Half the money, to be invested over the next 12 months, will be used to expand its mobile network.
Sahara group promoter Subrata Roy said he will take his newly acquired Indian Premier League (IPL) team public by 2013, the second year of operations, and is open to having investors take a minority equity stake in the franchisee.
Indian companies with a majority foreign shareholding will not get relief from the stringent norms that govern their contributions and donations within the country.
Currently, FDI up to 100 per cent is allowed in the drugs and pharmaceuticals on the automatic route.
The money, together with disinvestment proceeds, is crucial for Mukherjee to meet his fiscal deficit target of 5.5 per cent for 2010-11 from 6.7 per cent in 2009-10.
By setting a single spectrum-release deadline for all bidders, the finance ministry aims to ensure a level playing field for all operators.
India's share will only get bigger once SpiceJet enters the fray from June to fly south east Asia and south Asian countries.
The Direct Taxes Code 2009 is now on the back burner. The Union finance ministry has veered round to the view that its bold move to reform direct taxes should be subjected to further scrutiny. Contrary to earlier expectations, therefore, the Direct Taxes Code 2009 will not be presented to Parliament as a Bill along with the Union Budget for 20010-11on February 26.
Though the terms of reference of the committee to look into the creation of a Telangana state may come in the next few days, the Congress is worried about the 'political' price it may have to pay for moving too fast on the statehood issue.
Manufacturers that mainly sell diesel cars like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen anticipate a significant fall in sales if the government accepts the Parikh committee's recommendation of a flat tax of Rs 80,000 on diesel cars, because of a widening cost differential with petrol variants.
Manufacturers that mainly sell diesel cars like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen anticipate a significant fall in sales if the government accepts the Parikh committee's recommendation of a flat tax of Rs 80,000 on diesel cars, because of a widening cost differential with petrol variants.
The first Indian civil aviation minister to fly for a commercial airline -- Rajiv Gandhi has been the only prime minister to do so -- Rudy started his job with IndiGo from January 4.
Former Civil Aviation Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy has been hired as a co-pilot with Delhi-based private airline IndiGo Airlines on an honorary basis.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked Communications Minister Andimuthu Raja to complete the auction of the third generation (3G) spectrum within the agreed deadline (February 15), so that the revenue from it can be reflected in the Union Budget for 2009-10. Mukherjee had earmarked Rs 30,000 crore as revenue from 3G auction, which has already been delayed by a year, in the Budget.
ITC's investment arm Russell Credit has raised its stake in Hotel Leelaventure to 7.37 per cent --an increase of 2.26 percentage points. The promoters of Mumbai-based Leela group, meanwhile, said they were not interested in tying the knot with ITC as a strategic partner in the growing hotels business.
In the turf war between the battered Communist Party of India-Marxist and its arch rival, Trinamool Congress, veteran Congressman and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has found a new place of prominence.
Over the next month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to review the performance of his ministerial colleagues in their first six months in office. This review exercise could be a precursor to a Cabinet reshuffle, the first since the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government entered its second term in office.
Jyoti Basu, the 95-year-old communist, has lost touch with many of his comrades. But this morning the former chief minister of West Bengal did not forget to call his favourite Congressman to say, "Happy Birthday!"
Vodafone Group Plc Chief Executive Vittorio Colao today said the company could list its Indian arm and was open to acquisitions when opportunities are available in the country. The head of the world's largest mobile company in terms of revenues suggested changes in the regulatory regime for mergers and acquisitions.
US hedge fund makes 40% profit; KP Singh family to go for DLF Assets IPO in the first quarter of 2010.