Globally, Perfetti Van Melle ranks third in the confectionery sweepstakes after Mars and Cadbury. But in India, it leads the pack with a 25 per cent share of the Rs 3,000-crore (Rs 30 billion) per annum market
While the Centre asserted the situation could be handled effectively, chief ministers sought additional funds to deal with the situation. The country as a whole has witnessed a rainfall deficiency of 29 per cent as on Monday and the number of districts reeling under drought or drought-like condition has gone up to 207.
Fraught four-month-long negotiation between Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover and the United Kingdom government over a loan guarantee ended in an anti-climax on Tuesday, with the Mumbai-headquartered automobile maker announcing that it has secured loans from commercial banks and would not need any support from the UK government.
With the rural segment accounting for 60 per cent of sales for fast moving consumer goods companies and 40-50 per cent for consumer durables manufacturers, the government's admission of sowing having fallen almost 20 per cent due to the weak monsoon, and declaring 161 districts as drought-prone, has put these sectors under a cloud.
This upturn comes soon after an earlier stalling of demand. In February, DLF, the country's largest property developer, said it had stalled construction on 16 million sq ft of commercial space (retail and office) due to lack of demand. So, too, with other developers like Unitech, Parsvnath and Raheja, who either stalled or slowed the construction of their commercial properties because of a demand-supply mismatch.
Pressured by low-cost carriers, the Federation of Indian Airlines has called off its decision to suspend domestic operations on August 18, two days after it was announced.
Tuesday's move, announced at a press conference in the capital, comes a little over a month after an accident killed six workers at a metro construction site on July 12. The accident, the latest in a series over the past year, raised public outrage and prompted Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's widely respected chief E Sreedharan to submit his resignation, which the state government declined to accept.
The government intends to borrow Rs 1,10,000 crore over the next 75 days, which will push up its first-half borrowings by Rs 58,000 crore from the earlier planned level.This means that the government will now borrow Rs 2,99,000 crore by the end of September through bond issues, which would account for around two-thirds of the Rs 4,51,000 crore the Centre proposes to borrow during the current financial year.
Anil Ambani's Reliance ADA Group formalised its association with DreamWorks Studios promoted by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and his partner Stacey Snider.
While some like RPG's Spencer's and Wadhawan group's Spinach say it will encourage them to invest more in cold chains, others such as Aditya Birla Retail and Future Group said the announcement has come too late and helps fresh produce and chilled product suppliers more than retailers.
Excise duty cut of Rs 6,000 on big cars to be passed to customers; LCDs cheaper by Rs 3,500.
The government has permitted scheduled banks, including state-owned ones, to issue "zero-coupon bonds" to meet long-term capital requirements, according to the Budget documents.
On the conclusion of the mandatory open offer to shareholders of Satyam Computers, the new owner, Tech Mahindra, has a little over 42 per cent stake in the company, as against the original plan of acquiring a total of 51 per cent of the equity.
Big TV is also in talks with other private equity majors, though these are at preliminary stages, to raise funds. The exact quantum of funding to be raised from Carlyle would depend on the 'promises' by players, he said. The company is also in discussions with major players like The Blackstone Group, Providence and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for raising funds.
The scheme allows a permanent employee to take leave for up to two years without pay or allowances and return to join at the same level where he or she left. The decision comes a few days after the unions suggested several schemes, including leave without pay to cut costs while maintaining the interests of the employees. In Mumbai, the airline announced it has set up a committee comprising representatives of the management and the unions to turn around the airline.
Nandan Nilekani will have the responsibility to lay down plans and policies to implement the Unique Identity card scheme and shall own and operate the UID database. The authority was notified on January 28 this year as an attached office under the aegis of the Planning Commission with an initial core team of 115 officials and staff. The scheme will be implemented in three years.
When National Aviation Company of India's wage bill is described as impossible to sustain, the unions say it is due in large part to the salaries paid to the same brass which wants pay cuts, apart from other creamy layers such as pilots and engineers, who get quite a bit through productivity-linked incentives. Hence, say the unions, it is these sections which need to take the hit in salaries, not their members.
Mobile operators are divided on the consensus reached in the government to increase the base price for 3G auctioning to Rs 4,040 crore. Earlier, the base price for auctioning ranged from as low as Rs 1,020 crore to Rs 2,040 crore.
Extending STPI tax benefits beyond 2010 (it was extended by a year in 2009) has been a long-standing demand of the software sector.
With the last two stimulus packages working wonders for the packaged goods industry, players in the sector are now rooting for one more round of fiscal incentives to further boost demand in the domestic rural markets and be competitive overseas.
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