Regulator wants the power to fine errant telecom companies.
After Research In Motion (owners of BlackBerry), the home ministry will now turn the screws on Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle. These companies provide technology and services for the virtual private networks (VPNs) run by various operators in India. The government will ask them to conform to regulation that allows intelligence agencies to lawfully intercept data. Failure to do so could result in the termination of VPN services by operators using their technology.
Indian companies have raised over Rs 3.13 lakh crore up to September, excluding foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) and external commercial borrowings in September. This is close to the cumulative Rs 3.14 lakh crore raised in 2009.Inc's highest fund mobilisation was in 2007, when it mopped up over Rs 3.20 lakh crore.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has thrown a spanner in the works of a government proposal to liberalise the pricing guidelines of hybrid securities such as foreign direct investment (FDI)-compliant instruments.
Essar Power and GMR are among the global bidders for a 450-Mw dual fuel power project planned by the Bangladesh government at Sirajgonj, about 140 km from Dhaka.
The finance ministry is arriving at a consensus to reject a proposal mooted in government to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retailing.
ITC, which has a 14.98 per cent stake in EIH Ltd -- the company that runs the Oberoi chain of hotels -- is planning to subscribe to the upcoming EIH rights issue. This ends speculation that it might pull out after Reliance Industries Ltd picked up a stake in EIH.
The finance ministry has agreed to furnish sovereign guarantees on loans raised by National Aviation Company India Ltd, which flies under the Air India brand name. A top source in the ministry confirmed: "Yes, we will provide sovereign guarantee to Air India on its loans. After all, it is a company owned by the government."
The two arms of L&TFH are L&T Finance, with its retail, micro-finance and corporate loan portfolio, and L&T Infrastructure Finance.
PepsiCo India is planning to launch beverages and snacks priced below Rs 5. This is part of a drive to address the mass market looking for nutritional products. The new range, being developed in India, is expected to be launched on a pilot basis in select markets by next year.
In its communication to DoT, the DGA said the department had granted new unified access service licences to certain companies without proper verification of their eligibility and other credentials.
Merck arm sues Sun over cancer drugSchering Corporation, part of multinational pharma company Merck & Co, and London-based Cancer Research Technology Ltd have sued Sun Pharmaceutical for allegedly infringing patent rights on the world's largest selling brain cancer drug, Temodar.
The move is significant as it would extend the power of CAG -- set up to audit central and state government departments as well as PSUs -- to private sector companies.
The Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) has picked up a 15 per cent stake for Rs 225 crore (Rs 2.25 billion) in a new international airport coming up at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district of central Kerala.
Cipla, the largest player in the domestic drug market, could play white knight for Cipla Medpro, South Africa's third-largest drugmaker and a key ally of the Indian company. Cipla is looking to acquire around 25 per cent in the manufacturing division of Cipla Medpro, where it does not hold any stake at present.
Despite their slugfest on the high street, Korean chaebols Samsung and LG have independently charted a similar strategy that will see India operations carve out a larger slice of their global turnover
With passage of the nuclear liability Bill, the heavy engineering supply chain, led by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL), is gearing to take up the challenge ahead.
Just four years before, Coke factories consumed over four litres of water for every litre of beverage sold. Now, it is 2.5 litres, a reduction of 34 per cent.
Telecom operators who offer BlackBerry services are also ISPs. The feasibility of this solution, says DoT, will be explored after discussions with the Intelligence Bureau as well as the ISPs.
In a twist to the tale of drug patent infringement cases in the United States, Indian drug company Lupin has sued Ranbaxy Laboratories, which is now controlled by Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo, in an American court.