News in brief-Business & economy

􀂙
Actor Saif Ali Khan was felicitated with the 'Brand

Ambassador of the Year' award at the recently held NDTV

Profit Car & Bike Awards 2009 for his long-standing

association with Chevrolet in India.

􀂙
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has announced its foray into

the leisure boating segment through Mahindra Ocean Blue, a

joint undertaking with Mumbai-based marina operator Ocean Blue. The size of the boats

will range from 20-40 feet, and will be sold under the brand name of Mahindra Odyssea.

􀂙
Brandhouse Retails, the apparel retail chain of S Kumars Nationwide, announced a JV

with Italian fashion brand, Oveiesse, to open the foreign company's stores in India.

􀂙
Retail major Future group has inked a 50:50 joint venture deal with

the promoters of luxury leather goods maker Hidesign to launch an

India-oriented lifestyle brand–Holi. Hidesign sells its products under

three brands–Akela, Hidesign Boutique and Hidesign.

􀂙
Motorola has launched its luxury handset, 'Aura', priced at about Rs 1.1 lakh, in the

Indian market.

􀂙
Raymond Apparel is planning to open 100 small stores under the brand 'Shirts &

More' to sell its shirt brands–Park Avenue, Parx, Manzoni and Raymond fine garment.

􀂙
Mahindra Renault, the JV between M&M and Renault has launched the new variant of

Logan Edge Connect.

􀂙
Bajaj Electricals has launched a premium range of

home appliances under the brand Bajaj Platina.

􀂙
Shah Rukh Khan, miffed with the way PepsiCo

terminated his over 10-year endorsement contract

recently, formalised a three-year deal with Coca-Cola for Kolkata Knight Riders

(KKR). The pact positions Coca-Cola's clear lemon drink Sprite as the KKR team's

associate sponsor and pouring partner.

 

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The government has appointed senior IFS official Meera

Shankar as the next Indian ambassador to the US. Shankar is

currently the ambassador in Germany and will take over from

Ronen Sen.

􀂙
Department of Science and Technology (DST) owned Council

of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched its

open source drug research for TB through its Open Source

Drug Discovery (OSDD) Project.

􀂙
The Union government has appointed Dhanendra Kumar, a

former officer of the Indian Administrative Services, as the

Chairman of Competition Commission of India.

􀂙
Reliance Industries will buy Chevron Corp.'s 5% stake in Reliance Petroleum as part

of the Indian company's plan to acquire the remaining shares of its unit. Chevron

acquired the stake in April 2006 and had the option to increase its holdings in the project

to 29%.

􀂙
Ketan Raheja promoted Shoppers Stop Ltd. (SSL) has decided to exit from food

business. Its Café Brio outlets would be replaced with Café Coffee Day outlets. Another

brand, Fresh Basket, has become a private label of group firm Hypercity Retail.

􀂙
Reliance Money has introduced mobile trading in equities and commodities across all

GPRS or CDMA enabled mobile platforms independent of operator and the underlying

carrier technology.

􀂙
ICICI Prudential Life has launched a new claim intimation service 'ICLAIM' for its

policyholders. The company's customers can now send a SMS to the company with the

policy number and receive assistance from the company to make the claim.

􀂙
The government has approved National Aviation Company of India Ltd's plans for

setting up a joint venture company with Singapore Air Terminal Services (SATS) for

undertaking ground and cargo handling at various airports in the country.

􀂙
MRF Ltd has launched a new series of tyres under the brand 'Wanderer' for SUVs–

Mahindra Scorpio, Boleo, Xylo; and Tata Safari and Sumo.

􀂙
The Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries has set up the Indian Grape

Processing Board (IGPB) and appointed Vinod Kotwal as its CEO.

 

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Hyderabad based GMR group has signed an agreement with Malaysian Airlines to set

up a Rs 400-crore Maintenance, Repair and

Overhaul (MRO) facility at the Aerospace Park near

the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in the

city.

􀂙
Wadhawan Enterprises promoted Dish Hospitality will invest Rs 300 crore by 2012 to

open multi-brand chain of restaurants and cafés in cities across the country under the

brands–Aurus, Nashta Chai, Tasty Tangles and Sancho's.

􀂙
The Confederation of Indian Industry has launched a Disability Manual "A Values

Route to Business Success: The Why and How of Employing Persons with Disability".

􀂙
Vodafone Essar, in association with ACK Media, has launched the classic comic series

Amar Chitra Katha.

􀂙
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has launched 3G mobile services on commercial basis

from 11 cities.

􀂙
The new Coke advertisement will feature cricketer Gautam Gambhir as brand

ambassador. The new 'Coca-Cola Open Happiness' campaign is designed to serve as a

platform for all integrated marketing initiatives for brand Coca-Cola globally.

􀂙
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has signed free trade

agreements with Australia and New Zealand.

􀂙
India's largest wind turbine manufacturer and the world's fifth largest turbine supplier

Suzlon Energy Limited (SEL) has become the global sponsor for CNN's innovative

capsule on environment preservation, Eco Solutions.

􀂙
Hearst Corporation's international hi-end fashion magazine brand Harper's Bazaar is

launching its edition in India. To be priced at Rs 100, the 220-page inaugural issue of

Harper's Bazaar comes in the form of a collector's edition with Swarovski crystals

imprinted on the masthead.

􀂙
GramIT, the rural business process outsourcing (BPO) initiative of the Byrraju

Foundation, is in the process of becoming a separate entity under the Companies Act

1956. The foundation was set up in the memory of Ramalinga Raju's father Byrraju

Satyanarayana Raju in July 2001 and till recently received half of its annual funds worth

Rs 30 crore from the family members.

 

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Mumbai is at sixth position on the list of the most expensive office locations in the

world, according to 'Office Space Across the World 2009', a report published by global

property consultants Cushman & Wakefield. The list is topped by Hong Kong, followed

by Tokyo, London, Moscow and Dubai.

􀂙
General Motors (GM) India has entered the used car market under the brand Chery Ok.

􀂙
Former India cricket captain, Kapil Dev Nikanj, has entered into a marketing agreement

with South Africa-based Enviro-Light Technologies, promoted by former South African

captain Clive Rice to launch eco-friendly street lights in India.

􀂙
Kapil Dev has recently formed a new company, Berget Buildcon Pvt Ltd to enter into

the street light business and has secured rights for sole distributorship from Enviro-Light.

􀂙
Kapil Dev's another company, Dev Musco Lighting (P) Ltd has installed stadium

lighting systems at various stadiums in Mohali, Ahmedabad, Panchkula and Bangalore's

tennis and football stadiums. In 2007-08, the company reported a turnover of Rs 20 crore.

􀂙
Godrej Consumer Products appointed Dalip Sehgal as the managing director and

redesignated Adi B. Godrej as chairman, who was earlier chairman and managing

director.

􀂙
Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG)-owned BIG TV is rolling out a new

Rs 30-crore advertising campaign titled–'Get the big world of entertainment' to

popularise its interactive services.

􀂙
BIG TV is launching three interactive services — iNews (news), iCooking (cuisine) and

iAstro (astrology). For iNews, an interactive platform for news, the DTH operator has

tied up with CNN-IBN.

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Dabur has brought on board actress Preity Zinta as brand ambassador to endorse its

Vatika Dandruff Control shampoo range with special variants such as – Naturally

Clean, Hairfall Defense, and Lively Black.

􀂙
Tata Motors, India's third-largest car maker, has launched the Xenon XT, a lifestyle

pick-up vehicle. The car will compete with Mahindra's Scorpio Getaway.

􀂙
Monsanto in association with Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP), a

non-government organisation (NGO), has launched a project called SHARE (Sustainable

Harvest - Agriculture, Resources, Environment). The project is aimed at improving the

socio-economic condition of farmers in the country by increasing their crop productivity.

 

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The public sector Andhra Bank would launch its insurance business in association with

Bank of Baroda and Legal & General Group, a London-based financial services

company.

􀂙
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Defence

Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have entered into a partnership called

"Technology Assessment and Commercialisation" initiative.

􀂙
The FICCI-DRDO partnership aims to set up a framework for introducing the DRDO's

non-sensitive products and spin-off technologies in health care, disaster management, and

computing and simulation in the market.

􀂙
The government has decided to roll out the 'Bachat Lamp Yojana' in the entire country.

Under the programme, CFL bulbs, which cost around Rs 80 per piece, are distributed at a

price of Rs 15 by private companies. The remaining amount is recovered through the sale

of carbon credits under the Carbon Development Mechanism.

􀂙
Sardar Sarovar Project, billed as the lifeline of Gujarat, has received central assistance

worth Rs 5375.35 crore so far, which is highest provided to any project in the country

according to Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, the Minister of State for Water Resources.

􀂙
Chief Mentor and Chairman of the Infosys Board N.R. Narayana Murthy, has declined

the Sri Lankan government's offer to be its IT adviser citing "personal reasons" in a

letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

􀂙
Nike India, official apparel partner of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),

launched the Indian cricket team's new 'dry-fit technology' kit for One-Day

Internationals.

􀂙
Fostering Technologies in Rural Areas (Fostera) has launched a rural IT finishing

school to train around 7,000 youth in BPO operations.

􀂙
Emami Biotech has signed on Calcutta Tramways Corporation (CTC) as its first client to

supply 90 ton of bio-diesel per month.

􀂙
Sajjan Jindal promoted JSW Steel has become the largest private steel maker in the

country, surpassing the century-old Tata Steel, with the commissioning of 3 million

tonne per annum (MTPA) blast furnace at its Vijaynagar facility. JSW will be able to

produce 7.8 MTPA steel, one million tonne more than Tata Steel, after the new capacity

addition.

 

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Currently, JSW has 4.8 MTPA capacity while SAIL is India's largest public sector steel

maker with a capacity of close to 15 MTPA. Tata Steel was at the top among private

players with an installed capacity of 6.8 MTPA.

􀂙
Maruti Suzuki has for the first time sold more cars in a year than its parent Suzuki has

done in Japan. Sales of Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) during January-December 2008

stood at 697,850 units while those of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) for the same

period stood at 679,215 units.

􀂙
Microsoft has offered a bounty of $250,000 to bring the Conficker worm creators to

justice. Microsoft said it is offering the reward because the worm constitutes a "criminal

attack" and offering compensation should hasten prosecution.

􀂙
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen promoted Charter Communications Inc has filed for

bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11.

􀂙
European mobile phone service provider T-Mobile has released the Motorola Renew, a

similar eco-friendly mobile phone also made of recycled water bottles.

􀂙
Samsung has unveiled its Blue Earth cell phone, the first full-touchscreen cell phone to

run on solar power.

􀂙
The UK based Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) is exploring ways to appeal against a

ruling by the Supreme court of India on a review petition that allows Indian made foreign

liquor (IMFL) company Khoday India to retain its popular brand Peter Scot.

􀂙
SWA is a trade association for promoting Scotch whisky of Scotland. It has objected to

the use of words 'Scotch' or 'Blended Scotch' or similar sounding words for whisky

brands, not originating from Scotland.

􀂙
In the past, the Delhi High Court had ruled in favour of Scotch Whisky Association

when it had ordered Golden Bottling, a Jaipur-based company, not to use the word Scot

on its product — Red Scot.

􀂙
The Global Wind Energy Council's report shows that India has slipped one notch down to

fifth place. The report has reckoned that India added only 1,800 MW wind power

production capacity in 2008, to take its total installed capacity to 9,645 MW.

􀂙
Software body NASSCOM announced the formation of a Corporate Governance and

Ethics Council to be headed by Narayana Murthy of Infosys.

 

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The government has announced Customs duty exemptions for the newspaper and

magazine publishing industry, which has been hit by the current economic slowdown.

􀂙
The government will infuse about Rs 3,800 crore in three public sector banks —Central

Bank of India, UCO Bank and Vijaya Bank — to help these banks maintain a

comfortable capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of more than 12 per cent.

􀂙
Cash-strapped Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is reviewing its branding agreement with

cricketer Sachin Tendulkar a year into the deal. Tendulkar was added to the elite list of

the bank's other global ambassadors such as racing driver Jackie Stewart, golfers Jack

Nicklaus and Luke Donald and champion show-jumper Zara Phillip (who is also Queen

Elizabeth's grand-daughter). Industry sources said the 35-year old cricketer charges Rs 3

crore to Rs 4 crore per endorsement.

􀂙
The list of companies that believe Brand Tendulkar no longer works for them has

lengthened in recent months. After Fiat, TVS and Airtel and PepsiCo decided to end the

long relationship with the world's highest run-maker. The former captain, however, still

endorses a host of brands ranging from Adidas to Aviva, Britannia, Boost, Canon and

Visa.

􀂙
Tata Communications (formerly VSNL) will invest $430 million to set up a new

Internet data centre in Singapore called Tata Communications Exchange and extend its

TGN-Intra Asia Cable System to the Philippines and Vietnam.

􀂙
Cisco has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka government as

part of its worldwide Intelligent Urbanisation initiative. Under the MoU, the state

government and Cisco will roll out the 'Intelligent Bengaluru' pilot project.

􀂙
AgustaWestland, a UK-based helicopter design and

manufacturing company, part of Finmeccanica, has partnered

Tata Sons to launch a joint venture company to manufacture its

AW119 helicopters in India.

􀂙
PepsiCo has dropped Shah Rukh Khan from its 'Youngistaan' advertisement campaign

as the company focuses on youngsters.

􀂙
Direct-to-Home major Dish TV has extended its contract with Shah Rukh Khan for

endorsing the brand for another 18 months under the positioning 'Thoda Aur Wish Karo.

Dish Karo'.

 

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Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has launched a campaign against GM foods under

the banner–'Poison on the Platter'

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India has barred First Global Director and Chief

Global Strategist Shankar Sharma from buying, selling or dealing in securities and from

associating in the securities market for one year for fictitious trades during early 2001.

􀂙
The India Rizing Fund, a Rs 750 crore venture capital fund for investing in small and

medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in producing defence equipment was launched by

Rajesh Narayan recently. It is India's first such venture capital fund.

􀂙
R. Subramanian, the founder and managing director of troubled Subhiksha Trading

Services, had pledged shares with ICICI Venture and other lenders to borrow as much

as Rs 205 crore to pay dues to banks last year. Subramanian owns about 59% stake of the

cash-starved discount retailer. The company, partly owned by Azim Premji, is seeking

fresh loans of Rs 300 crore from its lenders to restart business.

􀂙
Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG)-controlled BIG TV has withdrawn

from partnering the Indian Premier League (IPL), alleging discrimination by the

league's broadcast rights-holder Sony Entertainment Television (SET).

􀂙
BIG TV has communicated its decision to IPL CEO Sundar Raman, alleging that SET has

decided to offer the contract to competitor Airtel DTH, though it quoted a lower price for

on-air partnership.

􀂙
BIG TV had signed a Rs 137-crore deal last year with the Board of Control for Cricket in

India (BCCI) for on-ground partnership (rights for ground-branding) and first right of

refusal for on-air partnership. The company was also in talks to restructure this deal.

􀂙
The Union government has decided to enforce the compulsory disclosure of nutritional

details on packets of processed foods, with effect from March 19. The disclosures

include an elaborate nutritional profile of the product, indicating its energy value, content

of protein, carbohydrates and sugar, fats, vitamins and minerals.

􀂙
Telenor ASA, the Norwegian phone company with more than 160 million wireless

subscribers, will inject Rs 6,200 crore of new equity in Unitech Wireless in 2009.

􀂙
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Canadian government-owned Atomic Energy of Canada

Limited (AECL) have signed a MoU for setting up Canada's ACR 1000 nuclear reactors

in India and exploring global opportunities in the field of nuclear power.

􀂙
Tata Steel has decided to become a partner in Canada-based New Millennium Capital

Corp's $4-billion KeMag property, having iron ore reserves of two billion tonnes.

 

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Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, the flagship hotel brand of the Rs 4,000-crore East India

Hotels (EIH), said it has got the approval from the Madhya Pradesh government for

converting the 150 year-old Rajgarh palace into a luxury hotel.

􀂙
Kazakhstan will provide uranium and related products to India under a MoU signed

between Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and KazAtomProm.

􀂙
Larsen & Toubro has bagged Rs 2,460-crore order from Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Development Authority (MMRDA) for constructing the monorail project in Mumbai in

association with Malaysia-based Scomi Engineering.

􀂙
Advanced Micro Devices' new 45-nanometer quad-core Opteron processor, codenamed

'Shanghai' and developed at centres in the US and India was released recently.

􀂙
Emami has entered petroleum jelly and glycerine soap categories with Emami Vasocare

and Emami Pure Skin.

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The Uttarakhand government has unveiled plans to market handicrafts from the Garhwal

and Kumaon regions under the brand Himdari.

􀂙
Bajaj Auto, which is planning to launch its low-cost car by 2011, said any financial or

other constraints faced by its partners, Renault-Nissan, will not affect implementation of

the project, but did not rule out some adjustments in the schedule.

􀂙
Bajaj had announced a joint venture (JV) with Renault-Nissan to produce a $2,500 car

by 2011 to compete with Nano, the world's cheapest car from Tata Motors, in 2008. The

JV for manufacturing the small car, code-named ULC, is owned 50 per cent by Bajaj

Auto and 25 per cent each by French car maker Renault and Japan's Nissan.

􀂙
Captain G. R. Gopinath, the founder of budget carrier Air Deccan, is ready

to start operations for his cargo airline Deccan Cargo Express Logistics

with three Airbus 310 freighters in May.

􀂙
Parle Agro, the Rs 950 crore FMCG company with brands like 'Bailley' and 'Frooti',

launched its new brands LMN (nimboo pani) and Saint Juice recently. Frooti brand's

upcoming ad film revolves around the concept of "Why Grow Up?"

 

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Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, promoters of INX Media Pvt. Ltd, have stepped down

from their current management positions at the broadcasting company that operates Hindi

General Entertainment (GEC) channel 9X and music channel 9XM. Indrani Mukerjea

was the founder and chief executive officer while Peter Mukerjea was chairman and

chief strategy officer. They set up INX Media three years ago after Peter Mukerjea

resigned as Star India CEO.

􀂙
Raymond Apparel, a subsidiary of Raymond, is planning to open 100 stores under its

new chain Neckties & More. The products will be available under Raymond's menswear

brands such as Park Avenue, Parx, Raymond Finely Crafted Garments and Manzoni.

􀂙
India's largest auto maker Tata Motors has showcased its luxury sedan Prima, which it

plans to introduce in Europe. It has also unveiled Nano-Europa, the European version of

Nano, touted as the world's cheapest car, at the 79th Geneva Motor Show.

􀂙
Hardcastle Restaurants, the JV partner of McDonald's India, is signing a JV with the

Mumbai based Jalan family to launch Global Trendz Retail–the official licensee of

Disney kids wear.

􀂙
Global Trendz Retail will set up 'Bungee' stores across the country that will house

Disney Baby and Disney Jeans brands for kids in the age groups 0-4 years and 4-14

years respectively. The company will bring in characters like baby Mickey Mouse, baby

Donald Duck, Pooh and Tigger among others.

􀂙
Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) has acquired the remaining 50% stake in Godrej

SCA Hygiene (GSH) that owns the 'Snuggy' brand of baby diapers, from its joint

venture partner SCA Hygiene Products of Sweden.

􀂙
Parle Agro, whose flagship brands include fruit drinks Frooti and Appy, has entered the

confectionery market with its Mintrox and Buttercup brands.

􀂙
Duncans Tea, the flagship division of the Rs 2000 crore Duncan–Goenka Group, is

foraying in the super premium packaged tea category of Darjeeling Tea with two brands–

Duncans Darjeeling Tea and Indian Treasure. Other brands in the Duncans portfolio

include Runglee Rungliot, Double Diamond, Sargam, King's Cup and Shakti.

􀂙
Henkel India has decided to sell off its brands like Aramusk, one of the oldest male

deodorant soaps, Moloy sandalwood soap, Maha Bhringol hair oil and Tuhina skin care

cream on the block.

 

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Henkel plans to focus on its flagship brands such as Henko, Mr White, Pril, Margo and

Fa. Brands like Aramusk and Moloy were earlier owned by Shaw Wallace company

Calcutta Chemicals and Detergents India before being acquired by Henkel in 1999.

􀂙
Henkel India currently manufactures and markets a range of detergents, cosmetics,

household cleansers, personal and hair care products. Hair care brands include Igora,

Bonacure, Glatt, from its Schwarzkopf Professional division, and Silkience and

Palette from its Schwarzkopf retail range. It had also recently launched the international

'Bref' range of household cleaners in the South.

􀂙
Beverage company Coca-Cola has announced the national roll-out of Fanta Apple, the

second variant in the Fanta franchise after orange and has signed actor Genelia D'Souza

to endorse the brand.

􀂙
French food services giant Sodexo is acquiring

Radhakrishna Hospitality Services Group (RKHS),

India's pioneer in the food and facilities management

sector founded by Raju Sethe, in a transaction valued at

over $100 million.

􀂙
Raju Sethe will become the non-executive chairman of

the combined entity and will continue to own and manage his food retail business under

Radhakrishna Foodland separately.

􀂙
Pfizer India plans to launch 600 smoking cessation clinics across the country in the next

two years in partnership with private sector hospitals and clinics. The government will

conduct a clinical trial of the Pfizer drug, Champix, to check its efficacy for use in its

anti-smoking programme.

􀂙
FMCG and tobacco giant ITC has filed a patent & trademark suit against Godfrey

Phillips India (GPI) alleging that it had infringed the trade name 'Pilot'. GPI, on its part,

says their brand is Pilot No 1 and not Pilot and the colour combination of the product is

also different from that of ITC.

􀂙
South India based FMCG company Cavinkare has decided to expand the distribution of

its fruit juice brand Maa to the rest of the country.

􀂙
Satyam Computer Services recommended to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs removal

of Price Waterhouse (PW) as statutory auditors of the company. On being notified, the

PW tendered its resignation and the company now proposes to appoint new auditors.

 

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PepsiCo announced its plans to actress Asin in Mirinda orange advertisements across the

country while renewing Katrina Kaif's contract for its Slice brand.

􀂙
The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has announced a 10% increase in the

rates of advertisements released through the Directorate of Advertising and Visual

Publicity (DAVP). The ministry had earlier announced a waiver of 15% agency

commission on DAVP advertisements.

􀂙
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will set up 'virtual colleges' at

3,000 railway stations across the country in association with government owned Railtel

Corporation of India Ltd.

􀂙
Government owned Hindustan Latex Ltd (HLL), known for manufacturing

contraceptives and other healthcare products, has renamed itself HLL Lifecare Ltd.

􀂙
Authors Sudhir Kumar & Shagun Mehrotra were in news recently for their book

'Bankruptcy to billions: how the Indian railways transformed'.

􀂙
Kolkata based Vibgyor Vehicles has launched a 100cc economy class motorbike

'Gallop' for the suburban markets, and targets to sell 1.4 lakh units in 2009.

􀂙
Two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor has launched a new version of Scooty called

Scooty Streak.

􀂙
Swedish brand Sia Home Fashion created by Sonja Ingegerd Andersson in 1963 has

been launched in India.

􀂙
US breakfast cereal brand Quaker is launching a new campaign with the slogan "Go

humans go" and calls the whole grain oat a "super grain."

􀂙
Hilton Hotels has decided to introduce a new hotel brand Denizen Hotels that will be

positioned alongside its current deluxe offerings, the Waldorf Astoria Collection and

Conrad Hotels & Resorts.

􀂙
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition of Allied Blenders & Distillers, which sells

its whisky under 'Officer's Choice' brand name, seeking to stop Karnataka-based Paul P

John from using 'Original Choice' label.

􀂙
The University of Cambridge's Judge Business School has opened its new Centre for

India & Global Business by launching its website and an inaugural lecture in New Delhi.

 

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The only public sector industrial unit that manufactures indelible ink to mark the voters,

casting votes in the country, the Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd. (Mylac) is busy

churning out the ink to meet the deadline set by the Election

Commission, its main customer. Mylac has to supply 20 lakh HDPE

bottles of indelible ink for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

􀂙
Established in 1937 and converted into a public sector undertaking in

1947, Mylac has specialised in manufacture and supply of the marker

ink for all the parliamentary, assembly and local body elections in

India since 1962. It has also been exporting ink to various countries too to meet their

election requirements.

􀂙
Zee News has decided to completely do away with the commercial breaks for its prime

time 9 pm news bulletin under an initiative called NonStop@9pm that provides

uninterrupted news for 24 minutes at a stretch.

􀂙
The UK government has approved a grant of £27 million (Rs 192 crore) to Tata Groupowned

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) for producing a new eco-friendly car based on the

Land Rover's LRX Concept that was first showcased at the 2008 edition of Geneva

Motor Show.

􀂙
Dell has announced the launch of its Global Small Business Excellence Award for small

and medium-enterprises (SMEs) in India. The winner will get $50,000 (around Rs 25

lakh) in Dell solutions and a meeting with Chairman Michael Dell.

􀂙
Dell's first-of-its-kind advertising campaign 'Take Your Own Path' features business

entreprenuers like Raman Roy of Quatrro and P. Rajendran, co-founder and COO of

NIIT. It soon plans to replicate the campaign in France, followed by other countries.

􀂙
Hewlett Packard (HP) Educational Services alongwith Ahmedabad-based CEON

Solutions has set a target of reaching around 10 higher education institutions in Gujarat

for providing enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.

􀂙
CEON Solutions, a startup company incubated at IIM, Ahmedabad (IIM-A)'s Centre for

Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), offers 'iCampus' which provides an

integrated campus run through a single software hosted in a US-based server.

􀂙
Merck & Co's has decided to acquire Schering-Plough Corp for $41.1 billion. The deal

comes less than two months after Pfizer Inc, the world's biggest drug maker, agreed to

buy Wyeth for $62 billion.

 

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NGC Network India, which runs the National Geographic Channel in the country, has

got the government's approval to launch three English entertainment channels in three

different genres — FOX Crime, FX, an entertainment channel for men, and Baby TV, a

channel for children in the age group of 0-3 years!

􀂙
Public sector insurer Oriental Insurance Company (OIC) has insured the Indian

Premier League (IPL) for a premium of Rs 18 lakh.

􀂙
Workers at Tata Group-owned car-maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) have agreed to a

pay freeze until 2010 to avoid compulsory redundancies in the non-management

workforce over the next two years.

􀂙
India's first woman IPS officer, Dr Kiran Bedi, has become the brand ambassador of

No Marks cream from Ozone Ayurvedics, the FMCG arm of Ozone Group. Re1 from

every tube of No Marks sold will be contributed towards Dr Bedi's charitable trust for

rehabilitation of drug-abused children, prison reforms and education development of the

under-privileged.

􀂙
Bombardier Transportation has delivered the first vehicle in the new high-technology

fleet of 'Bombardier MOVIA' metro cars, ordered by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

(DMRC) for its phase II expansion.

􀂙
Tata Motors has showcased the Indica Vista EV, an electric vehicle based on the Vista,

at the Geneva Auto Show. The vehicle has been developed in collaboration with Miljo

Grenland/Innovasjon, Norway. The Tata Prima car was designed by Pininfarina —

the famed designers of Ferrari cars.

􀂙
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has appointed Uttam Prakash

Agarwal as its new President.

􀂙
O. P. Bhatt, Chairman, State Bank of India, has been conferred the "Best Executive

2008" award by financial magazine Asiamoney.

􀂙
The Department of Telecom has further tightened the mobile subscriber verification

norms. Operators will have to pay a penalty of Rs 50,000 per subscriber if they have

more than 20 per cent of their user base without proper identity documents. At present,

operators pay only Rs 1,000 for every unverified mobile subscriber.

􀂙
The Department of Posts (DoP) has signed an agreement with the Central Statistical

Organisation (CSO) for collection of data on prices of consumer commodities in selected

villages for calculating the consumer price index.

 

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UAE-based Credence International is set to launch a television channel 'Hi Life' for

the direct-to-home (DTH) platform.

􀂙
Tata Consultancy Services has entered into an alliance with Cisco Systems Inc to

jointly develop technologies based on data centre networking and security solutions.

􀂙
Three-wheeler manufacturer Piaggio has launched a venture for purchase or exchange of

pre-owned Ape vehicles venture under the brand name Ape Life. This is the first venture

of its kind in the sub 1-tonne market.

􀂙
Tanishq is foraying into premium diamond jewellery with a store to be called Zoya.

􀂙
Bharat Electronics Ltd and Boeing plan to set up

a joint analysis and experimentation centre to

enable the Armed Forces explore alternative

solutions in an atmosphere of simulation and

modelling.

􀂙
Nichi-In Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM), an Indo-Japan joint venture, has

signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jeevan Stem Cell Bank, a unit of

Jeevan Blood Bank and Research Centre.

􀂙
Tata Advanced Materials Ltd (TAML) and Swedish defence manufacturer Saab have

signed a four-year business agreement for the manufacture of structural composite

components for one of Saab's commercial programmes.

􀂙
Tata Advanced Materials is a strategic supplier of complex composite components to

ISRO and HAL and was started in 1990 to develop solutions using composite material.

Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJ) and Bullet Proof Helmets (BPH) were its first products.

􀂙
India's demand for petroleum products during 2008-09 is estimated to be 133.4

million tonne (mt), the Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Murli Deora, informed the

Rajya Sabha.

􀂙
The Department of Telecommunications has decided to peg the entry fee for Mobile

Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) at a maximum of Rs 85 crore for a pan-India

licence.

􀂙
MVNOs do not own spectrum or infrastructure. They buy airtime wholesale from the

existing mobile operators and then resell it to consumers under own branding and tariff

plans. Usually, MVNOs target a specific-user group such as the youth or women.

 

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Yahoo! India and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced a 3-year

partnership by which Yahoo! will have access to exclusive images, videos, interviews and

player chats around all major ICC events.

􀂙
Dr Verghese Kurien, Founder Chairman, National Dairy Development Board, received

the lifetime achievement award for management during the All India Management

Association's foundation day function in New Delhi. Kumar Mangalam Birla,

Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, was honoured with the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership

AWARD