Bajaj family members are in the final stages of reaching a peace formula to their six-year-old dispute over the division of group companies and assets. Sources familiar with the developments said an announcement can be expected in the next 10 days, but did not want to divulge details.
Korean car maker Hyundai Motors India Ltd said it will have to lay off 2,000 temporary workers, about one-fourth of its labour force, to tide over a decline in car sales. The company employs over 8,400 workers, of which around 3,300 are temporary.
Telecom infrastructure major GTL Infrastructure will use its Rs 2,200 crore cash reserves to buy back foreign currency convertible bonds.
This is the second project in the country in which a metro rail project is being undertaken through a PPP model after the 71-kilometre Hyderabad metro project was won by Maytas Infrastructure. According to industry sources, infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro had also initially shown interest for the project, but backed out finally.
This is the first time Hill & Knowlton, part of the WPP group that has several joint ventures in advertising, is venturing into India in this area. The Hong Kong-based company has presence in more than 41 countries across the globe. The PR business has been attracting the attention of international agencies and many have already set up JVs or signed partnerships with Indian players.
However, this rule will not be applicable to companies holding licences for a period of three years, even if they acquire licences in other circles to expand their operations, according to sources close to the development. The suggestion was made by the DoT to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which will decide on making it a regulation, along with other suggestions on the lock-in period put forward by the licensor.
The move gains importance after two new telecom players -- Swan and Unitech -- sold stakes to foreign companies at high premiums after the allocation of spectrum. The Left parties had also accused Telecom Minister A Raja of underselling spectrum that cost the national exchequer around Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion).
Nokia has already increased prices of its base models by around 3-4 per cent. Industry analysts expect other manufacturers to follow suit. "The 25 per cent increase in the value of dollar vis-a-vis rupee (the dollar rose to Rs 50 this month from Rs 40 in March) has resulted in our import costs going up. This has compelled us to increase the prices of our old models launched during the last 6-9 months," said HTC (India) Country Head Ajay Sharma.
The cost cutting efforts by corporates, like restricting travel, would also be beneficial to the industry. HotSpot, the multi-brand technology retail chain of the Spice group, will increase its presence to around 3,000 outlets in the next two years.
Days after NTT DoCoMo of Japan announced that it will buy 26 per cent in Tata Teleservices for $2.7 billion, NRI businessman C Sivasankaran has decided to put on the block his eight per cent stake in the company.
Mobile subscribers are in for a bonanza as telecom tariffs are set to come down by at least 25-30 per cent by the year-end. Factors such as a fall in the availability of international bandwidth, entry of new licencees and mobile virtual network operators, and the move to permit unrestricted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony will help bring down the tariffs.
After 11 years of hanging like a sword on PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd, the government's condition that the company must dilute its equity in fully-owned downstream ventures is close to being waived.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has rejected a proposal by Tata Investment Corporation (TIC) to issue zero coupon convertible bonds (ZCCBs) with detachable warrants to its shareholders.
The government and Reserve Bank of India are working on measures that include relaxing norms for Non-Performing Assets (sticky loans) and prudential lending to kick-start key infrastructure projects.
At present, the cheapest business phone (with personal digital assistants) is priced at Rs 15,000, while high-end phones are available around Rs 13,000.
The government is discussing a number of policy measures to insulate India from the impact of the global financial crisis including further banking reform, industrial de-control, auctioning all loss-making public sector units, foreign investment in retail, amending labour laws and notifying important pending legislation like the Delhi Rent Control Act.
Singur divided between those who want Tata back and those who just want their land.
The regulator has suggested that all spectrum will be auctioned as opposed to the current policy of bundling it with a 2G licence. A beginning has been made with the auctioning of spectrum for 3G services, which is due later this year. Trai has also suggested that licences for any telecom service should be auctioned as opposed to the current policy, where it is given on a first-come-first-served basis. The new policy is expected to be ready by the end of December this year.
If you are a wireless (read Wi-Fi) internet user, you could easily be the next victim of a terrorist who accesses your computer to send emails, which can get you into trouble with authorities as was the case with some users in Mumbai.
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