BSNL cuts ISD rates to US, Canada, Gulf
New Delhi: State-run telecom major BSNL has slashed calling rates to the US and Canada to Rs1.75 per minute and Rs6.75 per minute to the Gulf, slightly lower than the rates offered by private firms.

These are the busiest ISD routes from India. Private telecom companies offer ISD calls at Rs1.99 per minute to the US and Rs6.99 a minute for the Gulf countries.

BSNL also plans to introduce Call Now, a new STD/ISD calling card that will enable a user to call in the US at Rs1.75 per minute using a card worth Rs2,000, which will have a validity of three months.

Consumers can call France and Russia at Rs3.25 per minute while calls to France, Russia,

the UK and South East Asia are at Rs5.50 per minute to the rest of Europe and Sri Lanka, and Rs8 per minute to the rest of the world. Local and STD calls will be charged Re 1 per minute under the plan.
Back to News Review index page  

Nicholas Piramal in tie-up for cancer, diabetes research
Mumbai: Nicholas Piramal India Ltd has initiated two basic research programmes to screen patient samples in the diabetes and cancer segments in order to develop biomarkers that could eventually lead to a targeted new drug development.

The company has recently forged a cancer-related alliance with Chennai's Apollo Hospitals Group for the molecular profiling of tumors.

NPIL will do a "blind" study of the tumour samples provided by the hospital and compare the data with the hospital's patient response to conventional therapy.

Biomarkers could be an external substance or a feature in the human body that helps indicate a pattern in the patient's response to treatment. A tool used for target identification, the biomarker technology is getting more refined over the years and it improves the chance of discovering a drug, observes a senior researcher with a clinical research organisation.

The company is finalizing a similar study with the diabetology group of Chennai's Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute that would help evaluate specific markers for diabetes.
Back to News Review index page  

Kinetic Engineering gets orders for gearbox manufacture from automakers
Mumbai: Kinetic Engineering Ltd (KEL), the engine and gearbox manufacturing arm of the Kinetic group, has received orders for the supply of gearboxes from premier Indian automobile companies. The company has bagged the order to supply gearboxes for the forthcoming Tata Motors' panel van (based on the Renault Trafic platform) and Force Motors' Minidoor and Mini 4-door three-wheeler. The company has also received a Rs25 crore export order to supply 50cc engines to a Holland-based moped company.

The annual export shipment of 30,000 engines will start shortly.
The domestic orders would be primarily driven on market response generated by the respective vehicles. However, the panel van is likely to be launched shortly with Tata Motors having acquired the jigs and fixtures for around Rs80 crore almost a year ago.

The company had earlier acquired orders in the export market from major two-wheeler players such as MV Agusta of Italy and another from Tomos of Slovakia to design and develop 125cc and 50cc motorcycle engines. Increase in domestic and export orders, development of a new three-wheeler engine is part of the company's strategy to generate a turnover of Rs160 crore in 2007 with a targeted turnover of Rs500 crore for 2009.
Back to News Review index page  

JetLite may fly overseas
Jet Airways is considering operating its budget airline Jetlite on some international routes as low-cost airlines from the Gulf and South-East Asia were operating to India, according to the airline chairman, Naresh Goyal.

JetLite is the erstwhile Air Sahara that Jet Airways acquired in April this year. Work is going on not only to ensure that the entire JetLite fleet becomes operational at the earliest, but also on rationalising the routes being operated by Jet Airways and the newly-acquired airline.

Goyal said the entire JetLite fleet could be operational by September this year. The airline has taken steps to improve the financial position of the airline.

At least seven of the 24 aircraft in the JetLite fleet are currently undergoing scheduled maintenance work, which does not allow them to be operated.
Back to News Review index page  

Chem & Ferring, France in $4 mn outsourcing deal
Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad-based exporter of pharmaceutical raw materials, finished formulations and chemicals,7 Chemicals, has signed a $4 million deal with Ferring Pharmaceuticals of France to supply oral contraceptive pills.

Company officials said the five-year deal is a strategic partnership with Ferring Pharmaceuticals as it gives the Indian company distribution rights for the contraceptive pills in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The company will manufacture the contraceptive pills in India which will be supplied to Ferring in France.

The contraceptives will be marketed by Ferring in France while the same will be marketed in Russian and the CIS countries by 7 Chemicals.

The contraceptive pills that will be manufactured by 7 Chemicals are generic in nature and will be packed in the form of contraceptive kits of two and three tablets.
Back to News Review index page  

Essar to acquire Canada-based Algoma
Mumbai: The Canadian government has approved the acquisition of Algoma Steel by Essar Global for Canadian $1.85 billion (Rs7,100 crore), as required under the country's foreign- investment rules.

The company had obtained approval through its wholly- owned subsidiary Essar Steel Holdings under the Investment Canada Act, it said in a press release issued yesterday.

The regulators approved the deal after Essar agreed to keep the Canadian steel company's head office in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario and ensured a boost in annual capital expenditures.

The company has also agreed for continued prominent and substantial role of the existing management of Algoma.
Back to News Review index page  

Bharti to start retail operations early next year
New Delhi: Bharti Enterprises will begin its retail operations early next year by opening half-a-dozen stores. The branding of the stores is still being worked out with its back-end partner Wal-Mart.

Bharti Group, chairman and CEO, Sunil Bharti Mittal, who was recently in the US, told reporters that the process was going on as per the plan a cluster of stores would be up by early 2008.

Mittal had met Wal-Mart vice chairman Mike Duke in Washington during the visit as part of a CII delegation and the two partners have started recruitments and were busy sorting out the legal issues.

Last year Bharti announced an investment of $2.5 billion in its retail venture. While the Indian company would manage the front-end, Wal-Mart would provide back-end and logistics support.
Back to News Review index page  

HUL sells marine foods business to Temptation Foods
Mumbai: Hindustan Unilever has sold its marine foods business to Mumbai-based Temptation Foods (TFL) for an undisclosed sum.
The size of the business includes manufacturing facilities and is estimated at around Rs250 crore.

Temptation Foods, the Rs39-crore, listed, fruit and vegetables export company, will get direct access to HUL's customers across the world. HUL's marine foods division is the largest single export vertical in the country. HUL had decided to sell it as it wanted to get out of all non-core businesses. The company had already sold its seafood processing plant in Andhra Pradesh and shut down operations in Gujarat.

Recently, HUL also expanded its customer base in Europe and West Asia and developed new markets in Mexico. HUL's marine products that are exported include surimi crabsticks, crabclaws, crab chunks, fish fillets, crab, octopus and squids.

HUL has manufacturing facilities in Chorwad in Gujarat, Kuthiathode and Aroor in Kerala. The company has also added several new products such as skin pack shrimps, marinated seafood and minced crabsticks to its seafood portfolio.
Back to News Review index page