Govt's revenue estimates may take hit on spectrum sharing, trading deals
Videocon group has signed an agreement with West Bengal government to set up a steel plant and a power project in the state with total investment of about Rs 15,000 crore.Videocon, which already has interests in oil and gas, plans to establish a three million tonne steel plant and a 1,200 MW thermal power project in Asansol-Durgapur area in Burdwan district.
The telecom major at present has footprints in MP-CG, Punjab, Haryana, UP-East, UP-West, Gujarat and Bihar circles.
Company won spectrum in six circles in the 1,800 MHz band for Rs 2,221 cr in Nov; Nokia Siemens is technology partner for the rollout.
Dhoot Entertainment Network of the Rs 6,000-crore (Rs 60 billion) Videocon group has entered into an agreement with an Australian firm for launching 24-hour TV business channel - Money TV - in the country.
A special court in Mumbai on Saturday remanded ICICI Bank's former CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) till December 26 in connection with alleged cheating and irregularities in loans sanctioned by the bank to Videocon Group companies. The Kochhars were arrested by the probe agency on Friday night after a brief questioning session. The CBI has alleged that they were evasive in their response and did not cooperate in the investigation.
Videcocon Industries plans a major consumer electronics retail foray across West Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America under the brand name "VC" to raise global revenue shares from the current 2 per cent to 50 per cent by 2011.
Consumer electronics major Videocon Industries has decided to diversify into generation and supply of power and mining of minerals, including coal.
Datacom Solutions, promoted by consumer electronic goods maker Videocon Industries, is close to roping in South African telecom major MTN group as a partner for its GSM foray in the country. According to sources, Datacom, which was scouting for a partner to bring in investments and technology, has short-listed MTN. Discussions with the South African company are in the final stage and a deal is expected to be signed soon.
Diversified business group Videocon on Friday said it has obtained licence to start its Direct-To-Home (DTH) services and expects to launch it by mid-September.
Former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar were released from jail on Tuesday morning, a day after the Bombay high court granted them interim bail in a loan fraud case, a police official said. Chanda Kochhar walked out of the Byculla women's prison in Mumbai, while her husband was released from the Arthur Road jail, the official said. The CBI arrested Kochhars on December 23, 2022 in connection with the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case.
The Kochhars were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last Friday. Dhoot was arrested on Monday. The three were produced before special judge S H Gwalani at the end of their earlier remand on Thursday.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court here on Wednesday extended till December 29 the CBI custody of former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot in connection with a loan fraud case. The probe agency arrested Kochhars last Friday after questioning them briefly. Dhoot was arrested on Monday.
A special court here on Thursday rejected Videocon founder Venugopal Dhoot's plea which claimed that his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the alleged loan fraud involving former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar was illegal. The CBI court also rejected applications of Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar for home food, beds, mattresses and chairs. The court directed jail authorities to provide them diet food in consultation with the medical officer.
The consumer durable companies such as Videocon, Samsung and Godrej may be aggressively expanding their own brand outlets
Videocon will continue to focus on Shah Rukh Khan as its brand ambassador in both its print and television ads.
To launch 4G long-term evolution services in 1,800 MHz band.
The Bombay high court granted interim bail to Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot on Friday, nearly a month after he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan fraud case. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and P K Chavan granted bail to Dhoot on a surety of Rs one lakh. The court permitted him to furnish cash bail and then deposit the surety amount two weeks thereafter.
The Delhi circle licence will be available in the efficient 900 MHz spectrum, which is why Videocon is interested.
The CBI has filed a charge sheet against former MD and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot in a Rs 3,250 crore loan fraud case, officials said on Saturday. The agency has filed the charge sheet under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, among others, they said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named nine entities, including companies and individuals, according to the officials.
In Chanda's defence, one can always say, why would the Videocon Group take care of her husband as a quid pro quo to get a loan? After all, the group has taken money from the entire banking industry and ICICI Bank's share in the pie is not even 10 per cent. So, if it had a quid pro quo with Chanda to get the money, it must have had similar arrangements with other banks, too. If this is not the case, one must accept that it had got money from all banks, including ICICI, without any under-the-table conditions, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Leading Indian corporates Reliance, Bharti and Videocon along with seven other consortiums entered the race for the modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, bids for which closed on Tuesday.
Former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar on Tuesday approached the Bombay high court, calling their arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a loan fraud case illegal. The high court, however, refused to grant an urgent hearing and directed the Kochhars to mention the matter before the regular bench once it resumes after vacation. A lawyer representing the Kocchars said that no prior sanction, as required under the law, was obtained by the CBI before their arrest.
The government on Tuesday started allocating GSM spectrum to new telecom players, commencing with the Tamil Nadu circle including Chennai, in a move that would infuse more competition in the mobile telephony space.Five new players -- Videocon-promoted Datacom, Idea Cellular, realty major Unitech, Swan Telecom and Loop Telecom -- have been given start-up 4.4 MHz GSM spectrum in Tamil Nadu circle.
The Videocon group, which signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the West Bengal government for a Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) steel and power project last month, has directly negotiated with land losers near Asansol for 2,000 acres.
Consumer durables major Videocon Industries has firmed up its telecom plans and is making an initial investment of Rs 6,000 crore for rolling out GSM services, notwithstanding spectrum and legal issues besieging the sector. The services will be launched through its subsidiary, Datacom Solutions, by May. In case of a delay in spectrum allocation, the company may opt for taking spectrum on lease.
Trai data show the company has no subscribers in Uttar Pradesh East & West and Bihar
ICICI Bank has quashed rumours of favouritism, nepotism and quid pro quo. The bank clarified that while Chanda Kochhar was on the credit committee, she was not the chairperson. Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot said there was no impropriety in the deal.
The Videocon group, the country's largest consumer electronics and durables manufacturer, is contemplating setting up a semiconductor facility.
The Bombay high court on Monday granted bail to former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in a loan fraud case, saying their arrest was not in accordance with the provisions of law. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and P K Chavan held that the arrest of Kochhars was in violation of Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which mandates sending notice for appearance before the police officer concerned. The couple was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on December 23, 2022 in connection with the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and other ministers like to boast that of the 450 SEZs coming up in the country, nearly 120 are in Maharashtra. However, since most of the SEZs are single product or IT SEZ, land acquisition is not much of an issue. But in the case of six SEZs, which are multi-product SEZs and where over 1,000 hectares of land have to be acquired, it is proving to be an albatross around the state government's neck.
Kochhar was directed to return about Rs 10 crore in cash bonuses she had received as CEO, and also give up close to 6 million shares of the bank she had as stock option, which was about Rs 350 crore.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain former ICICI bank managing director and CEO Chanda Kochhar's plea seeking retirement benefits from the bank. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti said, "Not a case for interference. We are not inclined to interfere with the high court order. "The special leave petition is dismissed." At the outset, senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Kochhar said the high court had dismissed the petition without any discussion or finding.
Chanda Kochhar, who was arrested for a cash-for-loan scam on Friday, was once a powerful banker and instrumental in making ICICI Bank the country's biggest private sector lender. Kochhar, a regular feature on Forbes top global honchos lists, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with her husband Deepak Kochhar in connection with alleged cheating and irregularities in loans sanctioned by ICICI Bank to Videocon Group companies. Kochhars were called to the agency headquarters and arrested after a brief questioning session. Her chapter at ICICI Bank ended abruptly in 2018 when the board of directors approved a request from Kochhar to seek early retirement following allegation of corruption and quid pro-quo while extending loans to the now bankrupt Videocon Industries.
Videocon Industries Ltd has decided to raise Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) through the issue of equity shares or other securities.
Asked about rumours that the Chief Minister was holding talks with key investors on the Singur controversy, Dhoot said, "The CM calls me every three months to know the progress. The Videocon group was hopeful of land acquisition with its compensation package which includes land price, job assurance and equity in the project.
At least three companies including Essar Shipping, Videocon and Sterlite Industries on Friday bid for acquiring the government's 51 per cent stake in national flag carrier Shipping Corporation of India.