ITC
to invest Rs1540-cr in paper biz over two years
ITC plans to invest Rs1,540 crore in the next two years
to expand production capacity for paperboards and specialty
papers. The company is creating two centres of board manufacturing
in Bhadrachalam and Coimbatore units. In Bhadrachalam
(Andhra Pradesh), the company's overall investment will
be of the order of Rs1,100 crore by April 2008. The company
will also invest Rs4,400 crore by October 2008 in a plant
near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
With
the expansion, the total paper production capacity at
the Bhadrachalam plant would go up to four lakh tonne
per year by April 2008 from three lakh tonne now.
The
pulp and paper industry is one of the 17 major polluting
industries identified by the central government.
ITC
has also got clearance from the ministry of environment
and forests for expansion of the Bhadrachalam plant and
is awaiting clearance for investment in the Coimbatore
plant.
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ITC
ties up with Marubeni for food biz
New Delhi: Cigarettes and hotels major ITC has
tied up with Japanese trading house for food business.
According to a release issued by Marubeni, the two companies
will jointly consider exporting Indian-made soybean cake
and maize grains for livestock feed and will also consider
jointly building silos and other grain-related facilities
and launching a soybean protein business, the release
added.
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BSNL-MTNL
to set up India-S'pore submarine cable
New Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam (MTNL) plan to lay an undersea cable between
India and Singapore with a joint investment of Rs1,800-2,000.
The two companies have hired a consultant to prepare a
blueprint for the project, and a Rs2,000 crore tender
may be floated by March next year.
The
submarine cable would connect South East Asia and the
Middle East, and eventually the US and Europe. Millennium
Telecom, would lay the cable. The company is a subsidiary
of MTNL, in which BSNL has a stake of 49 pc stake.
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TDSAT
issues notices to Trai, BSNL on roaming charges
New Delhi: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and
Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has issued notices to the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and BSNL on a petition
filed by private GSM operators over the issue of additional
revenue share on roaming calls.
The
GSM operators' body Cellular Operators Association of
India (COAI) had challenged the additional revenue charged
by BSNL on roaming calls earlier.
Trai
and BSNL have been directed to file replies within four
weeks.
COAI,
which comprises 18 private operators, has contended that
BSNL had no right to collect additional charges except
30 paise fixed by Trai however the association said its
members would continue paying the additional sum to BSNL
pending a final decision.
COAI's
stand is that BSNL could charge only 30 paise on national
roaming and Rs3.70 for international roaming.
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Taj
GVK Hotels announces Rs100-cr revamp of Taj Deccan
Hyderabad: Taj-GVK Group of Hotels and Resorts
has embarked on a Rs100 crore expansion for its Taj Deccan
hotel which a few days earlier was called Taj Residency.
Taj GVK intends to add more rooms to the existing 150
in the next two to two-and-a-half years and will also
give a new look to the hotel with an upgraded lobby, lobby
lounge and reception, and a new all-day dining restaurant.
Taj
Group of Hotels has already invested around Rs20 crore
in upgrading the hotel in the first phase and in keeping
with the demand, plans to add 180-200 rooms. The construction
work is expected to start soon.
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Alcatel-Lucent
announce big India investment plans
New Delhi: French telecom major Alcatel, plans
to invest $200 million (about Rs1,000 crore) in India
every year over the next few years. Till now the group
has invested more than one billion euro (close to Rs6,000
crore) in India. Its future investment plans are to the
tune of $200 million every year in various activities
including R&D.
Alcatel
has a manufacturing tie-up with ITI, and has already made
two plants at Mankapur and Rai Bareily operational. Additional
plants would soon be made functional for manufacturing
ADSL - equipment used for offering broadband services.
With
the acquisition of Lucent Technologies, the French telecom
giant now has a reach in the emerging CDMA technology.
In GSM services, Alcatel has a major share in the operations
of state-owned service providers - BSNL and MTNL - and
is also in talks with most of the private players.
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HCL
to expand capacity
New Delhi: HCL Infosystems has set aside an investment
of Rs70 crore over the next one year to expand production
capacity and strengthen distribution and retail network
in the country.
The
company would invest substantially in expanding its production
capability. It recently commissioned its second manufacturing
unit in the country, at Uttranchal.
By
end of the current financial year, HCL aims to achieve
a total manufacturing base of two million PCs from the
current level of 1.2 million annually.
Aiming
to capture the growing lifestyle and retail opportunities,
HCL would also spruce up its marketing and distribution
network across India.
The
company has tied up with Tata Croma among other 'electronics
retailers', apart from aggressively expanding its own
chain of retail outlets, HCL Digilife.
The
Digilife stores house digital and ICT products of HCL
and other brands including Apple, Casio and Toshiba. HCL
has already opened 20 stores nationwide and would take
the franchisee route to reach 100 stores by end of 2007.
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Paras
to invest Rs400-cr in healthcare
New Delhi: Paras group is making plans to enter
the healthcare sector in a big way. The group already
has a fully functional hospital in Gurgaon, and now plans
to invest another Rs400 crore to set up new hospitals
as well as make acquisitions in the national capital region.
The company has plans to set up two super-speciality hospitals
with an investment of Rs150 crore each.
The group has acquired land in Noida and is in the process
of finalising its plans. Another hospital is expected
to come up in Shahdara. Both the hospitals will have a
capacity of 250 beds. The company is also looking at acquiring
two hospitals in Delhi with an investment of Rs60-70 crore
per hospital.
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Nasscom
ties up with Canadian co for net connectivity in villages
New Delhi: IT industry body Nasscom has tied up
with Canada-based Data Wind Corporation to provide internet
connectivity in rural areas of the country.
The
two companies have started pilot projects in Orissa, Andhra
Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra, where net access
device PocketSurfer developed by the Canadian firm was
being distributed by Nasscom for internet connectivity,
according to a Nasscom release.
The
project would be reviewed by an expert team in the next
quarter of the current fiscal and then implemented at
the grassroots level, it said.
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