Reliance may opt for 5th cell licence
New Delhi: Reliance is planning to make an offer to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for a fifth cellular licence. The move follows the
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) recommendations banning call-forwarding and multiple registration schemes. According to a Reliance official, for the fifth licence the company is willing to pay a licence fee equal to what the cellular operators paid for the fourth licences all over India. While cell operators paid Rs 1,400 crore for the fourth licence, the fee for the fifth licence may be much lower. But the company would make thisoffer only if DoT accepts Trai’s recommendations.

Reliance has large stakes in the telecom sector, newspaper reports suggest.It is believed to be the largest private telecom operator in the country with an investment of close to Rs 15,000 crore. Reliance’s total investment in the telecom project would be around Rs 24,000 crore. It has the largest telecom network in the private sector. It has already laid optical fibre cable (OFC) of 60,000 rkms. The Reliance network will have 100,000 rkms of OFC when the network is complete. Currently, it provides services in more than 600 cities in 18 circles. Its services were commercially launched on 1 May. In the last five months it has acquired more than 3 million subscribers.
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BIS to review soft drinks' quality today
New Delhi: The 'pesticides' cola controversy has taken a new turn. A crucial meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will be held here on Monday to discuss a review of standards for soft drinks that include their possible upgrading.

Reports say that in line with the directives of Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Yadav, BIS intends to make standards of all products dynamic, with the same being revised according to the market and technological developments and not after a fixed time period. BIS standards for foods and beverages are being reviewed and, if necessary, taken up for revision. Results of the review will be discussed in the meeting, official sources were quoted as saying.
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Tata Steel to focus on minerals, ferro alloys
Mumbai: Tata Steel (Tisco) is planning to develop its minerals and ferro alloys business which it thinks is a more significant entity in the next couple of years. Currently, ores and minerals contribute around 9 per cent to the company’s earnings. Sources were quoted as saying in a newspaper that the company is in the process of identifying new areas for development and is studying the various possibilities which will be part of the company’s next phase of growth.

Tisco is also looking at issues related to logistics as regards its ineral exports and aims to further increase its iron ore production in the current fiscal. It is also looking at thermal coal in a big way and is open to possible domestic alliances with power plants. A Tisco official says that the iron ore and the ferro chrome projects are part of the first phase of strategic initiatives which will begin to show results in the next two-three years, and are expected to add roughly about Rs 3,000 crore to the company’s topline.
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ONGC may set up chopper division
New Delhi: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is planning to forme its own helicopter division with a fleet of more than 20 modern aircraft.The move comes after last week’s crash of a chartered helicopter in the Arabian Sea that left 27 people dead. "After the accident, many feel boarding a hired chopper is risky... Operating our own helicopters is not a bad idea," a senior company official was quoted as saying.

The official said a Canadian helicopter manufacturer has already sent a proposal. ONGC currently hires around 23 helicopters from different owners on short and long-term charters for deployment on west and east coasts, as well as in the mountainous region of north east. The petroleum ministry has asked ONGC to frame anage criteria for hiring of helicopters. The new norm will be on the lines of ship charter criteria issued recently where crude oil, petroleum products and chemical carriers above the age of 25 years have been banned from Indian waters.
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JL Morison to up skincare range prices
Mumbai: JL Morison (India), which has launched a range of Nivea deodorants, plans to take a 3-per cent price increase across its range of skincare products in the next two months. Nivea, which is eyeing a 10-per cent share of the total deodorant market in India in one year, is planning to extend the brand’s franchise to more skincare products shortly. "We hope to capture10 per cent share of the Rs 92 crore deodorant market in a year’s time. We
aim at a leadership position in three years" JL Morison managing director Jimmy Anklesaria said.
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DPC appeal to SC to block PPA order
Mumbai: The Dabhol Power Company (DPC) has appealed to the Supreme Court to restrain the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) from passing any order relating to the resumption of Dabhol phase-I (658 mw) power purchase by Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), reports said. DPC, which amended its original petition challenging the Bombay High Court order of 5 March 2002 deciding MERC’s jurisdiction, has prayed that MERC be restrained from taking any steps in any matters or issues arising out of or connected with the power purchase agreement (PPA) and in respect of the Dabhol power project.

DPC has argued that MERC be restrained from entertaining or trying any such matters or issues whether presently pending before it or filed hereafter. MERC, which heard MSEB’s petition on 25 June on resumption of Dabhol phase-I power at Rs 2.80 per unit at 83 per cent plant load factor, has reserved its order. The rupee lenders’ consortium leader Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), with an exposure of Rs 2,121 crore in the project, supported MSEB’s plea during the June 25 hearing.
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Tanu to launch Care TV next month
Mumbai: Tanu Healthcare plans to launch a health and beauty care satellite channel. It will be called Care TV. Tanu is a listed company, which specialises in the trading of pharmaceutical products and analytical laboratory services. Uplinked via VSNL’s Mumbai gateway, the channel will be on a Thaicom transponder and will begin test broadcasting from 3 September. The niche channel will focus on health-related areas ranging from fitness and beauty concerns to specialist medical as well as ayurvedic and ther
alternative cures.

The size of the different branches of the health industry is around Rs 45,000 crore. The current slots in the news and entertainment cannot do justice to a number of health-related products and services vying for the attention of TV viewers, Ajay Gupta, MD of Care TV said. The promoters of Tanu Healthcare GK Aggarwal and OP Aggarwal have invested Rs 5 crore and will be raising Rs 10 crore more through a IPO later this year. The revenue model will be advertising-driven with both direct advertising as well as
specific shows built around products and services, Gupta was quoted as saying.
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