DoT has set up a committee to frame the proposed Act, which will have seven members with retired judge Justice Shivraj Patil as its chairman.
Both the main stock exchanges have set in motion a separate platform to generate more interest and more liquidity for the small and medium enterprises (SME) segment.
The saga of buying out high-end office space in Mumbai continues. In a latest development, Mumbai-based education company, Core Projects and Technologies, is in talks with the leading plastic goods maker Supreme Industries to buy out the office property developed by the latter in the Andheri area of Mumbai. The deal could be worth Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.5 billion) in value, said sources close to the development.
Providence had bought 15 per cent in Idea Cellular in 2006 for around Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion) through its investment arm - P5 Asia Investment (Mauritius).
This is part of the government's plan to raise Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from disinvestment in the current financial year.
The broad idea was endorsed by the DoT's internal panel in its report on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's recommendations last year on spectrum management and other licensing issues.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) of the country's four new GSM operators who got licences in 2008 - Uninor, S-Tel, Videocon and Etisalat DB - was between Rs 8.50 and Rs 39 in the January-March quarter.
The move will require a one-time payment of Rs 4,000-5,000 crore (Rs 40-50 billion), for which DoT would give financial support, a senior official from the latter told Business Standard.
Six months after the Paras deal, Actis wants to exit Sterling Hospitals, a Gujarat-based multi-speciality hospital chain with six centres, according to three independent sources in the know.
The project, estimated to cost Rs 2,500-3,000 crore, is to be jointly implemented with the Ceylon Electricity Board, the largest power company of Sri Lanka.
The telecom PSU plans to get back in black in two years; BSNL too has started discussions to lease out its towers.
The idea is to reduce capital investments and improve profitability.
Tax liability insurance is a key negotiation tool used by companies and advisers when a potential tax exposure has been identified and neither party is willing to bear the risk.
The interested companies include Emami and Dabur.
The scheme will be offered to 15,000 employees, or one-third of the workforce, in the current financial year.
The turnaround has been possible due to availability of domestic gas on priority.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has started talks on synergising operations with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which offers telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai.
RGPPL has signed a power purchase agreement with the government of Daman and Diu for selling about 98 Mw of power from July.
Scheme likely to come into force by June or July this year; both PSUs have been losing revenues and market share.
Department of telecommunications has set up a committee to look into the issue of escalating cost for the project.