GAIL to garner Rs 183 crore through LPG subsidy
New Delhi: ONGC CMD Proshanto Banerjee has said that the company stands to gain Rs 183 crore in the current fiscal by taking into account its recoverable from oil marketing companies (OMCs) from April 2002 to October 2003. "So the burden of subsidy is well neutralised on GAIL for this fiscal." The likely impact of sharing of subsidy by GAIL, under the formally notified scheme, is pegged at around Rs 320 crore for 2003-2004.

But the company is expected to recover Rs 503 crore from the OMCs on three accounts, non-revision of LPG prices from November 2002 to May 2003, inland freight and CST on inter-state sale of LPG.
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HLL estimates TOMCO merger duty at Rs 6 crore
Mumbai: HLL vice-chairman M K Sharma has said that the financial burden arising out of the Supreme Court's dismissal of a special leave petition HLL filed in 1996 against the Maharshtra government's imposition of stamp duty on the amalgamation of a company will be Rs 5-6 crore, and that HLL had made provision for this.

The case pertains to the merger of Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO) with HLL on 28 December 1994. HLL issued over 28 lakh shares to TOMCO shareholders. On 1 April 1993, the market value of the shares was about Rs 110 crore. After a court cleared the merger, the Maharashtra government slapped a stamp duty on mergers and amalgamations, varying from 3 per cent to 10 per cent, depending on the location of assets.
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Krishna-Godavari: RIL sticks to its estimates
Mumbai: Reliance Industries is sticking by its initial announced estimates of 14 trillion cubic feet for the D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin. The company said D&M has not evaluated all KG basin wells.

"Reliance confirms its estimate of original gas in-place (OGIP) volume of 14 tcf in D6 block in KG basin. This estimate is based on eight wells drilled in the initial phase of exploration, including the volumes in thinly bedded sands and low amplitude packs," according to an RIL.
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Torrent Pharma to open an office in Germany
Mumbai: Ahmedabad-based Torrent Pharma, which has a facility in Baroda for the production of penicillin G , is planning to increase its presence in Germany by setting up an export base there. Company officials say Torrent is working out a business model for its operations in Germany, which may either involve setting up its own facility or acquisition of some existing facility.

The company's plans in Germany are expected to be finalised within a month or two. As the first step, the company recently set up an office in that country. The Torrent group also has a power division that operates the Ahmedabad Electricity Co and the Surat Electricity Company. Torrent Pharma has reported a turnover of Rs 500 crore last fiscal.
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Sun-n-Sand, Tata Indicom join hands for WiFi
Pune: Sun-n-Sand Hotels has tied up with Tata Indicom for WiFi (wireless fidelity) services. C Behl, general manager, Sun-n-Sand, said the Tata Indicom services will allow guests at the hotel to access the Internet from their laptops, PDAs etc from any location within the hotel premises.

He said the Mumbai outlet of Sun-n-Sand would be WiFi ready within six weeks from now. "The contract had been signed for both the outlets on the same day but due to the corporate pressure in Pune, we had decided to go ahead with the Pune outlet first. He added that both these outlets will be under the revenue-sharing scheme.
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BIFR nod for Vajra Granites' revival scheme
Hyderabad: The Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has approved the rehabilitation scheme of Sri Vajra Granites Ltd (VGL), a 100-per cent export-oriented unit, which had accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 9.71 crore and became sick in 1998-99.

According to the scheme, the promoter-director of the company will bring in Rs 4.6 crore out of own sources. Of this, Rs 1 crore will be converted into 1 million equity shares of Rs 10 each. The balance Rs 3.6 crore will be paid back to the investors soon after the successful implementation of the scheme and if necessary by raising capital through a rights issue.
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Asahi plans third plant in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi: Asahi India Glass has announced that it will set up its third plant in Chennai. The new plant will manufacture automotive safety glass and will initially have a capacity of 5 lakh laminated windshields. The plant will about cost Rs 50 crore and will be funded through internal accruals.
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US state cancels TCS contract: Report
Mumbai: The US state of Indiana has cancelled a $15-million contract awarded to TCS America, the US subsidiary of Indian software services company TCS, according to a financial daily. The contract, which was with Indiana's department of workforce development, was cancelled by the state's new governor, Joe Kernan, on 20 November.

The move is part of an initiative called 'Opportunity Indiana' undertaken by Kernan, under which the state has decided to reopen earlier contracts awarded for the purchase of goods and services. Indiana is a small state on the shores of Lake Michigan, and shares its borders with Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois. When contacted, TCS officials in India confirmed that the contract had been cancelled, but said they are still studying the legal implications.
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ONGC will not sell crude oil to private refiners
New Delhi: ONGC will not sell its crude oil to private sector refiners, such as Reliance Industries, during 2004-05 as well. The company will continue to supply its 26.2 million tonne of crude only to public sector refiners. This was decided at a high-level meeting convened by petroleum secretary B K Chaturvedi to decide on crude allocation for 2004-05. The meeting was attended by chief executive officers of all the state-run oil companies.

"The meeting decided that ONGC will continue to sell its crude oil only to public sector refiners such as Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd next financial year," Chaturvedi said.
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Reliance Infocomm offers global SMS at Rs 2
Mumbai: Reliance Infocomm is offering international short messaging service (SMS) at a special launch price of Rs 2 per message, substantially lower that the Rs 5 price quoted by other service providers.

Reliance has launched this service to as many as 159 countries, including major European countries. On 28 August Reliance had launched a limited service to 26 operators but all in the US and Canada. This is the first service launched by the company after it migrated to the unified licence. With this, Reliance Infocomm provides the SMS facility to more countries and networks than any other mobile service provider in India.
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