Satyam to increase internet browsing centres
Hyderabad: Internet services provider, Satyam Infoway , has laid out detailed plans to rollout over 1,000 internet browsing centres, branded I-way, by end of this year. The company currently has 350 such centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

These browsing centres have high speed connectivity, simple one-time registration process, wide range of services, especially designed web stations, attractive subscription schemes and free roaming facility.

The company hopes that these centres will become primary catalysts in expanding internet usage in the country. The market size of the public internet access centres is estimated to be around 10,000 and is expected to quadruple in the next five years.
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Tata Telecom plans entry into consultancy
Mumbai: Tata Telecom, a leading provider of call centres, is planning to make an entry into the consultancy business for IT-enabled services. The company is a joint venture between the Tata Group and Avaya, a Lucent company.

The company announced that it is open to tie-ups with other players to offer consultancy services to companies wishing to set up call and contract centres in the country. The company is targeting a turnover of at least 25 per cent of its total turnover from this activity.
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Microsoft to finalise India investment in 2 months
New Delhi: According to officials in Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, it would announce its India investment strategy in the next two months. This strategy is expected to include the latest initiatives in the internet applications ready platform -- .NET, C-Sharp language-based programmes.

The company plans to recruit about 6,000 people globally at the beginning of the new fiscal starting in July.
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LTITL to look for opportunities in SA, Japan and Europe
Mumbai: L&T Information Technology (LTITL) has decided to look for business opportunities in South Africa, Japan and Europe in the current fiscal in its bid to expand its presence beyond the US.

LTITL plans to offer e-business solutions to the service and construction industry. It has recently been signed as a member of the Oracle Partner Program, enabling it to offer services on the Oracle e-business suite, which is a suite of e-business applications run entirely on the Internet.

The company currently has 21 international offices and eight software development centres across the world, including two offsite centres in the US.
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ING-Vyasa insurance foray in quandary
New Delhi: In the aftermath of the stock market crash and the subsequent payment crisis, the fate of the insurance venture ING-Vyasa looks bleak, with the Damani brothers unable to bring in the promised equity. The joint venture is looking for a partner in their place.

The Damani brothers, including R S Damani and G S Damani were to have brought in 25 per cent of the equity, with ING bringing in 26, and Vyasa Bank 49 per cent. This plan is now upset by the payment crisis, which left the Damani's with little surplus funds to invest.

At the same time, Vyasa Bank cannot bring in more than the 49 per cent equity according to RBI rules, and ING as a foreign entity cannot exceed its 26 per cent. So a third party will have to bring in about Rs 27.5 cores as its 25 per cent stake in the Rs 125 crore paid up capital. cannot exceed

Meanwhile, while the company has obtained an in-principle approval from the IRDA, it is yet to get the R 3, which is the final approval to begin operations. Reportedly, the company has not yet capitalised its accounts, and hence not been given the licence.
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HLL, JK to fight over Helene Curtis brand
Mumbai: A piquant situation has arisen over the Helen Curtis brand following the removal of the quantitative restrictions on imports, which will see Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) and JK Helene Curtis, controlled by the Vijaypat Singhania family, slugging it out over the Helene Curtis brand.

The confusion has arisen because Unilever, the UK-based parent of HLL, owns the trademark globally, including India. But since the Singhanias bought over Helene Curtis of the US, and have JK Helene Curtis registered in India, they claim ownership over the brand. JK Helene Curtis Ltd was earlier a 51:49 joint venture between the Singhanias and the foreign partner, which subsequently became a fully owned subsidiary of the Singhanias. JK Helene Curtis markets cosmetics and toiletries under the Park Avenue and Premium range, with a tag, "By JK Helene Curtis".

Now HLL too has begun importing and selling products under the Helene Curtis brand in the Indian market.
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Pfizer may not be barred from toll-manufacture
Mumbai: THE Cabinet decision on Wednesday to permit 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the pharmaceutical segment is likely to have overturned a decision by the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers, which had rejected Pfizer's plan to undertake toll manufacturing through third parties.

Pfizer Inc, which has FIPB approval to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary, had sought the government’s approval to toll manufacture its products through third parties or its existing venture, Pfizer Ltd (a 40 per cent affiliate),which the ministry had rejected.

It is now believed that this hurdle may not longer exist, since the same rules would now apply to 100 per cent subsidiaries, as well as domestic companies, going by the Cabinet decision to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment.

There is also a view that the drug policy amended in 1994, which allowed only 51 per cent foreign investment and required case-to-case approval for anything more, will have to be further amended in the light of the decision on 100 per cent FDI.
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Four point plan at Maruti
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog Ltd has worked out a four point strategy to maintain its 60 per cent share in over the next three years, that includes the introduction of new models, increasing local content in each of the models, increasing the prices of cars, and implementing a performance linked HR policy.

As part of this strategy, it plans to have a portfolio of 12 models on just three or four platforms, which will give it commonality of components and thereby lower cost of investment and production, yet a better range of product offerings. For example, it plans to introduce a new model this year, code name Every, on the Esteem platform. So also, the Alto LX and the Maruti 800 Deluxe and the Alto VX and the Wagon R have common engines.
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Pfizer, Shantha Biotech to expand alliance
Mumbai: Pfizer India has begun talks with Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotech to expand their marketing alliance.

Pfizer has a co-marketing pact with Shantha Biotech for its hepatitis-B vaccine, Shanvac-B, under the multinational's own brand name HepaShield in the international markets. It now wants to expand the products range .

The move is seen as a precursor to Pfizer's entry into biotechnology.

Pfizer has a first right of refusal pact with Shantha to co-market its range of products, including a Rs 6 crore pact for the right to compete with Shantha as the exclusive co-marketer of hepatitis-B vaccine.

Shantha has two new vaccines, oncology vaccine interferon and human insulin , that are in the final stages of clinical trials, and on the verge of commercial launch.

Pfizer's experience with HepaShield has been very encouraging, it emerging as the number two brand the world over, within six months of its launch.
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Wockhardt-Maharashtra super speciality hospital
Mumbai: Wockhardt Hospitals has signed up with the Maharashtra government to set up a 250 bed super speciality hospital in Mumbai at a cost of Rs 64.85 crore.

The joint venture will have Wockhardt holding 51 per cent stake, the rest of it by the state government. The state equity stake of Rs 31.78 crore would be funded by the World Bank (WB) in addition to which Rs 13.22 crore would be provided for modernisation and architectural work of the building.

The hospital will be housed in the building adjacent to the Gokuldas Tejpal hospital, leased out to the JV for a period of 30 years for an annual rental of Rs 1 crore, and 8 per cent escalation every five years.

The Maharashtra government proposes to put up similar ventures all over the state with about Rs 700 crore assistance from the World Bank for its health systems and development projects.
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Mahindras to go deeper into defence
Mumbai: The Mahindra & Mahindra group is extending its role in the defence sector by going beyond making military vehicles, into the areas of armoured vehicles, IT solutions and components and materials, for which it has set up a new division, Mahindra Defence Systems.

The military vehicle range will be extended from its military utility vehicles to ambulances, communication and logistic support vehicles, weapon carriers, rapid intervention and riot control vehicles. It may also include a light armoured multi-role vehicle to be manufactured in collaboration with RAMTA of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).
In IT, it will extend from general purpose software to IT solutions in the field of simulation, surveillance and e-security. It has also established a partnership with ELTA (IAI) to jointly fabricate a border surveillance vehicle incorporating a mobile radar, all weather video camera, GPS and associated communications.

Besides expanding its role to meet domestic defence needs, the new division will also look at becoming a regional defence manufacturing base for Africa and South America.
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Indian Oil to have more LPG bottling plants
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation will be setting up ten new LPG bottling plants in the country, at an estimated investment of Rs 285 crores. These would be in addition to 20 already coming up in different parts of the country.

IOC, which already has invested Rs 1200 crore in putting up 55 LPG bottling units across the country, has a total bottling capacity of around 2.5 mt per annum.
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HDFC Bank operations hit by VSNL cable breakdown
Mumbai: A breakdown in one of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd's undersea cable to Dubai hit banking operations at HDFC bank on Wednesday, particularly cash withdrawal and deposits where the bank uses the internet to access customer accounts. Cheque deposits did not get affected since the bank uses a separate system for the purpose.

The crucial undersea SEA-ME-WE 3 cable was severed late Monday evening, cutting off 62 per cent of VSNL’s bandwidth.
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Enron seeks new partner for data centre
Mumbai: Troubled Enron Corporation’s India-based subsidiary, Broadband Solutions, is fighting hard to find a buyer for its stake in the proposed Internet Data Centre to be set up in Mumbai.

Earlier this year the company was in talks with Asian Frontiers, which talks apparently broke down since Asian Frontiers wanted to set up their own data centres.

Broadband Solutions has a 80,000 sq ft server farm in Mumbai at its lower Parel facility that offers services such as web-hosting, co-location, mirroring, data management and storage facilities.

The company has partnered with Pugmarks Interweb, a domain-based web hosting services company for marketing its services through Enron’s IDC.
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