US court brings Dr.Reddy down to earth
New York: A US court of appeals ruled that India's generic drug manufacturer, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, had infringed on Pfizer Pharmaceutical company's patent for the blood pressure medicine Norvasc. The decision reversed an earlier ruling by a lower court in Newark, New Jersey.
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Air India, Indian Airlines cut fares
Abu Dhabi: Air India and Indian Airlines have decided to cut fares from the Gulf to Kerala by 5 to 18 per cent from April 1. This results from the withdrawal of sales tax on ATF by the Kerala Government, and the decision of the airlines to pass on this benefit to its passengers.

Both, Air India and Indian Airlines, also announced that due to the added capacity on the Gulf-Kerala routes and increased direct flights from Kerala, the airlines have been able to rationalise costs, and the benefit of this are also being passed on to the passengers. In a related decision the cargo tariff, ex-Kerala to the Gulf, has also been cut, in view of the sizeable import of perishables from Kerala to the Gulf,.

Approval for these reductions is being sought from the governments in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia, where fares are controlled by the civil aviation authorities and national carriers.
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ONGC: fresh round of VRS
Mumbai: Exploration major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has announced a fresh round of voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its employees, starting from March 1, 2004. The company, which has a strength of 36,000, wants to reduce its workforce by at least 3,500 employees, and its keeping its retirement scheme open for two months instead of the usual one. In the first VRS offered by ONGC in 2001, apparently only about 1,000 employees opted for the separation scheme.
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Ester to dispose unit
Mumbai: Ester Industries Ltd has informed Bombay Stock Exchange that its shareholders have approved, by way of postal ballot with requisite majority, the disposal of its yarn plant in Uttaranchal.

The results were declared at the extra-ordinary general meeting held on February 5, 2004.
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Skoda targets 40,000 car sales in five years
Bangalore: Skoda Auto has set a sales target of around 40,000 cars by the fifth year of operations.
Currently, Skoda carries out CKD completely knocked down operations at its new plant in Aurangabad, which was inaugurated last week.
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FACT's net worth below 50 per cent
Kochi: An extraordinary general body meeting of Fertilisers and Chemicals was held last week and the company decided to inform the BIFR that the company's net worth had dropped to below 50 per cent of its total capital of Rs 354.77 crore.

The company made a loss of Rs 287.73 crore last fiscal, which could be brought down to Rs 199.93 crore with certain concessions amounting to Rs 87.80 crore made available by the Centre. The net loss as on Dec 31 stood at Rs 153 crore.
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Nortel to maintain growth
Bangalore: Nortel Networks has said that it is seeing "good" traction in the Indian market, especially from segments such as the government, banking, financial services and the call centre space.

Following this, the company expected to sustain its growth momentum and improve its market share in the current year, said Mr Sanjay Jotshi, director, marketing and channels, Nortel Networks India Pvt Ltd.
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GAIL to manufacture mosquito nets
New Delhi: GAIL India has decided to manufacture mosquito nets. GAIL has had prolonged discussions with World Health Organisation for manufacturing long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets as per the organisation's specifications.

The World Health Organisation has already identified a polymer being manufactured by Exxon Mobil — Grade HY800 — for application in the manufacture of such mosquito nets for Aftrica.
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HLL to concentrate on Brooke Bond, Lipton
Mumbai: Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) will concentrate on certain aspects of its tea business. Brooke Bond, its power brand, which delivered six per cent growth in 2003 and revitalised its beverage business, will continue to be under focus.

MS Banga, chairman, HLL said that the company would also focus on its Lipton brand and the out-of-home channel to boost the tea business.
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Bristol-Myers seeks FDI nod
Mumbai: Bristol-Myers Squibb has filed an application with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for setting up operations in India.
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Taj group to tap domestic tourism
Mumbai: The Taj group of hotels is set to tap domestic tourism with the leisure division planning t an innovative marketing strategy: It is shifting the emphasis in its promotions from vanilla offerings to experience-based activities.
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