Air Sahara to fly to S-E Asia destinations by March -April
New Delhi: Air Sahara has said that it would begin operations to Southeast Asia by March-April subject to government clearances. The airline also plans to induct at least eleven more aircraft in the next few months to take its fleet strength to thirty two.

Following the Cabinet decision to let private carriers fly abroad, Air Sahara had sought government permission to launch flights from Indian metros to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur as also to London.
Back to News Review index page  
Cairn-ONGC dispute: Ministry seeks legal opinion
New Delhi: The Petroleum Ministry has sought legal opinion on the dispute over payment of a production tax by Cairn Energy of UK on the crude oil it plans to produce from the Barmer district in Rajasthan.

"Cairn Energy signed a contract for the Rajasthan block that did not specify who will pay the statutory levy. Now that is to be settled legally. So we have sought legal opinion and are awaiting clarification on the issue,'' the Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, told reporters here. While Cairn is the operator of the field, ONGC is the licensee.

The British company plans to produce 80,000 to 100,000 barrels per day from its Mangala and Aishwariya fields in Rajasthan, but has protested the levy of a cess of Rs 900 per tonne of crude oil produced from the fields.

Cairn claims that the Rajasthan block is a pre-NELP (New Exploration Licensing Policy) block where state-run ONGC, as the licensee, was made responsible for payment of all statutory levies such as royalty and cess. ONGC had late last month exercised its rights to take a 30 per cent stake in the two fields Cairn plans to put on production.

ONGC has disputed the payment of statutory levies such as royalty on behalf of private sector partners in pre-NELP blocks such as Cairn's RJ-ON-90/1 block in Rajasthan. ONGC says that what they get out of taking a 30 per cent stake in terms of crude oil is much lesser than what they pay towards statutory levies. The Government has conceded that it is a genuine issue and they are looking at it.

Though the oil finds in Rajasthan are the largest in more than two decades, ONGC had baulked at exercising its right to take 30 per cent stake in the block as it would have also forced it to make payment of statutory duties of royalty not just on its behalf but also on behalf of its private sector partner.
Back to News Review index page  

Pantaloon buys 68 per cent stake in Indus-League
Bangalore: Pantaloon Industries has acquired 68 per cent stake in Indus-League Clothing Ltd, which owns lifestyle apparel brands - Scullers and Indigo Nation. Pantaloon picked up the stake from ICICI Ventures for Rs24 crore.

Sriram Srinivasan and six others who floated Indus-League in 1999 will continue to steer the company's management. The team led by Srinivasan, Draper International and Dalmia Group hold the remaining 32 per cent stake in the company.

Pantaloon has projected a turnover of Rs 1,200 crore in the financial year 2004-05 and wants to be a significant player in retail, lifestyle brands and real estate domains.
Back to News Review index page  

Skoda Auto sales up fifty five per cent for 2004
Mumbai: Skoda Auto India has ended the year 2004 with a 55 per cent growth in sales at 7,200 vehicles against 4,656 vehicles sold in 2003. This compares well with the industry growth of 24 per cent, Skoda Auto has said. For 2005, Skoda Auto has stepped up its target sales to 13,000 units from 10,000 units. In the last three years since its foray , Skoda Auto has sold 16,500 units.

"The increasing demand has made us a confident player in the market and hence we have increased our targeted sales for 2005. To cope with this increased demand and the ever increasing customer interest we are looking forward to increase our production capacity,'' a news release quoting Imran Hassen, Managing Director, SkodaAuto, said.
Back to News Review index page  

Eicher sales rise thirty five per cent in December '04
New Delhi: Commercial vehicle maker Eicher Motors Ltd sold 2,243 vehicles in December, up 35.4 per cent from 1,656 units in December 2003, the company has said in a statement.

The company's cumulative sales of commercial vehicles for the April-December 2004 period of 14,923 vehicles showed growth of 44 per cent over 10,356 vehicles sold during the corresponding period last year.
Back to News Review index page  

Hyundai sales up sixty one per cent in December '04
New Delhi: Vehicle sales at Hyundai Motor India have risen 61 per cent in December, helped by robust domestic and export demand, the company said in a statement. The company sold 19,929 vehicles in December and 2,15,630 units in 2004, up 43 per cent from the previous year.

Domestic sales in December included 9,200 units of the Santro, 660 Getz, 2,000 Accents, 432 Elantras, 131 Sonatas and seven units of the Terracan SUV.
Back to News Review index page  

Fortune Info tool for BPL Mobile
Hyderabad: Fortune Informatics Ltd, the Hyderabad-based software company, has announced it has bagged an order from BPL Mobile Ltd, for deployment of its flagship product, ReportSuite.

The company, in a statement said, "With this order, Fortune has further consolidated its position as a premier solutions provider in the telecom segment. This solution has been successfully deployed in BSNL, Aircel and Reliance Telecom."
Back to News Review index page  

Pfizer opts for MetricStream
Bangalore: MetricStream has announced that Pfizer Inc has selected the enterprise compliance platform, document management system and corrective action/preventive action modules developed by MetricStream for use in the pharmaceutical company's safety and risk management group.
Back to News Review index page  

High-octane petrol from BPCL
Mumbai: BPCL has launched Speed 97, its new brand of high-octane petrol mixed with lubricant additives, meant to improve vehicle performance.

The product is aimed at high-performance cars. Speed 97 will help cars by removing harmful deposits from all fuel metering systems and components, a news release said.

BPCL has already launched branded diesel `Hi-Speed' and `Speed 93', another high-octane petrol brand.
Back to News Review index page