Joe C Mathew &Amp; Ishita Russell In New Delhi

Stories by Joe C Mathew &Amp; Ishita Russell In New Delhi

Internet reaching out to youth in hinterland

Internet reaching out to youth in hinterland

Rediff.com   31 Jul 2008

A study by Internet research firm JuxtConsult reveals that one out of every seven regular Internet users is from the rural belt.

Fertiliser firms to invest $5 bn in JVs abroad

Fertiliser firms to invest $5 bn in JVs abroad

Rediff.com   31 Jul 2008

Indian fertiliser companies are planning to invest around $5 billion (Rs 21,000 crore -- Rs 210 billion) in overseas joint ventures over the next three years. These companies are in negotiations for 19 such ventures, said government officials. These joint ventures are aimed at sourcing nitrogenous, phosphatic fertilisers and other raw materials.

Prices of 70 drugs may be raised

Prices of 70 drugs may be raised

Rediff.com   28 Jul 2008

Move is the first in a series of steps to help pharma industry.

Indian brands to counter Chinese unbranded mobiles

Indian brands to counter Chinese unbranded mobiles

Rediff.com   28 Jul 2008

Multinational mobile companies such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and LG, who dominate the mobile handset space with over 75 per cent of the market share, might face a new challenge. This time it's not from Chinese unbranded products, which have been flooding the Indian market.

US Cong seeks details of Ranbaxy drug approvals

US Cong seeks details of Ranbaxy drug approvals

Rediff.com   24 Jul 2008

Two United States senators have asked the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to provide details of market approvals given to all medicines sold by India's largest drug-maker Ranbaxy in that country.

US FDA to set up Indian offices by '09

US FDA to set up Indian offices by '09

Rediff.com   21 Jul 2008

Under fire from some United States senators for allegedly taking lenient positions in granting product approvals to generic companies from countries like India, the US FDA is planning to speed up its plans to set up offices in India by 2009. FDA, in its latest newsletter dated July 21, has said that the agency will set up offices in Mumbai and Delhi to intensify its monitoring efforts.

Chinese hi-tech handsets for Rs 2000!

Chinese hi-tech handsets for Rs 2000!

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2008

According to research firm IDC, China shipped 85 million GSM handsets in the last fiscal. And it says China's percentage share is likely to go up since these phones offer swanky features ranging from 3 megapixel camera, terrestrial TV, music and MP3 players.

'I am not a businessman who wants  a hospital'

'I am not a businessman who wants a hospital'

Rediff.com   16 Jul 2008

When Fortis Healthcare wanted heart surgeon Naresh Trehan out of its new acquisition, the Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi, last year, Trehan's ambitions to set up his own healthcare facility -- Medicity -- was cited as the cause. However, Trehan's plans were not new. Medicity, to be set up in Gurgaon, was first announced in 2005, the year Fortis acquired Escorts Heart Institute. Trehan continued as the Escorts' executive director for two more years.

Ranbaxy to file response within a month

Ranbaxy to file response within a month

Rediff.com   16 Jul 2008

Under fire in the United States for giving distorted information on the generic drugs it sold, Ranbaxy Laboratories on Tuesday said that it will file all relevant information within a month after which the legal case initiated against it by the US government will be withdrawn.

Rising ATF prices: bad news for couriers

Rising ATF prices: bad news for couriers

Rediff.com   14 Jul 2008

As all airlines have raised carriage charges, private couriers have increased their tariffs 8-20 per cent. India Post, on the other hand, has not tinkered with its tariffs at all. As a result, India Post's tariff is 70 per cent cheaper for domestic destinations and 30 per cent cheaper for international destinations.

New comp? Hit a mobile store!

New comp? Hit a mobile store!

Rediff.com   14 Jul 2008

The next time you walk into your trendy branded mobile retail store you might come out buying an MP3 player, a Sony Play Station or even a laptop rather than a mobile phone.

Bidding to decide 3G price for BSNL, MTNL

Bidding to decide 3G price for BSNL, MTNL

Rediff.com   10 Jul 2008

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided to allocate one block of 3G spectrum in each service area except Delhi and Mumbai to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) at a price equivalent to the highest bid in the respective service areas.

DoT hikes reserve price for broadband services

DoT hikes reserve price for broadband services

Rediff.com   9 Jul 2008

The Department of Telecommunications has decided to hike four-fold the reserve price for broadband wireless access services in the country.

Anil Nanda moves HC in Escorts case

Anil Nanda moves HC in Escorts case

Rediff.com   9 Jul 2008

Anil Nanda, a former member of the governing body of Escorts Heart Institute, today moved an appeal before a division bench of the Delhi high court challenging the dismissal of his petition by the court last Thursday.

Ranbaxy, others to scrap 60 drug combinations

Ranbaxy, others to scrap 60 drug combinations

Rediff.com   7 Jul 2008

The voluntary move comes a little more than a year after the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, the central authority that approves new drugs for marketing, had asked the drug makers to withdraw the 'combination drugs' as they are 'unnecessary' and may pose health hazards. The Drugs Controller General of India had banned 294 combination drugs sold under nearly 1,053 brand names from the market in June 2007.

Loss making drugs may go off the shelf

Loss making drugs may go off the shelf

Rediff.com   27 Jun 2008

Facing a steep rise in raw material and interest costs, pharmaceutical companies have sought an increase in prices of regulated medicines, saying otherwise they may be forced to curtail production of certain medicines that have become unprofitable.

Pharma firms bank on brand extensions

Pharma firms bank on brand extensions

Rediff.com   19 Jun 2008

Stiff competition in a highly fragmented market has led the domestic drug makers to depend on brand extensions rather than new product launches to corner a market share. A market intelligence study, organised by prescription audit company ORG IMS Health, has found that one in every three brands launched in the country is a brand extension. Such products comprise 18 per cent of the Rs 28,000-crore domestic pharmaceutical market.

Indian pharma firms boost Wal-Mart revenues

Indian pharma firms boost Wal-Mart revenues

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2008

Ranbaxy, Cipla and other Indian drug makers are helping US retailer Wal-Mart sell drugs at low cost and boost revenue.

Daiichi Sankyo gets a patent advantage

Daiichi Sankyo gets a patent advantage

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2008

Apart from a five per cent share of the Indian pharmaceutical market, the purchase of Ranbaxy will take Daiichi Sankyo way ahead of others in the race among Indian companies for patent-protected drugs. A recent paper on 'Patenting Landscape in India' by Evalueserve shows that Ranbaxy alone accounts for over 23 per cent of the total medicine patent applications filed by major domestic companies in India.

Malvinder: The man who put business before family

Malvinder: The man who put business before family

Rediff.com   13 Jun 2008

Malvinder, who has made his family richer by Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion), was brought up in relative austerity. While his cousins zipped around the town in fancy cars, he would travel to college in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses.