Director and CEO Pawan Munjal told. Sri Lankan cricket star Kumar Sangakkara introduced the 125cc motorcycle Glamour, while Miss Sri Lanka Stephanie Siriwardhana unveiled the scooter Pleasure.

Morgan Stanley cuts growth forecast to 5.1%

Citing high fiscal deficit and renewed weakness in external demand, Morgan Stanley lowered Indias growth forecast to 5.1 per cent for the current fiscal, from its earlier estimate of 5.8 per cent. Calling for immediate policy action by the government, it warned that in the absence of such a step the GDP growth could slide even deeper to 4.3 per cent in 2012-13. The brokerage has also slashed the GDP growth forecast for 2013-14 to 6.1 per cent, from 6.6 per cent earlier.

Banks to give uniform cheques

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed all banks to issue cheques with uniform features conforming to the Cheque Truncation System ( CTS) 2010 standard. The homogeneity in security features act as a deterrent against frauds, and the fixed field placement specifications facilitate straight-through processing at drawee banks' end through the use of optical or image character recognition technology, RBI said. Adherence to CTS-2010 standards has inherent advantages as the security features in cheque forms help the presenting banks to identify the genuineness of the drawee banks' instruments while handling them in the image-based scenario. To ensure the time-bound migration to CTS-2010 standard cheque formats, all banks are advised to arrange only "multi-city or payable-at-par CTS-2010 standard cheques not later than September 30, 2012".

Samsung Galaxy Y CDMA for MTS launched

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited ( SSTL) that nationally operates its telecom services under the MTS brand with over 16 million wireless customers has launched smartphone Galaxy Y from Samsung on its network to offer data experience to its customers. Samsung Galaxy Y smartphone is powered with 600MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The device facilitates easy access to high speed data for Live TV and seamless video streaming on the move. Galaxy Y also provides easy access to Google Mail, YouTube, Google Talk and Google Maps.

Toshiba, Hitachi, others to invest $1.53 bn on wind power

Toshiba, Hitachi, JFE Steel and three other companies plan to invest 120 billion yen ($1.53 billion) over a decade to set up offshore wind turbines. Potential sites for the project, which will have a production capacity of 300,000 kilowatts, include areas off the coast of the Kyushu region in southern Japan. The Japanese environment ministry has estimated the country can eventually build 1,600 gigawatts of offshore wind power capacity.

Tech Mahindra to buy Hutch's India BPO business

Mahindra Group's IT services company, Tech Mahindra is all set to buy Hutch's India BPO business for close to $100 million. As part of the deal, Hutch has also made a revenue commitment of $1 bn over the next 5-7 years to Tech Mahindra. Hutch's India BPO business caters to three geographies UK, Australia and Ireland. This deal is expected to give a revenue boost to Tech Mahindra and give it a much larger BPO footprint. UKbased Serco was also in the race for the deal.

Ericsson may buy Nokia Siemens unit

Ericsson, the world's top mobile network infrastructure supplier, is in pole position to buy the business support systems (BSS) unit of rival Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). Ericsson and NSN, a joint venture between Nokia Oyj and Siemens AG,Sweden-based Ericsson has been expanding rapidly in BSS and operations support systems (OSS), last year buying Telcordia in the United States for $1.1 billion. A recent survey by consultancy Gartner ranked Ericsson top globally by revenues in OSS and BSS services, including sales acquired with Telcordia.

President flags off solar powered passenger car

President Pranab Mukherjee flagged off a solar-powered passenger car developed by Delhi Technological University at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The car has been designed and developed by a team of interdisciplinary group of under-graduate students headed by Dhiraj Mishra of the Electronics and Communication Engineering Department of DTU. The eco-friendly car with zero emission has a high speed of 120 km/hour. A sedan with a seating capacity for two, it has the option of adding three more seats. This car represented India at the Sasol Solar Challenge held in South Africa between September 15 and 29. The DTU solar car, code-named Solaris, is one of the most innovative projects of DTU. Flexible modules of mono crystalline solar silicon cells of 21.4 per cent efficiency have been pasted all over the top of the body in order to entrap maximum solar energy. In all, 800 W is generated from the solar modules.

Oracle to continue Itanium support for Hewlett-Packard

Oracle said it would continue to support Hewlett-Packard's Itanium-based servers after it lost a bitter lawsuit in which it had argued that it was not obliged to make new versions of database software compatible with the servers. Oracle had argued that there had been no contract with HP that required it to continue to support HP's servers based on Intel Corp's Itanium chips and that it had made the decision as Itanium was approaching the end of its life. Oracle software on HP's Itanium computers will be released about the same time as Oracle software on IBM's Power systems.

Airtel to launch app to ease cell services

Bharti Airtel, the country's leading mobile phone company by revenue and subscribers, will unveil a free app through which cellphone users belonging to any service provider will be able to check outstanding bills, register complaints, activate or deactivate services and even make payments for Airtel services. Non-Airtel subscribers can use the app by paying a one-time SMS authentication charge. The Java application can be downloaded on a feature phone as well as a smartphone and is available on Android Marketplace, BlackBerry App World, Nokia Store and will be there soon on App Store.

Banks will need Rs 5 lakh cr for Basel III norms

Indian banks will require an additional capital of Rs 5 lakh crore to meet the new global banking norms, Basel III, RBI Governor D Subbarao said. The new norms are to be implemented in a phased manner by banks by March 2018. The government, which owns 70 per cent of the banking system, alone will have to pump in Rs 90,000 crore equity to retain its shareholding in the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) at the current level to meet the norms. Subbarao said Reserve Banks estimates project an additional capital requirement of Rs 5 trillion (additional capital required by all banks to meet Basel III norms).

A new high for SJVN

Mini navratna public sector undertaking Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited, which is executing the 1,500-MW hydro-electric project, has established new power generation records during 2011-12. With electricity generation reaching the highest level of 7,610 million units against last years 7,140 million units, a plant availability factor of more than 104 per cent has been achieved against last years 98 per cent. SJVN

Managing Director R. P. Singh said the company had earned a total revenue of Rs.2,136.79 crore and a net profit of Rs.1,068.68 crore. As a result, it declared a dividend of Rs.388.84 crore for 2011-12 -- 17 per cent higher than last years dividend of Rs.330.93 crore. Dividend received by equity partners the Union Government and Himachal Pradesh is Rs.250.66 crore and Rs.99.17 crore respectively.

McDonalds to open first vegetarian outlet

The worlds second-biggest restaurant chain after Subway already tailors its menus to suit local tastes which in India means no beef to avoid offending Hindus and no pork to cater for Muslim requirements. It will open its first vegetarian outlet in the middle of year 2013 near the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The U.S. chain has plans to launch a vegetarian outlet at Katra, near the Vaishno Devi cave shrine in Jammu & Kashmir. It sees the potential for many more vegetarian restaurants across the country. McDonalds in India already has a menu that is 50 per cent vegetarian. Its McAloo Tikki burger, which uses a spicy fried potato-based patty, is a top seller at Rs. 28, accounting for a quarter of the total sales.

Deveshwar on RBI board

The Central Government has appointed ITC Chairman Y. C. Deveshwar as a director on the central board of directors of the Reserve Bank of India.

Mercedes-Benz to scale up investment in India

German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes Benz will increase its investment to Rs.850 crore in the domestic operations by 2014 as it is preparing to start assemble more of its models in India. Mercedes-Benz India, the Indian subsidiary, has an assembly plant in Chakan near Pune, where it is investing more than Rs.600 crore to scale up operations. The Chakan plant started operations in 2009 and scaled up the initial investment of Rs.250 crore to over Rs.600 crore with the setting up of a paint shop. The investment of Rs.850 crore will enable Mercedes-Benz India to be future-ready.

JSPL acquires Canadian firm for $115 m

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL), recently announced the acquisition of Canadian firm CIC Energy, and plans to pump $700 million over the next three years to set up facilities at the acquired firms properties in Botswana. On July 23, 2012, the JSPL had entered into an all-cash deal to acquire a 100 per cent stake in CIC Energy for about $115 million (over Rs. 600 crore). The deal would give JSPL access to 2.4 billion tonnes of high thermal coal reserves, located at CICs Mmamabula mine in Botswana.

World Bank names Kaushik Basu as chief economist

The World Bank named Kaushik Basu, a Cornell University professor and former Indian official, as the institution's new chief economist and Senior Vice-President. Dr. Basu, most recently served as chief economic adviser of the India's Ministry of Finance while on leave from Cornell, where he was an economics professor and the C. Marks Professor of International Studies.

Cargotec ties up with Tata Comm

Cargotec, a provider of cargo handling solutions for ships, ports, terminals and local distribution, has selected Tata Communications as its network supplier to avail wide area network (WAN) connectivity at over 150 sites globally through the Indian companys round-the-world fibre optic cable network. Cargotec has operations in over 50 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Americas and Africa.

Air India to create two subsidiaries

Air India would establish its two subsidiaries Air India Engineering Services Ltd. (AIESL) and Air India Transport Services Ltd. (AITSL). AIESL would carry out the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business, not only for Air India but also for other airlines, and tap the potential of the nearly $1.5-billion MRO business in the Asia-Pacific Region. At present, Indian carriers have to send most of their planes to Europe and even Dubai and Singapore to get them repaired or for mandatory checks.

Microsoft unveils Windows Server 2012

Microsoft has announced general availability of Windows Server 2012, a first of its kind version of operating system (OS) that can be controlled remotely. The launch of the cloud-based operating system is a major step by the IT major enabling easy management of large clusters of servers, and is the first major update of its operating system since 2009. The system allows maximising the use of cloud computing with reliability, scalability and in-built performance capabilities. The Hyper-V, virtualisation component built into the new system, is set to support 64 virtual servers with memory up to 1 TB. This was a marked improvement over the existing system which supported four virtual processors with a memory of 64 GB.

Alstom Grid partners Toshiba Corp

Alstom Grid and Toshiba Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for partnership in the smart grid business. Through this collaboration, both expect to develop systems that support wide scale integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, and help to bring down the cost of power.

Hero MotoCorp to set up assembly units in Kenya, Nigeria

Hero MotoCorp would start assembly plants in Kenya and Nigeria. The company also had partnered an undisclosed European firm for that. Besides, it is considering picking up equity stake in its new partners.

E-payment of customs duty is now a must

The government has decided to make e-payment mandatory for importers registered under Accredited Clients Programme and those paying customs duty of Rs.1 lakh or more per bill of entry. The trade facilitation measure, aimed at further reducing the transaction cost of importers, will come into effect from September 17, 2012. While e-payment is advantageous to both the trade as well as the government, it affords taxpayers the facility of making payments from their own offices on a 24x7 basis and also facilitates quicker release of cargo. E-payment facility at customs locations was introduced in 2007, and is available through more than one authorised bank at all major customs locations having ICES (Indian Customs EDI System) facility.

BIFR nod for revival of 3 closed urea units of FCIL

The Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has given the nod for revival of three closed urea units of the Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. (FCIL) the joint venture/special purpose vehicle (SPV) route by the nominated state-run firms. Last month, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved the revival of the Talcher urea plant along with four other closed units of FCIL at Sindri, Ramagundam, Gorakhpur and Korba. The Talcher unit in Odisha will be revamped by Coal India and Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF), the Sindri unit in Jharkhand by the Steel Authority of India and National Fertilizers, and the Ramagundam unit in Andhra Pradesh by Engineers India and National Fertilisers.

World Bank okays $106 million nutrition credit

The World Bank has approved a $106-million credit, representing the first part of a two-phase loan to support Indias efforts to improve the nutritional outcome for children under six, with particular focus on 0-3-year-olds. ITC hikes stake in EIH, buys 57.4 lakh shares for Rs 42 crore

Diversified business firm ITC raised its holding in hospitality company EIH by acquiring an additional one per cent stake for Rs 42 crore through open market transactions. ITC acquired 57.38 lakh shares in EIH through its subsidiary Russel Credit. The shares were purchased on an average price of Rs 73 apiece taking the deal size to Rs 41.89 crore. Meanwhile, global banking major HSBC offloaded its entire holding of one per cent in EIH, after having recently exited from three lenders Axis Bank, Yes Bank and Federal Bank.

Talks between SAIL/POSCO on for JV in Bokaro: SAIL Chairman

Steel Authority of India Limited Chairman C S Verma expressed optimism over a positive outcome in the ongoing talks with steel-making company POSCO for a joint venture in Jharkhand. Talks regarding setting up a joint venture in Bokaro between the SAIL and the POSCO are going on, Verma told. He said the public sector has set a target of 45 million tonne steel production by 2020. To expand its activity, Verma said the public sector was trying to get iron ore from Afghanistan, Australia and other countries. SAIL has embarked upon extension and modernisation of Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) and would spend between `50,000 crore and talks between SAIL/POSCO on for JV in Bokaro: SAIL Chairman 60,000 crore, Verma said BSPs steel production capacity would be increased to 17.5 MT from the current 4.5 MT.

Lenovo unveils new biz Ultrabook ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Chinese computer-maker Lenovo, which also sells the IBM brand of PCs, launched Ultrabook named ThinkPad X1 Carbon and said it plans to scale up its Think range of exclusive retail outlets to 30 in the domestic market. The company commands 17.1 percent market share with consumer segment accounting for nearly 12 percent and SMB segment seven percent.

Infosys acquires Swiss firm Lodestone for Rs.1,925 crore

Infosys, has announced the acquisition of Zurich-based Lodestone Holding AG, a leading management consultancy firm, for 330 million Swiss francs ($345 million or Rs.1,925 crore), which is expected to strengthen the companys consulting capabilities.

Russia to auction its largest gold-field

Russia will auction its largest unmined gold deposit in the nearest future despite the prohibitive cost of reaching the remote eastern Siberian field. Sukhoi Logs estimated reserves of 2,000 tonnes and 3,000 tonnes (64.3 million to 96.4 million troy ounces) of gold and a smaller amount of silver make it into one of the worlds largest untapped deposits of the precious metal. The governments own estimates say the project would take 12 years to develop at a cost of 49 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) Welspun ties up funds for 50 MW solar project

Welspun Energy, said it had secured a long-term project funding of Rs.355 crore for its 50-MW solar power project in Rajasthan. The company said the loan had been secured from a consortium of lenders comprising three public sector banks and one infrastructure finance firm. Welspun had signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd., power grading arm of state-owned power producer NTPC. The 50-MW solar project is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2013. The allocation of solar PV projects in Phase-1 of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) was done in two batches over two financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Max India to sell Max Speciality Films

Diversified firm Max India, said it would sell its packaging material-making division, Max Speciality Films, to Germanys Treofan for Rs.540 crore. The companys board approved divestment of its profitable biaxiallyoriented polypropylene (BOPP) film division, Max Speciality Films (MSF), to Treofan, a German global technology leader for BOPP film. Treofan, which develops and sells BOPP films in over 90 countries around the world, has production facilities in Europe and the Americas, and has offered an enterprise value of Rs.540 crore to acquire 100 per cent stake in Max Speciality Films,

BHP, BG sign PSC for deep-water block in Mumbai basin

International oil and gas major U.K.s BG Group and BHP Billiton of Australia,has inked a production-sharing contract (PSC) with the Government to bid for the deep-water block in the Mumbai basin won during the 9th round of bidding under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). BG-BHP signed a PSC with the government for deep-water block MB-DWN-2010/1 in the Mumbai basin. BG India and BHP hold 50 per cent interest each in the block. The block, located 350 km offshore from Mumbai, Block MB-DWN- 2010/1, is a large, deep-water block and covers 7,963 sq km in water depths varying from 2,900 m to 3,200 m. This block represents BG Indias first deep-water-operated exploration licence on the West Coast of India, BG India President and Managing Director Shaleen Sharma said.

Sterlite Copper bags excellence award

Sterlite Copper was awarded the Excellent Energy Efficient Unit Award at the 13th National Award for Excellence in Energy Management by Confederation of Indian Industry Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre.

Infosys launches SpeedSolve for call centres

IT bellwether Infosys said it has launched "a comprehensive next generation product"- SpeedSolve - to redefine customer service by making communication faster and more efficient for call centres and related

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operations. SpeedSolve, launched with AT&T, "leverages state-of-the-art technologies for messaging, multimedia, reporting and smart device integration to facilitate real-time collaboration between customer service representatives and subject matter experts," Infosys said.

Samsung building $7 billion chip plant in China

South Korea's Samsung Electronics said it had started building a new $7 billion chip plant in the Chinese city of Xian its biggest-ever investment in the country. The plant, scheduled to come on line in 2014, will produce the advanced 10-nanometre-class NAND flash memory chips used for devices such as smartphones and computers. The world's largest memory chipmaker said earlier the plant, when completed, would produce 10,000 12-inch wafers each month. The world's largest technology firm that makes popular gadgets from smartphones to tablet PCs, Samsung also provides chip components to other IT firms including its industry rivals Apple and Nokia.

iPhone 5, Apples answer to Samsung

Apple Inc. has unveiled the iPhone 5, saying its thinner and lighter than the previous model, even though it has a bigger screen. Marketing head Phil Schiller unveiled the years most eagerly awaited phone at an event. The phone costs between $199 for the cheapest 16 gigabyte version and $399 at the top end.

JLR invests 370 m to upgrade U.K. facilities

In preparation for the launch of its all-new Range Rover in 170 countries, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has invested 370 million pounds, which will go mainly, into upgrading its U.K. Facilities. JLR said the inaugural sales of the new, fourth generation Range Rover sports utility vehicle (SUV) would begin in September. JLR had installed a new aluminium body shop for the latest Range Rover at its Solihull plant, near Birmingham, UK, along with upgrades to its paint-applications technologies, trim assembly, warehousing and customer handover centre. Deliveries will start in early 2013. .

Amul keen to acquire Delhi Milk Scheme

Dairy major Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) - the parent company of Amul, has expressed its willingness to the agriculture ministry to acquire the Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS). DMS, which was launched in 1959, has been incurring losses for the past several years. GCMMF's decision to acquire the entity comes with a view to better leverage its existing infrastructure as well as exploit DMS's full business potential.

Times Internet Limited launches BoxTV.com

Times Internet Limited (TIL) announced the launch of BoxTV.com, a premium video service that would allow users to stream movies, TV shows and short films directly on to their computer, smartphone or tablet. The service, which is conceptually similar to Hulu and Netflix that are available in the US, aims to serve local users and Indian diaspora across the world. It would allow users to stream Bollywood and Hollywood films as well as video content in local languages like Tamil. Currently, the service is in invite-only alpha stage. The public availability is expected in a few months.

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HCL Infosystems open to selling 'Me' brand if good price offered

Days after denying that it was selling its hardware unit to Chinese computer maker Lenovo, information technology company HCL Infosystems said it will sell the unit if the price is right. HCL's hardware business, where it sells laptops and tablets under the 'Me' brand, is worth about Rs 1,500 crore. HCL Infosystems in June, hived off its hardware business into a separate wholly-owned subsidiary called HCL Computing Ltd. This had sparked speculations that HCL may be looking to sell the unit eventually.

COMPAT serves notice on CCI

The Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT), has served notices on the Competition Commission and the Builders Association of India, on whose complaint the fair trade regulator had imposed a penalty of Rs. 6,307 crore on 11 cement firms on charges of cartelisation. In their petitions, the cement firms have requested the tribunal to quash the entire CCI order. They have also requested the COMPAT to grant an interim stay on the CCIs penalty till the tribunal decides on their petitions. Industry body Cement ManufacturersAssociation (CMA) has also challenged CCIs findings along with the producers.

Essar Oil can pay sales tax dues in phases: SC

Ending the Gujarat sales tax case involving Essar Oil, the Supreme Court, which passed the judgment, has directed Essar Oil to pay the balance sales tax dues of Rs.5,165 crore in eight quarterly instalments spread over two years beginning January 2, 2013. The Gujarat Governments demand for Rs.1,800 crore as interest for the period up to January 17, 2012, has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Touch Screen watch from Sonata

Sonata, the watch brand from Titan Industries, has announced the launch of the first ever touch screen watch in the country. The touch screen watch is a multi-function sports watch with a high water resistance and comes packed with features such as light, stop-watch, multiple time display, day, date, alarm, and is available in three vibrant colours. Like all other Sonata super fibre watches, this watch is made with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polyurethane. It is available in over 8,000 outlets across the country at an introductory price point of Rs.1,499.

Lamborghini recalls 1,500 cars due to risk of fire

Italian sports car maker Lamborghini is recalling some Gallardo models because power steering fluid can leak and catch fire. The recall affects about 1,500 Gallardo Coupe and Spyder autos, from model years 2004 to 2006. Lamborghini says in documents sent to the U.S. safety regulators that pipes can corrode near the power steering pump. In rare cases, fluid can leak onto the hot engine and cause a fire.

India's potash imports expected at 3.5-4 MT

World's second largest potash producer Uralkali has pegged India's potash imports at 3.5-4 million tonnes (MT) in 2012 due a cut in subsidy on phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers by the Government. India imports 100 per cent of its domestic requirement of muriate of potash (MoP), a key fertiliser. It had imported 2.7 million tonnes in 2011-12 fiscal and 4.5 million tonnes in 2010-11 fiscal.

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Bharti and Future Group may take lead in luring FDI in retail

Big retailers Future Group and Bharti Enterprises are already looking to attract foreign investment after the government allowed up to 51% FDI in multi-brand retail. Several Indian and multinational retailers, including Spencer's Retail and Carrefour, welcomed the policy change, which may trigger aggressive expansions and acquisitions in the sector although it is up to states to allow such retailers to open stores. The policy change will allow world's largest retailer Walmart, which has a wholesale joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, to invest in its Indian partner's retail business that operates about 200 'easyday' supermarket stores in the country. Apple wins German patent case against Motorola

A German court found Google-owned IT company Motorola guilty of infringing Apple patents on the design of smartphones and tablets. The court ordered Motorola to pay a yet-to-be-specified fine and pull the infringing devices, which run on Google's Android operating system, from the market. The patent involves a feature known as "overscroll bounce" or "rubber-banding" that pulls a written text or image back to the centre of the screen to signify to the user that the end of a list or menu has been completed. Motorola, which had won a similar patent case in western Germany last July, has one month to appeal the decision. Cochin Shipyard to set up ship repair facility

The Union Ministry of Shipping has approved a proposal by Cochin Shipyard Ltd. to take over the ship repair workshop and dry-docking facility of Cochin Port Trust on Willingdon Island and develop it at an estimated cost of Rs.750 crore.

ICICI Lombard announces new health cover with additional benefits

For long, bigger private sector health insurers have been relatively inactive on the innovation front, in contrast to new-age standalone health insurers who have constantly added newer features to differentiate themselves in this space. Now, however, ICICI Lombard has launched a new health product, termed Complete Health Insurance, ostensibly to compete with the newer players. This health policy promises a higher base sum insured of up to Rs 10 lakh, outpatient department (OPD) cover, maternity benefit, new born baby cover, personal accident cover and reimbursement of wellness and preventive care expenses, among other things.

Mobile network that works without towers launching in Kerala

Britain's KloudPaD, a mobile electronics convergence brand, is ready with its non-GSM based wireless open phone memmoo network for consumers in Kerala. "This is the world's first social network mobile phone without a GSM architecture and can be operated at one tenth cost of existing mobile networks. This is an open network and is called the memmoo network," said Aromal Jayaraj, co-founder and director of KloudPaD. This network can be enabled on all mobile handsets and it operates using a combination of FM radio and wireless radio frequency.

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Apollo Hospitals bags 4 awards

The Apollo Hospitals Group has bagged the Asian Hospital Management Awards 2012 in four categories. It received awards for customer service, corporate social responsibility, cost reduction and patient safety. The Apollo Hospital in Delhi received an award for its Community Outreach programme, while the one in Kolkata received recognition for its Increased productivity through reduction of length of stay. The awards were given in 11 categories, for which 363 entries from 89 hospitals in 12 countries were received.

Tata Power-Hindalco coal block faces govt action

An inter-ministerial group (IMG) has recommended that the bank guarantees submitted by Tata Power and Hindalco for a coal block in Jharkhand be forfeited. The government has decided to de-allocate a mine allotted for joint development by JSW Steel and Himachal EMTA. The Tubed block in Jharkhand was allotted to Tata Power and Hindalco in August, 2007, for power generation but has seen delays in development of the mines. The block, which has an extractable reserve of 130 million tonnes, also found a mention in the CAG report, which has been the trigger for government action. In addition, Monnet Ispat & Energy has been asked to provide bank guarantees for a block in Odisha that was allocated in 1999.

CRR cut to inject Rs.17,000 crore

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has retained the indicative policy rates at the current level while cutting the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 25 basis points to 4.50 per cent, injecting a liquidity of around Rs.17,000 crore into the banking system. The CRR cut will be effective from September 22, 2012. CRR is the portion of deposits that banks keep with the RBI, and it does not earn any interest for banks. RBI slashed CRR by 150 basis points so far in 2012.

Tech Mahindra buys 51 % stake in Comviva

Software services provider Tech Mahindra, has announced the acquisition of 51 per cent stake in mobile value added services providers Comviva, in which the Bharti Group had a major stake, for Rs.260 crore. Post-acquisition, subject to regulatory approval, the new entity would be called Mahindra Comviva. Tech Mahindra said the Bharti Group was a majority shareholder in Gurgaon-based Comviva. The current promoters would continue to hold 20 per cent stake on fully-diluted basis post the deal closure. As a part of the deal, Tech Mahindra will make an upfront payment of Rs.125 crore, while the balance will be paid out over five years.

Infosys may replace TCS in new phase of MCA-21 project

Within months of bagging a landmark contract from India Post, Infosys BSE 2.15 % is positioning itself as a serious player in India's e-governance arena by beating bigger rival Tata Consultancy Services BSE -1.20 % to win the next phase of a flagship project by corporate affairs ministry. The second-largest Indian IT company is likely to displace its bigger Mumbai-based rival TCSBSE -1.20 % to bag the new phase of the MCA-21 project, beginning January 2013.

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Russia to mine super hard diamonds

Russia has declassified a huge deposit of unique super hard diamonds that dwarf the global reserves of the precious stone and can meet the worldwide demand for another 3,000 years. The deposit, located in an asteroid crater 120 km in diameter, has been kept under wraps for nearly 40 decades as the Soviet Union mined enough diamonds elsewhere and also produced synthetic diamonds. The melt rocks at the Popigai crater in Eastern Siberia contain trillions of carats, which is ten times more than the combined global reserves of diamonds, claimed Russian scientists from the Novosibirsk Institute of Geology and Mineralogy. The Popigai diamonds formed when a 7-km-wide asteroid rammed into a graphite site some 35 million years ago. They were discovered in the mid-1960s, but the Soviet leadership mouthballed the deposit opting in favour of producing synthetic diamonds. Russian authorities have decided that time has now come to mine the superior diamonds.

Anil Agarwal is ET's Business Leader of Year

This year, the roll of honour stretches quite literally from copper to cheese, from internet access to investment banking. The jury for The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2012 met this week in Mumbai to anoint the winners of India's biggest, most-anticipated business awards. The Business Leader Award for the year 2012 goes to Anil Agarwal, chairman, Vedanta Resources. A true rags-to-riches success story, Agarwal started out as a trader of scrap metals, and today runs a global natural resources conglomerate, which successfully completed a major acquisition - that of Cairn India. The Company of the Year for 2012 goes to HDFC Bank, India's most valuable bank by market capitalization, a milestone that it achieved.

AirAsia may be first to enter India

Asia's largest low-cost carrier (LCC) AirAsia may be among the first global players to invest in India with the government allowing foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers. It is learnt that instead of investing in an existing carrier, the Malaysian LCC is looking at the possibility of a start-up with a strong Indian partner. AirAsia currently flies between Kuala Lumpur and five Indian cities - Kochi, Trichy, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore. Additionally it also connects Bangkok with Chennai and Kolkata. The LCC had pulled out of Delhi and Mumbai in March due to high airport charges. The Malaysian LCC already has subsidiaries in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan. One of its other subsidiaries, AirAsia X, is possibly the only long-haul LCC in the world.

Silk Air to launch Vizag- Singapore flight

Silk Air, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will launch the first non-stop international flight from Visakhapatnam to Singapore on October 28. The direct flight to Singapore offers excellent connectivity to onward destinations in the US, Australia, Japan, China and other parts of the globe.

Insert phone, get cash from ATM

An intelligent ATM machine that can swallow a whole mobile phone and cough up cash in return is set to become the newest attraction to tempt people to recycle their old goods for some new money. The machine,

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developed by a Californian company, ecoATM, is claimed to be sophisticated enough to detect if the phone is damaged. People are warned not to try to fool the machine. For, apparently, it is smart enough to pick up the slightest hint of a crack on a phones screen. Using artificial intelligence, ecoATM kiosks can differentiate varied consumer electronics products, and determine a market value. The company is hoping to roll out more than 300 kiosks across America. The companys databases are now trained with images of more than 4,000 devices.

Mercedes Benz launches B-Class sports tourer

Mercedes-Benz India has launched its B-Class compact Sports Tourer, a sub-Rs.25 lakh car, in the domestic market to take on its rivals BMW and Audi. With this, Mercedes-Benz claimed, it had created a new category with the B-class in India. The B-Class combines the versatility of a multi-utility vehicle, ride quality of a sedan, and dynamic performance of a sports utility vehicle. Available in two variants B 180 and B 180 Sport, the exshowroom price in Mumbai is Rs.21.49 lakh and Rs.24.87 lakh, respectively. Before the official launch, 250 cars have been sold, and bookings are being accepted for delivery in January onward.

Free medicine scheme gets Rs 1,300 crore boost

India has made its first major move towards providing free medicines for all. Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has cleared Rs 1,300 crore under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) for states to support their purchase of medicines. The largesse will not only help buy general drugs for government-run hospitals but also those needed under the Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK). Under the JSSK, all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions are entitled to free and cashless delivery, free C-section, exemption from user charges, free medicines, blood, consumables and diagnostics and free diet for three days in case of normal delivery and seven days in case of C-section. The free medicines for all the programmes are estimated to cost Rs 28,560 crore during the 12th five year plan. IRDA issues draft IPO norms for general insurance companies

General insurance companies will be allowed to tap the capital market only if they have completed 10 years in business. Also, they need to get prior approval from the insurance regulatory. No general insurance company shall approach SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) for public issue of shares and for any subsequent issue, by whatsoever name called, under the ICDR (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) regulations without the specific previous written approval of the authority concerned, said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in its draft guidelines for IPO (initial public offer) by general insurance companies. Titled the IRDA (Issuance of Capital by General Insurance Companies) Regulations, 2012. The guidelines will cover divestment by promoters either through the issue of capital under ICDR Regulations or via divestment of equity by one or more of the promoters through a public offer for sale under the ICDR Regulations. HCL Info unveils ultrabook

HCL Infosystems, has unveiled its first ultrabook, priced Rs.51, 990 onwards. It would be available in retail stores, while two others would be launched in November 2012. The Ultrasmart ME Series 3074, powered by third generation Intel Core i3 processors, is sleek (less than 18mm with metal casing) and comes with a 39month warranty. It has 4 GB RAM (upgradeable to 8 GB), an internal 32 GB hard disk storage, 1.3 MP VGA

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camera and Bluetooth. The company has also launched a new marketing campaign focussed on print and digital media for the ultrabooks, featuring brand ambassador Nargis Fakhri. Companies such as Acer, Asus, HP, Samsung and Toshiba have already introduced their ultrabooks in the Indian market. Tata Steel gets high-speed rail order from France

Tata Steel has received a letter of intent (LoI) from Eiffage Rail for the supply of high-quality rail for a new 182 km (113 mile) high-speed line in France. The order value is likely to be around 50 million euro (about Rs.315.15 crore). Tata will supply about 50,000 tonnes of rail for the new Brittany-Loire Valley line, which will connect the cities of Le Mans and Rennes. The steel will be manufactured in Scunthorpe, U.K., before being rolled into rail at Tata Steels mill in Hayange, northeast France, for delivery from 2015. Aditya Aluminium achieves financial closure

The Aditya Aluminium smelter project of Hindalco Industries has achieved financial closure with a debt-equity ratio of 75:25. The Rs.13,195-crore greenfield project is coming up at Lapanga in Odisha. The projects debt component of Rs.9, 896 crore carries a tenor of 12.5 years, and is priced at 11.25 per cent per annum. SBI Capital Markets and IDBI Bank led the debt syndication, and 28 commercial banks and financial institutions participated in the transaction.

HCL Tech signs multi-million dollar deal

HCL Technologies, has announced that it had bagged a five-year multi-million dollar deal with Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor, an embedded processing solutions provider. HCL would, in addition to serving as an exclusive technology partner for Freescale, transform its IT infrastructure. HCL will deliver services to Freescale across 20 countries, allowing Freescale to also leverage HCLs global delivery centres in Poland and Shanghai for helpdesk support.

Rio Tinto eyes marriage gifting market in India

Australia-based Rio Tinto is eyeing the Indian marriage gifting market with its Nazrana brand of diamond jewellery marketed through various retailers across the country.

Mahindra opens technical centre in U.S.

Mahindra & Mahindra, said it had opened its first technical centre in the U.S. to provide design and consulting services to automotive customers, mainly in the Michigan region.

Fiat plans to have 80 dealers by March 2013

Italian carmaker Fiat, which has severed its ties with Tata Motors, plans to have 80 full service stations by March 2013. Before the onset of festive season the company has introduced new variants of its sedan Linea and hatchback Punto under the Absolute range offering freebies worth up to `78,000 and `67,000 respectively.

Huawei may launch India's first 4G phone

Huawei, the China-based telecom giant, said that it was testing a 4G phone on Airtel's network and might launch the device as early as December 2012. Airtel had launched 4G, also called Long Term Evaluation

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(LTE), in Kolkata and Bangalore earlier this year. But the service is only available through USB dongles and doesn't work with any phone yet. In May 2012, Airtel had appointed Huawei to plan, design, supply and deploy its LTE network in Karnataka.

Genpact inks deal with Calypso Technology

BPO major Genpact has said it has signed a master partnership agreement with Calypso Technology to implement the latter's capital markets software platform for global clients. No financial details were disclosed. Under the terms of the agreement, Genpact's Enterprise Applications Services (EAS) group will be able to provide a range of support services including implementations and upgrades for the Calypso Trading and Risk Management application software suite utilised by major financial institutions globally. Bill Gates remains the richest in U.S.: Forbes

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has retained his position as the richest person in America for the 19th year in a row this year, according to 'Forbes' annual ranking of the nations 400 super rich people who have a combined net worth of $1.7 trillion. With a net worth of $66 billion, Gates not only remained the richest person in America but is also the planets most generous person, thanks to his philanthropic endeavours in developing nations, including India. Five Indian-Americans, including Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and founder of IT major Syntel, Bharat Desai, have been named among the richest people in the U.S. by Forbes. Mr. Desai, has been ranked 239. Founder and Chairman of the Symphony Technology Group Romesh Wadhwani is ranked 250. Google board member and shareholder Kavitark Ram Shriram occupies the 298th rank. Manoj Bhargava, founder and CEO of the popular energy drink 5-hour energy, is ranked 311 in 'Forbes'.

Tata Motors lands big order from Siddhivinayak

Tata Motors has received its largest-ever single order for commercial vehicles from Siddhivinayak Logistics Ltd (SVLL) to supply 1,314 trucks. The order estimated to be around Rs.225 crore, breaks the global records where SVLL is already having 1,111 vehicles in the Limca Book of Records. The order coincided with the launch of an innovative scheme by SVLL, meant for the well-being of their drivers, called Chalak se Malak. The two recently launched products, the New Tata PRIMA 4923-LX and the Tata LPT 3723, the first 5-axle rigid truck. Based in Surat, SVLL is the largest fleet owner, with a size of over 4,000 commercial vehicles.

LeapFrog buys 15 % in Mahindra Insurance Brokers

Global investment firm LeapFrog, has picked up 15 per cent stake in Mahindra Insurance Brokers, (MIBL), a subsidiary of Mahindra Finance, for Rs 80 crore. The investment, which is subject to necessary regulatory approvals, will be through LeapFrogs subsidiary company, Inclusion Resources Pvt. Ltd., Singapore, for a 15 per cent stake in MIBL. LeapFrog will also be bringing in its international expertise.

Apple rolls out updated operating system for mobile devices

With the rollout of its latest mobile operating system, Apple is looking to boost its application developer base by stretching upgradation compatibility to eight of its products across different generations. The iO6, launched, features over 200 changes, and is compatible from the iPhone 3GS onwards, despite the company having dropped the 3GS model from its line-up after releasing the latest iPhone. By reaching as

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many legacy devices as possible, Apple has tried to maximise the market for iOS app developers. This has been an area of concern for Googles Android platform where the latest OS upgrades are unable to capture any substantial established base.

M&M unveils SUV Quanto

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), has unveiled its latest, compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), Quanto. The product has been designed and developed in-house, and is part of its successful Ingenio platform. Quanto will be sold nationally in four variants - C2, C4, C6 and C8. Quanto is the only sub-4-metre SUV in the country offering a 5+2 seating arrangement. The vehicle will be available in six colours Fiery Black, Mist Silver, Toreador Red, Java Brown, Diamond White and Rocky Beige. REpower bags wind farm project in Austria

Suzlon Group subsidiary REpower Systems, said that it had signed a 25.6-MW contract with Windkraft Simonsfeld to supply eight turbines for its wind farm project in Austria. The turbines, each with a rated power output of 3.2 MW and a hub height of 143 metres, will be supplied for the Poysdorf-Wilfersdorf III wind farm in Austria.

Unit-linked plan from Tata AIA Life

Tata AIA Life Insurance, has launched Suraksha Kosh, a non-participating market-linked endowment plan covering risks of premature death, disability post an accident, and critical illness or surgery. Suraksha Kosh provides customers the best from their investments on a unit-linked platform as also meet their desired saving goal without worrying about the risk of death, dismemberment and onslaught of medical exigency like a critical illness.

Wipro Technologies inks deal with Splunk

Wipro Technologies, has said that it had inked a global reseller agreement with Splunk to deploy the software makers real-time operational intelligence solutions. Under the new agreement, Wipro will resell Splunk software to its enterprise customers in industry sectors it serves. Splunk Enterprise is the companys flagship software for collecting, indexing, monitoring and analysing machine data.

Ramco Systems wins GoAir order

Ramco Systems, an enterprise software company, has bagged a contract from Wadia Group-owned Go Airlines (GoAir) for its maintenance and engineering suite of software. Under the agreement, Ramco will deliver its web-based Series 5 M&E system and Ramco ePublications, including engineering and configuration, maintenance programme and planning, line maintenance, technical records and complete materials.

Tata Tea to sponsor Narain

Tata Global Beverages (TGB), has announced its brand Tata Teas association with Indias F-1 driver Narain Karthikeyan and the HRT F-1 team for the 2012 Singapore and Indian Gps. TGB will be extensively promoting the Tata Tea brand by using its prominent logos on the HRT F-1 car and on Narains helmet. The idea is gain the right platform to connect with the large global viewership enjoyed by the sport.

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U.S. judge rejects plea for ban on YouTube

A U.S. judge rejected a request by an actor in the anti-Islamic video that set off violent Muslim protests to ban YouTube from showing the trailer in the United States. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Louis Lavin refused the request by lawyers for actor Cindy Lee Garcia for a restraining order to prevent the online videosharing service from continuing to show the trailer. Ms. Garcia is one of three actors in the film to have come forward with similar accusations since the explosion of violence that ripped through Muslim countries in West Asia, Africa and Asia. She sued YouTube and its owner Google for releasing excerpts of the amateurish film, which was later dubbed into Arabic.

Tata Tele launches cloud-enabled platform

Tata Teleservices has launched Hosted Campaign Manager (HCM), a cloud-enabled mass communication platform that allows the user-enterprise to communicate to hundreds of customers instantly and simultaneously without investing in infrastructure for the same. The company, which offers a range of telecom solutions under the Tata DOCOMO brand, has also introduced SIP Trunk that would let enterprises make full use of their installed IP (Internet Protocol)-Private Branch Exchanges for telephone calls.

RCOM raises tariffs by 25%

Reliance Communications (RCOM), the flagship firm of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, announced a 25% increase in its call rates across four circles for both post-paid and pre-paid customers - a step that may be followed by other mobile operators to arrest falling growth in the Indian telecom market. The country's third-biggest mobile phone carrier said it has increased its base call price to 1.5 paisa a second from 1.2 paisa due to falling margins and profitability.

Modern retail to affect kirana biz once mkt share rises: PMEAC

Once the share of overall modern retail in food reaches about 25-30 per cent, it is bound to affect kirana and small traders, Prime Ministers Economic Advisory council Chairman C Rangarajan said. Rangarajan, however, sought to allay apprehensions over the government move to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, saying that kirana stores will survive and can become part of modern retail by organising themselves and getting assimilated into the organised sector.

Google Play allows publication of paid Apps from India

Google Play, the Apps market for Android mobile operating system, has added India as one of the countries from where developers could publish paid Apps. Until now, developers in India were permitted to put out only free Applications. This severely affected the business models of developers, as there was no incentive to put out innovative Apps. With the extension of rights now, Google is hoping to bring in a large cross section of developers in the country on to the Android ecosystem. The developer community plays a vital role in the booming smart device ecosystems. Android claims to have over 6.50 lakh Apps in its Google Play directory while Apple claims to have more than seven lakh Apps on iTunes.

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SBI reduces BPLR by 25 basis points

State Bank of India, has announced a reduction in lending rates by 0.25 per cent for those who availed themselves of loans before July 2010. The banks new benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) has been set at 14.5 per cent. The new rate will be effective from September 27. Earlier on September 18, the bank had cut the minimum lending or base rate by a similar percentage. The base rate mechanism came into effect in July 2010 as a new transparent alternative to the earlier benchmark prime lending rate. Of the Rs. 7.81 lakh crore domestic loan book (advances), around Rs. 1 lakh crore was on the BPLR, SBI Chief General Manager for Finance Control Sunil Pant said. As on June 30, 2012, the banks total loan book stood at Rs. 9.59 lakh crore, which includes foreign loans and loans to staff.

Asus packs a punch in PadFone

Meet the netbook thats also a tablet and a phone. Global hardware firm Asus launched the PadFone, a smartphone-tablet- netbook hybrid for the Indian market. Priced at Rs. 64,000, this three-in-one purchase will give you a 10.1-inch tablet that runs on Android (Ice-cream Sandwich), a 4.3-inch smartphone that docks inside the tablet (yes, this parts pretty nifty), and a keyboard dock that can convert your system into a traditional netbook. Asus currently has 7 per cent market share in India, according to International Data Corporation reports, and has over 40 stores across the country. A majority of these are in tier II and tier III cities.

FinMin cuts tax on foreign borrowings, clears RGESS

After notifying FDI in multibrand retail and aviation, the Government cut the withholding tax on overseas borrowings to 5 per cent from 20 per cent and approved the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme to attract more investment and supress demand for gold. The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme will encourage more first time retail investors to invest in stock market. Secondly the easing of tax is to encourage overseas borrowing. Interest rates are low abroad and these low cost funds can come to India, Chidambaram told. The stock market responded positively to the announcement with the BSE Sensex closing 404 points higher at 18,752.83. The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings scheme (RGESS), which was announced in budget in March, would provide a 50 per cent tax deduction on investments up to Rs50,000 to investors whose annual taxable income is below Rs10 lakh. These investors can put in money through the mutual funds and exchange traded funds and the investments would be locked-in for a total of three years.

Adidas lowers Reebok sales target to 2 bn euro in 2015

German sportswear major Adidas group has lowered its 2015 sales target for its struggling brand Reebok to 2 billion euro from 3 billion euro. Following the strategic decision not to renew the previous NFL (National Football League) licence and a change in reporting of National Hockey League related licence sales and the Groups focus on margin and operational efficiency, Reeboks 2015 sales target is now reduced to 2 billion euro from 3 billion euro, Adidas said in a statement. The Adidas brand will continue to be the engine of the Adidas Group with projected 2015 sales of 12.8 billion euro, a 5 per cent increase from the original target of 12.2 billion euro announced in November, 2010, it said. The Adidas Group will continue to position Reebok as the fitness brand that caters to all major fitness categories, whether it is group activities such as CrossFit, fitness running, gym, yoga or dance.

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SAIL board approves buy back of own shares

Steel Authority of India Ltds (SAIL) board has approved the proposal of enabling the state-owned entity to buy back its own shares. It (buyback of shares) is an enabling provision that has been accepted.

Delhi Metro bags contract in Indonesia

Spreading its wings across the country's border, the city's pride Delhi Metro has bagged the work of Management Consulting Services for building the Phase- I of Jakarta Mass Rapid System in Indonesia. This is the first time that Delhi Metro has got a project outside the country since its inception in 1997. Delhi Metro has been awarded the work in a joint venture with eight other international companies. The DMRC had also prepared the Special Assistance on Project Implementation (SAPI) study for the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit system. Besides, DMRC is also trying to bag similar projects in various upcoming Metro projects of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Israel. Delhi Metro is also acting as the consultant for all major Metro projects in the country including Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. It is also carrying out the construction work of a 9.25 kilometre long Metro corridor in Jaipur.

Naveen Jindal tops executive pay chart with Rs 73.4cr package

Naveen Jindal has topped the executive pay charts for listed companies in the country with a package of Rs 73.42 crore for the last fiscal 2011-12, which grew by over Rs 6 crore from previous year. Jindal, chairman and managing director of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), was followed by Sun TV Network's Kalanithi and Kavery Maran (Rs 57.01 crore each), Hero MotoCorp's Pawan Munjal (Rs 34.47 crore) and Brijmohan Lall Munjal (Rs 34.44 crore) among the five top-paid executives. These pay packages include salary, perquisites, profit-linked incentives or commissions and other benefits. Jindal has remained top-paid executive for the second consecutive year now, after he dislodged Kalanithi Maran from the pole position in the year 2010-11. Madras Cements' P R R Rajha was ranked 6th (Rs 29.34 crore), followed by Maruti Suzuki's Shinzo Nakanishi (Rs 28.14 crore), BGR Energy's BG Raghupaty (Rs 25.98 crore), Tata Motors' former chief Carl-Peter Forster (Rs 23.97 crore) and Divi's Labs' Murali K Divi (Rs 23.15 crore). Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, once the country's highest-paid executive, was not in the top-ten and was ranked 15th with a remuneration of Rs 15 crore. Those ranked higher than Ambani include Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal (Rs 21.3 crore), Hindalco's D Bhattacharya (Rs 19.5 crore), JSW Steel's Sajjan Jindal (Rs 18.18 crore) and Amara Raja Batteries' Jayadev Galla (Rs 17.23 crore).

Maharashtra is No. 1 in bank heists in country

Banks in Maharashtra have lost more money to heists since 2007 than elsewhere in the country. The state tops the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) list, with Rs 18.97 crore lost to bank heists from 2007 to 2011. Among cities, while Mumbai topped the list with Rs 11.43 crore burgled, two other Maharashtra cities, Nashik and Pune, were among the top six. Banks in Maharashtra reported 876 cases of theft and burglary from 2007 to 2011. Of the Rs 18.97 crore lost to heists, around 75% (Rs 11.47 crore) was lost in 2011 alone. Surprisingly, states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were nowhere close. Kerala followed second with Rs 16.88 crore stolen and 100 cases reported. Karnataka was placed third with Rs 12.46 crore lost and 681 offences registered.

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BPCL to offer 51% to LG Chem in proposed Kochi petrochem unit

State-run Oil marketer Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), which is setting up its first propylene unit in Kochi, said it is ready to offer 51 per cent stake in the Rs6,000-crore project to its Korean joint venture partner LG Chemicals. 72% global cos find it hard to attract talent

At least 72 per cent companies worldwide have admitted that finding skilled workers is a major problem, a new survey has found. In a survey of 1,605 companies worldwide, including 278 in the United States, 72 per cent companies said they have a hard time attracting workers who have the required critical skills to fill their job openings. Companies also face a challenge in attracting high potential and top-performing workers, the survey led by WorldatWork, an association of human resources professionals found. Sixty per cent of employers said that they had problems attracting high potential employees while 59 per cent said they had problems attracting top-performing employees. India, South Africa trade to touch $15 billion

Bilateral trade between India and South Africa is likely to touch $15 billion in the current year, two years ahead of the official target. India-South Africa bilateral trade crossed $14 billion in 2011 and it is expected to reach $15 billion this year itself, well ahead of the 2014 target. Broad approval for one rank, one pension scheme

Bowing to the long-standing demand of ex-servicemen for one rank, one pension (OROP) and other benefits, the Union Cabinet broadly approved the scheme and also gave its nod for enhancement of family pension and dual family pension that will cost the government about Rs. 2300 crore annually. The Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also approved the grant of family pension to mentally/physically challenged children who drew, are drawing or may draw family pension would continue even after their marriage. The decisions on pension issues of ex-servicemen may be implemented from a prospective date and payment made accordingly. Dual family pension would be allowed in the present and future cases where the pensioner drew, is drawing or may draw pension for military service as well as for civil employment. The Cabinet nod for the OROP came the six-member committee, set up by the Prime Minister, submitted its report. The committee was headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth.

Mysore to have Indias first cycle sharing scheme

Mysore will be the first Indian city where people can get bicycles to cover short distances for free. The city, which has been selected for the Public Cycle Sharing Scheme, will get around 5,000 cycles so that people have more access to this mode of transport. The move aims to promote non-motorized transport in the city. The project cost would be approximately Rs 5-7 crore. The funds will come from the World Bank under its Global Environment Facility (GEF) scheme. The plan will be implemented by Mysore City Corporation under Mysore City Land transport Authority ( MCLTA) and the objective behind this initiative is to make some areas free of vehicles. Bicycle sharing systems have gained popularity as a way to solve the "last mile" problem and connect users to public transit networks. It also addresses issues including loss from theft or vandalism, lack of parking or storage and maintenance requirements. Till May 2011, there were around 136 bike-sharing programmes in 165 cities across the world.

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PNB inaugurates E Lobby

E Lobby, a new initiative with 24x7 cash deposit, cash withdrawal, cheque deposit and passbook updating facility for Punjab National Bank customers, was inaugurated by the banks Chairman and Managing Director K.R. Kamath.

ONGC to double output by 2030

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has drawn up a Perspective Plan 2030 to invest Rs.11 lakh-crore over the next 18 years. Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva said the plan envisaged doubling of production over the next 18 years at 4-5 per cent. In 2011-12, ONGC produced 23.71 million tonnes of oil and 23.32 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas. It posted a net profit of Rs.25,123 crore on a turnover of Rs.76,130 crore. Its overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), produced 6.21 million tonnes of oil and 2.54 bcm of gas in 2011-12. Mr. Vasudeva said OVL would be looking to explore investment opportunities in around 4-5 international hubs where the entity could achieve adequate growth and source 60 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas per year by 2030. ONGC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ConocoPhillips, U.S.-based oil major and pioneer in shale gas and deepwater exploration, in March 2012 for co-operation in the research of shale gas exploration in India, U.S. and elsewhere in the world.

S&P cuts Indias growth forecast to 5.5 per cent

Standard and Poors (S&P) has lowered the growth forecast for India to 5.5 per cent for this fiscal, from 6.5 per cent projected earlier, citing volatile global economic situation. According to S&P, Asia-Pacific is feeling the pressure of ongoing global economic uncertainty, and it has lowered India growth forecast by one percentage point to 5.5 per cent for this fiscal from 6.5 per cent earlier. S&P said Asia Pacific economies were witnessing cautious growth conditions and any worsening of the economic conditions in the eurozone would increase contagion risk for the region as these economies were sensitive to capital flows and trade.

CRR is an effective tool to cut interest rates: SBI chief

State bank of India (SBI) Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri, said that the cut in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is the most effective instrument to cut interest rates.The RBI reduced the CRR by 25 basis points on September 17 from 4.75 per cent to 4.50 per cent, and the SBI cut its base rate from 10 per cent to 9.75 per cent. Further, SBI has reduced the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) by 25 basis points from 14.75 per cent to 14.50 per cent per annum with effect from September 27, 2012. The SBI Chairman said that the bank was having more than Rs.50,000 crore excess liquidity and would have absolutely no difficulty in meeting additional demand for credit emanating from low interest rates.

Reliance MediaWorks JV buys out Mothership Media

A joint venture of Reliance MediaWorks (USA) Inc. and Galloping Horse America LLC has acquired the visual effects business, Mothership Media, and certain other businesses and assets of Digital Domain Production Inc. and its subsidiaries for $30.2 million through an auction in New York. The sale is subject to execution of an asset purchase agreement, and approval of the bankruptcy court in the U.S. Beijing-based Galloping Horse and Reliance MediaWorks joint venture will acquire all assets comprising the businesses of

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Digital Domain and Mothership. Digital Domain was founded in 1993 by James Cameron with Stan Winston and Scott Ross.

ONGC, IOC and OIL make joint bid for oil assets in Canada

A consortium comprising Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation, and Oil India has jointly placed a $5-billion bid for buying stake in ConocoPhillips six Canadian oil-sands assets in Alberta. Early in 2012, Houston-based ConocoPhillips had announced that it was planning to sell as much as 50 per cent of its oil-sands reserves in Alberta. ONGC Videsh (OVL) had bought U.S. energy firm Hess Corp's stake in Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (AGC) group of oil fields in Azerbaijan for $1 billion. ConocoPhillips has hired Scotia Waterous for selling stake in six Alberta properties that produce about 25,000 barrels of oil a day from an estimated 30 billion barrels of bitumen in place.

Bihar to set up its first IT park

Bihar is in the process of setting up its first Information technology (IT) park near the state capital on the lines of Bangalore's International Tech Park and Hyderabad's Software Technology Park. The IT park will be set up at Bihta, 30 km from Patna. It will be later developed as Bihar's IT hub by taking advantage of other infrastructure and modern facilities. The IT park will be built on public-private partnership basis. The state government has acquired 25 acres for the IT park.

Tata Steel has no plan now to exit Dhamra port

Tata Steel, has ruled out the possibility of an immediate exit from Dhamra port in Odisha, even as its joint venture partner Larsen and Toubro (L&T) is already looking for buyers to offload its 50 per cent stake. According to Tata Steels annual report for 2011-12, the two promoters of DPCL (Tata Steel and L&T) have pledged their 51 per cent stake with IDBI Trusteeship Services. Located between two major ports, Haldia and Paradip, DPCL is one of the deepest ports of India with a depth of 18 metres, which can accommodate vessels up to 1,80,000 dwt (dead-weight tonnage). The immediate hinterland of Dhamra port Jharkhand and West Bengal is rich in mineral resources. Odisha,

Foxconn Technology shuts China plant

Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, which assembles Apple's iPhones and makes components for top global electronics companies, closed a plant in northern China after about 2,000 workers staged a riot at a company dormitory. The unrest is the latest in a string of incidents at plants run by Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co and the world's largest contract maker of electronic goods. Drawing attention as a supplier and assembler for Apple products, the company has faced allegations of poor conditions and mistreatment of workers at its operations in China.

Ramesh Abhishek is new Chairman of FMC

The Central Government, said it had given approval for the appointment of Ramesh Abhishek, an IAS officer of 1982 Bihar cadre, as Chairman of commodity markets regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC). Mr. Abhishek, who is at present a member of the FMC, has been elevated as FMC chief in the rank and pay scale of additional secretary level. The FMC regulates five national and 16 regional level exchanges.

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SBFS in pact with private equity firm

Sundaram BNP Paribas Fund Services (SBFS), a joint venture between Chennai-based Sundaram Finance and BNP Paribas Securities Services, has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with a leading Mumbai-based private equity player to provide full-fledged fund accounting services.

GSKCH to restart marketing of Nutribic

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH) has been allowed by the Madras High Court to restart the marketing and distribution of Horlicks Nutribic biscuits. Britannia had earlier filed an application alleging infringement of its trademark and obtained an order last month stopping the activities related to Horlicks Nutribic.

India ranked 111th in economic freedom list

India ranks very low at 111th position in terms of economic freedom, behind countries like China, Nepal and Bangladesh, a global study has claimed in a worldwide index of 144 nations. The annual ranking, titled Economic Freedom of the World: 2012, is topped by Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland (8.24) and Australia in the top-five. Indias ranking has fallen from 103rd in 2011, while Hong Kong has retained its top slot. Canada is ranked sixth on the list, while others in the top-ten include Bahrain, Mauritius, Finland and Chile. The countries with lowest level of economic freedom are Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Republic of Congo and Angola. India shares its 111th position with two other countries, Iran and Pakistan, while those ranked lower include Guyana, Syria and Nigeria. India has scored an overall rating of 6.26 in the economic freedom index as against an average global scrore of 6.83. China is at 107th position with a score of 6.35, Bangladesh at 109th with a score of 6.34 and Nepal is at 110th position (6.33).The report said that Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 8.90 out of 10, followed by Singapore (8.69), New Zealand (8.36), Switzerland (8.24), Australia and Canada (each 7.97), Bahrain (7.94), Mauritius (7.90), Finland (7.88) and Chile (7.84).

China commissions first aircraft carrier Liaoning

In a reflection of Chinas increasing maritime ambitions, the country commissioned its first aircraft carrier as being of far-reaching significance and coming amid rising regional tensions. The unveiling of the 300 metrelong Liaoning, a refurbished and upgraded version of the Soviet carrier Varyag which China purchased from Ukraine, came after years of sea trials and tests to fit the carrier with weapons and engines. The Liaoning was commissioned by the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the port city of Dalian, the capital of the north-eastern province after which the carrier is named. Premier Wen Jiabao, who presided over the commissioning along with President Hu Jintao, said Chinas first aircraft carrier would be of great and farreaching significance in inspiring patriotism, national spirit and driving national defence technologies. The commissioning of the Liaoning makes China the tenth nation to have an aircraft carrier. The development comes amid rising strains between China and Japan over the disputed Diaoyu or Senkaku islands in East China Sea.

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Renault-Nissan to end ties with Bajaj for low cost car

Franco-Japanese auto alliance Renault-Nissan, said it had decided to end collaboration with Bajaj Auto for sourcing of ultra-low cost car, as it looked for options in countries such as China and Russia. Renault-Nissan Alliance have decided against further collaboration with Bajaj on a four-wheeler vehicle. Outside India, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is addressing price-entry segments in many emerging economies, such as Indonesia, China and Russia. In China, two vehicles under the Venucia Brand (D40 and D50) had already been launched by the Dong Feng-Nissan Joint Venture. In Russia, collaboration between Renault-Nissan and AvtoVAZ was already making progress on vehicles to be launched under the Datsun Brand. As per an agreement reached between Renault-Nissan alliance and Bajaj Auto in 2009, the Indian automaker was supposed to design, develop and manufacture the product, which was intended as an ultra low cost car, while the alliance would sell it under their badging.

M&M to launch SUV Rexton soon

Mahindra and Mahindra is gearing up to launch its premium sports utility vehicle Rexton, built in association with Korean subsidiary Ssangyong Motor, by Diwali 2012. The auto major is investing Rs.1,500 crore (close to 300 billion Korean won) for developing a new platform of products with Ssangyong. Rexton SUV would be the first product under Ssangyong label, and the companies are developing new engines, both petrol and diesel, that could be used by both of them.

Microsoft is keen to cash in on mobile devices

After launching its Windows Server 2012, the first cloud-based server, Microsoft has set its eyes on tapping the unbounded opportunity offered by mobile devices and tablets. There is a vast opportunity of 400+ million devices that surpass the Android platform and iPhones. These applications are not standalone and they are all connected, Microsoft Server and Tools Business president Satya Nadella said.

NTPC raises $500 m from bond issue

NTPC, said it had raised $500 million (over Rs.2,600 crore) through the issue of bonds in international markets, and the proceeds would be utilised for existing as well as new power projects. This is the third offering under the companys $2 billion Medium Term Note (MTN) programme since it was set up in 2006, taking the cumulative amount raised under the programme to $1.3 billion, NTPC said. NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury said the strong investor response to the bond offering reflected the companys superior credit quality.

United India offers mobile premium payment facility

United India Insurance hopes to collect a premium income of Rs. 10,000 crore in the current financial year with a substantial improvement in profitability, according to G. Srinivasan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director. Launching M-Power , the mobile premium payment facility Mr. Srinivasan said United India had made sustained efforts at multiple levels to meet the rising expectations of policy-holders, and simplify the process of delivery and access to services. The facility enables customers to remit the premium through mobile phones, using the mobile number and MMID (mobile money identifier) of the company.

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United Spirits says Diageo in talks to buy stake in co

United Spirits said UK-based Diageo Plc is in talks to buy stake in the Vijay Mallya owned firm. United Spirits and Diageo Plc confirm that the UK-based company is in discussion with it and United Breweries Holdings in respect of possible transactions to acquire an interest in the liquor firm, United Spirits said. The UB group is the promoter of USL with a 28 per cent stake. United Spirits Ltd (USL) is the largest Indian spirits company producing the premium products like Jura, Dalmore, Whyte and Mackay, Black Dog, etc.

Cairn Energy sells 8% stake in Cairn India for $910 million

Cairn Energy Plc has sold 8 per cent stake in Cairn India for $910 million as the UK-based firm winds down its interest in the firm that operates that nations biggest oil field on land. After sale of more than 15.26 crore shares, Cairn Energy is still left with 10.28 per cent stake in Cairn India. The average sale price was Rs325.05 per share, which is less than the closing price of Rs333.60 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Simon Thomson, Chief Executive, Cairn Energy Plc said, Cairn is delighted to have realised further value from its Rajasthan discoveries in India.

Honduras pips India at US garment stores

First, it was Bangladesh and Vietnam. Now it's Honduras that has beaten India in the race to garment stores in the US, which accounts for nearly a third of India's apparel exports. Latest available data shows that India has been pushed to the seventh slot in the US garment import sweepstakes by the central American country after it registered a 16.5% fall in shipments in July. While local players blame the slowdown, Honduras's proximity and probably preferential access to the world's largest economy would have tilted the scales in its favour. BharatBenz launches three heavy-duty trucks

The Indian commercial vehicle (CV) segment will now see increased competition with the latest entrant, Germanys CV major, Daimler AG launching three trucks in India through its 100 per cent owned subsidiary Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd (DICV) under its brand, BharatBenz. Three heavy-duty BharatBenz trucks in 25 tonne and 31 tonne category 2323R and 3123R for the haulage segment and 2523C for the construction segment all based on the Axor platform were launched. DICV had invested Rs 4,400 crore at its facility near Chennai for an annual capacity of 36,000 units. DICV at present employs over 2000 people of which only 30 are non-Indians. IDFC ties up with Malaysian fund to help infra projects

With bilateral trade between India and Malaysia progressing on a robust path, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, has announced that the target for $15 billion turnover is likely to be achieved by 2013, prompting both nations to revise the target. Mr. Sharma also announced that Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Government of Malaysias strategic investment fund) and IDFC have joined hands to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with an equity base of Rs.830 crore for taking up infrastructure projects in India. At present, there are more than 100 Indian companies, including 61 Indian joint ventures operating in Malaysia. About $2 billion have been invested by Indian companies making it the 7th largest investor in Malaysia. The India Malaysia CEO forum is co-chaired by Malvinder Mohan Singh from India and Tan Sri Krishnan Tan Boon Seng from Malaysia.

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Siemens inks Rs.147 cr contract with PGCIL

Siemens, has announced that it had entered into an agreement with the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) to build a laboratory at Bina in Madhya Pradesh. The contract is worth Rs.147 crore. Siemens has bagged this order on a turnkey basis and will be executing the project as an end-to-end solution provider. The project has been rolled out with immediate effect and is expected to be commissioned in 14 months time.

Sundar Rajan is ED (Legal) of Ashok Leyland

Ashok Leyland has appointed Sundar Rajan as its new Executive Director-Legal. Mr. Rajan brings with him more than 20 years experience in his chosen field across diverse functions in reputed companies. A law graduate, he started his career as an advocate, and has practiced in the Madras High Court. In addition to his role at Ashok Leyland, Mr. Rajan will handle specific group-level legal assignments from time-to-time.

Trivitron, Johari Digital Healthcare join hands

Trivitron Healthcare, a medical technology solutions provider, has entered into a partnership with Johari Digital Healthcare to market physiotherapy and point-of-care diagnostic products for global markets, and also for obtaining patents in the field of physiotherapy. Named as Johari Trivitron Medical Innovations Pvt. Ltd., the new outfit will fulfil the requirement of contract design and engineering/manufacturing.

L&T Construction bags Rs.1,241 cr new orders

L&T Construction, said it had bagged new orders valued at Rs.1,241 crore across various business segments this month. The Buildings & Factories IC of the company has bagged new orders worth Rs.697 crore for the construction of residential towers, cement plants and factory structures across the country, L&T Construction said in a release. In the railways business sector, the company has won orders worth Rs.544 crore from Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL).

Ansal API has extensive land reserves: Sushil Ansal

Ansal API Chairman Sushil Ansal while addressing the shareholders said that many projects are under various stages of implementation across residential, commercial, retail and hospitality segments, as well as SEZs, IT/ITES and industrial parks, and, social infrastructures - such as educational institutions, hospitals, clubs, etc. The majority of the projects are located in the NCR, the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. The Company has 18 integrated townships, including two Hi-Tech Townships.

Carrier Midea India Appoints DDB Mudra as its Advertising Agency

Carrier Midea India Pvt. Ltd. has appointed DDB Mudra Delhi as its creative agency for the Midea Brand. DDB Mudra Group was entrusted with the account after a multi-agency pitch. The agencys main focus will be on strategic planning and creative execution for both ATL and BTL requirements of the Midea brand. Led by Vandana Das, President, DDB Mudra Group, the account will be managed out of Delhi.

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Indian vaccine market to climb to $871 million by 2016

India's vaccine production sector is likely to expand dramatically to an estimated size of $871 million by 2016. In 2011, it was estimated to be $350 million. The report said it anticipates a sizeable shift in the industry landscape, as the most promising future growth opportunities for the production and sale of vaccines come from emerging economies such as India and China. Global vaccines market expanded significantly during 2005-2011, with major pharmaceutical players such as GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Merck and Pfizer posting notable profits and the US recording the largest share in the world.

348 vital drugs to come under price control

The Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, has gave its approval to the final pharma pricing policy, bringing 348 essential drugs under the governments price control regime. The GoM, had agreed to study how emerging countries such as Mexico, South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka fixed the prices of essential medicines, before finalising the drug pricing policy in India. At present, the government, through the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), controls prices of 74 bulk drugs and their formulations. Apart from Mr. Pawar and Srikant Jena, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid, and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Arvind buys Indian business of 3 global brands from Planet Retail

Arvind Lifestyle Brands, a subsidiary of Arvind, one of the oldest and largest integrated Indian textile players, has bought the business operations of British fashion retailers Debenhams, Next and American Lifestyle brand Nautica in India from Planet Retail. The company has over 1.3 million sq. ft. of retail space pan-India with 730 retail stores in 150 towns and has a presence in 700 Indian multi-brand outlets. It has five stores in Dubai and two in South Africa. Arvind plans to more than triple its sales from the present Rs.1, 600 crore to Rs.5, 000 crore in the next five years, J. Suresh, Managing Director and CEO, Arvind Lifestyle Brands, said.

Infiniti acquires India biz of Woolworths for Rs.200 cr

Tata Sons-promoted Infiniti Retail, has announced the acquisition of Woolworths Wholesale (India), the Indian business of the Australian company, Woolworths, for Australian $35 million (about Rs.200 crore). Woolworths move to exit the wholesale business in India followed its decision to exit the consumer electronics specialty store sector in Australia and New Zealand. Woolworths has a tie-up with the Tatas since 2005, and provided retail knowledge and wholesale support to establish and grow Infiniti Retails Cromabranded retail chain, which was launched in October, 2006. Infiniti Retails Croma is a national chain of stores for consumer electronics and durables and now operates 73 Croma and 12 Croma Zip stores.

Googles Schmidt hits out at mobile patent war

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, has criticised raging patent disputes in the global mobile industry, warning that they stifled innovation and reduced consumer choice. Global smartphone giants Samsung Electronics and Apple are now locked in a long-running patent battle over design and technology in 10 nations, including the United States and Japan. California jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages for illegally copying iPhone and iPad features for its Galaxy S smartphones. Google's launch of the Nexus 7 tablet in South Korea is aimed at expanding its share of a lucrative market led by Apple's iPad with

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devices that use the Internet search firm's own software. The seven-inch tablet, powered by the latest generation of Android software called "Jelly Bean", is being made for Google by Taiwan-based Asus and weighs about as much as a paperback book. The device already launched in the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain and Japan. The number of mobile gadgets powered by Android has now reached 500 million globally. South Korea is being ranked second in the world in the number of apps downloaded at the Google Play app store.

Samsung unveils Galaxy Note II

Samsung Electronics, has unveiled the upgraded version of its phablet, Galaxy Note II, incorporating new features. Galaxy Note II, powered by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, is loaded with the latest hardware technologies, 1.6 GHz quad-core processor. Priced at Rs.39,900, the upgraded smartphone-tablet hybrid sports a 5.5-inch Amoled HD display with 2GB RAM, and internal storage of 16 GB expandable up to 64 GB.

Invesco to buy 49 % stake in Religare AMC

Invesco Ltd, a global investment management firm, has entered into an agreement with Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) to acquire a 49 percent interest in Religare Asset Management Company (RAMC) Limited. The deal for 49 percent stake in the asset management unit of India's Religare Enterprises Ltd is for about Rs. 450 crore ($84 million).

TVS Motor hits market with the Phoenix 125

TVS Motor Company launched its second 125-cc motorcycle. Dubbed the Phoenix, the company is hoping to make up for lost time, as its last attempt at the segment (the Flame) didnt take off too well, with TVS losing out to Honda, Hero Motor Corporation and Bajaj Auto. The 125-cc segment at this point is seeing tough competition, especially from the Heros Passion, Hondas Shine and Bajajs Discover. The TVS Phoenix is priced at Rs. 53,000.

Dalmia Cement acquires Adhunik for Rs.560 cr

Dalmia Cement Bharat, said it had acquired Meghalaya-based Adhunik Cement for Rs.560 crore. Dalmia Cement Bharat has acquired 100 per cent stake in Meghalaya-based Adhunik Cement. Adhunik Cement has a robust presence in northeastern markets with a near 10 per cent market share and a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annumIn January, Dalmia Cement had acquired 50 per cent stake in Calcom Cement, Assam, for about Rs.238 crore. Adhunik Cement is a joint venture between the Adhunik Group and the MSP Group, both based in Kolkata, and sells cement under the Adhunik MSP brand.

Mindtree unveils new brand identity

Mid-tier IT solutions company Mindtree announced that it had rebranded itself to reflect the changing face of the Indian IT services landscape. The company, which was founded in 1999, will have a new logo, new house colours and a new brand identity, said company Chairman Subroto Bagchi.

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Narayana Murthy to exit HSBC board

U.K.-based global banking giant HSBC Holdings, said N. R. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, and the only Indian on its board, would retire as its director at the end of 2012. Mr. Murthy will retire as a Director of HSBC Holdings on December 31, 2012, and will be succeeded as Chairman of the Corporate Sustainability Committee by Laura Cha. Mr. Murthy had joined the board in 2008.

Fitch lowers Indias growth forecast to 6% from 2012-13

Ratings firm Fitch has lowered Indias growth projection for the current fiscal to 6 per cent from 6.5 per cent estimated earlier citing challenging economic outlook. Indias economic growth has slowed to a three-year low of 5.3 per cent in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal. The growth had fallen to 6.5 per cent in the 2011-12 fiscal.

Yes Bank gets RBI nod to start stock-broking

Private sector lender Yes Bank said it has received the Reserve Bank nod to enter the equity broking business. Amongst the last of the banks to be granted licences, it will invest up to Rs25 crore and enter the highly competitive fray in early FY14. The banks founder MD and CEO Rana Kapoor said it has been granted approval by the Reserve Bank to establish a brokerage subsidiary and the timing for the same coincides with the banks thrust on retail.

RIL to buy PTA plant of BP in Malaysia

A unit of Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has entered into an agreement with BP to acquire the British companys petrochemical plant in Malaysia for $230 million. The RIL subsidiary will acquire BPs 100 per cent equity in BP Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (BPCM), located at Kuantan on the east coast of Malaysia. For a cash rich RIL, this acquisition is considered small. The existing employees of BPCM will be transferred to RILs unit under equivalent terms and conditions. The plant, commissioned in 1996, has a production capacity of 6.10 lakh tonnes a year.

WishTel to launch tablet PC at Rs.10,500

Tablet PC manufacturer WishTel along with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) is launching a triple play 7 inch tablet PC, IRA Icon, at Rs.10,500, targeting the tech-savvy masses. It will be launched on October 1. The device will have a 800 x 480 pixel full angle TFT LCD capacitive multi-touch screen that runs on Android 4.0 with 1.2 GHz processor and a non-standard 1GB of RAM. It is powered by built-in 3G SIM of BSNL.

Zydus to market hypertension drug Irbesartan in U.S.

Zydus Cadila, said that it had got U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approval for marketing its drug Irbesartan, used for treating hypertension.

SAIL may begin work on Rs35K cr Jharkhand project soon

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is likely to begin work soon on its Rs35,000-crore steel-cum-fertiliser complex at Sindri in Jharkhand. The PSU is in the process of beginning work on its Sindri project comprising a 5.6 million tonne per annum (MT) steel plant, 1.5 MTPA urea plant and 1,000 MW power plant at the erstwhile

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Fertiliser Corporation of India complex. The PSU has in its possession 5,800 acres of land out of which about 4,500 acres is encumbrance free.

BHEL, GAIL seek Maharatna status

Power equipment maker BHEL and state gas utility GAIL have approached the Government for grant of Maharatna status, which will give them greater financial autonomy. The Scrutiny Committee of the DPE would soon meet to scrutinise the proposals. At present, BHEL and GAIL are Navratna PSUs. Once a company gets the Maharatna tag, its board would not be required to take the Governments permission for investments up to Rs5,000 crore in a joint venture project or wholly-owned subsidiary. For the Navratna companies, the limit is Rs1,000 crore.

RBI slashes SLR, releases Rs. 60,000 cr

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has kept the key indicative policy rates unchanged while it cut the gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for the current financial year from 7.3 per cent to 6.5 per cent and raised the inflation forecast from 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent. However, the RBI cut the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) by one percentage point from 24 per cent to 23 per cent which is expected to provide liquidity of around Rs.60,000 crore. The RBI kept the Repo rate unchanged at 8 per cent, and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 4.75 per cent. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow money from the central bank. CRR is the portion of deposits banks have to keep with the central bank in cash.

AVT Natural to launch subsidiary in London

AVT Natural Products Limited, Kochi, has announced its decision to start a subsidiary company, AVT Teas Services Limited, in the United Kingdom. The wholly owned subsidiary, to be based in London, is to be operational by October 1, 2012. The proposed subsidiary will be the marketing arm of AVT Natural Products Limited, part of the AV Thomas group of companies, for decaffeinated tea and instant tea. The value added beverages are extracted at the companys Kochi plant. AVT Natural specialises in extraction of natural products such as marigold, spices, and value added tea.

IFC eyes renewable energy sector in Jharkhand

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a financial advisory group related to the World Bank, has approached the Energy Department of Jharkhand for extending its advisory services for tapping solar energy in the State. The world famous group with impeccable consultancy services has shown particular interest in the roof top solar technology. Vimal Kriti Singh, Principal Secretary of the Energy Department, told that a team of the global consultancy firm paid a visit and made the proposal for tapping the energy source. The IFC proposal has been backed with its similar projects currently undergoing at Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat and few other States. The proposal has come when the IFC had about five months ago agreed to invest about $20 million in Nereus India Alternative Energy Fund. The fund is of $250-million that would focus on renewable and clean energy companies in India. It is the countrys first fund dedicated to renewable energy.

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CCI imposes Rs 397.51 crore penalty on Shree Cement

After setting a precedent of its own sort by laying a whopping Rs 6,307 crore fine on 11 cement companies last month, Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 397.51 crore on Shree Cement for indulging in restrictive trade practices. The CCI passed its final order in a restrictive trade practice inquiry against cement manufacturers and their trade association CMA. The Commission found eleven cement manufacturers including Shree Cement Limited and CMA in contravention of the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 which deal with anti-competitive agreements including cartels. Kolkata-based Shree Cement is present in the cement and power sector. It has cement capacity of 13.5 million tonnes and power capacity of 560 MW. The companys turnover stood at Rs 4,625 crore. CCI had imposed a whopping Rs 6,307 crore fine on 11 leading cement makers, including ACC, Ambuja Cements, UltraTech, India Cements, Binani Cement, JK Cement, Madras Cement, LaFarge and Jaypee Cement. Industry body CMA was also fined with Rs 73 lakh.

Swiss company tops Aditya Birla's bid for Northern Iron

Within days of Aditya Birla Group offering AUD 518 million to buy out Western Australia's Northern Iron Ltd (NFE), the Australian iron ore miner has said it has received a counter bid of AUD 525 million from a Swiss trading company, Prominvest AG. The offer comes after India's Aditya Birla Group on July 23 sweetened its buyout offer by 8.5 per cent to AUD 1.40 per share. This valued the Western Australia-based iron ore producer at AUD 518 million (Rs 2,986 crore) in an all cash deal. The Indian Group on May 1 had offered between AUD 1.23-AUD 1.29 per share for NFE.

Google delays launch of Nexus Q media player

Google is postponing the launch of the Nexus Q, the internet giant's first self-designed and marketed consumer electronics device, in a smudge on its budding hardware credentials Unveiled alongside the better-reviewed Nexus 7 tablet at Google's I/O event in June, the Nexus Q received much less fanfare than the Google-designed tablet. As part of Google's foray into consumer hardware, the Nexus Q was touted as being made in the USA and reflected the nascent trend of "reshoring" manufacturing operations. The cross between a streaming video box and an audio amplifier is Google's first end-to-end hardware undertaking, a facet of its broader push into a hardware arena dominated by Apple and Samsung Electronics.

Epson to pay Motorola $150m to settle LCD case

Japan's Seiko Epson said it has agreed to pay Motorola Mobility $150 million to settle a civil lawsuit over pricing of liquid crystal displays. The Japanese printer manufacturer will post an extraordinary loss of 13 billion yen ($166.26 million) in its earnings for the April-June quarter, covering the settlement and costs from other suits.

Wipro Infotech launches core banking solution for 5 banks

Wipro Infotech, the India and Middle East IT business unit of Wipro, said that it has implemented core banking solution (CBS) for five co-operative banks. The application is hosted from Wipro's Data Center and

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would be supported for five years. Under the contract, Wipro is currently implementing the project for cooperative banks that comes under National Agriculture Bank for Rural Development (Nabard) across the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Haryana. Phase one of the project will cover State Co-operative Banks (SCB) and District Co-operative Banks (DCB) of 10 states and Wipro will computerise 76 banks with about 2,790 branches.

Star Health launches two new products

Star Health has launched two new innovative health insurance policies -Star Comprehensive and Star Family Delite. Star Comprehensive Insurance Policy is designed to ensure comprehensive coverage for the entire family offering hospitalisation benefits with no sub-limits or caps on room rent. Star Family Delite Insurance Policy offers optimum protection at an affordable cost for the entire family under a single policy. Hewlett-Packard defeats Oracle in Itanium legal battle

A California state court judge ruled in favor of Hewlett-Packard and against Oracle in a bitter lawsuit over Oracle's decision to end support for HP's Itanium-based servers. Santa Clara Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg wrote that a contract exists between HP and Oracle, and that Oracle is required to continue to offer its product suite on HP's Itanium server platform. Oracle is required to port its products to HP's Itaniumbased servers without charge to HP, the judge ruled.

Toshiba launches new Thinking LED range

Toshiba India has launched a new line-up of Thinking LED coupled with a new marketing campaign for LED TVs with Sachin Tendulkar. According to Shigenori Tokumitsu, Executive Vice President, Digital Products & Services Company, Toshiba Corporation India was a strategic market, poised towards high growth trajectory. The aim was to increase Toshibas market share to 15 per cent in the current financial year. EXL plans multiple acquisitions in US

Nasdaq-listed EXL Services, a provider of outsourcing and transformation services, is in advanced stages of negotiations with multiple companies in the US for acquisitions. Rohit Kapoor, CEO of EXL Services, said, "Our buyout targets are in the healthcare, clinical services, analytics and retail banking services in the US. We expect each of these acquisitions to be in the $25 million to $75 million range, while one could go up to $100 million." EXL has lowered its revenue guidance for the year to between $438 million and $442 million. Yes Bank raises Rs 1,180 crore foreign loan

Private bank Yes Bank said it has raised around Rs 1,181 crore through a dual currency syndicated loan facility from foreign markets. The facility has a maturity of one year and will be used for general corporate purposes and trade finance. The bank had entered the market with an intention to raise USD 140 million euro and 32 million euro, but increased the amount to USD 155 million euro and 50 million euro following over-subscription. It has received commitments from 14 banks from nine countries. Bank Muscat, Citigroup Global Markets Asia, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Doha Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, SBI, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wells Fargo, and National Association acted as mandated lead arrangers and book-runners on the deal.

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Mark Zuckerberg no longer among the world's 10 richest technology CEOs

Facebook shares crumbled again, sending the once-feverishly sought-after name below $20 for the first time as investors scrambled to get out of the way of a potential share deluge. With this slide, co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is no longer among the world's 10 richest technology billionaires. Zuckerberg is now worth $10.2 billion. Facebook stock, which has shed almost $50 billion in value since its debut - more than the total valuation of Hewlett-Packard or Starbucks. First India-made part for Lockheeds Hercules

The first made-in-India Centre Wing Box for the Hercules C-130 aircraft made by Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Ltd., (TLMAL). George Shultz, Vice-President & General Manager of Lockheeds C-130 programs, recalled that they had already delivered six C-130s to India and were expecting more orders of the 4-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The joint venture facility is export-oriented. Besides India, 15 other countries have placed order for C-130s. Lockheeds trust in the Tata Group was well-placed and with the delivery of CWB before schedule, the Indian partner was now a trusted, long-term supplier of specialised aerospace components. TLMAL is a joint venture between Tata Advanced Systems and U.S.based defence systems manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corporation.

ArcelorMittal debt cut to junk status

Rating agency Standard & Poor's cut ArcelorMittal's long-term debt to junk status and said uncertainty about the debt reduction plans of the world's largest steel-maker and a weak sector outlook meant it could cut further. S&P said it had downgraded the Luxembourg-based company because it felt the steel industry was continuing to weaken. ArcelorMittal's second-quarter results were below its expectations.

Sebi bars 19 entities for midcap slide

Market regulator Sebi has barred 19 entities from the market, suspecting they had a role to play in the crash of four mid-cap stocks on July 26. The barred entities include 16 companies and three individuals who, investigations by NSE and BSE found to have sold large chunks of shares on that day which can not be passed off as normal trades, the order by Sebi noted. The regulator has restrained 19 entities "from accessing the securities market and further prohibit from buying, selling or dealing in securities in any manner whatsoever, till further directions. On July 26, the stock price of Tulip Software had crashed over 45% in intra-day trade, and closed 26% lower, while Parsvnath Developers, Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engg and Glodyne Technoserve, had crashed 20% each.

EU Council de-lists Bank Mellat ex-chairperson

The Council of the European Union on August 3 reversed its decision to place sanctions against Dr Ali Divandari, the former chairperson of Bank Mellat, the largest private bank in Iran. A London-based Indian solicitors firm Zaiwalla & Co solicitors represented Dr Divandari's case in the European Court of Justice to challenge the legality of the sanctions. Bank Mellat, has been fighting accusations of involvement in nuclear 'proliferation-sensitive' activities in Iran.

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HPL board to study Swiss proposal

The board of the cash-strapped Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. (HPL) will consider at its meeting next week the proposal submitted by the Switzerland-based Kolmar for a conversion arrangement, HPL managing director Sumantra Choudhury said. The state government, which is now controlling the joint venture HPL, has also assured the lender and the rating agencies that a strategic partner or an investor will be inducted within six months. HPL is now producing at close to its capacity of 250 kilo tones per hour through a Rs. 200-crore letter of credit from its lenders. It needs around Rs. 600 crore to meet its full feedstock requirement. It now imports most of its naphtha with Indian Oil Corporation Haldia supplying the balance. Standard Chartered under lens for $250bn secret transactions with Iran

Standard Chartered Bank came under the scanner in the US for $250 billion worth secret transactions with Iran and for deficient money laundering controls in outsourcing of work to India thus exposing the US financial system to terror financing and other risks. "For almost ten years, SCB (Standard Chartered Bank) schemed with the Government of Iran and hid from regulators roughly 60,000 secret transactions, involving at least $250 billion, and reaping SCB hundreds of millions of dollars in fees. "SCB's actions left the US financial system vulnerable to terrorists, weapons dealers, drug kingpins and corrupt regimes, and deprived law enforcement investigators of crucial information used to track all manner of criminal activity ." SCB had assured the New York state in May 2010 that it would take immediate steps to comply with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions. Cognizant does well again

Cognizant has once again overtaken another Indian IT outsourcing major. This time it has raced past Infosys. The New Jersey-based firm has posted revenue of $1.795 billion in the June quarter, up about 5% from the March quarter and 21% over a year ago, compared to Infosys $1.752 billion dollar revenue in the same quarter. In year 2011, Cognizant over took Wipro Technologies, on the same basis. Its net income rose to $251.9 million, up 3.4 per cent sequentially and 21.1 per cent from the year-ago quarter, on the back of strong demand for outsourcing services.

E-insurance will start soon: IRDA chief

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), said it would come out with exposure draft on investment norms, including swaps and hedging, for insurance products. IRDA Chairman J. Hari Narayan said e-insurance would start soon. Repositories have already been selected and it will be in place shortly, he added. The repositories are: NSDL, CDSL, Stock Holding Corporation of India, Karvy Group and Chennai-based CAMS Repository Services Ltd.

Siemens bags 290 m euro NMDC deal

Siemens India has bagged an order worth 290 million euro (around Rs.2,000 crore) from NMDC for the supply of a complete LD (BOF) steelmaking plant. Siemens said the steel works would be built at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh as a part of integrated production complex, with an annual capacity of around 3 million tonnes steel, scheduled for completion by mid-2015. NMDCs integrated steelmaking plant is part of a national programme to increase steel production capacity in India. Earlier, NMDC had ordered a sintering plant from Siemens for the Nagarnar project site.

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SBS wins 3 deals in BPO space

Sundaram Business Services (SBS), the BPO arm of Sundaram Finance Ltd., has landed three domestic deals in the voice-based BPO space from Mumbai-based companies. The first deal is in the media and entertainment space, where SBS will handle inbound and outbound calling for game shows and reality TV participation. The other two deals are in the auto space and in the real estate space where SBS is setting up a customer service helpline for large residential and township projects. AAI refuses to allow Kingfisher lessors to take back aircraft

Airport Authority of India (AAI) has refused to allow the lessors to take back about half a dozen aircraft rented out to Kingfisher Airline. The lessors want the aircraft back as Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) has defaulted on rentals. One of the lessors has sent a legal notice to AAI for not passing the releasing order. AAIs contention is that it can not let the aircraft go, as it too has to recover dues of about Rs 300 crore on account of landing and parking fees from the near-bankrupt KFA. The airline, which has not paid salaries to its employees for the past five months (some have not been paid for six months), has been defaulting on payments to AAI, oil companies, aircraft leasing companies and the Government tax authorities.

In a first for Lufthansa, its Boeing 747-8 lands in Delhi

The state-of-the-art Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental touched down, after a flight from Frankfurt, at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, amid salute by water canon. Thus, India becomes the first destination in Asia to receive the aircraft that boasts lengthened fuselage and redesigned wings, in a sign of its importance for the civil aviation industry in the world. The Frankfurt-New Delhi flight also made Lufthansa, Germanys national carrier, the global launch customer for the aircraft, the fourth-generation version of Boeing 747. The introduction of Boeing 747-8 marks the beginning of a wider overhaul of Lufthansas fleet flying to India. The new aircraft replaces B747-400 to run the Delhi-Frankfurt daily direct service (LH 760/1). This aircraft will also fly between Bangalore and Frankfurt after September 15.

Crisil cuts GDP growth to 5.5 %

Rating agency Crisil Research, cut Indias real gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2012-13 to 5.5 per cent from its earlier forecast of 6.5 per cent. The revised forecast of Crisil is one percentage point down from the Reserve Bank of Indias forecast of GDP for the same period. The RBI, on July 31, reduced the GDP forecast for the current financial year from 7.3 per cent to 6.5 per cent and hiked the inflation forecast from 6.5 per cent to7 per cent. However, Crisil raised the average WPI (wholesale price index) inflation forecast to 8 per cent from 7 per cent earlier.

Cochin Shipyard delivers tug supply vessel to Shipping Corporation

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) delivered a 120T Bollard pull anchor handling tug supply vessel, SCI Ahimsa, to the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) said. This is the third of the series of four such vessels being built by CSL for SCI. The vessel delivered is of AH03 type, and is certified under dual class by the Rules and Regulations of American Bureau of Shipping and Indian Register of Shipping. This ship is registered under Indian flag with Mumbai as the home port. The vessel is also equipped with two 4000-kW diesel engines and two controlled pitch propeller in Kort Nozzles.

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Jet in alliance with HDFC Bank to launch co-branded credit cards

Jet Airways has tied up with HDFC Bank to launch JetPrivilege-HDFC Bank Credit Card, a range of credit cards which will offer benefits and rewards in the form of JP Miles. Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways, said, the tie-up with HDFC Bank is another unique travel option aimed at making air travel more economical for family travel. The JetPrivilege-HDFC Bank Credit card will be offered in World, Platinum and Titanium variants on the MasterCard network platform. The premium variant, JetPrivilege-HDFC Bank World Credit card entitles members to enjoy several lifestyle benefits, including six JPMiles for every Rs.150 spent and another 10,000 JPMiles within the first 90 days. The partnership will enable cardholders to aggregate all their spends into one account with rewards in the form of JPMiles.

EIH to set up hotel in Navi Mumbai on Reliance land

The Oberoi Group is planning a Trident-brand hotel in Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra on land owned by Reliance Industries Ltd, EIH Chairman P. R. S. Oberoi said. RIL, which, through Reliance Industries Investment Holding Pvt. Ltd., holds a stake of about 18 per cent in EIH, was brought in as a strategic investor in August 2010, in the wake of ITC steadily increasing its equity holding in EIH. At present, the promoter group holds 35.2 per cent of EIH equity followed by RILs 18 per cent and ITCs 14.86 per cent.

CBT allows EPFO to park funds in CoDs, long duration bank FDs

EPFOs apex decision making body the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) gave green signal to retirement fund body to park its funds in fixed deposits upto five years, short term securities and certificate of deposits of public sector banks. The proposal to provide greater freedom to Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in additional financial instruments. EPFO has corpus of Rs3.5 lakh crore and needed to increase its returns on investments to provide higher rate of interest to subscribers.

TCS, HDFC partner to invest in sports education startup

India's largest software exporter and the country's top mortgage lender do not have much to do with sports or education. But Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC have come together, nonetheless, to invest in a startup that is in the business of sports education. The partnership, reminiscent of their equal JV Intelenet for business process outsourcing more than a decade ago, has been enabled by Susir Kumar and the team that built Intelenet into one of India's most prominent BPOs.

GAIL, IOC keen to source LNG from Russia

GAIL (India), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) have expressed their willingness to source LNG on long- and medium-term basis from existing and upcoming LNG liquefaction terminals, including for the Ennore LNG terminal, in Russia. It is understood that Russia is considering development of greenfield LNG projects on the Eastern Coast of Vladivostok and capacity expansion of its existing Shakhalin-2 project to cater to Asian LNG markets. GAIL has expressed its willingness to explore opportunities for equity participation in LNG liquefaction terminals integrated with upstream E&P blocks. OVL has been actively pursuing the invitation extended to it by the Russian Government for participation in the Yamal Peninsula Gas project. GAIL and IOC have expressed long and medium term interest in sourcing

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LNG from existing and upcoming liquefaction terminals. IOC is pursuing a 5 million metric tonnes per annum LNG import and re-gasification terminal at Ennore, Tamil Nadu. CIBIL working on risk index to help banks

Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd (CIBIL) is planning to introduce a risk index that will help the countrys banks take quicker decisions on extending loans to corporates and business houses. While CIBIL is still hammering it out , banks would soon be in a position to ascertain the ability of companies to service their loans based on their position in the index. The Risk Index will be in the form of a score ranging from 300 to 900 and will give a quick snapshot of the credit history of the respective companies, CIBIL managing director Arun Thukral said. The index comes at a time when banks are increasingly looking for credit profiles of not just the businesses, but also their promoters. A recent survey conducted by the CIBIL revealed that 62 per cent of borrowers opting for home loans had scores of over 800 in the second quarter of the previous fiscal, against just 23 per cent in the 2008 financial year.

Emami plans new unit in Assam

FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) company Emami, which has in its fold brands such as Zandu Balm, Navaratna Oil, Fair and Handsome and Boroplus Antisceptic cream, is planning a new unit in Assam. The company has seven units, of which two are in the North Eastern State, said Company Chairman R. S. Agarwal. Emami closed its first quarter with a 14.1 per cent growth in sales, which touched Rs.339 crore. Post-tax profit at Rs.47 crore was 12.3 per higher than the same period in 2001-12.

CIL moves ahead with S. African venture

Coal India Ltd (CIL), invited expression of interest for selecting consultants who will help it register a whollyowned subsidiary company in South Africa. CIL has already made its plans known to acquire majority stakes in South African coal mines. As part of its plan to widen its production base, Coal India had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the provincial government of Limpopo in South Africa in year 2011 for jointly identifying, exploring and developing coal mines through a joint venture with a state-owned company. CIL, which accounts for more than 80 per cent of the domestic coal production, is now trying to jack up production levels. It had lost 26 million tonnes in 2011-12 due to seasonal factors such as monsoon. Cairn India CEO quits

Cairn India, announced that its present Managing Director and CEO Rahul Dhir had quit the company. Mr. Dhir, who was the face of Cairn India since the time the firm's British promoters listed it on the Bombay Stock Exchange to make the company more local, has quit in less than eight months of the Vedanta Group taking over the firm. Keshub retires as M&M Chairman, Anand takes over took over as the new Chairman of the Group. Keshub, who remained as one of the

Mahindra & Mahindra group Chairman Keshub Mahindra has retired from the company after 45 years and Anand Mahindra directors on Mahindra & Mahindras board for 64 years overseeing the groups metamorphosis from a steel trading company to a USD 15.4 billion diversified group, handed over the baton to his nephew and ViceChairman and Managing Director Anand Mahindra.

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Nova Medical gets equity funding

Nova Medical Centers (Nova), a company focused on surgical care and fertility clinics, announced that it had secured an equity investment of Rs.300 crore from Goldman Sachs and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). While Goldman Sachs is to invest $40 million, NEA, a venture capital firm and initial investor, will make an add-on investment of $14 million. NEA had earlier invested $15 million in the company. The investments will be used to further expand the companys specialty surgery and fertility businesses.

Ford recalls 1.28 lakh Figo, Classic models

Ford India, said it is in the process of recalling certain batches of its Figo and Classic models to inspect potential issues related to the rear twist beam (RTB) and power steering hose (PAS). As many as 1.28 lakh cars will be recalled to check for the twin defects.

Reebok India offers VRS

German sportswear giant Adidas said its group firm Reebok India would offer a voluntary retirement scheme to employees as part of a restructuring exercise in the company, which has been allegedly hit by a Rs.870crore fraud by two former top executives. The Indian arm, Adidas India, is also consolidating supply chain by combining vendors for both the brands in India, apart from streamlining franchisees for Reebok India. Reebok India has 200 employees, and the VRS would be offered till the end of this month, he added.

Textiles Ministry sets $40 billion export targe

The Textiles Ministry has revised the export target for textile products to $40.50 billion for 2012-13, an increase of about 22 per cent compared to the $38.18 billion that was set last year. In 2010-11, the country's textiles exports stood at $26.9 billion. Last fiscal, it was $33.31 billion. There was no report of job loss in the industry due to the slowdown.

Motorola to downsize India operations

Ailing cell phone maker Motorola Mobility will shrink its operations in India and lay off 4,000 employees worldwide as part of its restructuring efforts, a report has said. Loss-making Motorola Mobility, which has a good presence in India, was acquired by Google early last year as part of the Internet majors strategy to bolster its capabilities in the Android platform, one of the widely-used mobile technologies. The restructuring efforts at the company are aimed at reviving its sagging fortunes.

Julius Baer to buy Merrill Lynch non-U.S. assets

Julius Baer said it would acquire Merrill Lynchs International Wealth Manage- ment business based outside the U.S. for Swiss franc 860 million, a move that would boost its presence in key growth markets in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The transaction is estimated to increase Julius Baers existing asset under management by around 40 per cent to Swiss franc 251 billion and its total client assets to Swiss franc 341 billion at the end of the two-year integration period, the Swiss private banking group said in a statement.

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Cairn buys into South African block

Cairn India announced that it had bought 60 per cent interest in a deep-sea gas discovery block on the west coast of South Africa. This is the first overseas acquisition by the company. In a statement it said that it signed a farm-in agreement with South African national oil firm Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa Ltd (PetroSA) to take 60 per cent interest in 19,922 sq km Block 1 in the Orange Basin. While the company will not make any upfront payment, it will carry PetroSA during the initial exploration phase.

Lupin, UltraTech to replace SAIL, Sterlite in Nifty

Steel giant SAIL and Vedanta group firm Sterlite Industries are being moved out of the National Stock Exchanges benchmark index Nifty, and would be replaced by Birla group firm UltraTech and drugmaker Lupin. As per the changes announced by India Index Services and Products (IISL), an NSE-Crisil joint venture that maintains Nifty index, SAIL and Sterlite Industries would be excluded from the 50-share benchmark index with effect from September 28, 2012. In their place, Lupin and UltraTech Cement would be included in the Nifty index, IISL said in a statement, while announcing a host of other changes decided by its Index Maintenance Sub-Committee during a periodic review.

Small tea growers to get biometric ID cards

The Tea Board of India is in the process of setting up a separate outfit for the development of the small tea growers sector, which now contributes nearly 28 per cent of Indias annual tea output. It is also planning to issue biometric identity cards for the nearly two lakh growers.

TMB strengthens pact with United India

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has deepened its alliance with United India Insurance Company by launching a co-branded health care policy for the banks customers.

Nalco bags award

National Aluminium Company Limited has bagged the prestigious Best Mother Plant Award for the year 2012, for its efforts to promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Odisha.

Facile win for Richards-Ross

Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross eased to victory in the womens 400m at the Stockholm Diamond League athletics. Richards-Ross, whose win at the Games ended a 28-year wait for gold for the United States in the 400m, timed a mediocre 49.89sec. Meanwhile, Charonda Williams took advantage of Olympic gold medallist Allyson Felixs decision to skip the event to claim victory in the 200m while American compatriot Dawn Harper won the 100m hurdles in 12.65sec ahead of Kellie Wells.

Govt wants EPFO pension raised to Rs 1,000 a month

The labour ministry has written to the finance ministry recommending that the minimum monthly pension for members of the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) be raised to Rs 1,000 per month. Who will fund the additional Rs 539 crore per year that this will cost, the government or workers, however remains a fraught issue. The EPFO currently has 35 lakh pensioners as its subscribers, of whom 7 lakh get Rs 1,000 or

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more as pension per month, 14 lakh get less than Rs 500 and some get as low as Rs 38 and Rs 12 per month. Infosys wins harassment case in US

Indian information technology giant Infosys has won a lawsuit filed against it by a former employee who alleged that it illegally used foreign workers on client projects. A US federal judge in Alabama, Myron Thompson, threw out the case against Infosys brought by Jay Palmer citing technicalities in Alabama state law, according to Computer world. Palmer had alleged he was harassed at work, sidelined and even received death threats for refusing to participate in an alleged Infosys scheme to use workers on business visitor, or B-1 visas, for tasks that required an H-1B work visa. Chinese company eyes stake in Barrick Gold's African unit

A state-run Chinese company is eyeing stake in the African unit of Barrick Gold, world's largest producer of the yellow metal. The move, if successful, will enhance Chinese influence in the world gold market. China is already the world's biggest gold producer at present. The Canadian company owns 74% stake worth $1.9 billion in African Barrick. Barrick and China National Gold Company have not been forthcoming on how much stake can change hand. Under the rules, an offer for more than 30% stake in African Barrick will trigger a full takeover offer. GoAir to double number of flights to about 1,400 a week in FY13

The Wadia Group promoted budget airline GoAir, India's fifth largest airline in terms of market share is planning to double the number of flights to about 1,400 a week, as it expands its network further by adding via or hopping flights on its existing network. The airline will add one more aircraft to its fleet of 12 Airbus A320s, ET. Together with direct 720 flights per week on its network, the airline plans to offer 700 additional flights each week by the end of this financial year by replicating a strategy its peers have perfected in the market. Reviewing priorities, no decision on ties with Bajaj, says Nissan

Japanese auto maker Nissan is yet to decide on its partnership with Bajaj for sourcing of ultra- low cost car as it is reviewing priorities in the entry-level small car segment in India. As per an agreement reached between Renault-Nissan and Bajaj Auto in 2009, the Indian automaker was supposed to design, develop and manufacture the product, which was intended as an ultra low cost car, while the alliance would sell it under their badging. Bajaj Auto had unveiled the RE60, a mini-four wheeler meant for urban transportation to replace three-wheelers at the Auto Expo in New Delhi in January 2012. At the time of unveiling the RE60, Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj had said it would be up to Renault-Nissan whether to source it or not after seeing the product. Cipla Medpro chief executive suspended

The suspension of a top official of pharmaceutical giant Cipla Medpro will not impact relationship with Cipla in India, with which it has an supply agreement, according to the board of Cipla Medpro. The chief executive of South Africas third largest generic pharmaceuticals company, Jerome Smith, was suspended. Smith is said to have a very close relationship with top executives of Cipla India. The company rose to be among the top three in the country after Smith tied up a deal with Indian generic medicines manufacturer Cipla.

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Telenor settles Uninors loans worth Rs.9,809 cr

Telecom operator Uninor, said its majority shareholder Telenor had settled all of the companys loans amounting to Rs.9,809 crore after lenders turned down its request for extension of loans. Norwegian firm Telenor holds 67.25 per cent stake, and the balance is held by Indian realty company Unitech and its subsidiaries. Earlier, Telenor had said that lenders of Uninor had issued default notices to the firm for nonpayment of loans, and, as of July 23, Telenor ASA has received guarantee claims of total Norwegian krone (NOK) 3.6 billion (Rs.3,382 crore) and default notice from most of the lenders. In February 2012, the Supreme Court had ordered cancellation of 122 telecom licences, including 22 held by Uninor, a joint venture between Telenor and Unitech. Telenor is seeking to scrap the joint venture with Unitech, and plans to migrate its business to a new company.

Wockhardt to launch generic Parkinsons drug in U.S.

Wockhardt, said it would launch a generic version of Comtan tablets, used in treating Parkinsons disease, in the U.S. with 180 days of marketing exclusivity.

MNP scheme hits new additions

Though over 20 million new subscribers were added up by wireless Telecom service providers during the June 2012 quarter, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy has warned that the mobile number portability (MNP) scheme could impact new additions in the coming years. The MNP option, which enables users to carry their phone number from one operator to the other, was rolled out in January 2011, and quickly reached over 50 million requests by the end of June 2012.

Bilcare to sell global clinical supplies biz

Pharmaceutical packaging solutions provider Bilcare, said it would sell its global clinical supplies business in the U.S. and the U.K. for $61 million (about Rs.340 crore) to Ireland-based United Drug Plc. The two parties had signed a definitive agreement for the sale. Bilcare will retain its GCS business in Asia. Going forward, United Drug and Bilcare GCS Asia would work together to use their complementary resources to meet the needs of their global customers across the U.S., Europe and Asia.

ICICIDirect to launch BSE derivatives trading

ICICI Securities (ICICIDirect) said that it will launch BSE derivatives trading on its investment portal from August 21. The launch is aimed at providing an opportunity for retail customers to participate in the fast growing derivatives segment of the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Chinas Zoomlion sets up JV with Indian partner

Chinese construction equipment manufacturer Zoomlion clinched a deal to set up a joint venture plant in India with ElectroMech, Indias largest industrial crane manufacturer. He Wenjin, Vice-President of Changsha Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd., said the joint venture would be Zoomlions first directly-invested overseas plant, with Zoomlion holding a 70 per cent stake and ElectroMech owning the remainder.

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Volvo India gets new MD

The Volvo Group has appointed Philippe Divry as the new Managing Director of Volvo India Pvt. Ltd. and as Senior Vice- President, Truck Joint Ventures India, Volvo Group. Mr. Divry would oversee the resourcing and optimisation of the Volvo Groups 4,000-plus workforce in India. Set up monitoring committee for infra projects, says FIEO

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) asked the Government to set up a monitoring committee to ensure timely completion of all mega infrastructure projects. A general push to the economy is required given the sluggishness seen in various projects across the country, resulting in cost escalation and losses to the national exchequer, (FIEO) President M Rafeeque Ahmed said.

NTPC inks pat with GRIDCO

NTPC Limited has signed a supplementary Power Purchase Agreement with GRIDCO Limited for supply of additional 50 MW power from its Farakka Super Thermal Power Station stage III with effect from September 1, 2012 for a period of two years. At present, GRIDCO is allocated 1456 MW power from NTPC's eastern region stations.

Floating rate deposit scheme from IDBI Bank

IDBI Bank, became the first lender to come out with a floating rate deposit product after the Reserve Bank of India nudged banks to switch to such mode of deposits in July 2012. This is not the first time that any bank has launched such a product. Countrys largest lender State Bank of India had, in fact, experimented with such a product, only to be met with a poor response in the past and then scrapped it. RBI Governor D. Subbarao had discussed the possibility of launching such a product with bank chiefs at the customary postpolicy meeting on July 31. The IDBI product entails a minimum deposit of Rs.10,000 or in multiples of Rs.1,000 up to a maximum of Rs.1 crore. The interest rate on the deposit will move in tandem with a reference rate to be readjusted on a quarterly basis.

Himadri Chem drops plans to acquire German firm

The Kolkata-based Himadri Chemicals & Industries Ltd. has dropped its plans to acquire German company Rutgers. Like Himadri, the Dsseldorf-based Rutgers also makes coal tar pitch (CTP) distillates, and has been in this business for about 160 years. Rutgers is the worlds second largest company in CTP, with units in Europe and Canada, besides an office in China. This was Himadris second attempt at acquiring the company. It had backed out of a bid made in 2007, when the government-controlled company was being divested. Himadri was among the two finalists. However, it withdrew in January 2008, following reservations about the companys valuation. The Rs.1,123-crore turnover company has eight plants in India. These are in West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat.

Mahindra Revas new plant in Bangalore goes on stream

Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles , which was acquired by the Mahindra Group in 2010, inaugurated its new green manufacturing facility in Bangalore. Anand Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, said the dramatic advancements in automobile technologies were being primarily driven by the greater use of electronics and IT solutions in the industry. The plant, which has an initial capacity to

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manufacture 6,000 units per year, can be scaled up to 30,000 units per annum. The company has invested Rs. 100 crore in the new facility.

Amazon Kindle(s) interest in India

Worlds biggest online retailer Amazon has finally decided to enter the Indian market, with the launch of its India Kindle store and a partnership with electronics retailer Croma, a Tata outfit, to sell its trademark Kindle e-book reader. The company began testing the waters earlier in 2012, when it launched Junglee.com its comparison shopping website. The India Kindle Store offers over one million books, conveniently priced in rupees. This is a step its competitor, Penguin Books India, has still not taken. The Kindle will be available across all Croma retail outlets at a price of Rs. 6,999.

Russia joins WTO after 18 years of talks

After 18 years of negotiation, Russia, entered the World Trade Organization (WTO), which restricts import duties and subsidies in an attempt to create a level-playing field for international trade Russia is one of the last major global economies to enter the group, which has long included other developing nations such as China. Russians often complain about the burdensome cost of Western-imported consumer products, which range from refrigerators to jeans. With its entry into the WTO, the country will cut its average import tariff by 5.9 per cent, making those imports cheaper. M. Video, one of Russias largest electronics retailers whose shelves are packed with foreign-made CD players and American movies, said Russias entry into the WTO would bring more customers into their stores.

Anand Prahlad is MD of McAfee in India

Software security solutions firm McAfee, has announced the appointment of Anand Prahlad as Managing Director (Operations) for its India business. Beginning October 1, Mr. Prahlad, at present Vice-President of Engineering for Endpoint Security, will assume the role of India Managing Director (Operations). Mr. Prahlad joined McAfee twoyears ago from CommVault, where he worked for 16 years in product development. He replaces Sridhar Jayanthi, who has led the research and development operations at McAfee India for the past 10 years. Jayanthi, who is taking a six-month leave of absence, will return to McAfee in 2013, and will be based in the U.S. in a new role.

Arvind Saxena to head Volkswagen in India

German auto major Volkswagen said it had appointed ex-Hyundai Motor India marketing and sales head Arvind Saxena as its Managing Director of passenger cars business in India. Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd. President and Managing Director Gerry Dorizas said Saxenas experience in the automotive sector would contribute to the growth of the brand.

Microsoft reboots logo

Microsoft, has unveiled a new corporate logo to express the company's diverse portfolio of products as the U.S. tech giant ramps up for a series of big launches. The new logo, updated for the first time in 25 years, features a square which contains four separate coloured squares. The old logo had a similar look but the squares appeared deformed as if part of a flag waving in the wind. The move comes with Microsoft ramping

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up for its Windows 8 platform and its first tablet computer, called Surface. The logo also includes the name Microsoft in the Segoe font which is used in products and marketing communications, along with the new squares.

GVK gets green nod for $10 billion Aussie coal mine, rail project

GVK Power and Infrastructure won environmental approval for its Australian $10 billion ($10.4 billion) Alpha coal and rail project in Australia. The approval came as Australia declared the end of the resources boom that cushioned the country from the global financial crisis, a day after the world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton, shelved two major expansion plans worth at least $40 billion. The Alpha scheme is the front-runner among several projects in the untapped Galilee Basin in Queensland, where rival Indian group Adani Enterprises is planning a A$10.9 billion coal and rail project. The Galilee Basin projects have been slow to win clearance, facing opposition from environmentalists concerned about coal burning, port dredging and ship traffic along the fragile Great Barrier Reef, as well as from landowners along the proposed rail route.

Walt Disneys Rs.1,000-crore FDI proposal gets govt nod

The Central Government has announced the approval of 10 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals envisaging a total foreign exchange inflow worth Rs.1,259.92 crore of which the lions share of Rs.1,000 crore is accounted for by Walt Disney for expanding its operations in India.

CCEA clears five more oil, gas blocks

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has cleared five more oil and gas blocks that had been put on offer under the NELP IX round of bidding. The major winners included U.K.'s BG Exploration & Production and BHP Billiton Petroleum (International Exploration) of Australia. During the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) IX round held in 2010, the government had offered 34 areas for exploration and production of oil and gas. CEEA was to consider award of six onland and two offshore blocks but only five blocks were approved. The Mumbai basin deep sea block MB-DWN-2010/1 was awarded to the consortium of BG Exploration & Production and BHP Billiton Petroleum (International Exploration) of Australia.

Ramco Systems sets up subsidiary in Australia

Chennai-based Ramco Systems, an enterprise software company focused on cloud platform, products and services, said it had set up a wholly-owned subsidiary Ramco Systems Australia Pty. in Australia to drive business.Ramco Systems currently has 17 offices spread across India, the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and APAC.

US-based cancer institute to open centre in Hyderabad

US-based Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI) will open its first overseas cancer centre, American Institute of Oncology (AOI), along with Citizens Hospital in Hyderabad. Seeking to provide latest, evidence-based cancer treatment on a par with leading US academic hospitals, AOI would offer advanced medical and radiation oncology services, according to CTSI president and CEO, Joe Nicholas, and its Executive Director-India Development R. P. Raju.

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U.N. launches Heritage of Astronomy portal

Observatories in Britain, France and the United States, a pharaonic temple in Egypt, a 3,000-year-old pillar in China and a 1920s tower in Berlin have been inscribed on a U.N.-backed heritage list for astronomy, unveiled. The Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy (http://www2.astronomicalheritage.net/) aims to give astronomical sites the same place in public awareness as Unescos World Heritage List does for places of historical importance.

Reliance Power ties up with Chinas Datang

Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China Datang Corporation (CDT) to form a strategic partnership for development and operation of power and energy projects in India and abroad. For this venture, CDT is represented by the China Datang Overseas Investment Company (CDTO). This is the first such strategic partnership between India and China in the power sector. The strategic partnership envisages co-operation in Reliance Powers three coal mines in South Sumatra, Indonesia (having two billion tonnes of coal reserves), development of coal mines, including investments in the mine, development of transportation infrastructure for Indonesia mines, and offtake of coal from the Indonesian mines. The partners will also work in operations and maintenance (O&M) services to power plants in India and other identified markets, including Reliance Powers own power generation units.

PNB seeks to open branches in Lahore, Karachi

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has filed an application to open branches in Lahore and Karachi, a move that can signal wider range of trade and financial ties between India and Pakistan. PNB has moved the Reserve Bank of India, seeking permission to open two branches in Pakistan. Pakistans two leading banks National Bank of Pakistan and Habib Bank have also expressed interest in opening branches in India. PNB had started its operations from Lahore in 1895. It, however, moved its headquarters to New Delhi in 1947. SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Vikramjit Singh Sahaney, who is a also a senior office bearer of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said it was a very positive development and would help boost trade between the two nations. FM joins African Development Bank board

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has been appointed as India's Governor on the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank and African Development Fund in place of Pranab Mukherjee. Likewise, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has been appointed as India's alternate Governor. Toyota launches new Camry

Japanese car giant Toyota has launched next generation of premium sedan Camry in India at an introductory price of Rs.23.8 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar group, will be assembling the car at its Bangalore facility. This is the seventh generation of Camry Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa told. The model was now being manufactured at 10 locations across the world, and Bangalore would be the eleventh production base. Camry, which was launched in India in 2002, has witnessed sales of 6,500 units so far. The new Camry will compete with Hondas Accord, Volkswagens Passat and Skodas Superb.

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MRFs Formula 2000 racing car unveiled

Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan unveiled MRFs Formula 2000 racing car. The car is designed by Dallara of Italy, powered by Renault of France and built by Jayem Automotives (Coimbatore). The Formula 2000 racing car has a six-speed sequential gear box with a top speed of 240 kmph. MRF Ltd. Managing Director Arun Mammen said 20 Formula 2000 cars would be used for the MRF International Challenge scheduled to be held on October 27 and 28 as a support race for the Formula One Grand Prix in New Delhi. The race, Mammen explained, would consist of four rounds and 10 races. While the second race (December 1 and 2) would be a support race for the FIA GTI Championship event, the final two rounds would be held in Chennai from February 1 to 3 and February 8 to 10.

Apple wins case against Samsung

In a massive victory in its patent case against Samsung, technology giant Apple has won more than 1 billion dollars after a California jury held that the South Korean firm violated a series of Apples patents pertaining to software and design of mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad. The court held that Apples patents were valid and the company did not violate any of Samsungs patents.

Sxhapoorji Pallonji keen on investing in W. Bengal

In a letter sent to the West Bengal government, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group has chalked out several areas where they are willing to invest in West Bengal. State Finance Minister Amit Mitra told that the group had now given an expression of interest showing keenness to undertake infrastructure development projects in West Bengal in the areas of roads, ports, power plants, healthcare and aerospace, among others. The Mumbaiheadquartered Shapoorji Pallonji Group is the single largest individual equity stakeholder in Tata Sons.

HSBC could have laundered money for Mexican drug cartels

U.S. prosecutors, who have launched an investigation into the money transaction by some global banks, suspect that HSBC could have laundered money for Mexican drug cartels and moved cash for Saudi Arabian banks with ties to terrorists. Federal authorities with knowledge of the probe said federal and state prosecutors were also investigating whether HSBC flouted the U.S. law by transferring money through its American subsidiary for sanctioned nations including Iran, Sudan and North Korea. HSBC could have to cough up nearly a billion dollars to settle the inquiry, making it the largest such settlement in history. HSBC came under the U.S. scanner in July when the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said the bank exposed the U.S financial system to money laundering and terrorist financing risks between 2001 and 2010. Bank executives testified at the hearing and apologised.

Technopark firm develops high-end solar-powered inverter

A Technopark-incubated company has developed a solar-powered inverter equipped with a remote maintenance and performance tracking system using a mobile device or remote computer. The company named Ronds Innotech launched the smart solar inverter in Tiruwantpuram. The device incorporates a mechanism that can switch the power source between sunlight and AC mains automatically. During daytime, the automated power source selection (APSS) mechanism directly runs the applications from sunlight

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without taking power from AC Mains Supply, thereby cutting down on the power bill. During night or if the load connected requires more power, it will change the power source to AC mains supply. The performance tracking system links the device with a remote PC over a GSM channel, without using Internet or GPRS. The mechanism helps to manage the settings and to track and monitor the operations, performance, complaints and maintenance of any electronics device from a remote computer or mobile device.

Raghuram Rajan to take charge as chief economic advisor

Raghuram G Rajan, former IMF chief economist, assumed office as chief economic adviser in the finance ministry on August 29. Raghuram Rajan took charge as chief economic advisor in the finance ministry on August 29. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) had cleared the appointment of Rajan as the new CEA on August 10. The position of the CEA has been lying vacant since Kaushik Basu's term ended on July 31. Basu has returned to USA as a professor at Cornell University. Rajan was also involved with the report on financial sector reforms, which was authorised by the Planning Commission.

State Bank of India, Bank of India allowed to operate in Pakistan

India and Pakistan have agreed to allow two banks each from both the countries to set up branches across the border, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Yaseen Anwar said. The two Indian banks that will be allowed to operate in Pakistan are State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of India (BoI). On the other hand, quasi-state owned National Bank of Pakistan and privately-owned United Bank Ltd. will be running fullbanking operations across the border, once licensed by India. Discussions have been held with RBI Governor D Subbarao to issue banking licences, he said, adding that the process will help normalise trade relations between India and Pakistan.

CVCI buys stake in Cox & Kings' UK arm

Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI) is acquiring over 30% stake in Cox & Kings' UK arm Holidaybreak for $138 million, sending the tour operator's shares higher. CVCI, which manages assets worth over $7billion, is making the investment into Prometheon Holdings, a special purpose vehicle created by Cox & Kings for acquiring British travel specialist company Holidaybreak in 2011. Peter Kerkar-controlled Cox & Kings purchased Holidaybreak for 312 million pounds, making it the biggest overseas buyout by an Indian travel firm. Prometheon will use the money to retire debt that was raised for the Holidaybreak acquisition.

Now, smartphone app that helps keep track of children

A new application has been developed that alerts teachers when a student is wandering away from the flock, which could help prevent anyone from getting lost. The new app - RubberBand, uses a sensor attached to each child's knapsack that broadcasts a radio signal to all the other kids' sensors once every second. The signals are then collected by a smartphone running software that measures the signal strength between every pair of children in the group to determine their locations as compared to each other. If a child strays away, or a splinter group forms, the system plays a sound to alert the teacher and also displays pictures of the children involved.

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Asian cities to become top finance centres by 2022, survey says

Top UK traders and dealmakers bruised by intense banker bashing believe an Asian city will take over as the world's dominant financial centre within 10 years, according to a survey. They also relegated London to third place from second as their preferred location behind Singapore and New York, the poll by headhunters Astbury Marsden found. Nearly two thirds of 450 British investment bankers surveyed said Hong Kong, Shanghai or Singapore would be the top global finance centre in 10 years. One fifth felt London would be the world leader in 2022 and one sixth said New York would hold No.1 spot.

Indigo becomes the top airline in domestic aviation market

Indigo airline recently ousted Jet airways to become the top airline in the domestic aviation market. This growth was not propelled only by fleet and network expansion. The airline's passenger friendly policies, the introduction of business class seats and networking with the travel agents were also reasons for the growth. Till date, Indigo has been on top of the on-time performance list. Operating on schedule is one of the main reasons people, particularly business travellers, prefer the airline.

Sebi mulls IPO investments through mobile, credit cards

In a major leap towards using latest technology in financial markets, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plans to allow investors to make payments for IPOs through ATM, debit and credit cards, as also via mobile banking. The proposed move is part of Sebi's efforts to attract more and more investors to the market through IPO route. Sebi has already announced various steps for reforms in the primary market, which include increasing the reach of IPOs in electronic form through nation-wide broker network of stock exchanges. Sebi chairman U K Sinha said investors can approach brokers at over 1,000 locations to apply in IPOs physically or electronically. Sebi has also decided to make the brokers responsible for uploading the bid on the exchange platform and for banking the cheque and handling of ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount) applications. In ASBA system, the money remains in the applicant's bank account till the time of share allotment.

Hind Copper draws up expansion plan

Even as it mounts efforts to mark a footprint in mineral-rich Afghanistan, Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) has decided to quadruple its mining capacity. It plans to develop an underground mine beneath the open-cast mine at Malanjkhand. This belt, with the richest extractable copper reserve, contains more than 70 per cent of Indias known reserves.While HCL is a monopoly in copper mining in India, since 1982 the company has seen little growth in its ore production. Shakeel Ahmed, HCL chairman and managing director, told. The Rs. 1856.4-crore Malanjkhand underground project is a key component of this strategy, as the residual life of the existing open-cast project runs out in 2018. Post-expansion, Malanjkhands capacity would be 5.2 million tonnes against 2 million tonnes now. The underground project has been won by a consortium led by IVCRL Infrastructure & Projects Ltd. A Ukrainian company and a UK-based company are also members of this consortium. The project is expected to be completed in five years.

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GAIL inks pact with GDF SUEZ

GAIL (India) and GDF SUEZ of France, announced that they had entered into a medium-term LNG supply agreement for supply of 12 cargoes from 2013 to 2014, representing a total of 0.8 million tonnes. This agreement will contribute to supply the Indian gas market, which is expected to grow from 58 billion cubic metres in 2012 to 220 cubic metres in 2020, representing a CAGR of over 18 per cent. The agreement was signed in Paris. B.C. Tripathi, chairman and managing director, GAIL.

HP support centre in Chennai for SAP

Hewlett Packard is looking at boosting its business intelligence services with the launch of a global client Centre of Excellence in Chennai. The centre is for German business software maker SAPs HANA platform, which is used in real-time analysis of big data. SAP HANA is a pre-loaded packaged software and hardware bundle which is manufactured and supplied by HP. It uses in-memory computing that allows customers to speed up data analysis to seconds instead of hours. L&T to exit plastics machinery business

Larsen & Toubro, said it had signed a share sale and purchase agreement (pending final closing conditions) with Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd. (TMC) of Japan to sell its entire stake in L&T Plastics Machinery Ltd (LTPML), as part of its strategic roadmap to exit non-core businesses and rationalise its portfolio. LTPML, a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T, manufactures and markets injection moulding machines. L&T started manufacturing injection moulding machines in 1990 in joint venture with Mannesmann Demag Kunstofftechnik, the erstwhile Demag Plastics Group. L&T has bagged Rs.1,302-crore order from the Petroleum Development Oman for the Saih Rawl Depletion Compression phase-2 project. SBI Cards launches online application service Click2Card

In another step towards fulfilling its Make life simple promise, SBI Cards, announced the launch of Click2Card, an all-new online application service, aimed at netting about 3,000 customers in the next four months. Click2Card is another innovative service offering and is in line with our digital roadmap. This new platform will offer significant customer benefits, the primary being convenience, SBI Cards & Payment Services CEO Kadambi Narahari said. Already the countrys second largest credit card issuer with 23 lakh cardholders, the company promoted by State Bank of India (SBI) and GE Capital, has drawn up plans to open 25,000 accounts in year 2013 through the online mode. HSBC offloads entire stake in Federal Bank for Rs.341 cr

Global banking giant HSBC, sold its entire 5 per cent stake in Kerala-based private sector lender Federal Bank for a little over Rs.341 crore through open market transactions. HSBC held 85.16 lakh shares, or 4.98 per cent stake in Federal Bank through HSBC IRIS Investments Mauritius Ltd. Earlier in June, HSBC had offloaded its entire holdings in Axis Bank and Yes Bank for about Rs.2,425 crore through open market transactions.

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TVS Automobile Solutions eyes global presence

TVS Automobile Solutions Ltd., a subsidiary of TVS & Sons, is planning to mark its presence in the overseas market for multi-brand car servicing leveraging on its logistics arm. R. Dinesh, Joint Managing Director, said that by 2015, TVS ASL was targeting close to 500 outlets of which 125 would be joint ventures and the rest franchises. TVS ASL has already invested about Rs. 150 crore and would need an investment of Rs. 500 crore for its expansion. It was learnt that the company is exploring several options for meeting its fund need, including issuance of debentures and raising equity through its joint venture partners.

Jindal Steels Angul plate mill on stream

Jindal Steel and Power, announced that its two million tonnes per annum (mtpa) plate mill at Angul in Odisha has commenced commercial production. The company is targeting to produce 15,000 tonnes in the next month and then increase the production gradually. The plate mill is a part of the proposed 6 mtpa steel plant at Angul. Plates are used in areas such as oil and gas, water pipeline, shipping, infrastructure and power equipment making. The combined project cost for the plate mill along with the 1.6 mtpa steel melting shop (SMS) is Rs.4,923 crore.

Ravi Uppal quits L&T

Ravi Uppal, Whole-time Director and head of the power business of Larsen and Toubro (L&T), has put in his papers, has resigned as director of the company. The resignation will be effective from September 15. It is believed that Mr. Uppal would join Vedanta Groups Cairn India to replace to Rahul Dhir.

M&M to launch new compact SUV Quanto

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will launch its latest offering, a new compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), Quanto. The company said the indigenously-designed Quanto shares the Ingenio platform that also rolls out its multi-utility vehicle (MUV), Xylo. GAIL inks pact with French Co for LNG import

A move which would help addressing India's gas demand in medium terms, Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) has entered into a pact with French energy giant GDF Suez to import 0.8 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from 2013 to 2014. GAIL and GDF Suez have concluded a medium-term LNG supply agreement for supply of 12 cargoes from 2013 to 2014. The tie-up will help in addressing the country's growing gas demand that is expected to grow from 58 billion cubic meters in 2012 to 220 billion cubic meters in 2020, representing a compounded annual growth rate of over 18 per cent. HDFC Bank launches one family, one bank, zero balance account for NRIs in Kerala

HDFC Bank, India's second largest private sector bank, has launched the One Family, One Bank, Zero Balance account for NRIs and their families on the occasion of Onam in Kerala. The zero balance account will be available to resident family members of NRI's who open NRE & NRO accounts with HDFC Bank on or before September 15, 2012. This will enable NRIs to seamlessly transfer funds to their family members account. This offer is currently available only in Kochi city branches and will be extended to other regions in Kerala in the future.

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Samsung unveils voice-controlled Galaxy Camera

Samsung has unveiled a voice-controlled camera as part of a fall lineup of consumer gadgets aimed at setting itself apart from rival Apple. The South Korean electronics giant presented the 16-megapixel Galaxy Camera. Samsung's Galaxy Camera runs on Google's popular Android operating system, giving it features previously restricted to smartphones or tablet computers such as photo organizing, photo sharing and voicecontrol. The company also announced two new phones, the Galaxy Note II and the ATIV S running Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system. Samsung says the devices will be available in many countries from the end of October.

Tech Mahindra in talks to buy Bharti's Comviva for Rs 750 cr

Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Bharti Group is in advanced discussions to sell Comviva Technologies, a mobile financial and value-added services (VAS) solution provider, to Tech Mahindra, the Mahindra group's IT arm, for around Rs 750 crore. This will be the second sale of a privately-held company by the group in a short span. The group announced the divestment of training solution firm Centum Learning to Everonn in a cash and share transaction. Formerly known as Bharti Telesoft, Comviva is about 50% owned by Mittal and his family through holding firms and trusts. Private equity firms Sequoia Capital and Cisco hold 30% and 5% stake in the company, respectively, with the balance 15% owned by employees.

Sony's ultra-HD 4K TVs to go on sale in US

High-definition TVs roughly quadrupled the resolution of the sets that came before them. By December, US stores will sell a TV set with four times the resolution of today's best HDTVs. The set will measure 84-inch (213 centimeters) on the diagonal, making the screen area four times as large as the common 42-inch set. Phil Molyneux, chief operating officer of Sony Electronics, said the situation was no different from the launch of the cassette tape, the CD or the DVD. The exact resolution of the set is 3,840x2,160 pixels. It's known as "4K" because it has nearly 4,000 pixels on the horizontal edge. That compares with 1,920x1,080 pixels in "1080p" sets. More pixels allow TV makers to make bigger screens without compromising sharpness.

Toyota Finance eyes innovative car loans

Toyota Financial Services India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Finance, has set shop in India with a paid-up capital of Rs 260 crore. The company plans to increase sales of Toyota cars by launching innovative finance schemes like balloon repayments and is also looking at expanding into inventory financing and loans for second-hand cars. Kazuki Ogura, MD & CEO of Toyota Financial Services, said that Toyota Finance has been set up as a 100% captive and has commenced business in Bangalore and Delhi. The company will now offer auto finance at all Toyota dealerships in Mumbai and Pune. The parent company is present in 34 countries and has an asset book of over $150 billion India fastest growing market for Domino's

India has emerged as the fastest growing market for Domino's, outpacing US, which is the largest market for the pizza chain major across 73 countries where it has presence. India recorded an annual growth rate of nearly 50% for Domino's for the fifth consecutive year. The brand added 75 stores in India in calendar year 2011 taking the total number to 500. The company, which currently competes with other food chains such as

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Pizza Hut and Papa John's, commands around 55% share of the Rs 1,800 crore pizza industry in the country. BT sells part stake in Tech Mahindra for Rs.1,395 cr

Global telecom giant BT Plc, sold 14.1 per cent stake in Tech Mahindra to institutional investors for about Rs.1,395 crore and said it would consider further share sale in the Indian IT firm in future. U.K.-based BT Group (British Telecommunications Plc) is a co-promoter of Tech Mahindra, with the other being Indian business conglomerate, the Mahindra and Mahindra Group. BT group has pared its stake in the Indian IT firm from 23.16 per cent to 9.1 per cent. In 2010, the BT Group had sold 5.5 per cent stake in Tech Mahindra to Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M). Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz on share selling spree

Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz has sold another 450,000 shares of the social networking major so far, reducing his holding to just 6.15 million of Class A stock, which have lesser voting rights than Class B stock. Moskovitz has been selling Facebook stock at the rate of 150,000 per tranche since August 17 and has offloaded 1.8 million shares till August 29. He had 7.5 million Class A stock as on August 17. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Moskovitz sold 450,000 class A stock during August 27 and August 29 in a price range of $ 19.19 to $19.26. Barclays chairman Marcus Agius resigns over rate rigging scandal

Barclays chairman Marcus Agius quit and said an interest rate rigging scandal had dealt "a devastating blow" to the bank's reputation and "the buck stops with me". Agius, chairman at Barclays for 5-1/2 years, will stay in his position until a succession plan is assured. Pressure has built on him and CEO Bob Diamond to quit following a $453 million fine for Barclays by British and U.S. regulators for submitting inaccurate submissions on the Libor interest rate. Yatra.com acquires Travelguru

Online travel portal Yatra.com has acquired Travelguru, the Indian arm of US travel services provider Travelocity, to become the largest provider of hotel bookings in the country. Yatra.com CEO Dhruv Shringi said that the acquisition will help his company double revenue growth in the next 12 months by expanding market share as Travelguru is the country's largest hotel distribution network, with access to more than 6,500 hotels in India and 72,000 hotels worldwide.

Maruti Suzuki plans 800cc diesel engine, may deliver 30kmpl average

Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, this could well be the game changer in the small car segment which makes up for 45% of the market. The company is working overtime on developing a small two-cylinder 800cc diesel engine along with its parent Suzuki Motor Corp in Japan. The all-new diesel engine is likely to punch 40 horsepower and may deliver fuel efficiency of 25-30 kilometres to a litre. Testing and validation is currently on in Japan and, if all goes well, the project may come down to India for indigenisation in 6-12 months. According to conservative estimates, it will be ready for a rollout by 2015 in India. The Maruti 800 petrol transformed the market in the '80s. If the company is able to meet the desired requirement on the 800cc diesel engine, it will prove to be a tectonic change in the market.

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SBI hikes interest rate for deposits below Rs.15 lakh

State Bank of India (SBI) has increased retail term deposit interest rates by 0.25 percentage points for three years to less than five years from 8.75 per cent to 9 per cent with effect from July 1. This rate will be applicable for deposits below Rs.15 lakh. Meanwhile, Union Bank of India, has reduced interest rates for the micro and small enterprises (MSE) sector up to 300 basis points under various slabs with effect from July 1.

Rich hoarding banknotes, gold and art works in Swiss banks

Amid a global crackdown against alleged black money in secret accounts of Swiss banks, their bankers are selling a new safe-haven idea to their rich clients from India and other countries the high-value 1,000 franc notes to be stored in safe deposit boxes. These boxes, kept inside the premises of Swiss banks are also said to be being used to stash gold, diamond, paintings and art works among other valuables apparently because of limited risk of catching the preying eyes of foreign Governments having signed banking information exchange treaties with Switzerland. As a result, the demand has soared to record high levels for the safe deposit boxes and the 1,000 Swiss franc banknotes in Switzerland, as rich of the world are rushing to get them. As per the data available with Switzerlands central bank SNB (Swiss National Bank), the thousandfranc notes now account for 60 per cent of total value of all Swiss banknotes in circulation, up from about 50 per cent a year ago.

HDFC credit cards for doctors

HDFC Bank has nationally launched its exclusive range of credit cards for doctors to mark the Doctors Day. The two cards-Superia and Platinum-are designed to cater to the lifestyle, travel and other needs of doctors.

Premji takes pay cut; CEO gets 5-times hike

IT giant Wipros Chairman and Managing Director Azim Premji saw his remuneration falling by nearly onethird to Rs 1.9 crore last fiscal, but the groups IT business CEO T K Kuriens pay package grew over five times to Rs 4.5 crore. As CMD of Wipro Ltd, whose main area of business is information technology but is also present in certain consumer goods businesses, Premjis annual remuneration declined from Rs 2.8 crore in the fiscal 2010-11 to Rs 1.9 crore in the latest fiscal ended March 31, 2012. During the same period, the total remuneration rose from Rs 80 lakh to Rs 4.5 crore for Kurien, who assumed the role of Wipros IT business CEO in February 2011.

Samsungs Nexus barred from US

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, was barred from selling its Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the US by a second court ruling this week in its global patent dispute with Apple. The ruling by US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, follows her June 26 order blocking US sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 computer in the patent and trademark-infringement lawsuit over smartphones and tablets.

'Firefox OS' coming to smartphones in 2013

A new operating system for mobile phones akin to the Mozilla Firefox internet browser has got the backing of several major telecom companies, turning up the heat on Google and Apple in the smartphone market.

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Mozilla said that mobile network operators Deutsche Telekom, Sprint, Smart, Telecom Italia , Telenor and Etisalat are backing the Firefox platform. The non-profit organisation which evolved from Netscape after the internet browser wars 14 years ago, said phone makers ZTE and TCL Communication Technology will roll out the first Firefox OS phones using Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors in early 2013.

SIAM announces auto recall policy

Against the backdrop of Government mulling mandatory recall policy for vehicles in India as we have none, auto industry body SIAM came up with it own voluntary code on vehicle recall, where recall and fixing any manufacturing defect will be manufacturers responsibility but there would be no penal action involved. Under the policy, if a company is of the opinion that there is a manufacturing defect that compromises safety of vehicles, it will voluntarily rectify the problem free of cost to the customer. Only vehicles within seven years of manufacture would be covered under the safety recall and companies are required to post information regarding recall on their websites.

ICICI Bank sells its debt in Kingfisher to Srei arm

ICICI Bank, sold its entire debt of Rs.430 crore in the crisis-ridden Kingfisher Airline to Srei Venture Capital Ltd., a group company of Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd. Kingfisher Airlines, owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, was launched in 2005 and has not reported profits since. The airline has a total outstanding debt of around Rs.7,500 crore. Banks which had given loans to Kingfisher Airlines include State Bank of India (Rs.1,400 crore), PNB (around Rs.700 crore), Bank of Baroda (around Rs.500 crore) and ICICI Bank (around Rs.450 crore).

SIDBI to support eco-friendly firms

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) plans to promote environment-friendly firms and equip Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to adopt environment-friendly technology in their operations. It is also working towards eliminating child labour, which is rampant in the MSME sector.

Airbus to build first U.S. assembly plant in Alabama

Airbus, said it would build its first assembly plant in the United States in Alabama. The plant would make passenger aeroplanes. The plant would cost about $600 million to build and will employ 1,000 people when it reaches full production. It will be built in Mobile. Boeing has employed hundreds of people in Alabama for years. Airbus had planned to build in Alabama previously to manufacture refuelling tankers for the U.S. Air Force. But its parent company, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., lost the contract to Boeing in 2011.

Dell to buy Quest for $2.4 b

Dell Inc will buy Quest Software Inc for $2.4 billion in cash in an effort to expand its software business and decrease its dependence on the declining personal computer market. Dell, said it would pay $28 per share, trumping a bid from private investment firm Insight Ventures, that it expected the deal to close in the third quarter. Dell sparked a bidding war in June, when it offered $25.50 per share for Quest, an enterprise management software maker, topping Insights initial offer in March of $23 per share.

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Govt. to set up Rs.2,000-crore venture fund for R&D in pharma

The Central Government has decided to set up a venture capital fund of Rs.2,000 crore which will promote research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical sector. India is the third largest producer of pharma products by volume, and the industry is growing at 15-20 per cent annually. The domestic pharmaceutical industry is pegged at $20 billion. It is expected to touch $75 billion by the end of this decade. Indias pharmaceutical exports stood at $13 billion in 2011. The venture capital fund would be established under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode and would help in discovery of new medicines.

Nagendra Murthy is new MD of TMB

K. B. Nagendra Murthy assumed charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited. Prior to the elevation, he was General Manager (Credit Department), TMB.

SBI waives minimum balance for savings accounts

State Bank of India (SBI), to attract new customers, has done away with the minimum balance criteria for saving banks account. The bank will not levy any charge for breaching the minimum balance criteria. There are certain saving account products of the bank where the minimum monthly balance is as low as Rs.50. Depending on the features and facility, the minimum average monthly balance varies. The waiver would help the bank in improving the customer base, it would also help the bank in generating low cost deposits as the savings bank account earned interest rate of just 4 per cent. The minimum balance requirement for savings bank account of private sector bank such as ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank is Rs.10,000.

Voltas leads air-conditioner market

After a decade of dominance in white goods, Korean giant LG abdicated its leadership position in India in May when it was relegated to No 2 position by Voltas in the 7,000-crore room air-conditioner market. According to latest data from market researcher GfK-Nielsen India, LG's volume market share in multi-brand outlets-a key sales channel that accounts for almost 90% of AC dealerships-stood at 17.7% in May against 18.3% of Voltas. In July 2011, LG was the leader, with a share of 22.6%. Samsung retained its third slot in room ACs but its market share has plunged from 14.5% in July 2011 to 10% in May 2012. Even Hitachi increased its market share from 5.2% to 7.3% in the period.

RBI reduces transaction fee for online payments via debit cards

The Reserve Bank of India has reduced transaction charges for payments made online through debit cards to a maximum of 1%, addressing a long-standing grouse of consumers and merchants who were paying almost double earlier. From July 1, transaction fee for online payments up to 2,000 made through debit cards has been slashed to 0.75% of the value of the goods or services bought. The charge can be a maximum of 1% for purchases above that value. Banks were earlier charging 1.8% of all online payments made using debit cards. The move is expected to boost e-commerce in India, Asia's third-largest economy, where use of internet for purchase of goods and services is growing at 30-35% every year. According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), e-transactions in the country totalled 46,000 crore in 2011.

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Tech Mahindra, Serco eye Hutchs BPO business

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing plans to sell telecom business process outsourcing (BPO) unit Hutchison Global Services, attracting interests from Tech Mahindra and UK's Serco. This is Li Ka-shing's only significant business interest in India after he sold mobile telecom service joint venture Hutchison Essar to Vodafone for $11 billion five years ago.

ONGC pips TCS to become most-valued companies

State-run ONGC has became the country's most valued company with a market capitalisation of over Rs 2.47 lakh crore, surpassing Tata Group software services company TCS. ONGC commanded a market value of Rs 2,47,681 crore the highest for any listed company in India. This is about Rs 4,550 crore more than Tata Consultancy Services' market value of around Rs 2,43,125 crore. In August 2011, ONGC had replaced Reliance Industries as the country's most valued company.

Mahindra opens two-wheeler R&D centre

The Mahindra Group is confident of the growth in the two-wheeler industry and is targeting revenues of Rs.20,000 crore from this business by 2020. Mahindra 2 Wheelers new research & development (R&D) centre in Pune, Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, said. The company has invested Rs.100 crore in setting up the R&D facility for its two-wheeler business. The Pune R&D centre is the third largest two-wheeler R&D facility in India and houses 175 engineers and designers.

Home loans up to Rs 15 lakh get 1% cheaper

The government announced one percent interest subsidy on housing loan up to Rs 15 lakh to give a boost to low-cost housing projects in the country. The Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave a nod to the proposal for extending the scheme of interest subvention of one percent on housing loans up to Rs 15 lakh where the cost of the house does not exceed Rs 25 lakh. The extended scheme will benefit all house loans availed in financial year 2012-13. Earlier, the limit for housing loans that were eligible for an interest subsidy of one percent was Rs 10 lakh, where the cost of the house did not exceed Rs 20 lakh. The National Housing Bank is the nodal agency for implementing the scheme both for scheduled commercial banks and housing finance companies.

Renault to sport MRF tyre

The new Renault Duster, launched by the global auto major, is equipped with the all-new MRF Wanderer sport tyre. Wanderer is MRFs flagship tyres for sports utility vehicles. MRFs all new exclusive 65 series steel belted radial tyre with H (210 kmph) speed rating (215/65R15) would feature in all models of Renault Duster. MRF Wanderer sport has been developed after exhaustive testing in Europe and India. The unique specification tyre from MRF has met the global approval tests of Renault, France.

Toshiba offers new range of laptops

Toshiba India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, Japan, has announced the launch of its 2012 range of new fully-equipped and sophisticated Satellite Series laptops C series (C840 and C850), L series (L850), M series (M840) and the Ultrabook Satellite U840.

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Renault's Duster kicks up competition in SUV segment

French carmaker Renault fired new competition in the fast-growing SUV market in India, driving in its Duster off-roader at an aggressive Rs 7.19 lakh (petrol, ex-showroom Delhi). The 5-seter Duster, one of Renault's most ambitious products in India, will compete with models like Mahindra's Scorpio and Tata's Safari. Renault has priced the entry diesel variant at Rs 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), which is a little higher than the Scorpio's base variant but lower than the Safari. The growing love of Indians for SUVs can make Duster a tough rival to models like Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento. Auchan, Landmark close to retail deal

French retail giant Groupe Auchan SA plans to open 85 stores in India over the next six years as it nears a formal deal with NRI tycoon Micky Jagtiani's Landmark Group. Auchan will have the option to pick a 50% stake in the joint venture depending on Indian government's decision to allow foreign investment in multibrand retailing. The euro 44 billion Auchan group will be the first big box retailer to enter India after global rivals Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour stepped into the growing Indian organized market. Aditya Birla Group inks deal to buy pulp mill in Canada

Aditya Birla Group, announced that it has signed an agreement to buy the Terrace Bay Pulp Mill in North Western Ontario, Canada. The acquisition will be made through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), AV Terrace Bay Inc. (Canada). Aditya Birla Group said that group company Grasim Industries would hold a 40 per cent stake in AV Terrace Bay Inc., and the remaining 60 per cent by Thai Rayon Public Ltd., Thailand. Over the next three years, Grasim would contribute $44 million out of the total equity of $110 million. The Terrace Bay Mill was placed under CCAA (Companies Creditors Arrangement Act) in January 2012. Birla Sun Life Insurance deploys IBM's planning solution

IT major IBM said Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI) has deployed its planning solution 'Cognos TM1' that will help the insurance major to streamline the budgeting process more efficiently. BSLI wanted a solution that would streamline its spreadsheet-based planning and budgeting process for data coming for more than 600 branches and multiple products. 'Cognos TM1' helped the company to integrate operational and financial planning on demand, which can determine resource requirements and forecast future business performance. IBM Cognos is an industry standard business intelligence solution that has been successfully implemented across various industry verticals. Yahoo! India R&D sets up lab at IIT Madras

Yahoo! India Research and Development has entered into an agreement with Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, to support its faculty and students in cloud computing research. Yahoo has set up a grid computing lab on IIT campus, consisting of a cluster of high-end servers running its open source Hadoop software, which will provide the infrastructure necessary to conduct research on big data and cloud computing systems. Yahoo! India, which recently launched a free online video service, is looking at playing to its own strengths in the Indian market.The lab, which cost over Rs.50 lakh to build, will be accessible to students who have cloud computing courses and doctoral candidates.

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Volkswagen to buy remaining 50% stake in Porsche

German carmaker Volkswagen AG has reached an agreement to acquire the remaining 50 per cent stake in sports car manufacturer Porsche. Under the deal, Volkswagen, which owns 49.9 per cent of Porsche, would acquire the remaining 50.1 per cent stake under the deal. It would pay 4.46 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in cash, plus one ordinary share in Volkswagen to acquire the stake. A merger was agreed to in 2009 after Porsche's disastrous takeover bid failed and left the sports car maker with huge debt. The two companies had agreed in August 2009 to merge by the end of 2011 but has since faced legal and tax hurdles. Volkswagen had bought 49.9 per cent stake in Porsche in late 2009 as part of the merger plan. The German company said that deal, which is expected to finalise by August 1, would boost Volkswagen's earnings.

BHEL achieves another milestone at Bawana Project

The public sector Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) said it had successfully commissioned the third 250 MW Advanced Class Gas Turbine at the 1,500 MW Pragati-III Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) coming up at Bawana in New Delhi. A total of 1,000 MW is now available for feeding power to the grid from this station. The full load operation of the unit has been achieved within a day of it getting synchronized. With this, BHEL has commissioned 2,250 MW in the first quarter of the current fiscal (2012-13). BHEL had won the turnkey contract for setting up the gas turbine-based CCPP against international competitive bidding from Pragati Power Corporation Limited (PPCL). BHEL had earlier set up, on turnkey basis, the 330 MW Pragati CCPP in Delhi.

Take Solutions joins HP to launch cloud services

Right on the heels of Microsoft and Airtel, technology solutions provider Take Solutions Ltd., launched its comprehensive cloud solution aimed at enterprises in India. The company is partnering with Hewlett Packard, which provides the necessary server infrastructure, in order to offer a range of software-as-aservice and infrastructure-as-a-service solutions to both small and medium businesses (SMB) and large enterprises. While the global cloud computing market is estimated to be $150 billion, the company places the addressable Indian market for software-as-a-service solutions at $50 million. The partnership with HP would also take care of security concerns for employees who bring their own devices to access the cloud.

EIL lands BPCL consultancy deal

Engineers India Limited (EIL) has announced that it had secured consultancy services contract from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP), Kochi, for a Rs.720-crore fee. The project involves enhancing crude oil refining capacity from the present 9.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to 15.5 mmtpa.

India, China to be core buyers of jet engines

India and China would be among countries which would constitute the largest market for aircraft engines and their after-sale services, totalling a whopping $1,700 billion, over the next two decades. Delivery of 1,49,000 engines have been forecast over the next 20 years to power 68,000 new aircraft and business jets, Londonbased airplane engine maker Rolls Royce said. While the engines themselves would be worth $975 billion, another $700 billion has been estimated as the cost of after-market services. Asia-Pacific will be by far the

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largest market for commercial aircraft where airlines will require nearly 4,000 twin-aisled planes or 44 per cent of the global deliveries. Observing that world airlines were investing heavily in more fuel-efficient planes to cut average fuel burn per seat, it said this was pushing up demand for larger aircraft or twin-aisles like Boeing 787, B-777, Airbus A-330 and A-350.

Virus-hit PCs may lose internet access, says McAfee

Nearly 3 lakh DNSChanger virus-hit computers, including over 20,000 in India, may lose Internet access from July 9, Web security company McAfee said. DNSChanger is a malware computer programme that redirects the Internet traffic to fake websites. India has the third-highest number of DNS infections after the United States and Italy. Last year, the FBI, as a part of Operation Ghost Click, took control of the servers used by cyber criminals. The FBI then replaced the rogue servers with temporary legitimate servers so as not to disrupt the web activities of those infected. According to the data by DNSChanger Working Group (DCWG), there are nearly 300,000 infected systems globally, with a maximum of over 69,500 such system in the U.S. Italy, with about 26,500 infected systems, is at the second place, followed by India (21,300) and the U.K. (19,589). The DCWG is an independent group of security experts trying to stem out the DNSChanger malware. McAfee has released a free tool to help consumers whose machines have been infected by the DNSChanger trojan.

U.S. makes Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally

The Obama administration declared Afghanistan the United States newest major non-NATO ally, an action designed to facilitate close defence cooperation after U.S. combat troops withdraw from the country in 2014 and as a political statement of support for Afghanistans long-term stability. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai, disclosed the alliance to diplomats at the U.S. Embassy. The designation allows for streamlined defense cooperation, including expedited purchasing ability of American equipment and easier export control regulations. Afghanistans military, which is heavily dependent on American and foreign assistance, already enjoys many of these benefits. The non-NATO ally status guarantees it will continue to do so. Afghanistan becomes the 15th such country the U.S. has declared a major non-NATO ally. Afghanistans neighbour Pakistan was the last nation to gain the status in 2004.

Samsung: External device caused Galaxy S III fire

Samsung Electronics cited a report by fire investigators as saying an external energy source had caused one of its flagship Galaxy S III smartphones to catch fire in Ireland. The world's top smartphone maker said an investigation by Fire Investigations ( UK) had stated that the Samsung device was not responsible for the cause of the fire, and that an "external energy source was responsible for generating the heat". The new Galaxy S series, the strongest rival for Apple's iPhone, was launched in Europe in late May and in the United States last month. The South Korean electronics giant said it had contracted FI-UK, an independent British provider of consultancy services into fires and explosions, to determine the cause of the fire. Samsung added it had provided FI-UK with several Galaxy S III phones, including the burnt smartphone, for a series of tests.

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Australian bank to offer payment services on Facebook

Australia's Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is set to offer banking via Facebook by the end of this year, in which people can pay each other and receive money electronically. David Lindberg, executive general manager of card payments and retail strategy, said the bank is set to introduce a Facebook banking application, which is currently in beta testing stage, and had taken into consideration the lack of privacy and security of Facebook in its design as it was further developed. The bank has demonstrated the Facebook banking application that will allow customers to do all their banking transactions, including paying others and collecting money without leaving the social network. The service, which will allow users to see their statements, pay with Bpay, transfer money between accounts and request payments from friends or groups, is likely to be launched by December 2012.

Former Nokia employees to launch MeeGo smartphone

A Finnish startup, formed by former Nokia employees and using technology ditched by the handset maker, plans to launch its first smartphone later this year, entering an already crowded market. The startup, Jolla, will use MeeGo software, created by Nokia and Intel in 2010-2011, for its products. Linux-based MeeGo has found use in netbooks and car infotainment systems, but so far has been deployed in just one smartphone model, the Nokia N9. Finland's Nokia last year swapped its own software platforms, MeeGo and Symbian, for Microsoft's untried Windows Phone - a move that has hit its sales and sent its share price crashing. It has yet to disclose N9 sales figures.

RBI launches website to explain detection of fake currency

Seeking to spread awareness among public about fake notes, the Reserve Bank has launched a website explaining ways to detect counterfeit notes. With a tagline 'Pehchano Paise Ki Boli, Kyunki Paisa Bolta Hai', the website -- www.paisaboltahai.rbi.org.in -- gives visual presentation with pointers on currency notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 rupee denominations. Consumers have the option to download posters of these currency notes, which can be used as reference to identify counterfeit notes. A documentary film on it can also be downloaded. RBI said considering there were 64,577 million pieces of banknotes in circulation as on March 31, 2011, the detection of forged notes during 2010-11 was to the tune of 6.74 pieces per million pieces of banknotes in circulation.

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Wipro bets big on Latin America, APAC

Country's third largest software firm Wipro is betting big on emerging geographies like Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa and expects to see strong growth in the region despite slowdown in the US and Europe. About 6-7 years back, the emerging geographies and focus markets contributed just 3-4 per cent. Today its 16-17 per cent of our global IT-BPO revenues come from these regions. Wipro's IT services revenue stood at USD 1.5 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, while its revenue for 2011-12 stood at USD 5.9 billion. Wipro has three delivery centres in Latin America -- Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro and New Mexico City and has about 850 people. Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro have been increasing their focus on emerging geographies as clients in US and Europe facing economic slowdown are slashing their IT budgets. The US and Europe make up about 85 per cent of the revenues for the USD 100 billion Indian IT-BPO industry.

Samsung plans to launch Windows RT-based tablet

Tech giant Samsung has said that it plans to come out with a Windows tablet this fall, after the a court ruling upheld the sales ban on one of its current tablets, Galaxy 10.1. Samsung has said it is working on a tablet that will run the Windows RT operating system, part of Microsoft's line of Windows 8 software and is expected to be launched in October 2012.

Alcatels Chennai centre leads in patent filing

French telecom provider Alcatel-Lucents research and development centre in Chennai has filed nearly half of the total patents filed by the company out of India. The centre has filed nearly 75 patents out of the total 150 patents filed by our Indian arm. Currently, Chennai has global R&D ownership in major product lines, including fixed access element management system, said Mr. Munish Seth, President and Managing Director, India Regional Unit, Alcatel-Lucent India Ltd. The company, which has research labs in Gurgaon, Noida, Chennai and Bangalore.

Sundaram Business inks new deals in Australia

Sundaram Business Services (SBS), the business process outsourcing (BPO) arm of Sundaram Finance Ltd., is expanding its presence in Australia. The company has a strong presence in Australia with around 200 people in Chennai servicing over 30 Australian customers. Sundaram Business Services provides backoffice services for administrators of self-managed super-annuation funds (SMSF) as well as book-keeping and portfolio management back-office services.

Apple loses British suit over Samsung Galaxy Tab

South Koreas Samsung won a patent battle against U.S. rival Apple, with a British judge ruling that Samsungs Galaxy tablet was not cool enough to be confused with Apples iPad. Britains high court ruled that the Galaxy tablet made by Samsung, the worlds largest electronics company, did not infringe Apples registered design and that consumers were not likely to confuse it with the iPad tablet.

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Genpact set to buy Triumph Engg

BPO major Genpact, said it would acquire U.S.-based Triumph Engineering Corp, which provides engineering and technical services to aviation, energy, and oil and gas industries, for an undisclosed amount. Triumph enhanced Genpacts services portfolio for the infrastructure and manufacturing sector by adding capabilities in the large and high-growth segment of engineering and technical services.

SAIL plans Rs.1.31 lakh crore investment to raise capacity

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) plans to invest a whopping Rs.1.31 lakh crore to expand its production capacity to 45 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2020, its Chairman C. S. Verma, said. SAIL, which operates five integrated steel plants, plans to expand capacity at four of them, leaving IISCO Steel plant at Burnpur out of the expansion purview. The capacity is proposed to be expanded the maximum in Bokaro Steel Plant to 16.75 mtpa from 4.62 mtpa following the ongoing expansions. The Durgapur facilitys capacity would be increased to 8.8 mtpa from 2.2 mtpa. Three mtpa capacity would be raised in both Durgapur and Rourkela steel plants. India currently ranks as the fourth largest steel-maker in the world with around 80 mtpa installed capacity, which is likely to go up to 150 mtpa by 2020 with investments from both public and private sectors. The potential of steel demand in the country is huge as per capita consumption of steel, at 57 kg, lags far behind the world average of 214.7 kg and Chinas average of 459.8 kg. The average is worse when compared with other Asian peers such as Japan and South Korea at 506.7 kg and 1,156.6 kg, respectively.

BRAC Bank ties up with Remit2Home to offer online money transfers

BRAC Bank has tied up with Remit2Home to offer expatriate Bangladeshis an easy and secure way to transfer money back home. An agreement to this effect was signed on July 8 at the bank's head office in Dhaka between BRAC Bank and TimesofMoney. Remit2Home is an initiative of TimesofMoney, the pioneers in e-payments and cross-border remittances, serving over a million expatriates worldwide. With this association, Remit2Home services shall be available to the Non Resident Bangladeshi (NRB) community staying in US and UK. The NRBs in these countries can use Remit2Home to transfer money online 24x7, directly from their bank account abroad to beneficiaries in Bangladesh. BRAC Bank currently holds the 3rd position among the private sector banks by bringing almost 5% of the total remittance in Bangladesh. In the last fiscal year, BRAC Bank received around USD 637 million and executed approximately 1.5 million remittance transactions.

No service tax on NRI remittances

Government has sought to clarify that no service tax is to be levied on the amount of foreign currency remitted to India from abroad, as according to the newly introduced negative list regime, the amended definition of service does not include transaction in money. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) explained that in the negative list regime, service has been defined in Clause (44) of Section 65B of the Finance Act, 1994, as amended, which excludes transaction in money. As the amount of remittance comprises money, the activity does not comprise a service and thus not subjected to service tax,it said.

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TDSAT notice to DoT on hike in Internet licence fee

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has asked the government to file a reply over the plea of Internet service providers opposing imposition of licence fee of 4 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR). A TDSAT bench, headed by Justice S. B. Sinha, has issued notice to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology asking it to file the reply within two weeks. The tribunal has also granted time to service providers; lobby group Internet Service Providers Association (ISPAI) to file rejoinder and listed the matter to August 8 for next hearing.

Fiat eyes UV segment; Jeep, 500X models on radar for India

With an eye on the fast growing Indian utility vehicles segment, Italian car major Fiat said it could bring brands from Fiat-Chrysler portfolio, including Jeep and 500X, to the country. The company is currently in the process of registering its own entity in India to take care of commercial operations, such as sales and after sales business, after ending its distribution association with Tata Motors Lots of brands with sports utility vehicle (SUV) or SUV-like products are coming to India. The segment is growing. The next probable brand from Fiat-Chrysler for the Indian market is Jeep, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd (FIAL) Senior Vice President (Commercial) Enrico Atanasio told. Fiats plans for the utility vehicle segment comes on a day when SIAM revised the growth projection of the segment upward to 29-31 per cent in this fiscal from 10-12 per cent announced in April.

Ranbaxy CEO planning expansion in US, elsewhere

The head of Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd says hes charging ahead with plans to expand sales in the crucial US market, despite extra oversight from American regulators over quality questions that have blocked imports of 31 of its medicines. Ranbaxy, which almost exclusively makes generic pills, particularly is aiming to regularly be first on the US market with just-approved generic drugs, CEO Arun Sawhney told. His goal is to nab the six-month windfall period when theres usually only one generic version on sale, for roughly 25 per cent less than the price of the brand-name drug whose patent just ended. Ranbaxy, the top-selling pharmaceutical company in India, is just the 12th-largest generic drugmaker in the US by number of prescriptions filled. But in just a few years, its US sales have risen from about a quarter to a third of its total revenue, which was about $ 2.1 billion last year In the first quarter of 2012, global sales jumped 55percent to about $736 million.

Facebook launches App Centre in India

Facebook has launched its application centre, App Centre, in India and six other countries, a move that will help users to find games, music services and other media content easily. The social networking giant had launched the App Centre in the US in June 2012. The App Centre is now available to everyone in the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K., Facebook Software Engineer Drew Hoskins said. Facebook also added a localisation tool to the App Dashboard that would allow developers to translate the names and descriptions of their apps into other languages.

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Rs. 1,000 cr minimum capital mooted for holding company of new bank

Banks and institutions have suggested to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that the minimum capital required for the proposed non-operative holding company (NOHC) of new banks in the private sector should be Rs. 1,000 crore instead of Rs. 500 crore. The RBI released the gist of comments and suggestions received on the draft guidelines for licensing of new banks in the private sector, which were placed on its website on August 29, 2011.

SAIL, Kobe Steel sign MoA

Taking forward their proposal to set up a 0.5 million tonne per annum iron ore nugget plant at the Alloy Steel Plant of the Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) in Durgapur, SAIL and Kobe Steel of Japan entered into a memorandum of agreement (MoA) in Tokyo. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for this project was signed on November 30, 2010.

L&T arm buys Malaysian firm

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the engineering conglomerate, has acquired Malaysian company Henikwon Corporation Sdn Bhd for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was made by L&Ts Malaysia-based whollyowned subsidiary, Tamco Switchgear. According to statement from Tamco, Henikwon Corporation is a leading manufacturer of low voltage (LV) and medium voltage (MV) bus duct systems. The Henikwon acquisition brings a strong customer base of large corporations to Tamco, it said. Bus duct is a modern, efficient and cost-effective means of providing motive power and replaces conventional cabling system.

SAIL, Nalco & Hind Copper to jointly bid for Afghan gold, copper mines

Aluminium producer Nalco, in consortium with steel major SAIL and Hindustan Copper, will submit a bid for developing gold and copper deposits in Afghanistan. The consortium of Indian PSUs is among the 25 companies/ consortia from the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, the UAE, Turkey and Afghanistan that have been shortlisted by the Afghan Government in April for developing its gold and copper mines. Two private Indian firms Monnet Ispat & Energy and Jindal Steel & Power have also been short-listed by the Afghan Government for the copper and gold mines. The two firms had been invited to join the consortium of stateowned entities, so that a single Indian bid could be put up, Hindustan Coppers Chairman Shakeel Ahmed had said.

RPower ties up $1.1 b Chinese loans for Sasan project

Reliance Power has tied up loans of $1.1 billion (over Rs. 6,000 crore) from three Chinese lenders for its upcoming 3,960 MW Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project in Madhya Pradesh. The State Council of Government of China has granted the final approval for Chinese banks to finance the project. These loans would be provided by Bank of China, China Development Bank and The Export Import Bank of China, along with Standard Chartered Bank. The long-term loans have a duration of over 13 years. The Sasan project, being set at a cost of about $4 billion, would start power generation in December, 2012. The Chinese banks had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Reliance Power to finance $12 billion for its projects in October, 2010.

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M&M shelves vehicle plan for U.S. market

Mahindra & Mahindra has shelved the development of a vehicle meant for the U.S. market citing regulatory issues and market situation. Since 2006, M&M has been working on the development of a vehicle for the U.S. market. However, it recently decided not to proceed further with the project due to changes in the US regulatory and market situation, the company said. The company would continue to monitor the U.S. situation and remained flexible with its approach to this market. The auto major had planned to enter the utility vehicles market in the U.S. around 2008-09 but ran into problems with erstwhile exclusive distributor Global Vehicles dragging it to court over delay in launch of pick-up truck based on the Scorpio platform. Earlier in June 2012, a group of automobile dealers in the U.S. had filed a lawsuit against M&M, accusing fraud, misrepresentation and conspiracy that the Indian firm denied.

Peugeot to buy out Fiat in Sevelnord venture

French auto manufacturer Peugeot said that it would take over Fiats stake in its Sevelnord joint production venture in northern France. PSA Peugeot Citroen said that an agreement had been reached relative to the transfer of (Fiats) stake in their Sevelnord joint venture to PSA Peugeot Citroen on or before December 31, 2012. It said Sevelnord would, however, continue to produce light commercial vehicles for the two groups until the end of 2016. Italys Fiat said last year it wanted to get out of the venture. The move comes after PSA entered a global alliance with U.S. auto giant General Motors in February aimed at slashing costs for both and boosting their competitiveness in Europe.

Tata Chem to enter nutraceuticals

Tata Chemicals plans to enter the nutraceuticals segment as part of its plans to increase focus on its specialty and consumer products business. As a first step, it is investing around Rs.50 crore to set up a manufacturing plant. Nutraceuticals are used in the foods industry. The strategy is to be a more consumerfacing, application-driven company in the future rather than be a commodity-driven company. Tata Chemicals has a 30 per cent stake in a joint venture with Singapore-based Temasek Life Sciences and others for Jatropha-based biofuel where it invested around Rs.75 crore.

First Carlyle acquires 1.10 cr shares of Infotech

First Carlyle Ventures Mauritius (FCVM), a global private equity firm belonging to the Carlyle Group, acquired 1.10 crore shares of engineering services provider Infotech Enterprises for Rs.211 crore through open market transactions. FCVM bought 76,98,817 shares of Infotech Enterprises on the NSE, and 34,00,599 shares of the Hyderabad-based company on the BSE, according to bulk information available with the stock exchanges. The shares were purchased at Rs.190 apiece, valuing the deal at Rs.211 crore.

Carl Zeiss opens production facility

Carl Zeiss India has inaugurated a new campus and production facility in Bengaluru. The company , a global leader in the optical and opto electronic industry, is active in the fields of semi-conductor manufacturing technology, industrial metrology, microscopy, medical technology, vision care and consumer optics/optronics.

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SpiceJet plans to expand international flight services

Low-cost airline SpiceJet said it will start new flights to six countries, including Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong by end of October 2012 as part of its plan to expand international operations. We will launch flights for Kabul (Afghanistan), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), China, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Male in Maldives, CEO Neil Mills told. The company is operating its international flight services for Dubai, Kathmandu and Colombo. SpiceJet has announced expanding its services in northern region by connecting Chandigarh, Amritsar and Srinagar to Delhi. SpiceJet would have presence at 37 domestic airports. SpiceJet, which has average ticket price of Rs 4,000 for domestic flights, is operating 280 flights every day with 36,000 passengers.

Hewlett-Packard top PC seller globally: Gartner

Worldwide sales of personal computers fell 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of the year as consumers turned their attention to newer gadgets like tablets, a survey showed. Research firm Gartner showed PC shipments, excluding tablet computers, totaled 87.5 million units in the second quarter of 2012, a small drop year-over year. Hewlett-Packard continued to be the top PC seller with 14.9 per cent market share even though its global shipments declined 12.1 per cent. It was trailed closely by Lenovo at 14.7 per cent, with Acer Group third, at 11 per cent and Dell fourth at 10.7 per cent.

Vodafone to acquire TelstraClear for $662 mn

Telecom major Vodafone said it will acquire New Zealannd based TelstraClear which provides fixed telecom services in the country for NZ Dollar 840 million (over $662 million). Vodafone New Zealand has entered into an agreement to acquire TelstraClear Limited, the New Zealand business of Telstra Corporation, for a cash consideration of NZ Dollar 840 million. Vodafone New Zealand is the largest mobile operator in the country with more than 2.4 million customers, and TelstraClear is the second largest fixed operator. TelstraClear owns New Zealands second largest fixed infrastructure, which includes a 6,600 km fibre backbone connecting 19 of the countrys largest cities.

Manisha Girotra to lead Moeliss India foray

Manisha Girotra will spearhead global independent investment bank Moelis & Company's India foray as its chief executive officer. Girotra, who quit as managing director and chairperson of Swiss bank UBS AG's local unit in 2011, will set up Mumbai and New Delhi offices of Moelis. Moelis wants to vie with bigger rivals Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in advising Indian companies on mergers & acquisitions, restructuring and initial public offerings. Moelis, which advised last month's $2-billion sale of London Metal Exchange to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearings, has strong advisory practice in healthcare, auto, metals and financial industries.

ADB lowers India's growth projection to 6.5 per cent

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered the growth forecast for India to 6.5 per cent for the current fiscal, from the earlier 7 per cent projection, on the back of subdued demand and high inflation. India's economy is now expected to grow by 6.5 per cent in 2012, down from the previous forecast of 7 per cent. India's outlook is clouded by a combination of high inflation and poor demand, both externally and internally,"

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the ADB said in its 'Outlook Supplement' report. The Manila-based multilateral lender has also lowered the India's growth forecast for 2013 to 7.3 per cent, from the 7.5 per cent projection made in April 2012.

Gujarat, Germany to set up business centre

A German Indian business centre (GIBC) has been proposed in the state to facilitate business opportunities between Germany and Gujarat for setting up of offices, technology transfers and joint ventures. The centre will facilitate investment between companies in Germany and Gujarat. Among other activities, GIBC will facilitate acquisition of German companies for Gujarat companies along with taking care of due diligence. The centre will also scout for and register technology partners in both countries. Germany is the largest trading partner of India in the European Union (EU). Despite the financial challenges in EU, trade is increasing between the two. The proposed GIBC in Gujarat will act as a bridge between Gujarat and Germany. GIBC's focus will be on sectors like energy including renewable, automotive, life sciences, engineering, laser optics, ICT, innovation, research and education. For the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2013, GIBC will bring a delegation from Germany with a focus on education and business.

Online fund transfer up to Rs 10,000 for Rs 2.5 from Aug 1

To promote cashless transactions, the Reserve Bank slashed charges for electronic transfer of funds for smaller amounts of upto Rs 10,000. From August 1, transfer of funds not over Rs 10,000 from one account to another account through National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system, will attract maximum charge of Rs 2.50 per transaction, RBI said. The notification comes a month after the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee asking the RBI to work out a mechanism so that no fee is charged from customers for electronic fund transfers. As per the existing fee structure, electronic transfer of fund up to Rs 1 lakh attracts a maximum charge of Rs 5 per transaction. As per the notification, a new slab of payment upto Rs 10,000 has been included to promote small value transactions in cashless mode. Visa, MasterCard in $6 billion settlement over card fees

Visa, MasterCard and major banks agreed to pay at least $6 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by retailers. A banking industry trade group said the settlement would allow stores to charge customers more to pay with a credit card. The dispute dates to 2005. The retailers claimed Visa, MasterCard and the banks conspired to fix the fees that stores pay to accept credit and debit cards. The fees average about 2 percent of the price of a purchase. Most major US banks were defendants. The merchants include grocery chains Kroger and Safeway and the Rite Aid drugstore chain. Lenovo may pip Hewlett-Packard to become world's biggest PC maker

Lenovo is on track to overtake Hewlett-Packard as the world's biggest PC maker by sales, making it the first Chinese company to grab the top spot globally in a technology sector. The ThinkPad maker's rise highlights the advance of China's technology firms on the world stage in recent years thanks to a combination of aggressive pricing, overseas acquisitions and their taking advantage of a fast-growing home market. Lenovo, which became the world's No. 2 PC vendor in the third quarter of 2011, had a 14.9 percent global market share in the April-June quarter this year, a mere 0.6 percentage point away from HP's 15.5 per cent, according to research firm IDC's latest data. Figures from industry tracker Gartner show an even narrower gap, with Lenovo just 0.2 percentage point from HP.

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Chip-maker Nvidia's 400,000 user accounts hacked

US semiconductor maker Nvidia says up to 400,000 users of its forums have had their encrypted passwords compromised in attacks dating back to early July. It's the latest in a stream of data thefts which has hit major internet companies over the past few weeks. Search provider Yahoo, networking sites LinkedIn and FormSpring, and dating site eHarmony have all recently reported breaches which collectively compromised the online credentials of millions of users. Nokia reduces Lumia 900's price by 50%

Nokia Oyj has cut the US price of its flagship smartphone in half, barely three months after its launch, in an effort to stanch losses in market share to rivals such as Apple and Samsung Electronics. The cost of the 'Lumia 900' Windows phone has been reduced to $49.99 from $99 with a two-year agreement. Featuring a 4.3-inch screen, 1.4GHz processor and 8-megapixel camera, the Lumia 900 uses largely untried software from Microsoft. Microsoft, NBC end MSNBC.com joint venture

Microsoft is pulling out of the joint venture that owned MSNBC.com, freeing the world's largest software maker to build its own online news service. The breakup announced dissolves the final shreds of a 16-year marriage between Microsoft and NBC News, which is now owned by Comcast. The relationship began to unwind in 2005 when Microsoft sold its stake in MSNBC's cable TV channel to NBC. NBC is buying Microsoft's 50 percent interest in the MSNBC website for an undisclosed amount. MSNBC.com will be rebranded as NBCNews.com, and readers who logged into MSNBC.com. The website will move its headquarters from Microsoft's corporate campus in Redmond, Washington, to NBC News' in New York. Citi planning Facebook banking

Global banking giant Citi has turned to the social media to gauge the public mood on offering banking transactions through Facebook a service already being offered by Indian banking giant ICICI Bank. USbased Citigroup attracted the attention of hundreds of people within minutes of it posting messages on social networking platforms Twitter and Facebook about banking services on Facebook. Citi is known for having brought many innovations into the world of banking, including the advent of 24X7 banking through ATMs and various other smart banking offerings. ICICI Bank launched its Facebook banking application, through which its customers can carry out a number of banking related tasks such as checking account details, getting account statements, upgrading debit card and cheque book enquiry.

Nalco may buy Indonesian company for Rs 8,000 crore

Aluminum producer Nalco is in talks to buy Indonesias Ashan Aluninum (Inalum) for up to Rs 8,000 crore, in what could be the largest overseas acquisition by state-owned metal firm. A Japanese consortium holds 59 per cent stake in Inalum, which owns a 2.1 lakh tons capacity aluminum plant in North Sumatra province while the rest is with Indonesian government. Inalum was set up in 1976 as a joint venture between the Indonesia Government and Nippon Asahan Aluminium, a consortium between 12 Japanese companies and government. Initially, the shareholding ratio between the Indonesian Government and NAA was 10 per cent and 90 per cent respectively.

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Power Grid in talks with SAIL, NALCO for equipment JV

In a major diversification plan, State-run Power Grid Corporation is in discussions with three companies, including SAIL, for setting up an equal joint venture to manufacture trans mission equipment. Power Grid Corporation of India sets up electricity transmission network. The overall investment in the joint venture would be around Rs 300 crore and Power Grid is expected to select a partner for the joint venture from these three PSUs this year. Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), National Aluminium Company (NALCO) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) are major players in the steel and minerals sector. At present, Power Grid sources transmission equipment from various private players.

Officer's Choice unseats Mallya's McDowell's from top slot

The bad times that Vijay Mallya is going through with his airline have spilled onto his staple spirits business with his UB Group now losing the crown as the owners of the world's largest selling whisky brand McDowell's to bete noire Officer's Choice. The McDowell's whisky, after reigning as the world leader for many years, has now been relegated to a distant third position. According to a July 2012 report from the globally renowned trade magazine International Wine & Spirits Research (IWSR), the Officer's Choice whisky, from the house of Kishore Chhabria-held Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD) is the world's largest selling whisky with a volume sale of 17.10 million cases in 2011. Meanwhile, the world's No 1 spirits brand is the Jinro from the Korean beer major Hite Brewery, with 64.59 million cases in 2011. The Jinro is called Shochu/Soju in Korea and is comparable to vodka.

IMF pares Indias growth to 6.1 %

With global recovery weakening further, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has marginally reduced Indias growth projections from 6.8 per cent to 6.1 per cent for 2012 and from 7.2 per cent to 6.5 per cent in 2013. In the past three months, the global recovery, which was not strong to start with, has shown signs of further weakness, the 188-nation global financial monitor said. Financial market and sovereign stress in the euro area periphery have ratcheted up, close to end-2011 levels. Growth in a number of major emerging market economies, notably Brazil, China and India, has been lower than forecast, IMFs World Economic Outlook said.

Ford cuts prices of Classic variant

Ford India has slashed the price of the top-end variant of its entry level sedan Classic by up to Rs.70,000 by introducing new petrol and diesel options. The new variant Titanium of the Ford Classic sedan will replace the previously existing top-end option SXi The new variant comes with nine new features, Ford India VicePresident (Marketing) Anurag Mehrotra said. The price of the new petrol variant starts at Rs.6.86 lakh, while the diesel one begins with Rs.7.82 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Earlier, the Classic SXi was priced at Rs.7.56 lakh for petrol variant, while it was Rs.8.5 lakh in the case of a diesel option.

DCNS seeks Indian partners for Scorpene project

DCNS, a leading French firm in naval defence, is looking for tie-ups with Indian companies for production of equipment for Scorpene submarines, six of which will be delivered to the Indian Navy between the end of

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2013 and 2018.The company had already entered into contracts with three Indian firms, including Hyderabad-based SEC. DCNS is also bidding for Indian Navys requirement for LPD (Landing Platform Dock).

BOC India lands Tata Steel deal

BOC India Limited (BOCI), a member of The Linde Group,has announced that it had bagged a major longterm industrial gases supply contract from Tata Steel for the first phase of its greenfield integrated steelworks project in Kalinganagar in Odisha. BOCI will invest 80 million euro to construct two large new air separation plants, each with a capacity of 1,200 tonnes per day, to supply gaseous oxygen, nitrogen and argon to meet the production requirements of the new plant. BOCIs new air separation plants, to be commissioned in 2014, will also produce liquid products to meet the growing demand for gases in the merchant market.

Ashwin Chadha joins Barclays

British bank Barclays has appointed Ashwin Chadha as a director in wealth and investment management division in New Delhi. Mr. Chadha joins the bank from Citi, where he was the country head for investment distribution. Barclays, which is facing a crisis due to the resignation of its top-brass in Britain following a scandal wherein its executives are alleged to be have rigged the Libor rates, has been operating its wealth and investment management business in the country since 2008.

ITV Media acquires NewsX for an undisclosed sum

Information TV (ITV) that operates Hindi news channel India News has said it has acquired English news channel NewsX for an undisclosed sum. ITV is a part of the Capital-based Piccadilly Group of Companies that has multiple interests in print as well as electronic media. NewsX was founded by former Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea as part of INX Media that also included music and entertainment channels. GlaxoSmithKline to acquire Human Genome for $3 billion

GlaxoSmithKline is to acquire its long-time partner Human Genome Sciences Inc for a sweetened offer of about $3 billion, ending on friendly terms a three-month hostile pursuit of the US biotech company. The purchase price excludes Human Genome's cash and debt. Including cash and debt, the deal values Human Genome at about $3.6 billion. Britain's biggest drug maker agreed to raise its cash bid to $14.25 a share from a previous $13, which Human Genome had rejected as inadequate. ONGC to reward each Olympic gold medal winner with Rs 25 lakh

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), the Principal Sponsor of the Indian contingent to London Olympics 2012, will give Rs 25 lakh to each Indian Olympian who secures a Gold medal. ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva said that this applies to not only ONGC Olympians, but to all Indian Olympians. "ONGC would give Rs 15 lakh for Silver and Rs 10 lakh for Bronze medals," he said. ONGC has, on its rolls, 185 sportspersons, 63 of them are current international level achievers, while 64 are past internationals and the remaining are national level achievers. Among the international level achievers both past and present includes 17 National Awardees (one Khel Ratna, two Padma Shri, 14 Arjun Awardees).

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Chinese firm offers Dhaka relief on Padma bridge project

In the midst of a protracted row between the Bangladesh government and the World Bank over funding of the countrys biggest project, a Chinese company has come up with a concrete proposal to build the $2.9billion Padma Multipurpose Bridge. The company, based in Australia, has assured interest-free credit amounting to 70 per cent of the project cost. said a senior government source. World Bank (WB) cancelled its $ 1. 2 billion loan for the project recently on corruption charges. WBs withdrawal threw a challenge to the Sheikh Hasina government as the bridge, which would connect south western Bangladesh with the capital and Chittagong sea port, will have serious economic and political bearings.

U.S. to soon get hypersonic bombers

U.S. is close to developing a hypersonic bomber able to reach any target on the globe in under an hour. The military hopes to fly such planes capable of moving at 20 times the speed of sound by 2016, The vehicle would be recoverable. The hypersonic bomber codenamed the XPlane will travel at Mach 20 (roughly 20,900 kmph) and the project is being carried out by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Decision on Nexavar not against the law

India has not taken any arbitrary decision or gone against the law in issuing compulsory licence for the generic production of patented anti-cancer drug Nexavar, Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma said the U.S. and European companies had done the same on number of occasions. Mr. Sharma said India had intellectual property in patents regime which was in conformity with all the international protocols. JSPL scraps $2.1 billion mining project in Bolivia

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) has terminated its $2.1 billion mining and steel venture in Bolivia over fuel supply woes. The termination comes due to the non-investor friendly attitude of the Bolivian Government, JSPL said. The project was considered as the largest foreign direct investment in the Latin American country. The company took the decision after all its efforts to resolve the issues and take the project forward did not meet with success.

Mobile use up six fold since 2000

More than 30 billion apps were downloaded in 2011 and three-quarters of the world's inhabitants now have access to a mobile phone. India has 70 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, a new report from the World Bank says. "Mobile communication has arguably had a bigger impact on humankind in a shorter period of time than any other invention in human history," the "Information and Communications for Development 2012: Maximizing Mobile" report released by the World Bank says. The number of mobile phones in use has skyrocketed from less then 1 billion in 2000 to 6 billion in 2012. Indian mobile users speak for 330 minutes per month on average, or 11 minutes per day, down from 425 minutes per user per month.

Spices Board unveils mobile tele-network

The Spice Board of India announced the launch of a programme to connect with farmers on a mobile telenetwork for direct interface. It has also set up a community of spice farmers in Tamil Nadu in collaboration with IFFCO Kissan Sanchar Limited (IKSL), enlisting around 6,000 farmers under the Tamil Nadu Spices Community in the initial stage to benefit the programme. Through the mobile tele-network, the spices farmers

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would be informed daily about the prices and schemes, projects and announcements from the board through voice messages. The farmers would benefit from voice messages related to various aspects of spices cultivation, processing, marketing and exports. IKSL would issue green cards to the farmers free of cost during enrollment as member of the spices communities and these SIM cards could help the farmers in receiving the voice messages daily from the Board. Starting from Tamil Nadu, the service would be extended to Kerala, Karnataka, Sikkim, North Eastern States, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The farmers could also contact the call centres for more deliberations.

Yahoo! names Google's Mayer as new CEO

Yahoo! named 37-year-old Marissa Mayer, a key Google team member, as its chief executive, making her among the most prominent women in technology and corporate America. The appointment effective signals a renewed focus on product innovation to drive user experience and advertising revenue for one of the world's largest consumer Internet brands, Yahoo! Said. At Google, Mayer was responsible for local and geographical products including Google Maps, Google Earth, Zagat, Street View, and local search for desktop and mobile. She joined Google in 1999 as its 20th employee.

Supreme Court orders Essar Oil to pay Rs 1000 crore tax dues to Gujarat govt by July 30

The Supreme Court has asked the Ruias owned Essar Oil to pay dues of Rs 1,000 crore as sales tax to the Gujarat government by July 30, following which the coercive action taken by Gujarat government to force immediate payment of the remaining principal amount of over $1 billion would be stayed. Shares of Essar Oil, a unit of the London listed Essar Energy Plc. Gujarat government sealed three bank accounts of the company in a bid to recover Rs 8,000 crore dues, including interest towards deferred tax liability after the Gujarat high court directed the state government to expedite the recovery process from the company.

Microsoft behind worlds most viewed photograph

If you owned a Windows XP computer, then you viewed the image that has recently been called the world's most viewed photograph. Called the Bliss, it is the default wallpaper for the Luna theme of Microsoft's XP operating system, which was a big hit for the company. This success of the OS brought the photograph to the living rooms of as many as a billion people, if a blog is to be believed. However, Charles O'Rear, the photographer who clicked the iconic picture, feels that the one-billion-figure is an educated guess rather than a fully-accounted-for statistic. Nevertheless, he does agree that the picture is easily one of the most recognisable across the world. O'Rear took the picture five years before Windows XP was rolled out, when he was passing through Napa Valley in California.

HTC phones to support Hindi, Tamil and Marathi

Taiwan-based HTC has become the first global smartphone brand to roll out full-language support for Hindi, Tamil and Marathi script on its range of smartphones. Users will be able to read and type in Hindi, Tamil and Marathi through all messaging functions on HTC smartphones launched this year, while browsing the internet and all applications available through Google Play. The devices with Indian language support includes HTC One X, HTC One S, HTC One V, Desire C and Desire V. The company is also rolling out Bengali language viewing capability from August 2012.

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Penguin launches e-books

Penguin Books India has launched its first instalment of e-books, with over 200 titles presently available, paving the way for a fledgling e-book market. While the announcement precedes Flipkarts proposed e-book launch, the company is initially targeting major international retailers such as Amazon and Apple and plans on including Indian retailers soon. E-books, which by the end of the year will contribute to 5 per cent of Penguin Book Indias revenue, have become popular due to the rapid growth of tablets and smartphones along with expansion of the Indian publishing industry. Presently, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry estimates that the publishing industry is growing at a compounded rate of 30 per cent annually.

UST Global in pact with Centro Fox of Mexico

UST Global, a California-based provider of IT (information technology) services and solutions with significant presence in India, has inked an exclusive partnership pact with Centro Fox, headed by former President of Mexico Vicente Fox. Centro Fox, the state-of-the-art presidential library and learning centre dedicated to leadership development throughout Mexico and Latin America, is a non-profit organisation. The partnership will result in the expansion of UST Globals innovative IT services and solutions to support the Latin American operations of global enterprises, as well as local organisations based within the region.

Alphabetics Computer launches first educational tablet PC

With an eye on the fast-growing e-learning education sector, Alphabetics Computer Services, launched its first educational tablet PC, TabGuru. It will be available in 7-inch and 10-inch screens. It uses the Android 4.0.3 operating system. It is priced at Rs.9,999 for Alpha Edu-I and Rs.14,999 for Alpha Edu-II, and will be launched across 5,000 touch-points in a month. Pankaj Kurulkar, CMD, Alphabetics Computer Services, said, The education sector in India, at $600 billion, is huge. Private education is growing at 19 per cent annually, and is expected to reach $45 billion by 2015. While e-learning is present for a decade and is currently undergoing consolidation, it is expected to grow at 20 per cent annually. The high cost of infrastructure to enable e-learning is a deterrent to growth. He said the TabGurus content would be a mix of animation and video format for English and regional schools from first to twelfth standard across SSC, ICSE and CBSC Boards. Weighing 345 gram, it has a 512 MB RAM, 4GB expandable to 32GB.

Grasim to set up VSF plant in Turkey

Aditya Birla Group company Grasim Industries is working on setting up a $500 million (Rs.2,764 crore) plant in Turkey for producing viscose staple fibre (VSF), a raw material used for making apparels and home textiles. A 1.80 lakh-tonnes per annum greenfield plant in Turkey is in planning stage, Grasim Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said. Grasim would invest $500 million over the next five years to set up the facility along with a captive power plant and sulphuric acid plant. It would come up in two phases. In the cement sector, Grasim is investing Rs.10,400 crore for expanding capacity in the existing plants in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka by 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to take the total to 62 mtpa.

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Irish group CRH enters fray to buy Jaiprakash Associates' cement plants

CRH Plc, the $13.7-billion Irish building materials group, has entered the fray to buy Jaiprakash Associates' cement plants in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, after the Indian company's discussions with the AV Birla Group got stuck due to differences over valuation and other issues. The deal, if it materialises, is expected to fetch Rs 8,000-9,000 crore for Jaiprakash Associates and will help the company reduce its total consolidated debt of about Rs 45,000 crore.

SWIFT to expand footprint in India

Belgium-based financial transaction SMS provider SWIFT is working on a partnership with eight leading Indian banks to form a joint company by 2012-end to expand its footprint in banking and financial sector of India. The Reserve Bank of India has given in-principle approval in April for the company which would be incorporated by end of 2012 in Mumbai. The Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) is a non-profit co-operative-based global service provider handles 15 million messages per day from more than 9,000 banks in over 200 countries. More than 120 Indian banks currently use SWIFT network.

Isuzu plans to launch low-cost LCVs in India

Japanese commercial vehicle maker Isuzu will introduce low-cost light commercial vehicles(LCV) in India by the end of 2012 as fully imported units, and plans to set up a production facility in the future. Sale of the LCVs, which will be shipped from Thailand in the form of finished vehicles and knocked down kits, will begin before the end of 2012. To commence operations, the 1,400 billion yen Japanese firm, will establish a whollyowned subsidiary under a proposed name Isuzu Motors India Pvt. Ltd. in August that will be headquartered in Chennai.

Chevron buys 80 % stake in RILs oil blocks in Iraq

U.S. oil giant Chevron Corporation, has announced that it had bought 80 per cent stake in Reliance Industries Limiteds (RILs) two oil blocks in Kurdistan region of Iraq for an undisclosed amount. Austrias OMV AG will continue to maintain its 20 per cent interest in each of the two blocks. RILs exit from the blocks is in line with its portfolio rationalisation strategy of international assets and to create value for the E&P segment. RIL will continue to look for opportunities to invest globally. The company had, in 2007, paid a signing amount of $15.5-17.5 million to autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) for the two blocks that were believed to hold one billion barrels of oil reserves. After the exit from Kurdistan, RIL is left with a portfolio of 11 overseas oil and gas assets including two in Peru, three in Yemen (one producing and two exploratory), two each in Oman, and Colombia, one each in East Timor and Australia. Last year, RIL sold its majority participation interest in two blocks in Oman and one in East Timor.

Chinese firm pips GAIL at the post to win Ghana project

In yet another instance of India losing out to an aggressive China, a consortium led by state-run GAIL (India) has lost the race to Sinopec of China for a major gas pipeline project in Ghana, West Africa. Similarly, Ghana has preferred China for development of various infrastructure projects, including laying cross-country railway network. This development could put a question mark over the future of setting up a $1.2-billion fertilizer

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plant by Rashtriya Fertilizer Limited (RFL) in Ghana under the $5-billion credit line by Exim Bank of India as the contentious issue of price of gas continued to hold back the progress of the project announced in 2010.

Lufthansa plans global launch of B-747-8 from Delhi

India will become the first country in Asia to see the debut of Lufthansas sophisticated new business class state-of-the-art Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental (B747-8) on August 6 through a global launch. The airline has chosen India as second market worldwide for the all-new Queen of the Skies. The arrival of the B747-8 also turns India into the Asian launch market for Lufthansas new business class. The B747-8 is configured with eight first-class, 92 business class and 262 economy class seats. It will replace the Boeing 747-400 now serving the Frankfurt-Delhi route. Lufthansa will also introduce the new aircraft on its Frankfurt-Bangalore route later 2012.

iPhone 3GS now offered at Rs 9,999 by Aircel

Apple iPhone 3GS is now available at Rs 9,999 with Aircel. This is huge cut-back in the price of the device, which is currently available at Rs 20,908 with Airtel. However, this offer on iPhone 3GS is available on postpaid connections only. Aircel is offering the third generation iPhone with an advance rental of Rs 3,000. For this advance rental, buyers would access unlimited 3G data for a year. In 3G circles, users would be eligible for 2GB of data at 3G speeds and unlimited data access at 3G rates thereafter. In 2G-only areas, buyers would have unlimited 2,500 local and national SMS, 100 minutes of local and STD calls and unlimited 2G data for a period of 6 months.

Flipkart hikes minimum order value for free delivery

India's largest online retailer Flipkart has increased its minimum order value to avail of free home delivery from Rs 200 to Rs 300 signalling the e-tailer's intent to end the price competitiveness it offered, especially in the books segment. The move comes at a time when the e-tailer, backed by Accel Partners and Tiger Global, is trying to prune its cash burn and improve margins even as it looks out for further funding. Flipkart, often compared with American online retail behemoth Amazon, started off selling books at dirt cheap prices but with the latest development, industry watchers say, the poster boy of Indian e-commerce is slowly moving away from its core customer base.

Tata Power in coal supply pact with Indonesian firm

Tata Power has announced that it had entered into a long-term fuel supply agreement with Indonesian firm PT Antang Gunung Meratus. The company said Tata Power had entered into a long-term coal supply agreement with PT Antang Gunung Meratus, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Indonesian company PT Baramulti Sukses Sarana. Tata Powers subsidiary, Khopoli Investments Limited, has also entered into an agreement to take up to 26 per cent stake in PT Baramulti Sukses Sarana. The group owns about 1 billion tonnes of coal resources in South and East Kalimantan in Indonesia. Tata Power already has 30 per cent equity stakes in two major Indonesian thermal coal producers, PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Arutmin Indonesia, and a related trading company owned by PT Bumi Resources Tbk.

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Euro nations seal $122 billion bail-out deal for Spanish banks

The eurozone nations have sealed a deal to provide rescue loans up to 100 billion euro ($122 billion) to Spains ailing banks amid speculation that debt-laden Spanish government may also eventually seek a bailout. Finance Ministers of the 17-nation euro group finalised the details of financial support for Spanish banks in a video conference, a day after the German parliament endorsed the rescue plan with a large majority. The Spanish government made a formal request for support from the EU on June 25. Spain is the fourth eurozone nation to receive a bail-out from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Adidas to close only wholly-owned factory in China

Adidas confirmed that it would close its only company-owned factory in Suzhou, east Chinas Jiangsu province, in October this year signalling a strategic transition by the German sportswear giant to fully subcontracted production

De Beers to expand in India

Diamond major De Beers, through its brand Forevermark, is looking at India to contribute around 10 per cent of its global sales in five years and aims to expand in the country by increasing its number of retailers. Forevermark recently held a trade forum, where retailers and its diamantaires came together to discuss marketing strategies and a road map for the coming years. At present, China and Hong Kong account for over half of its sales globally. This is followed by the markets of India, the U.S. and Japan. According to Stephen Lussier, CEO, Forevermark, the diamond business in India is growing at 20 per cent year-on-year and the company expects to have $1 billion in global sales in the next five years. Toyota to begin engine production at Bangalore plant

Japanese auto major Toyota would begin engine production from its manufacturing facility in Bangalore next month. Toyota plans to manufacture about one lakh engines and and 2.40 lakh transmission units from the facility. Toyota Kirloskar is a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan and Kirloskar Systems, Bangalore. In 2011, Toyota Kirloskar had announced it would set up of an engine plant and expand its transmissions unit to cater to its latest sedan Etios and hatchback Etios Liva, with a combined investment of Rs 500 crore. 1500 units had already been shipped to South Africa.

Malaysia-based PE firm Navis Capital to sell Nirula's stake to A2Z Excursions

Malaysia -based private equity firmNavis Capital Partners is selling all assets in fast-food restaurant chain Nirula's to A2Z Excursions (A2Z), a privately-held business group involved in the hotels and real estate business, run by entrepreneur Pradeep Chadha. Nirula's, which had kicked off a rage in the mid-1980s as an iconic fast food restaurant chain with its footlong pizzas and hot chocolate fudge, could not capitalise on its first-mover advantage. Starting a decade back, it began losing out to competition from established global players in this space such as McDonald's and Yum Restaurants-promoted Pizza Hut and KFC. That was the time multinational food chains began aggressively investing money into the country and India along with China were singled out as high-potential bastions of growth.

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HTC sells 25% stake in audio firm Beats Electronics

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has sold 25 per cent of its holding in audio technology firm Beats Electronics back to Beats' founders, but said it will continue to work closely with the maker of high-end headphones and speakers. HTC bought 51 per cent of Beats Electronics, which was founded by US rapper and music producer Dr. Dre and Beats' current CEO Jimmy Iovine, for $309 million in August last year, a move to fend off rising competition and enhance its products and branding. HTC said it will remain Beats' largest shareholder with 25 per cent, with Beats' founders holding 75 per cent. It did not disclose the pricing of the deal.

Wipro bags multi-year contract from Philips

Wipro Technologies, the IT, consulting and outsourcing business arm of Wipro Limited, has signed a large multi-year contract with Royal Philips Electronics as latter's main global partner in its transformational programme for enhanced business growth and profitability. Financial and other details of the contract were not disclosed. As part of this strategic global engagement, Wipro will work with Philips on its transformational roadmap towards optimizing and enhancing all its business processes of idea to market, market to order and order to cash across a wide spectrum of technology-enabling platforms that include integration, user interaction and security and authorization. Wipro will also be the system integrator for key initiatives across these Philips' businesses and platforms.

CNOOC of China to buy Nexen for $15.1 b

State oil company CNOOC plans to buy Canadian rival Nexen Inc for $15.1 billion, a deal, which, if successful, would be the China's biggest foreign corporate takeover and a test of Ottawa's tolerance of outside interest in its resources. Offshore producer CNOOC said it would pay $27.50 cash a share, a 61 per cent premium to Nexen's closing price in New York.CNOOC has only nine years worth of reserves based on its current production one of the lowest ratios among major oil companies worldwide and said the deal would increase its proven reserves by 30 per cent. CNOOC made its first tentative Canadian investment in 2005, paying C$122 million ($120.8 million) for a 16.7 per cent share of the then-private oil sand developer MEG Energy Corp. The move was quickly followed by another Chinese move on Canadian oil assets, as Sinopec Corp said it would buy 49 per cent of Talisman Energy's U.K. unit for $1.5 billion.

Hindujas to foray into Indias real estate sector

The Hinduja Group, with a global presence in core sectors like oil and gas, automotive, power, IT, banking and finance, announced a major foray into the real estate sector in India involving an investment of up to $15 billion. The Group has acquired a landbank of over 3,500 acres in metros like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore for development of integrated residential and commercial townships, SEZs, with hospitality, healthcare and related facilities, the Group Chairman SP Hinduja said. These projects will involve an investment of $10 billion to $15 billion over the next five years.

Bajaj to launch third 100 ccc bike to take on Hero MotoCorp

Bajaj Auto is close to launching a third 100 cc bike - in addition to the Discover and Platina - to take on Hero MotoCorp's bread and butter products, the Splendor and the Passion, as well as Honda's new model at the

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entry level, the 110 cc Dream Yuga. Codenamed D-104, the bike is slated for launch in October-November and is expected to be aggressively priced at around Rs 40,000, a tad lower than its 100 cc and 110 cc rivals.

Eicher Motors forms equal joint venture with Polaris Industries

Commercial vehicle maker Eicher Motors, has announced its entry into the personal vehicle segment by tying up with the U.S.-based Polaris Industries to form an equal joint venture, which will invest Rs.250 crore in the next three years to set up a manufacturing facility. The JV is currently exploring a location in India to set up the plant to roll out personal vehicles by 2015 for the domestic as well as overseas markets. Eicher Motors Managing Director and CEO Siddhartha Lal said. As per the definitive agreement, both the firms have formed a 50:50 joint venture to set up a greenfield project in the automotive sector.

Ennore LPG terminal on stream

Liquefied petroleum gas bottling plants of oil marketing companies in several parts of the southern region can look forward to improved and timely availability of the product with a 1.2 million tonne LPG terminal near Chennai going on stream. A project of IndianOil Petronas Pvt. Ltd. (IPPL), a joint venture of Indian Oil Corporation and the Malaysian government-owned Petronas, the terminal would be a crucial facility to help maintain cylinder supplies to millions of households and commercial establishments in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Dell ramps up Chennai centre

Eleven months after the acquisition of networking company Force 10 Networks, Dell India has ramped up its R&D centre in Chennai with an addition of over 100 employees, and is now looking to increase its share in the Indian networking space. The company, which recently bought Quest Software, Perot Systems and SonicWall, has been diversifying as part of its on-going plan to reduce dependence on the declining personal computer market. India is the fourth largest market in the Asia Pacific after Japan, China and Singapore, and we believe the India networking market to be somewhere around $200-300 million, said Dario Zamarian, Vice-President and General Manager, Dell Networking. Dell Networking already has a strong presence in the country with the R&D centre Chennai being made a Centre of Excellence, which will focus on end-to-end product solutions and development of networking switches and routers.

Tata Powers second unit of Maithon project on stream

Tata Power, has announced the commissioning of the second unit (525 MW) of the Maithon power project in Jharkhand. With this, the coal-fired 1,050 MW Maithon mega power project in Dhanbad has become fully operational. The first unit of 525 MW was commissioned in September 2011. Maithon Power, a 74:26 joint venture between Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation, is implementing the project. The project had been completed despite challenges such as availability and transportation of coal, Maithon Power CEO Bhaskar Sarkar said.

Uninor to scale down in four circles, step up in the East

The Uninor management has decided to reallocate its resources in India by shifting its focus to Kolkata, West Bengal and seven other circles Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Bihar and Jharkhand, Andhra

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Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa, Mumbai and Gujarat, while gradually scaling down the companys operations in the four circles of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Orissa.

Antony to head EGoM on natural gas

The reconstituted Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on natural gas and allocation will now be headed by Defence Minister A. K. Antony. The reconstitution of EGoM was necessitated due to the departure of Pranab Mukherjee from the government. Mr. Antony earlier was not part of the EGoM, and has been inducted after Mr. Mukherjees exit.

Goodyear tests tyres made with soybean oil

Goodyear is testing tyres made with soybean oil as it tries to cut its use of petroleum and extend tread life. The company said its researchers had found that the tread on tyres made partially with soybean oil could last 10 per cent longer than current tyres. The soybean oil, which comes from a renewable resource, could cut Goodyears use of petroleum by up to 7 million gallons (26.6 million litres) a year.

Aditya Birla Group sweetens Northern Iron buyout offer

Aditya Birla Group has sweetened its offer for buying out Northern Iron Ltd (NFE) by 8.5 per cent, valuing the Western Australia-based iron ore producer at AUD 518 million (RS 2,986 crore). NFE owns the Sydvaranger iron project in northern Norway. It has the necessary infrastructure in place to produce and export high quality iron ore concentrate to the steel industry customers worldwide. The existing reserves has more than 25 years of mine life. The Sydvaranger iron project consists of four magnetite iron deposits and 20 other deposits. It is located around 1,500-km north-east of Norway capital, Oslo. NFE had acquired the company in 2007. Unitech moves FIPB to block rights issue of Uninor

Realty firm Unitech has shot off a letter to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), objecting to its telecom partner Uninors proposal to raise Rs.1,200 crore through a rights issue, saying it has never agreed to the move as is being claimed by Uninor. Unitech Wireless - the joint venture of Unitech and Norways Telenor, which operate under the Uninor brand had applied to the FIPB for permission to raise funds to meet operational and capital expenditure. Unitech (which holds 32.75 per cent stake in Uninor) said the telecom firm misrepresented the facts that its nominee directors on the board of the joint venture approved the proposal for the rights offer in its letter to the FIPB.

Essar Energy in pact with Barclays Bank

Essar Energy plc, has announced that its subsidiary, Essar Oil U.K., has entered into a pact with Barclays Bank plc covering the supply of crude oil to its Stanlow refinery in the U.K. Under the new arrangements, Barclays will hold the inventories of crude oil and petroleum products at Stanlow, and will supply crude to the refinery in line with its requirements. This would allow Essar Oil to repay its existing working capital revolving credit facility, provided by 13 banks. This would also allow Essar Oil to reduce its costs by reducing its crude oil inventory holdings and also permit greater operational flexibility. Essar Energy completed the purchase of Stanlow, the U.K.s second largest refinery with a capacity of 2.96 lakh barrels per day, from Shell on July 31, 2011.

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Karnataka gets its largest solar power plant

A 5-MW eco-friendly solar power plant has been commissioned by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) at Shivanasamudra near Mandya. BHEL, which has been involved in the design, manufacture, supply, setting up and commissioning of the plant, will operate and maintain it for three years. This is the largest solar power plant in the State and has been synchronised with the main grid. The solar power is stored as DC power, which is then converted into AC and fed into the 66 kV grid. The plant is built using crystalline silicon photovoltaic technology, which has the longest operational experience.

GoM approves compensation demand to be made from Boeing

A Group of Ministers (GoM)has approved the compensation demand to be made by Air India from US aircraft maker Boeing for a four-year delay in delivery of Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes. GoM headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram. Air India had negotiated a compensation package with Boeing because the planes were to be delivered in 2008, that is about four years delay. The national carrier had placed orders to buy 27 B-787s in 2005 and, as per the original schedule, the US aircraft manufacturer had to commence delivery of these aircraft from September 2008. Delivery was delayed due to various factors, including labour trouble in Boeing and delays in getting parts from foreign suppliers.

JSW Ispat to be merged with JSW Steel

Steel major JSW Steel said it expects to merge JSW Ispat with itself once the loss-making subsidiary becomes profitable. JSW Steel Chairman Sajjan Jindal told. JSW Steel acquired a controlling stake in erstwhile Ispat Industries in December 2010 at an enterprise value of $3 billion to emerge as the country's largest producer of the alloy with an annual capacity of 14.3 million tonne. Apple unleashes the Mountain Lion

Apple has launched the next iteration of its operating system for its Mac range of personal computers. The new OS is fully integrated with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, bringing to its desktops (iMac) and notebooks (Macbooks) some salient features of its iOS mobile operating system. Called OS X Mountain Lion, it is available for download from the Mac Appstore at $19.99 (approximately Rs. 1,110). It is compatible with most iMacs and Macbooks manufactured after 2007-08. Mountain Lion also brings the iMessage platform to iMacs and Macbooks. This will allow users to chat with other users who are running the program on either their Macs or other mobile Apple devices.

Nomura CEO resigns in wake of insider scandal

Nomura CEO Kenichi Watanabe has resigned in the wake of an insider trading scandal at Japans biggest investment bank. Mr. Watanabe, 59, will be replaced by Koji Nagai, the President of Nomura Securities, which is part of the Nomura banking empire. Japans financial regulators are investigating Nomura Securities for leaking information to clients ahead of planned securities offerings by energy company Inpex, Mizuho Financial Group and Tokyo Electric Power Co. in 2010.

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New-look Verito from M&M

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has unveiled a new-look Verito. The latest avatar of this sedan marks a whole new journey for M&M, which was jointly producing Logan with Renault. The alliance ended in early 2010, and M&M renamed Logan as Verito in 2011. With the launch of a new-look Verito, the Mahindras have put the past firmly behind. M&M has launched two variants of petrol and three of diesel Verito.

RBI to get FSA support in supervision of British banks

British financial sector regulator FSA has entered into a fresh agreement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for mutual assistance and information exchange in supervision of banks operating in both the countries. This has come at a time when UK-based HSBCs staff in India have come under the scanner for deficiencies in their role as offshore reviewers of the global banking giants compliance to safety mechanism against money laundering and terrorist financing activities. The new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between RBI and the FSA (Financial Services Authority) was also signed on July 17, 2012. The MoU provides for a formal basis for cooperation in the area of banking supervision, including for the exchange of supervisory information.

Arvind Mayaram is new DEA Secy

The Government has appointed Arvind Mayaram as the Economic Affairs Secretary with effect from August 1, 2012. Mayaram, a 1978 batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, is presently Special Secretary and Financial Adviser, Ministry of Rural Development. He will takeover as DEA Secretary from R Gopalan, who retires on July 31. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Mayaram as the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

HSBC pays $27.5 m penalty to Mexican regulators

HSBC Holding plc has paid a penalty of about $27.5 million (Rs.154 crore) to Mexican regulators as the banking giants unit there failed to comply with the money-laundering rules.The penalty was paid for the infringements related to the late reporting of 1,729 unusual transactions, the failure to report 39 unusual transactions, and 21 administrative failures. HSBC Mexico is one of the leading financial groups in Mexico with 1,066 branches.

BMW launches all-new 3 series

German automobile giant BMW,has launched its all-new 3 Series in India. The company is jostling for space in the Indian luxury car market with strong competition coming from the other German auto majors Mercedes and Audi. The new BMW 3 Series CKD (completely knocked down) kits are assembled at BMWs plant at Mahindra World City near Chennai, and deliveries will start across India immediately. BMW at present has 25 sales outlets and it will be increased to 40 by end-2012. The BMW Group has invested Rs.180 crore in India, including a production plant near Chennai with a capacity of 11,000 units per annum. It sells the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce in India. The plant makes the BMW 3 series, the BMW 5 Series and BMW X1 in petrol and diesel and the X3 diesel.

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DLF to sell its land in Mumbai to Lodha Group

DLF, the country's largest developer, will sell its 17.5-acre land in Mumbai's Lower Parel to Lodha Group and a private equity player for about Rs 2,800 crore, ending its long-drawn bid to break ground in India's financial capital.

Ciscos NetAcad bags award

Networking major Cisco announced that its Networking Academy (NetAcad) Programme had been conferred the prestigious World Education Summit Award 2012 for the best innovation in global collaborative learning in the higher education space in India. The nominated projects were posted online for the public to vote via social media platforms.

Accel boards Sachin-backed company

Facebook investor and American venture capitalist Accel Partners will make an early stage investment in Universal Collectabillia, a celebrity merchandise and brand extension firm jointly owned by Anjana Reddy, who is part of the Deccan Chronicle family, and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. Accel Partners has committed about $5 million into the two-year-old Collectabillia, which began as sourcing and auction platform of sports memorabilia. Accel will have minority ownership in the startup, in which Tendulkar holds around 26% stake, said sources directly briefed on the matter.

Ashok Leyland set to expand

Ashok Leyland is closing in on deals with prospective partners for expanding its footprint in global markets. The company is set to enter into joint ventures in Chile, Indonesia and Nigeria for exporting its products as completely knocked down (CKD) kits. Ashok Leyland Special Director (International Operations) Antony Lobo told that the company targeted to export 15,000 units valued at about Rs.1,750 crore during the current fiscal. These comprised buses, double-deckers, trucks and special vehicles such as compactors to handle garbage. He said Ashok Leyland had achieved 24 per cent growth in 2011-12 over the previous year. It registered a phenomenal 72 per cent growth in new markets such as Africa, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Latin America, a major chunk of geographies that were unaffected by the global downturn. Dhunseri to acquire tea estates in Africa Dhunseri Petrochem & Tea Limited , through its wholly-owned subsidiary Dhunseri Petrochem and Tea Pvt. Ltd., has agreed to buy out Makandi Tea and Coffee Estates Ltd. and Kawalazi Estate Company Ltd. of Malawi from London-based Global Tea and Commodities Ltd.

Intel launches 'Me The Musical' on Facebook

Facebook users have a fun new way to experience the popular social media network thanks to Intel's "Me The Musical." Intel's "Me The Musical" creates a personalised animated movie which takes Facebook users on an entertaining journey, via song and dance, through world events. It begins with the user's date of birth and moves through a series of musical scenes which draw on the key themes of each decade from the

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1950s to today. Along the way, it adds a personal touch by including friends from Facebook and reminders of significant individual milestones. "Me The Musical" is a world first, according to Jayant Murty, Intel's director of brand strategy and integrated marketing for Asia Pacific, and its purpose is to entertain. "It is important to celebrate an interesting past with an eye on the future, " he said. Me The Musical features iconic moments including the moon landing, creation of the world wide web, rise of email and, of course, introduction of Facebook itself.

Petronet plans power foray with Rs 3500 crore plant

Petronet LNG Ltd, a privately-registered firm promoted by state-run companies for importing liquid gas, will make its foray into the power sector with a Rs 3,500 crore plant in joint venture with Kerala government. Petronet and the state government are close to signing the agreement for setting up the 1,200 mw plant near the company's upcoming gas import terminal at Kochi. Kerala will purchase three-quarters of the power from the plant under a long-term offtake agreement, while the rest may be traded in the open market. The state is also providing land which will be taken as part of its equity contribution. Petronet will use liquid gas it has tied up from Australia as fuel. Power is expected to cost less than Rs 7 per unit. This makes the project attractive for Kerala as the state buys power from private firms at Rs 11 per unit.

IndiGo owner entering into retail at Metro stations, highways

InterGlobe, which owns budget carrier IndiGo, is now making a foray into retailing at Metro stations and on highways. Its subsidiary InterGlobe Retail has started opening shops at Delhi Metro stations with an investment of Rs 20-22 crore, and toll highways are next on the list. Carrying the US chain of stores under brand name 'Hudson News and Cafe', these stores would be offering travel essentials like food items and magazines. InterGlobe had tied up with Swiss firm Dufry (which owns the brand name Hudson) to bid for duty free shops at Indian airports. InterGlobe's IndiGo airline is the biggest budget carrier. Its domestic market share was 26% just snapping short of Jet-JetKonnect's combined share of 27.4%. While the airline gives it visibility, the group controls almost all aviation-related activities like running a bus travel agency and providing software for selling air tickets to airlines.

Tata Power turns to overseas for expansion

Tata Power has decided to focus on overseas opportunities to meet its 2020 vision. The country's largest private sector power utility, which is fourth largest among the Tata Group companies in terms of topline, has a 26,000 mw generation target by 2020. Therefore, the company is devoting a good part of its time and energy in identifying opportunities in foreign lands to meet its ambitious target of 26,000 mw by 2020, he said. Currently, the company has a generating capacity of over 6,624 mw including 852 mw from renewable energy sources like wind, hydro, solar, etc. It has also set a target of 20-25 percent of output from renewable sources by 2020. Tata Power has already formed a 50:50 joint venture with the South Africa-based diversified resources company Exxaro Resources to create Cennergi, which will focus on developing power generation projects in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.

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Metro car unit of Alstom to be on stream in September

France-based transport major Alstom Transport, which has bagged a Rs.1,431-crore order for 42 train sets from Chennai Metro Rail Ltd., (CMRL) will open its metro car manufacturing facility at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh bordering Tamil Nadu in September 2012. Alstom has planned to source initial train sets from its manufacturing facility in Brazil for testing purposes even as the Sri City facility is expected to roll out the first train set in January 2014, according to Henri Poupart-Lafarge, President of Alstom Transport worldwide.

RINL inks pact with Power Grid

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Power Grid Corporation of India for setting up electrical steel (silicon steel) production facilities. The joint venture facility is proposed in Visakhapatnam. RINL while finalising the vertical growth plan from 7.3 to 11.5/12 million tonne per annum, parallel action has also been taken to go for production units for value-added products like silicon steel. Silicon Steel is not currently available in India. Entire requirement is at present met through import. RINL Chairman-cum-Managing Director A.P. Choudhary and his counterpart in Power Grid Corporation R.N. Nayak, CMD signed the agreement at Gurgaon.

JK Tyre eyes rubber plantation in SE Asia

JK Tyre & Industries is eyeing acquisition of a small rubber plantation, possibly in Southeast Asia, to securitise its natural rubber supplies. The company, which now has a 25 per cent share of the market (by pieces sold), sources its natural rubber requirement locally and through imports. The companys present capacity of 16.6 million tyres is to increase to 20 million tyres with the completion of the Chennai project. It has plants in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In 2008, the company acquired a plant in Mexico. JK Tyre exports to nearly 80 countries across six continents and its export turnover was Rs.1,009 crore in 20011-12.

MakeMyTrip, PayPal team up to offer payment services to international customers

Indian travel company, MakeMyTrip has collaborated with the international payment gateway PayPal, to offer its overseas customers a faster and safer way to book international flights to India. PayPal users (registered outside of India) can pay for flight tickets purchased from the MakeMyTrip websites in India (www.makemytrip.com) and the US (www.us.makemytrip.com). With PayPal as their digital wallet, consumers are not required to enter sensitive financial information like bank account or credit card number each time they transact online.

Sahara buys New York's Plaza Hotel for $570m

Sahara Group has agreed to buy a controlling stake in New York's landmark Plaza Hotel for $570 million, Elad Properties, an Israeli-owned real estate company. The 105-year-old luxury hotel overlooking New York's Central Park, is jointly owned by Elad Properties, an Israeli-owned real estate company, and Saudi-based Kingdom Holdings Co.

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Google buys startup Meebo

Google is buying Silicon Valley startup Meebo to help expand its social networking service. Meebo works with publishers and advertisers to help them connect with web surfers for longer periods. Meebo has raised $70 million in venture capital since it was founded in 2005 by Seth Sternberg, Elaine Wherry and Sandy Jen. Sternberg, who formerly helped IBM identify acquisition targets, served as Meebo's CEO. Google has spent more than $16 billion buying 140 companies since the end of 2009. That includes the biggest deal in Google's 14-year history, a just-completed $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings. The acquisition announced will bring more tools to Google+, an alternative to Facebook's popular online hangout. Meebo started as a system for connecting people by instant message but has since built other communication features used by an audience of about 100 million web people in the US. MORF India looking for venture capital funding

MORF India Limited, a Chennai-based company providing solutions in the field of water purification and sewage treatment, is looking for Rs.10 crore venture capital funding. Managing Director MV. Praveen said at the launch of the first model of Kelvinator water purifier, under a brand licensing agreement with Electrolux Home Products Inc. Under the agreement, MORF would market Kelvinator, a brand owned by Electrolux, range of water and air purifiers in India and Sri Lanka. MORF, which would manufacture the water purifiers at Electrolux approved/authorised units in India, China and Taiwan, plans to launch more models in three months. OPG plans three power plants

Power generation company OPG Power Ventures plc, which is listed on Alternative Investment Market of London Stock Exchange, is expanding its presence in India with an investment of Rs.3,000 crore and by setting up three thermal power plants. The proposed facilities, two of them in Chennai, would be coal-based and start generating power by 2014. With regard to the capacity, the two facilities in Chennai would be of 80 MW and 160 MW. The third would be a 300 MW (150X2) plant in Kutch, Gujarat. With this investment, OPG, which has 112 MW in operation now, would be increasing its capacity in the country to 742 MW.

Future Group sells finance arm to US entity for Rs560 cr to reduce debt

Retail Major Future Group, which is ridden in debt, has decided to sell its stake of 53.67 per cent in Future Capital Holdings to US-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus to raise an estimated Rs 560 crore. Warburg Pincus would inject another Rs 100 crore into Future Capital Holdings (FCH) and make an open offer under the takeover code of Sebi. Future Group Founder and Group CEO, Kishore Biyani told. Pantaloon Retail holds 55 per cent stake in Future Capital.

Tide Water exploring venture with JX Nippon

Lubricant manufacturer Tide Water Oil Co (India) is exploring the possibility of entering into a joint venture with JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation, according to company Executive Director R. N. Ghosal. He said the company had been a franchisee for the Japanese company for many years and a joint venture was a possibility. He indicated that this matter was under discussion and a decision would be taken by 2013. During 2011-12, Tide Water Oil acquired Veedol International from BP plc, thereby gaining access to marketing rights for Veedol in 120 countries. It has established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Dubai to service the

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market in that region and in North Africa. Efforts are also on to explore new markets in Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa.

Apple's iPad tops global tablet market: Survey

The Apple iPad extended its lead in the global market for tablet computers at the start of 2012 while Amazon's Kindle Fire flamed out after a sizzling introduction, a survey showed. Apple held 65 per cent of the market with 11.8 million iPad shipments, boosted by the launch of a third-generation model and price reductions on the iPad 2, Samsung grabbed the number two spot with 1.1 million shipments, or six percent of the market, overtaking Amazon, which saw an 80 per cent quarter-over-quarter drop in sales of the Kindle Fire.

Optimisation of Vadinar refinery of Essar complete

Essar Oil has completed the optimisation project of its Vadinar refinery. As a result, the capacity of the refinery in Gujarat has risen to 20 million tonnes annually or 405,000 barrels a day. The company had completed the refinery expansion to raise the nameplate capacity to 18 million tonnes from 10.5 million tonnes annually in end-March 2012 at an investment of Rs.9,100 crore. Essar Oil said it had set up the refinery at a cost of $12,746 a barrel, which is half the global average. It has entered into long-term crude sourcing contracts with global suppliers, including several national oil companies from Latin America. The Vadinar refinery can now process much heavier crude and the share of ultra heavy crude will go up to 60 per cent. It can now produce higher value products, including petrol and diesel, conforming to Euro IV and Euro V norms.

R. N. Choubey is the new head of DGH

The Central government has appointed Rajiv Nayan Choubey, a senior bureaucrat, to head the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). Mr. Choubey, a 1981 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, will be the first bureaucrat to head the highly technical arm of the Oil Ministry.

No penalty on pre-closure of home loan

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said that banks would not be permitted to charge foreclosure charges / pre-payment penalties on home loans on floating interest rate basis, with immediate effect. The removal of foreclosure charges/prepayment penalty on home loans will lead to reduction in the discrimination between existing and new borrowers and competition among banks will result in finer pricing of the floating rate home loans, RBI said in a notification to banks. This has also been mentioned by the RBI in its Monetary Policy statement 2012-13 on April 17, 2012. Sharma joins chorus against diesel subsidy for SUVs

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma joined Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh in the chorus against subsidy on diesel used in luxury vehicles. All the subsidy should be targetted to BPL (below poverty line) and weaker sections. Subsidy has to reach the real beneficiary, Sharma said. Ramesh has been attacking the policy of subsidising diesel, kerosene and LPG, suggesting that a roadmap be chalked out for phasing it out as the needy are not benefited. The proposal is there and that is being examined by

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Finance Minister. Consultations are being held and appropriate decision will be taken by the government in due course, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairman S K Goel said . News Corp ends 16 year JV with Walt Disney, buys out whole stake

Media baron, Rupert Murdoch led conglomerate News Corporation announced that it will buy out partner Walt Disney Co.s interest in Asian sports broadcasting company ESPN Star Sports, concluding the two companies 16-year partnership in the region. ESS Managing Director Manu Sawhney, who has been associated with the company for 16 years will leave the firm and will be replaced by Peter Hutton, currently Senior Vice-President of Sports for FOX International Channels (FIC). ESPN Star Sports has been run as a 50/50 joint venture between Walt Disneys entertainment and sports network ESPN Inc. and News Corp.s Star unit, a media company which offers satellite television and other services in Asia. Maruti cuts petrol car production due to low sales

The countrys largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India has cut production of some petrol models, including the best selling Alto, as sales of such cars have declined due to high fuel costs. The company had recently stopped production of petrol models, including the Alto, M800, A-Star, Estilo and Omni for three days to prevent inventories piling up further. MSI had stopped production lines of petrol models on May 25-26 and June 2 at its Gurgaon facility. The Manesar unit worked normally.

HPCL keen on oil refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan

With ONGC deterring from building a refinery in Rajasthan, state-owned Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) has expressed interest in setting up a 9 million tonne unit at the site of the massive oil find at Barmer district. HPCL, which owns a refinery at Mumbai and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and is equal partner in the just commissioned Bhatinda refinery in Punjab, is keen to take up the project. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which owns 30 per cent interest in the Barmer oilfields of Cairn India, had in 2005 committed to building the refinery but later started soft- peddling the project. The Centre appointed a BC Tripathi Committee, which recommended that the state government take 26 per cent equity in the project and give 50 per cent exemption in excise duty to make it viable.

Toyota launches limited petrol edition of Corolla Altis

Car maker Toyota Kirloskar Motor said it has launched a limited edition petrol variant of its luxury sedan Corolla Altis, priced at Rs 11.48 lakh (ex- showroom in Delhi). The company has introduced the limited edition in petrol variant only and it will decide for a diesel option depending upon the demand.

Zoho Corp woos SMBs

Zoho Corporation, an online software solution provider, is keen on expanding its footprint in India by offering cloud-based products to small and medium businesses (SMBs). The U.S-based company, which has a development centre in Chennai, sees a potential market of around 50 million SMBs, with 10 million currently being technology-ready. With global revenues of $150 million a year and about 1600 employees, Zoho is planning to increase the number of marketing partners, investing in infrastructure and improving its research and development facilities.

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U.S. PE fund buys stake in Monte Carlo

U.S.-based private equity fund Samara Capital has acquired a minority stake of 18 per cent in Ludhianabased Monte Carlo Fashions, a part of the Nahar Group, for Rs.175 crore. Private equity firm Samara Capital has acquired minority stake in Monte Carlo Fashions for Rs.175 crore, Oswal Woollen Mills, Executive Director, Dinesh Gogna told. Oswal Woollen Mills is the parent company of the Nahar group of companies (the Nahar Group). Monte Carlo has embarked on a Rs.225-crore expansion plan at its Ludhiana plant to raise its garment capacity from 1.2 million pieces to 1.5 million pieces per annum. It clocked a turnover of Rs.370 crore in 2011-12 and it is now eyeing sales of Rs.500 crore in the current fiscal.

Sony ups ad spend to Rs.450 cr

Japanese electronics major Sony has decided to ramp up its marketing spend by 30 per cent this year to Rs.450 crore as competition gets shriller and has also projected a similar jump in sales from Mumbai. the company launched two products the Vaio E 14A and its first ultrabook in the country the Vaio T. It planned to sell 6.5 lakh Vaios in 2012.

Ashok Leyland wins Bangladesh order for vestibule buses

Ashok Leyland has bagged an order for 50 vestibule buses from the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) under the Indian line of credit (LoC) scheme offered for the improvement of urban transportation in that country. Worth $6 million, this represents the company's first order for such buses from an overseas market. In year 2011, Ashok Leyland had bagged the single largest order for 290 double-decker buses worth $ 23.3 million from Bangladesh.

Khazanah, Baring jointly bid for Aegis

Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah has joined hands with Baring Private Equity Asia to offer $800 million (more than Rs 4,400 crore) for Aegis, a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm fully owned by the Ruias of Essar. This joint bid is ahead of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), which is another contender in the fray to acquire Aegis. Essar, one of the largest Indian private conglomerates, has explored value unlocking moves to pare the group's debt estimated at $12 billion. The Aegis deal could be Khazanah's first investment in the $15.9 billion Indian BPO space where the country has a leadership position. Khazanah's only other direct Indian investment, according to its website, is an 8% stake in Apollo Hospitals.

MUVs by Chevrolet, Nissan & others to hit Indian roads soon

At least five new multi-utility vehicles will hit the Indian roads in the next few months as automakers try to replicate Maruti Ertiga's success. Ertiga, which Maruti advertises as a life utility vehicle, clocked 35% growth in sales to 10,174 units in the first two months of the current fiscal. Chevrolet's Enjoy, Nissan's Evalia, Ashok Leyland's Stile, Hyundai's Hexa Space and Force Motors' MPV will hot up competition for Ertiga at the entry level and Toyota's Innova at the other end of the price band.

Huawei eyes $150 m sale in enterprise biz

Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei is targeting revenue of close to $150 million through its enterprise business solutions in the Indian market over the next 12 months. The company, which launched

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enterprise business solutions last year has crossed revenue of $50 million so far and plans to garner a 10 per cent share in the $10 billion enterprise business market by 2015. Huawei is gearing up to launch its slim smartphone on Android 4.0 platform equipped with mobile office solutions shortly, according to Huawei Enterprise Business Group president Eric Yu.

RBI annuls Madhavpura Mercantile Co-op Bank licence

he Reserve Bank of India (RBI), cancelled the licence of Ahmedabad-based Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank. In 2000, the bank was in the news following its exposure to scam-tainted stock broker Ketan Parekh. The co-operative bank was granted a licence by the RBI on August 19, 1994, to commence banking business in India.

Serco appoints Tom Riall as CEO

Serco, the FTSE 100 international service company, announced the appointment of Tom Riall as Chief Executive of its newly- formed global services business, with immediate effect. Susir Kumar will take over as Executive Chairman of Serco's Global Services Division. Serco's new Global Services business has been formed by combining Intelenet Global Services.

Rishabadas is General Secretary of AISBOF

D.S. Rishabadas, General Secretary, State Bank of India Officers' Association (Chennai Circle), has been elected General Secretary of All-India State Bank Officers' Federation (AISBOF). The Federation is a representative body of officers and has a membership of more than 90,000 officers from State Bank and its associates. Mr. Rishabadas took over from G. D. Nadaf, who superannuated on May 31.

Action on Nexavar does not violate any treaty: Anand Sharma

India, said it had not violated any multi-lateral trade agreement by issuing compulsory licence for patented anti-cancer drug, Nexavar to be produced and sold at a much cheaper cost in the country. In March, Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma was allowed to manufacture and sell cancer-treatment drug Nexavar at a price over 30 times lower than charged by patent-holder Bayer Corporation, under compulsory licensing (CL). The German firm has already filed an appeal against the Indian Patents Office's order with the Intellectual Property Appellate Board.

CPCL wants ban on new projects at Manali to go

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, (CPCL) is hoping that the Ministry of Environment and Forests lifts the moratorium on new projects in the Manali industrial region soon for it to go ahead with the residue upgradation and refinery expansion. The project would boost the gross refining margin by $1.5-2 a barrel. The incremental distillate yield, he explained, would be equivalent to one million tonne and help feed more products to Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

China wins shrimp dispute with U.S.

The World Trade Organization (WTO), ruled in China's favour after Beijing contested anti-dumping measures imposed by the U.S. on imports of frozen Chinese shrimp.

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UBS may sue Nasdaq over $350 m Facebook IPO losses: report

Swiss bank UBS faced losses to the tune of $350 million because of the software glitch during the Facebook IPO at Nasdaq, and is now a preparing a legal action against the exchange.

SFIO may question Reebok officials in Rs 870-crore fraud case

Corporate fraud probe body SFIO has started scrutinising documents relating to alleged Rs 870-crore fraud involving Reebok India and may soon take a call on questioning senior officials of the sportswear maker. Adidas-owned Reebok India had filed an FIR, alleging that its former Managing Director Subhinder Singh Prem and Chief Operating Officer Vishnu Bhagat were involved in Rs 870-crore fraud by indulging in criminal conspiracy and fraudulent practices over a period of time. The new Director of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), is being briefed about the case and will soon decide on summoning the officials of the company.

Havells India looks for acquisitions in China, Africa

Electrical goods maker Havells India is mulling over acquisitions in China and Africa that may entail an investment of up to $200 million (about Rs 1,100 crore) to strengthen its overseas operations. The company is also expanding presence in other nations like Turkey, Russia, Indonesia and Malaysia. The company had formed a manufacturing joint venture with a local Chinese firm to produce various lighting products for its overseas markets. Havells India may see an acquisition happening in the Chinese market within next three years.

Reliance Capital gets RBI nod for mutual fund biz stake sale

The Reserve Bank of India has approved Anil Ambani-led Reliance Groups Rs 1,450-crore stake sale in its mutual fund business unit to Japans Nippon Life. The diversified conglomerates financial services arm Reliance Capital is selling 26 per cent stake in RCAM (Reliance Capital Asset Management Company) to Nippon Life for Rs 1,450 crore -- making it the largest ever Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Indian mutual fund space. RBI has cleared the deal, bringing it a step closer towards its completion. The transaction has already been cleared by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and might be completed soon after achieving a couple of more remaining regulatory approvals.

Ashok Leyland exports 100 buses to Ghana

Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland, exported 100 Falcon' buses to Ghana for $7.6 million. The vehicles were inducted to the fleet of Metro Mass Transit Ltd, a transport company in which the Ghanian Government has 45 per cent stake, the commercial vehicle maker said. The buses will run on 360 inter- and intra-city routes throughout the country.

DSK launches GT250R superbike

DSK Motowheels, a part of the construction and realty player DSK Group, is keen to make Hyosung motorcycles in India. The company, which imports superbikes made by Hyosung Motors (renamed S&T Motors) of Korea as completely knocked down (CKD) kits and sells them in India, is keen to set up a

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manufacturing facility in India. DSK launched Hyosung's 'GT250R' superbike in Mumbai. The superbike GT250R is priced at Rs.2.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), the most expensive in its category. DSK Motowheels already sells three Hyosung-made superbikes GT650R, GT650N and ST7 in India. The Big Boy' GT250R will be available in India from July 2012.

Aditya Birla Group may acquire Colombian mine stake for $1 bn

The Aditya Birla Group is in talks with American thermal coal miner Drummond Company to purchase a significant stake in coal mines in Colombia owned by the privately held company. The Kumar Mangalam Birla-promoted group wants to strengthen its mining business and utilise the coal for its captive power plants to make aluminium in India. The Aditya Birla Groups flagship company and aluminium maker Hindalco has been seeking environmental clearance to begin mining coal from the Mahan coal block in Madhya Pradesh to feed its 750-MW captive power plant to make aluminium. The company is building a 3,59,000-tonne new aluminium smelter project at Mahan.

Hiring a pvt jumbo to be reality in India

Hiring the world's biggest planes like Airbus 380 or Boeing 747 Jumbo will soon become a reality in India. UK-based air charter broker company Air Partner has joined hands with InterGlobe Established Private Limited (THE ESTD) - a subsidiary of InterGlobe Enterprises - to launch a range of private aviation products from small aircraft to super Jumbos. Headquartered in London, Air Partner is a leading air charter company providing its services to industry, commerce, governments and individuals worldwide. It has 20 offices in 17 countries. In India, the company would be providing its on-demand charter and unique pre-paid JetCard scheme giving customers a flexible pricing and travel options.

RBI to issue Rs 20 denomination notes with rupee symbol

Reserve Bank said it will soon issue banknotes of Rs 20 denomination with the rupee symbol and inset letter R in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 notes. The banknotes will bear signature of RBI governor D Subbarao and the year of printing 2012 will be on the reverse of these banknotes. The design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the Rs 20 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, issued earlier. All banknotes in the denomination of Rs 20 issued by it in the past will continue to be used as currency notes.

Survey says Indians among least financially literate people, blames families

Indians are among the least financially literate people across the globe with youngsters and women struggling most with their knowledge of finance due to lack of discussions within the families on money management issues, says a report by credit card firm Visa. As per the 'Global Financial literacy barometer', India ranked 23rd among the 28 countries surveyed, with 35 per cent of its population termed financially literate. Brazil topped the ranking with 50.4 per cent of its population as financially literate followed by Mexico (47.8 per cent), Australia (46.3 per cent), the US (44.6 per cent) and Canada (43.8 per cent). The study, conducted among over 25,000 people in 28 countries, expressed concern that Indian families do not frequently talk to their children about money management issues discussing finances with their children only 10 days a year compared with the global average of 19 days a year.

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Carborundum ties up with U.K. firms

Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI) has entered into techno-commercial agreement with U.K. firms Sheffield Refractories and Anderman Ceramics to manufacture, supply and install a range of high-end refractory solutions for the steel and glass industries and for aerospace component manufacture. The manufacturing of these products would be done at Carborundum's plant in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu. The collaborations, would make customers feel confident as both Sheffield Refractories and Anderman Ceramics were world leaders in their areas. There was a huge opportunity for these products in India. CUMI said Sheffield Refractories was a leading producer of specialised refractories for integrated steel plants, CFBC boilers in power projects and cements plants. Anderman Ceramics is a leading international distributor of technical ceramic parts and components with operations in the U.K., the U.S. and France.

Chakrabarty re-appointed RBI Deputy Governor

The Central Government, re-appointed K. C. Chakrabarty as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India for a further period of three months beyond June 14, 2012, or until further orders. Mr. Chakrabarty was appointed Deputy Governor in 2009 for three years and took charge as Deputy Governor of RBI on June 15, 2009.

New C-class AMG from Mercedes

German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz, launched has its new C-class AMG performance edition with added sports package. Priced at Rs.35.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Hyderabad), the new C-class 250 CDI Avantgarde, Mercedes Benz India claimed, was hailed as the most aggressive vehicle in terms of handling and driving dynamics. The luxury carmaker also announced plans to introduce B-Class variant later this year and A-class and E-class variants. According to Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Peter Homegg, the C-class variant, redefined the luxury entry level and underwent through a complete make over. The company had so far sold close to 15,000 units since its launch in India in 2001

Palatana power project to start this month

The 726-MW gas-based Palatana project of ONGC-Tripura Power Corporation (OTPC) is set to be commissioned by end of June 2012. Billed as one of the largest projects of its kind in India, its implementation posed challenges the likes of which had not been faced before by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., which had won the Rs. 2,200- crore EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract to set up the project. Four North-Eastern states will buy power from the 726 MW combined cycle gas turbine project for which a special purpose vehicle was formed between ONGC, the Tripura Power Development Corporation and ILFS.

Nokia sells luxury brand Vertu to PE firm

Mobile handset firm Nokia, said it would sell its luxury mobile brand Vertu to private equity firm EQT VI for an undisclosed amount. Nokia has agreed terms for EQT VI, a part of the leading private equity group in Northern Europe, to acquire Vertu, a global leader in luxury mobile phones from Nokia. Nokia would retain a minority shareholding of 10 per cent in Vertu. Nokia also announced closure of its facilities in Ulm in

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Germany and Burnaby in Canada as part of its planned measures to rescale the company by making additional reductions in devices and services.

Infosys inks pact with Israel govt

Infosys, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel government to establish and enhance cooperation in industrial research and development. It creates a framework for industrial co-operation between Infosys and Israeli corporations in the emerging technology areas of cloud, information security, sensors, analytics, and sustainability.

LIC part-sells in Wockhardt

Drug firm Wockhardt said the Life Insurance Corporation of India has sold 2.019 per cent stake held in the company for Rs 129 crore. LIC has sold 22.11 lakh shares of the company, aggregating 2.019 per cent stake through market sale for Rs. 129.09 crore. After the sale, LIC's holding in Wockhardt has come down to 3.01 per cent.

Audi to take numero uno position by 2014

In its efforts to become No-1 in the luxury car market segment in India by 2014, Audi has charted out a strategy by which they will launch 5-6 products in the next two years and expand its dealerships to 35 by the end of 2013 to sustain its numero uno position in the country. We have already become the number two in this year by replacing our competitor Mercedes-Benz. So, we are very confident that we will be able to replace the current number one, said Audi India Head Michael Perschke.

Unilever may relocate 400 tech jobs to Bangalore

The Anglo-Dutch personal care major Unilever is planning to move some jobs to Bangalore as part of a restructuring exercise that would involve relocating some 400 high capability roles from Unilever's IT site in Ewloe in Wales. The company's R&D centre in Bangalore contributes to brands including Lifebuoy, Pureit, Ponds, Fair and Lovely, Radiant, Omo, Brooke Bond, Lipton, Walls and Knorr. Around 300 employees work at the site, including 75 scientists, 150 research associates and 50 support staff - specializing in microbiology, virology and microstructure creation.

GE to invest $200 m in new plant

GE India, said it would invest $200 million (around Rs.1,100 crore) in a new facility that would come up at Chakan, near Pune, to develop localised products and solutions for the energy sector. The company said that the plant, spread over 68 acres and GE's first such in India, would commence operations of its first phase in 2013. GE already has a wind turbine assembly unit in Pune. GE's industrial solutions plant in Bangalore makes switchgears, control panels and marine and industrial breakers. GE Healthcare has three manufacturing facilities in Bangalore in addition to an R&D centre. MSP of paddy hiked by Rs 170, cotton by Rs 800 per quintal

Government announced Rs 170 per quintal hike in minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to farmers at Rs 1,250 for 2012-13 crop year (July-June). The MSP for common grade variety of paddy has been increased to

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Rs 1,250 per quintal from Rs 1,080 in the previous year. The decision was taken by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The Committee announced MSP for other Kharif (sown in summer). India produced a record 103.41 million tonnes of rice in the 2011-12 crop year. The MSPs of Jowar (Hybrid) and Ragi have been raised to Rs 1500 per quintal providing an increase of Rs 520 and Rs 450 per quintal, respectively. The MSPs of Bajra and Maize each have been raised by Rs 195 per quintal and fixed at Rs 1175 per quintal each. Deutsche Telekom sets up global development centre in China

Deutsche Telekom announced the establishment of its first China-based global development centre in Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province. The centre is expected to employ 1,000 workers in 2014. Racold Thermo eyes pan-India presence

Water heater maker Racold Thermo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Artiston Thermo Group of Italy, is planning to establish a pan-India presence and augment the production capacity of its existing plant at Pune or open a new one in the next two years. At present, 75 per cent of our Pune facility's capacity is being used, and hoping to double our sales and achieve Rs.500-crore turnover in the next three years, said Mathew Job, Managing Director, Racold Thermo Ltd.

Aban Offshore may sell power biz to Andhra co

Debt-laden Aban Offshore, India's largest offshore drilling company, is discussing sale of its thermal power projects to Nuziveedu Power. Nuziveedu Power, a subsidiary of Hyderabad-based Nuziveedu Seeds (NSL), the country's largest hybrid seed company backed by private equity giant Blackstone Group, is interested in Aban's two coal-fired projects in Tamil Nadu and Orissa with a combined potential of 2,200MW. Aban may fetch more than Rs 550 crore, or upwards of $100 million, from the sale, said a source mentioned earlier, adding the deal may value the projects at Rs 25-30 lakh per MW. Aban has completed land acquisition for the Tamil Nadu project, the 1,200MW North Chennai Power Company, a planned coastal thermal plant. The Mahanadi Aban Power Company in Orissa is a 1,030MW project.

Jet Airways in talks with Star Alliance, SkyTeam

Jet Airways, which has been in advanced talks to join the global airlines' grouping Star Alliance, is also holding discussions with the competing alliance SkyTeam. Jet Airways was earlier in an advanced stage of joining Star Alliance along with Air India, whose induction into the airlines' grouping was put off primarily due to its precarious financial health.

Coal import to grow 28.3 per cent this year: CMIE

With the current coal production failing to meet the growing demand, economic think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) expects the import of the fuel to grow by over 28 per cent this fiscal. Coal imports are expected to grow by 28.3 per cent at 127 million tonnes, it said in its monthly report. Domestic companies largely import coal from Australia, South Africa and Indonesia, it said, adding the imported fuel accounts for 10-15 per cent of total supply.

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Microsoft nears deal to buy Yammer

Microsoft is close to buying business software company Yammer for more than $1 billion, according to a source familiar with the details. Microsoft's interest in Yammer, known for its social networking functions, could allow the software giant to beef up its offerings for corporations. Backed by PayPal co-founder and Facebook investor Peter Thiel, Yammer said it counts more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies as clients. It raised more than $140 million in venture capital funding. Bloomberg, which first reported the deal, said the announcement about the transaction was expected at the end of June.

Air Works invests in Empower Aviation Group

Leading aviation service provider Air Works India Engineering, announced that it had made a strategic investment in Dubai-based Empire Aviation group (EAG), a move aimed at expanding its footprint in the Middle East and provide world-class aircraft management services in India. The strategic investment has been funded through a mix of internal accruals and structured debt finance of Rs.120 crore from KKR & Co, a leading global investment firm.

Alok Misra is IBA Chairman

The Indian Banks Association, said Bank of India Chairman and Managing Director Alok Misra has been elected Chairman of the bankers body for the current fiscal. The IBA managing committee elected Mr. Misra at its annual meeting.

Ashok Leyland wins $6.5 m Bangladesh order

Ashok Leyland has bagged a $6.5 million order from the Bangladesh Road Transportation Corporation (BRTC) for supplying 88 air-conditioned buses. This comes after an order for 50 vestibule buses was received from BRTC. The Hinduja flagship firm said the order had been bagged under the Indian line of credit (LoC) scheme offered for the improvement of urban transportation in Bangladesh.

SR Bansal joins PNB as New Executive Director

SR Bansal took over as Executive Director of Punjab National Bank. With Bansal joining the bank, the number of executive directors in the bank has gone up to three. This follows a Government decision to appoint third executive director in a public sector bank whose total business has crossed Rs 3 lakh crore. Before joining PNB, Bansal was working as Field General Manager, North India operations. During his deputation to India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL), Jain as executive directors of Bank of Baroda. organising the credit functions and monitoring of credit risk management. Meanwhile, the Government has also appointed P Srinivas and SK

Microsoft scratches the Surface

Microsoft has done something that it never has in all its 37-year history of existence create a computer. Called the Surface, the company unveiled its home-grown line of tablet computers. The new tablet line will comprise two different models, a thinner casual consumer device and a larger tablet that is aimed at competing with ultrabook' class of computers. Microsoft's bread and butter have come from its software. According to a Microsoft, the smaller Surface tablet, 9.3 millimetres thick, will run Windows RT (a variant of

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the company's new operating system) and sport the highly popular Office' suite of applications. The bigger version, 13.5 millimetres thick, will be powered by a third-generation Intel Core processor and run Microsoft's yet-to-be released Windows 8 Pro operating system. Both tablets will include a built-in QWERTY keyboard that doubles as a cover and feature a full-sized USB port, something the iPad is missing. The Surface for Windows RT would release with the general availability of Windows 8, which is widely expected by the end of 2012.

ONGC and CNPC ink MoU for tie-up in hydrocarbon area

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for co-operation in the hydrocarbon sector. The MoU was signed by Sudhir Vasudeva, Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC, and Jiang Jiemin, Chairman of CNPC.This MoU will be a crucial signpost for the economic powerhouses of India and China as both countries look to establish and consolidate their energy portfolios globally. The areas of co-operation would also extend to joint participation in suitable hydrocarbon projects in other countries of interest by exchanging information and working for mutual growth and benefit.

BRICS pledges $75bn contribution to IMFs bailout fund

India and four other countries of the five-nation BRICS bloc gave a big boost to IMFs $ 430 billion bailout fund for the debt-wracked 17 nation Eurozone pledging to contribute $ 75 billion with New Delhis contribution being $ 10 billion. The pledge was made at an informal meeting of BRICS Leaders presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ahead of the opening of the seventh G-20 Summit in Mexico. Besides India, the other nations in BRICS are China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa. China has agreed to contribute $43 billion while the contribution from Russia and Brazil will be $10 billion each. The South African contribution is $ 2 billion.

Honda launches Dream Yuga, eyes 18% market share this year

Japanese two-wheeler major Honda, which rolled out its second mass segment motorcycle 'Dream Yuga'. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) president and chief executive Keita Muramatsu said it is planning to take the bike to overseas markets towards year-end. The company will look at the neighbouring markets such as Sri Lanka and Nepal for the Yuga exports. The Dream Yuga is powered by a 110-cc engine and comes in five colours and three variants. The company has currently two manufacturing facilities, at Manaesar in Haryana and Alwar in Rajasthan, with a combined capacity of 2.8 million scooters and bikes per annum. Its third plant at Narsapuram in Karnataka with a 1.2 million capacity is expected to be up and running from the second half of the year 2013.

TCS to pay Rs. 8 cr commission to Ratan Tata for FY'12

The board of IT major Tata Consultancy Services has decided to pay Rs. 8 crore as commission to Tata group chairman Ratan Tata for financial year 2012, nearly Rs. 6 crore more than what he was paid in FY'11. TCS paid Rs. 2.4 crore as commission to Tata for FY'11. Country's largest software exporter TCS posted a healthy 21.9% rise in net profit for 2011-12 at Rs. 10,638.2 crore and said it is on track to outperform the industry revenue growth of 11-14% set by industry body Nasscom for 2012-13. The company also became

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the first Indian IT company to cross the ten billion dollar milestone by posting annual revenues of $ 10.17 billion in 2011-12. TCS also decided to pay Rs. 6 crore commission in FY'12 compared to Rs. 1.6 crore paid for FY'11.

Corporates can set up ATMs on rent for banks

Corporate entities have been allowed to set up 'white label' automated teller machines (ATMs) under new norms issued by the Reserve Bank to grow the ATM network in the country. However, there is a stiff entry barrier of Rs 100 crore networth and high investment targets, ranging from 9,000 to 25,000 machines, over a three-year period. White label ATMs refer to the machines which are owned by private operators seeking to earn a rent from banks for transactions carried out by their customers. At present there are around one lakh ATMs in the country, most of which are owned by banks. There is also a sizeable number of 'Brown Label' machines - ATMs where the investment, installation and maintenance is by a private operator but the licence and branding is of a commercial bank.

Swiss textile machinery firm plans big

Swiss textile machinery manufacturer Rieter has invested Rs.250 crore on two factories in India. According to Michael Enderle, chairman and managing director of Rieter India, the facilities manufacture ring frames and there are plans to expand the product offering. The first quarter of 2011 started with good orders. However, volatility in prices in cotton and yarn led to a declining investment climate. The second half of 2011 was also dominated by uncertainty because of low prospects for the global economy.

Racold to ramp up solar water heater production

Racold Thermo Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ariston Thermo Group of Italy, is planning to ramp up its production of solar water heaters even as it takes steps to consolidate its leadership in the water heaters segment. With a 25 per cent share, Racold enjoys market leadership in India, Managing Director Mathew Job said. Its manufacturing facility at Pune, Maharashtra, has an annual capacity of over five lakh units. Over 1.6 million units of water heaters are sold in India. The market is valued at Rs.600 crore. Racold aims to increase its market share to 30 per cent by 2014-15.

Rodeo RZ scooter from Mahindra

The scooters serve as a vehicle for the entire household. It is this trend that has made Mahindra Two Wheelers, a part of the $15.4 billion Mahindra group, unveil Rodeo RZ, 125-cc scooter, which, apart from enhanced features, offers best-in-class pick-up coupled with great mileage (59.38 km/litre as per ARAI certification). The companys Duro DZ and Flyte scooters also belong to the 125-cc category.

JCB launches new backhoe loader

JCB India Limited, Indias largest manufacturer of construction equipment has announced the launch of all new JCB 3DX Backhoe Loader, a new machine aimed at changing the landscape of the construction industry. JCB has invested heavily in upgrading its manufacturing facilities and research and development keeping it at the cutting edge of innovation, Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, JCB India, told.

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HP launches Ultrabook, Sleekbook

Hewlett Packard sees no impact of tablets and latest mobile gadgets on the PC/notebook segment as the latter are critical for productivity. Tablets constitute a niche market, and they come with some handicaps, particularly infrastructure-related, but notebooks can be used on the move if they have built-in features such as adequate battery life. HP launched the Ultrabook, priced at Rs.57,990, and the Sleekbook with latest Intel core processors at Rs.41,990.

BlackBerrys most expensive smartphone

BlackBerry developer Research in Motion, launched the P9981 smartphone, its most expensive model. Conceived by the Porsche Design Group, a Germany-based company well known for giving every-day objects a new look, the P9981 is powered by the new BlackBerry operating system. it will feature a 1.2 GHz processor and an on-board memory of 8 gigabytes. The Porsche Design P9981 smartphone will be available at select BlackBerry Premium and BlackBerry Exclusive stores in India.

KG-D6 reserves 80 % less than estimate

Reliance Industries Limiteds (RILs) minority partner Niko Resources of Canada has stated that the flagship KG-D6 block holds 80 per cent less natural gas reserves than earlier estimated. In the statement, Niko, which owns a 10 per cent stake in the KG-D6 block off the East Coast, said the proved plus probable (2P) reserves at KG basin D6 block has declined to 1.93 trillion cubic feet (tcf) from its previous estimate of 9.659.9 tcf. While RIL holds 60 per cent interest in the D6 block, U.K.s BP plc owns the remaining 30 per cent.

Tata Motors MD Telang retires

Tata Motors, said its Managing Director for India operations, P. M. Telang, had retired from the company after attaining the age of superannuation. With the search for his successor on, the company said the overall responsibility of the firm would be taken care of by an interim committee, comprising its Chairman Ratan Tata and Vice-Chairman Ravi Kant. Tata Motors said it had also appointed two new executive directors Ravindra Pisharody and Satish Borwankar.

India 5th most attractive emerging mkt for retail investment

India has been ranked the fifth most attractive destination for retail investment among 30 emerging markets because of rising disposable incomes and rapid urbanisation. Even though its ranking slipped from the fourth spot in 2011, India has been placed ahead of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Russia. According to the entity's Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) 2012, Brazil is the most alluring market for investment in the retail sector, followed by Chile (second), China (third), Uruguay (fourth) and India (fifth). Noting that Europe faced another year of economic turmoil in 2011, developing countries forged full speed ahead. Some of the smaller countries with attractive retail markets include Georgia, Oman, and Mongolia, all of which are in the top 10 list this year.

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Cement firms may be in for more trouble

Cement companies, which were slapped a fine of Rs.6,307 crore by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), may face more problems with an old case filed against them with the erstwhile monopoly watchdog MRTPC coming up for decision soon before the CCI. An indication to this effect was given by the CCI in its order imposing a fine of Rs. 6,307 crore on 11 cement companies for arbitrary price fixing under the Competition Act.

Harish Bhat is new CEO of Tata Global

Tata Global Beverages, announced the induction of Cyrus P. Mistry, Deputy Chairman, Tata Sons, as a director on its board. Harish Bhat has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company. He will take over from Percy Siganporia, who retires on June 30, 2012. The release also said that Darius Pandole had joined the company as an independent director. He is a partner at New Silk Route Advisors, a private equity firm focussed on investing in India and other Asian economies.

Airbus planning to house its innovation cell in Bangalore

Global aircraft manufacturer Airbus aims to source $1 billion worth of equipment and services from its Indian entities by 2020, said Kiran Rao, Executive Vice-President, Sales and Marketing and Customer Affairs, Airbus. The company, which already sources software and engineering services from its facility in Bangalore, is setting up an innovation cell, which will be operational by the end of the year. Airbus pilot training centre in Noida would be operational by 2013. India, Dr. Rao said, was the companys fourth most important market, after China, the U.S. and the U.K. Indian commercial airliners were likely to purchase 1,043 aircraft over the next 20 years.

Microsoft rejigs Azure to take on Amazon

Microsoft Corporation officially threw down the gauntlet, right at the feet of Amazons web services, launching a revamped version of its cloud services platform and simultaneously hosting a software developer meet in Bengaluru. The Azure online platform was first released in 2010, marketed as platform as a service which provides the underlying software and hardware that allow web developers to build applications with little need for expenditure. However, the newly-updated Azure cloud service includes a type of model pioneered by Amazon, which is known as infrastructure as a service. It involves a procedure whereby the consumer rents rather than buys the hardware for computer processing and data storage, along with the Internet bandwidth to host it.

Suzlon sells Chinese arm

Debt-laden wind turbine major Suzlon, said it had sold its Chinese manufacturing subsidiary to China Power (Tianjin) New Energy Development Company for $60 million (Rs.340 crore). The two companies had signed a binding term-sheet for sale of the subsidiary, Suzlon Energy Tianjin, with the majority of its assets and liabilities for $60 million. uzlon, the worlds fifth largest wind power maker by installed capacity, has over Rs.10,000 crore in debt, out of which around Rs.6,000 crore in working capital loan and Rs.4,000 crore in long-term debt. 102

LulzSec members plead guilty of hacking

Two members of the computer hacking group LulzSec pleaded guilty to a string of charges of breaking into several high-profile websites in Britain and America. Ryan Cleary (19) and Jake Davis (18) admitted in court ahead of a trial next year that as part of LulzSec (an offshoot of the Anonymous hacking collective), they were involved in attacks on sites belonging to Britains Serious Organised Crime Agency, the National Health Service, Rupert Murdochs media group News International, Sony, 20th Century Fox and Arizona State police among others. LulzSec, a play on the word lulz or lol (laugh out loud), employed a technique called distributed denial of service (DDoS) to flood websites with high traffic in order to render them unusable.

Moodys reaffirms stable rating outlook for India

Ushering in positive sentiments in an otherwise despondent economic environment, global rating agency Moodys, retained Indias credit rating outlook at stable as it viewed that the current slowdown was unlikely to be a permanent feature of the countrys economy. Unlike its peers such as Standard & Poors and Fitch, which lowered the outlook to negative and threatened to downgrade the sovereign credit rating to speculative from investment grade on account of deteriorating growth prospects and the governments inertia on the reforms front, Moody's Investors Service chose to maintain its stable outlook on India's current Baa3 rating.

Microsoft buys internet startup Yammer for $1.2 billion

Microsoft Corp agreed to buy online social network firm Yammer Inc for $1.2 billion in cash, which will allow the software company to offer a service like Facebook Inc's to corporate customers. Talk of a deal had circulated earlier this month, but the two companies only confirmed the deal. Four-year-old Yammer, which has 5 million users of its private, in-company social networks, will become part of Microsoft's Office unit under Kurt DelBene but will still be led by current chief executive David Sacks.

US bank Wells Fargo to move jobs to India soon

Wells Fargo, the fourth largest US bank by assets, has decided to move an unspecified number of jobs to India as part of its plan to increase efficiency. Already, the bank employs 3,000 people in India at its Hyderabad and Bangalore offices, while it has 240 in the Philippines, according to the bank.

Essar Energy receives provisional nod for Mahan coal block

Essar Energy, said it had received provisional forest clearance from the Group of Ministers (GoM) for its Mahan coal block in Madhya Pradesh. It also announced that operations of the 380-MW Vadinar P1 gas-fired power station had commenced. The coal-fired Vadinar P2 project, with a total 510 MW capacity, is one of three power plants being completed by Essar Energy during 2012. The 1,200-MW Salaya I project has already been fully commissioned, and is commercially operational, while the 1,200-MW Mahan I project is expected to be synchronised shortly. Together, these three projects will take Essar Energys total installed capacity to 4,510 MW.

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Tata Power seeks nod to produce in Bhutan and sell to India

Tata Power has urged the Central Government to formulate a policy that allows a private company like it to undertake large capacity hydro electric projects in Bhutan and sell power generated in that country to India. Tata Power has recently had discussions with Bhutan Government for development of larger projects. Tata Power has been associated in the co-development of Bhutanese hydro electric project at Dacachu (125 MW) and is mandated to bring in 100 per cent of the generated electricity to India. The project is likely to be commissioned in 2012-14. Similarly, long distance 400 kV power evacuation systems between Bhutan and India to transmit power from Tala hydro electric project has been constructed and operated by Tata Power under joint venture with Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.

Infosys expands presence in Japan

Infosys announced that it had opened a second office in Japan, in Nagoya, in the manufacturing hub of Chubu. S. D. Shibulal, CEO and Managing Director, Infosys, said the company had a portfolio of more than 40 clients spread across manufacturing, financial services, and consumer packaged goods segments. He said the company had been active in Japan for the last 15 years.

Som Mittal to continue as NASSCOM President

Som Mittal will remain as the Nasscom President until early 2012. A decision to this effect was taken by the IT trade associations executive council. Mittal took over as Nasscom President in January 2008 and was set to step down by the end of 2012. The extension in appointment comes at a time when IT exports are expected to grow at a lower rate of 11 14 percent, compared to 2011s result of 17 per cent. Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies) is the 1200-member trade association that represents Indias $100 billion IT services industry.

Cyprus applies for EU aid

Cyprus became the fifth euro zone country to seek financial assistance from the European Union's rescue funds, announcing it was applying for a bailout for its banking sector hit by exposure to the crisis in Greece. Cyprus needs to raise at least 1.8 billion euros equivalent to about 10% of its domestic output, by June to satisfy European regulators about health of Cyprus Popular Bank, which saw its balance sheet hurt by bad Greek debt. It may seek more.

Huawei to open global R&D centre in India

Despite uncertainties in the telecom sector, Chinese equipment maker Huawei will invest $2 billion over the next four years in India as it looks to aggressively market consumer devices and set up global R&D centre in the country. The company, which clocked $1.5 billion in revenues from India in 2011-12, is also betting big on the roll out of 4G LTE services in India and is targeting more than 50 per cent share of the contracts coming in. The company began work on setting up a research and development centre in Bangalore in 2011, which is expected to house more than 5,000 professionals. It is investing $150 million in the facility, which is expected to become operational from June 2013. The company has already deployed 4G LTE network for telecom major Bharti Airtel in Bangalore.

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Laptops can cause Toasted Skin Syndrome

The laptop was invented to provide user mobility - so we don't end up being chained to our desk computers . But working for hours with the lappy perched on your lap could result in discoloured patchy skin. And while you could be enjoying the heat emanating from the device, especially in an air-conditioned area, you could also develop Toasted Skin Syndrome. Toasted Skin Syndrome is clinically known as Erythema Ab Igne and commonly known by various names such as 'laptop thigh' and 'hot water bottle rash' . Swiss doctors also call it 'laptop-induced dermatosis' . Nine PSUs team up to fund infra projects

As many as nine state-owned financial institutions have joined hands for consortium lending to infrastructure projects having worth over Rs.1,000 crore each. These financial institutions are State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Union Bank, IDBI Bank, IIFCL and LIC. Sandberg first woman on Facebooks board

Facebook Inc named chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg a director, elevating the first woman to a board that includes seven men. For years one of the most vocal critics of the gender imbalance in Silicon Valley's executive ranks, Sandberg, 42, joined Facebook in 2008 and played a central role in guiding the social networking company to its $16 billion IPO in May. Prior to joining Facebook to lead its business operations, Sandberg worked at Google, where she was credited with building the search advertising division into a massively lucrative cornerstone of the web giant's business.

Maruti's new 800cc car to hit market later this year

Maruti Suzuki India is gearing up to introduce by the end of 2012 a new 800cc car that is likely to be more fuel efficient, but also more expensive, than its existing best selling model Alto. The company will start commercial production of the car at its Gurgaon facility from July or August 2012 and will launch it by Diwali. The company has stopped selling M800 in specific cities where Bharat Stage IV emission norms are applicable as the car does not meet the stringent parameters. Although MSI is still selling its first model in the country in other places, it has categorically ruled out upgrading it. The M800 will be naturally phased out once emission norms are upgraded in rest of the country.

E-voting must for listed firms

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), made electronic voting mandatory for all listed companies in respect of those businesses to be transacted through postal ballot which would help shareholders participate in decision-making without being physically present in the meetings. SEBI said that it would create Qualified Audit Report Review Committee (QARC) represented by ICAI and stock exchanges to guide SEBI in processing audit reports where auditors have given qualified audit reports.

Coca Cola to invest $5 b in India by 2020

Coca-Cola Chief Executive Officer, Muhtar Kent, announced that his company would invest $5 billion in the country between 2012 and 2020. Mr. Kent said, at present, the country was in the seventh spot, which has improved from around 16th or 17th in 2005-06. India has a massive teen population, large-scale urbanisation, changing lifestyle, and growing economy.

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Google to promote Indic-language content

Lalitesh Katragadda, head of India Products at the leading internet services and search company Google said that he has a target to take the internet to over 300 million people in India by 2015. The population of internet users in India is around 120 million today, and that is the same amount, as the number of English speakers in the country. If we want more Indians to have internet access we need to redouble our efforts to ensure that more people can get content in their mother tongues." Google India which a few years ago introduced 'transliteration' services on several of its services in India which allows users to type Indic languages using Latin text believes that a lot still needs to be done to promote local languages in India.

Fujifilm to exit low-cost camera market in India

Camera maker Fujifilm has said it will exit India's ultra low-cost (ULC) market, where models are priced below Rs 4,000. These are less profitable and none of the competitors are present in this segment.Fujifilm India Executive Vice President Rohit Pandit told . The company's price range will start from Rs 4,999 with AX500 and it will go up to Rs 99,999 for X-Pro1. According to Fujifilm India, the Indian digital camera market is expected to reach 35 lakh units in 2012 from about 28 lakh units in 2011.

TVH ropes in Viswanathan Anand as brand ambassador

Real estate developer TVH has roped in World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand as brand ambassador for all its new projects. N. Ravichandran, Chairman, TVH Group, said the company, having projects in Chennai and Coimbatore, was expanding its presence in the south. The brand had been growing slowly and steadily and had created a niche by being a customer-centric real estate brand.

RPowers Butibori plant on stream

Reliance Power (RPower), has announced that it had commissioned the 600-MW Butibori thermal power project near Nagpur in Maharashtra. Reliance Power has invested Rs.3,600 crore in the Butibori plant. With Butibori, our operating capacity goes up to 1,540 MW. The projects under construction are progressing satisfactorily, Reliance Power CEO J. P. Chalasani said. Ford to close Philippines plant

US automaker Ford will close its plant in the Philippines in 2013. The Sta. Rosa plant in Laguna province will no longer assemble Ford cars due to a "small supply base and lack of economies of scale", it said. The company, however, assured the customers it will not have an impact on the price and availability of Ford cars. The shutdown will affect only about 250 employees. The plant started its operations in 1999 and produced models such Ford Lynx, Ford Ranger, Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute.

Google unveils Nexus 7 tablet

Google Inc unveiled its first tablet PC, as the company looks to replicate its smartphone success in a tablet market where it faces stiff competition from Apple Inc, Microsoft and Amazon.

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HSBC to sell stakes in Axis, Yes banks

Global banking major HSBC is on course to offload its entire 4.8% stake in Indian private banking major Axis Bank, selling off a little more than 1.9 crore shares of the bank at a price range between Rs 951 and Rs 971 per share. HSBC is also planning to sell its 4.8% stake in Yes Bank, nearly 1.7 crore shares, at a price between Rs 318 and Rs 325 per share. The two deals together, to be done through block deals by HSBC Securities, could be worth about Rs 2,450 crore at the upper end of the price band. HSBC's sale of shares in Axis Bank and Yes Bank are part of the UK major's strategy to divest stakes in banks and other companies in which it has stakes. If the deal goes through, these would be the fifth and sixth large deal in the banking and financial services space in the last six months. Earlier this year, Citigroup sold its stake in housing finance major HDFC for nearly Rs 10,000 crore ($1.9 billion), while US private equity major Warburg Pincus offloaded its stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank for about Rs 1,350 crore ($274 million) and Singapore government arm Temasek sold a 1.4% stake in ICICI Bank for nearly Rs 1,500 crore.

Barclays fined $450 million over lending

Barclays PLC and its subsidiaries will pay about $453 million to settle charges that they tried to manipulate interest rates that can affect how much people pay for loans to attend college or buy a house. Britain's Barclays is one of several major banks reportedly under investigation for such violations. The incidents occurred between 2005 and 2009 and sometimes took place daily, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said. A $200 million civil penalty levied against Barclays is the largest in the CFTC's history. Under the settlement, Barclays agreed to more strictly separate its traders from their colleagues involved in daily proposals for the Libor rate. The LIBOR is an average rate set by banks each morning that measures how much they're going to charge each other for loans. That rate, in turn, affects rates on many loans for consumers and businesses.

Apple wins order to block Galaxy Tab's sales in US

Apple won a court order immediately blocking US sales of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer as the companies continue their global patent dispute. Apple's request, part of a broader patent dispute over smartphones and tablets, was based on an appeals court finding that it will probably win its patent-infringement claim relating to the Tab 10.1 tablet. The Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung will take necessary legal steps in response to ruling on the year-old model, The US sales ban follows ruling in The Hague that Apple has to compensate Samsung for damages caused by a breach of patents since August 2010. Apple also sought a US ban on the latest model of the Galaxy S smartphone.

Tea Board to close overseas offices

The Tea Board has decided to shut shop in London, Dubai and Moscow. It also plans to roll out a new Rs.300-crore scheme for small growers and extend financial support to small growers affected by hail [hail is a form of solid precipitation consisting of balls or irregular lumps of ice] in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

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GM to introduce refreshed Spark, phase out Aveo U-VA, Optra

General Motors India is planning to come up with refreshed Spark as the small car has aged a bit and needs some changes to excite customers in the mini car segment. The company also plans to phase out Aveo and Optra and launch Sail and Enjoy. There is a de-growth of around 15 per cent in the mini car segment of Spark and Beat said GM India President and MD Lowell Paddock.

ACi launches laptop for Rs.4,999

ACi, a laptop specialist brand from the U.K., unveiled the lowest-priced and fully-functional laptop computer for the Indian market. The ACi Icon 1100 is a fully-functional high resolution 10.2-inch screen laptop computer priced at Rs.4,999. ACi is represented in India by Allied Computers International (Asia) Ltd., which will market the products and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Hirji Patel, Chairman, Allied Computers International (Asia), said, The ACi ICON 1100 is the lowest-priced fully-functional laptop in India. It is Windows-compatible with an expandable memory up to 1 GB.A U.K.-based non-resident Indian, Mr. Patel established the ACi brand there in 1992 and ACi introduced its first custom-designed ACi NotePro in India in 1993.

HMSI plans to invest Rs. 1,500 cr this year

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) will be investing Rs. 1,500 crore this year alone in India under various heads. This would be the largest investment in a single year, according to Y.S. Guleria, VicePresident. In the last seven years, the total investment was only Rs.3,500 crore. The companys global brand slogan The power of dreams recognised India as the centre of global two-wheeler business for the company, he said. With the launch of Dream Yuga, Honda had unleashed its first big step towards mobility in India. Dream Yuga is a true India-specific mass motorcycle, The Japanese bike-maker has signed up Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador.

Fino acquires Nokias mobile payment arm

Financial inclusion facilitating firm Fino, said that it had acquired Finnish handset-maker Nokias mobile payment services business in the country for an undisclosed sum that will help it enter the prepaid mobile payments segment. Fino, which is primarily into offering business correspondence services to banks as they carry forward the government and Reserve Bank-mandated financial inclusion agenda, has bought Alpha Payment Services, earlier called as Nokia Mobile Payment Services, in an all-cash deal, Fino CEO Manish Khera said. IRDA slaps Rs.1.47 cr fine on HDFC Life

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), has imposed a hefty fine of Rs.1.47 crore on HDFC Life Insurance for violation of various regulatory provisions. A penalty of this nature is a regulatory necessity to impress upon management of any insurance company that regulatory prescriptions have to be complied with at all times and failure to do so will entail appropriate regulatory action, the order signed by IRDA Chairman J. Hari Narayan said. The maximum penalty of Rs.1.05 crore was imposed in a case of death claim under home loan protection policies. The claim was denied in a case where death occurred within 90 days from the date of commencement of the policy despite the IRDA advising the insurer to delete this exclusion clause.

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Bharti Airtel, Idea plan to shift data traffic to Wi-Fi

Indian mobile phone companies such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and others are looking to shift a part of their data services to Wi-Fi hotspots, freeing up scarce 2G and 3G airwaves for mobile telephony. Mobile phone companies are building Wi-Fi hotspots to accommodate growing mobile broadband data usage among consumers. Bharti Airtel has already set up more than 1,000 hot spots in top three cities across India where data consumption is very high, apportioning a greater proportion of its licensed spectrum for handling voice traffic. A hotspot is any location that offers wireless internet access. A person carrying a Wi-Fi-enabled smartphone can access internet from a hotspot.

Now, 'musical buddy' robot

A musical companion developed by researchers recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping based on listener feedback. The smartphone-enabled, one-foot-tall robot, called Shimi, is billed as an interactive " musical buddy." "Shimi is designed to change the way that people enjoy and think about their music," Professor Gil Weinberg, director of Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology and the robot's creator, said. Shimi is essentially a docking station with a "brain" powered by an Android phone. Once docked, the robot gains the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user's mobile device. In other words, if there's an "app for that," Shimi is ready. For instance, by using the phone's camera and facedetecting software, the bot can follow a listener around the room and position its "ears," or speakers, for optimal sound. Another recognition feature is based on rhythm and tempo. If the user taps or claps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phone's musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion. Once the music starts, Shimi dances to the rhythm.

Suzuki, Honda go for Splendors share

The 6-million-unit-a-year executive commuter segment, dominated now by Hero's Splendor. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) and Suzuki Motorcycles India (SMI) have decided to steal Splendor's show but have completely different strategies in place. Honda's Dream Yuga and Suzuki's Hayate have been launched with a view to capturing the executive market. However, Suzuki has positioned Hayate as the most affordable bike in the segment while Dream Yuga is the most expensive. Honda says the strategy is to charge a premium for what it calls the 'best in class' performance. The brand ambassadors signed on also show the competition - Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan respectively.

Cairn UK to sell 3.5% in Cairn India for $370m

Cairn Energy of UK, till recently the promoters of Cairn India, is selling 6.7 crore shares of the company, for about Rs 2,100 crore ($370 million). The stake sale, through accelerated book building process and at a price of between Rs 307.5 and Rs 317 per share, is being handled by Citigroup's securities arm in India. Till December 2011, Cairn Energy was the main promoter of Cairn India when it sold a majority stake in the oil exploration company to Anil Agarwal-controlled Vedanta group in a deal worth about $6.5 billion. Vedanta had picked up another 15% stake in Cairn India from Malaysian energy giant Petronas, which was an initial strategic investor in the company.

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General Motors says no to Cadillac brand for India

India may be on the radar of global luxury car makers, but General Motors has said it has no immediate plans to roll out its Cadillac premium cars in the market. The company, that sells cars under the Chevrolet brand, says that it is still not considering any plan for the Cadillac in India. ""The Cadillac is a key brand for General Motors globally" GM India President Lowell Paddock told. GM currently is to grow the company's sales under the Chevrolet brand.

Nokia launches dual-SIM Asha 302, 202 phones

Nokia has launched two mobile handsets having new features. Nokia Asha 302 and 202 dual-SIM are designed to offer a richer consumer experience with the best access to music services, internet, social networks and greater functionalities at affordable prices.

World Bank cancels $1.2bn loan for Bangladesh bridge over corruption case

The World Bank has cancelled a $1.2 billion loan for Bangladesh's Padma bridge project, saying the government had not cooperated in investigating "high level" corruption in the project. The World Bank provided evidence from two investigations to the prime minister, as well as the minister of finance and the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bangladesh in September 2011 and April 2012.

Chocolate consumption trebles since 2005

Chocolate consumption in India has nearly trebled since 2005, which is the reason why leading chocolate companies are investing in bringing premium brands such as Toblerone. Cadbury India, which has been on an overdrive to promote its premium brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk and Bournville, is now rolling out Toblerone from parent Kraft Foods' stable. The iconic triangular chocolate is understood to be the leading brand across duty free stores at airports across the world. Toblerone, which is present in certain pockets of the grey market, would now be imported by Cadbury India to compete with the likes of Ferrero Rocher, Hershey's and Lindt.

GSPL signs pact for gas pipeline

The Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) has signed a Rs 5,080 crore agreement with a consortium of 14 banks for a joint venture pipeline project for transmission of natural gas from Mallavaram in Andhra Pradesh coast to Bilwara and Bhopal. The total cost of the Mallavaram-Bhopal-Bhilwara-Vijaipur pipeline project is about `7,255 crore, out of which `2,175 crore will be raised through equity infusion by the partners while the rest 70 per cent of the fund will be arranged through debt. The time frame for completion of the 1,585 km long pipeline project is 36 months. GSPLs tie-up project GSPL India Gasnet Ltd (GIGL), another joint venture promoted by GSPL for implementation of Rs 6,449 crore Mehsana-Bhatinda-Jammu-Srinagar pipeline project having a total length of 2,351 kms. Total gas carrying capacity for these projects would be approximately 90 mmscmd.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev buys Modelo for $20 billion billion in astring of deals by big brewers looking for growth in emerging markets.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, world's biggest brewer, will buy half of Grupo Modelo it does not already own for $20.1 The owner of Budweiser and Stella Artois beers said it reached an agreement with Modelo's controlling families to capture best-selling Mexican beer Corona Extra.

Mahindra launches CNG variant of Maxximo

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra launched a CNG variant of its mini truck 'Maxximo' priced at Rs 3.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The company is targeting transporters and corporate segment with the new product. Mahindra is committed towards sustainable mobility and the environment. The launch of Maxximo CNG is one more step in that direction.

Sharad Pawar to head EGoM on telecom

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will head a high-power ministerial panel tasked with the onus of deciding on auction of telecom spectrum. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has been reconstituted after Pranab Mukherjee, who was heading it, resigned as Finance Minister to contest the Presidential elections.

Zuckerberg out of top 40 rich list

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has fallen out of the billionaire big-league less than two weeks after taking the social network public. The 28-year-old has seen more than $4 billion wiped off his fortune since the company went public, dropping him off the list of the top 40 billionaires measured by Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Shell, RPower and KSPL in tie up for floating LNG terminal

Royal Dutch Shell, Reliance Power and Kakinada Sea Ports Limited (KSPL) have joined hands to set up a 5 million-tonne per annum floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal off the coast of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh by 2014. GAIL (India) has already roped in French utility GDF Suez and signed a pact with the Andhra Pradesh Government for a 3.5 million-tonne floating LNG receipt facility at the same port. After the success of Shell's Hazira terminal in Gujarat, Shell is keen to set up an LNG receiving terminal in Andhra Pradesh, Royal Dutch Shell's Global Head of LNG. At present, GAIL is doing a detailed feasibility report for the floating import facility. Petronet LNG Ltd., the largest importer of LNG, too, is building a 5 million-tonne facility at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), too, is doing a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for a terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu.

Samsung eyes 60% share with Galaxy S III

Samsung said it is aiming for 60% market share in Indian smartphone market by the end of this year. Ranjit Yadav, head of Samsung's mobile & IT business in India, said that the company's flagship smartphone Galaxy S III, would help it widen the lead over competitors. Galaxy S III runs on Android operating software and is a direct competitor to iPhone 4S in India. Both Apple and Samsung are engaged in a fierce fight to carve out a lion's share in the fast-growing smartphone market.

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Pawan Hans plans to connect NCR townships

Pawan Hans Helicopter Limited (PHHL) has drawn up plans to connect Delhi with neighbouring cities such as Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan through chopper services to tap the huge tourism and medical potential in the National Capital Region (NCR). PHHL is planning to provide seamless air connectivity between Delhi and neighbouring towns, not only to promote tourism, but also facilitate carriage of critical patients to multispeciality hospitals in the New Delhi.

Crisil acquires British firm

Rating agency Crisil, agreed to acquire Britain-based analytics firm Coalition Development and its subsidiaries for around Rs.250 crore (29 million pounds), which will help it expand the service offerings and customer base. The deal had a maximum payout of 29 million pounds with earn-outs over two years linked to achievement of specified milestones for the company's future revenues and profits, Crisil said. Crisil GR&A is a top-ranked provider of high-end research and analytics services. It is the world's largest provider of equity and fixed income research services supporting around 90 per cent of global market or over 2,000 stocks, and is also the foremost provider of end-to-end risk and analytics services to trading and risk management functions at the world's leading financial institutions and corporations. Its teams, based in India, Argentina, China and Poland, annually review over 20 per cent of the global equity derivatives and build and validate over 3,500 models.

Telenor not to quit India

Norway's Telenor hinted it had dropped plans to exit India and would participate in the upcoming spectrum auctions with a new partner after scrapping its existing joint venture with real-estate developer Unitech Ltd.

Microsoft launches Windows 8 release preview

Microsoft is nearly done with a much-anticipated overhaul of its Windows operating system. The software maker signaled the makeover is nearly complete with release of the final test version of Windows 8. Windows 8 is considered to be the biggest change in decades to Microsoft's widely used operating system. The software displays applications in a mosaic of tiles and has been designed so it can run desktop, laptop and tablet computers. The latest test version of Windows 8 is available in 14 languages and includes several improvements from a less-refined version released three months ago.

Toyota hikes prices of select models

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, raised the prices of select models by up to one per cent with immediate effect to partly offset losses due to rupee depreciation. The company had raised the prices of the diesel version of its sedan Etios and multi-utility vehicle Innova by one per cent. There is also a 0.5 per cent increase in Fortuner and Etios Liva Diesel, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Deputy Managing Director (Marketing) Sandeep Singh said.

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Taiwanese bank to open branch at Sriperumbudur

Chinatrust Commercial Bank will be opening a branch at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. It will be the second branch of the bank, is the only Taiwanese bank operating in India. It has a branch in New Delhi. CEO of Chinatrust Commercial Bank in India Subhasis Banerjee said.

Super-thin PCs, personal clouds at Taipei show

Super-thin portable PCs, a new Windows version for mobile devices and customisable Internet clouds will lead a major computer show in Taiwan. Top-brand exhibitors at Computex Taipei 2012 will showcase ultrabook models pioneered in year 2011 by Taiwan-based PC makers Acer and Asustek. The notebooks resemble Apple's MacBook Air, but run on the Windows Operating Systems and sell for less. Many of the big names at the annual show are expected to come out with tablet PCs that use a soon-to-emerge Windows 8. Earlier Windows versions have lagged behind Google's system and Apple's iOS in smart phones and tablet PCs.

TDSAT pulls up Govt for imposing fresh penalty on Idea

Telecom tribunal TDSAT has pulled up the Government for imposing fresh penalties on Idea Cellular despite an earlier order setting aside a similar fine due to the operators alleged delay in service roll-out obligations in five circles. A TDSAT bench headed by its Chairman Justice S B Sinha said it has already set aside the penalty on Idea Cellular on December 2011 observing that principles of natural justice were not followed by Department of Telecommunications while imposing the aforesaid liquidated damages. The core issue between the parties remaining the same. The matter relates to roll-out obligation in five circles - Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. These circles came to Ideas fold after its merger with Spice Communications.

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