TRAI cuts Access Deficit Charges on long distance calls
New Delhi: Over 90 million telecom subscribers will get lower long distance tariffs from February with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reducing the Access Deficit Charge (ADC) by up to 62 per cent. While domestic long distance call tariffs, for both fixed and cellular phones, will be lowered by up to 50 paise a minute, international long distance calls are likely to be reduced by about Rs2 a minute. There will be no change in local call tariffs.

TRAI, on Thursday, reduced the ADC component on STD calls from 80 paise a minute to 30 paise a minute for calls made over 200 km and from 50 paise a minute to 30 paise a minute for calls made between 50 km and 200 km.

On outgoing ISD calls, TRAI has brought down the deficit charges by 41 per cent to Rs2.50 a minute from Rs4.25. The reduction in the charges could lead to a corresponding slash in the ISD tariffs.

Thus, a call to the US that now costs an average of Rs16 a minute may now be brought down to around Rs14 a minute. The exact reduction will be clearer once individual operators announce the revised tariffs.

Deficit charges on incoming calls have also been decreased from Rs4.25 a minute to Rs3.25 a minute.

The move is aimed at addressing the grey market on incoming ILD calls.

TRAI has also kept the total quantum of the fund collected from ADC at last year's levels of Rs5,300 crore. It said that the increase in usage will compensate for the reduction in the per minute charges.

"The increase in subscribers was 100 per cent by September 2004 and is likely to be about 230 per cent by 2005. Hence, it is possible to collect a given ADC amount with a lower charge per minute," said Mr Pradip Baijal, Chairman, TRAI.
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Maran launches Automated Spectrum Management System
New Delhi: The Minister of Communications and IT, Dayanidhi Maran, has launched an Automated Spectrum Management System (ASMS) with features aimed at optimising the use of scarce spectrum resource.

"The system has two components, namely ASMS and NSMS (National Spectrum Monitoring System) and has been implemented at a cost of Rs200 crore with World Bank assistance," an official release said here.

The new system would have a centralised database of the wireless licences, frequency records, spectrum engineering management & analysis software and digital terrain map of the country. Further, the system has features such as on-line filing of application for frequency assignments & licences.
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India Inc. lines up for `.in' domain
New Delhi: In an event marking the extension of .in country code Internet domain name registry, the Union Minister for Communications and IT, Dayanidhi Maran, presented certificates of `.in' registration to leading names from Indian industry and media.

The recipients included Ratan Tata (Tata Group), N. Ram (The Hindu), Sunil Mittal (Airtel), Aroon Purie (India Today Group), K. M. Mammen (MRF), Prannoy Roy (NDTV), Vineet Jain (Times Group), Vijay Mallya (UB Group), Gopal Srinivasan (TVS), Ajai Chaudhary (HCL), and Deepak Puri (Moser Baer).

With this, Tata Group's new Indian identity in cyberspace would be tata.in, tcs.in and vsnl.in, while in the case of Bharti it will be airtel.in. MRF has picked up mrf.in, while The Hindu Group has registered over 120 domain names for its various publications.

Commenting on the overwhelming response to the latest .in initiative, Maran said, "Earlier five lakh Indian companies had registered and of them only 7,000 had online identities that ended with `.in'. But now ever since we opened the registrations from January 1, 2005, we have been getting an average of 7,000 applications per day."

In October last year, the Government announced a new policy for `.in' Internet domain name registration focusing on hassle-free online procedure and reduced pricing. The move would not only strengthen Indian identity in Internet space but would also to ensure a greater circulation of traffic within the country.

Owners of registered Indian trademarks or service marks who wish to protect their online identity will be given an opportunity to apply for .in domain names ahead of the general public. Sunrise applications are being accepted from January 1 to 21. The date for the opening of real time, open registration for the public is planned for February 16.
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Air Deccan to buy thirty new ATR aircraft
Bangalore: Air Deccan will buy thirty new ATR72-500 aircraft from Avions de Transport Regionale, a France-based aircraft manufacturer.

ATR said in a statement that it would also sell six second hand aircraft to Air Deccan. The delivery would begin this year.

ATR72-500 aircraft would be delivered in a 72-seat configuration. Presently, Air Deccan operates 13 ATRs.
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Tejas completes $15 million funding
Bangalore: Technology company Tejas Networks has announced that it has completed a $15 million Series "C" round of financing. Existing investors, Gururaj Deshpande, Intel Capital and IL&FF Investment Management, also participated in the round.

The company would use the proceeds of the funding to expand its operational functions as well as grow its international presence through sales partnerships.

Battery Ventures, which led the financing, is a leading venture capital firm, and is focussed on investing in technology companies at all stages of growth. Tejas Networks is focussed on developing and selling next generation optical networking products for the global market.

Tejas says that with its expanding customer base the company was becoming a strong contender in the next generation optical networking market and that this funding will help fuel Tejas' leadership position on a global scale. In conjunction with the funding, Carl Stjernfeldt, a partner with Battery Ventures, would join the Tejas board of directors.
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Bally marks India entry with first opening in Mumbai
Mumbai: Bally, a Switzerland-based leader in luxury products launched its first store in Mumbai at the Grand Hyatt on Tuesday.
The Mumbai store is in line with the new generation stores that Bally has opened in the US and South East Asia. The store will offer its complete range of shoes, handbags and other leather accessories, with prices beginning from Rs9,500.

According to a press release, the company plans to expand into Delhi and Kolkata later this year. It is hoping for a share of the organised shoe market in India, which is estimated at Rs11,000 crore.
Bally is privately owned by Texas Pacific Group, the American-based equity fund, and has its headquarters in Caslano, Switzerland.
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P&G launches a fragrant Ariel in two variants
New Delhi: Procter & Gamble have re-launched Ariel in two new fragrant variants while keeping prices constant.

P&G, which owns global fragrance brands including Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Old Spice and Valentino, decided to combine the cleaning function of a detergent with fragrance after research findings indicated that fragrance in detergents is an important factor of delight for the housewife in her daily laundry chore.

The two variants are called Ariel Spring Clean (floral fragrance) and Ariel Fresh Clean (refreshing fragrance).

P&G claims to have now cornered almost 10 per cent of the Rs5,000-crore detergent market by value, during 2004, with each of its brands - Ariel and Tide - becoming about Rs250 crore.

P&G said that powders comprise 57 per cent of the detergent market, while the remaining 43 per cent was bars. Leading players in the category include Hindustan Lever Ltd, Henkel, Nirma and Ghari.

P&G India claims to have a turnover of over Rs1,000 crore. Among the brands it sells in the country are Tide, Ariel, Pantene, Whisper, Pampers, Head & Shoulders and Rejoice.
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Maruti hikes prices of Euro-III models
New Delhi: Car major Maruti Udyog Ltd has raised the prices of three of its models by Rs10,000 to Rs15,000, with the introduction of models with Euro-III compliant engines.

The price hike has been effected on the Euro-III compliant version of the Zen, Wagon R and Baleno. Euro-III compliant versions of other car models in the company's portfolio, including the Alto, Esteem and Omni, would also be made available soon with higher price tags. The Euro-III emission norms are being made mandatory across 11 major cities (including Delhi and Mumbai) in the country from April 1.

The price rise is also on account of increase in steel prices and other component prices, our costs and our vendor's costs." The company has however, added that the current price increase was not sufficient to make up for the technology costs for Euro-III vehicles.

Following the price hike, an entry-level WagonR model with a Euro-III engine will cost Rs 3,35,123, compared with Rs 3,22,123 for one with a Euro-II engine. Other carmakers are expected to follow suit with price hikes as they introduce Euro-III compliant vehicles before April 1.

The eleven cities where Euro-III norms will be introduced from April 1 include the National Capital Region, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Kanpur, Pune, Agra and Surat.
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Maruti to source steel from home
New Delhi: In a bid to reduce costs, Maruti Udyog plans to source more steel from local companies such as Tata Steel, among others, starting next fiscal.

Domestically procured steel offers the company a competitive edge as prices are lower compared to the price of steel produced by overseas companies. Next fiscal, a number of contracts for steel procurement will be renewed, and there will be preference for Indian players," the company has clarified.

Maruti currently sources about 65 per cent of its steel from overseas, including companies such as Posco, South Korea's largest steelmaker. The automaker is aiming to reduce the import of steel to 50 per cent of its total need.
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BEL pays forty percent interim
Bangalore: Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has declared a 40 per cent interim dividend for 2004-05. This is its first interim dividend.

For the fiscal 2003-04, BEL paid its highest ever dividend of 100 per cent, including a special one-time golden jubilee dividend of 20 per cent per share of Rs10 each. During 2003-04, BEL reached its highest ever turnover of Rs2,798.6 crore, with a profit after tax touching Rs316.1 crore. The electronics major says it has set its sights on reaching a turnover of Rs5,000 crore by 2006-07.
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Bennett & Coleman picks up stake in Pantaloon Retail
Mumbai: Bennett & Coleman & Company Ltd is acquiring a 4.53 per cent stake in Pantaloon Retail India Ltd for Rs70 crore. Pantaloon said it has approved the issue of 9.53 lakh equity shares of Rs10 each for cash at a premium of Rs724.02 to Bennett, Coleman & Co.

Promoters' holding which stands at 39.53 per cent is likely to fall by one percentage post this allotment, the company has said. Pantaloon plans to use funds accruing out of this preferential allotment to expand retail space to three million sq ft in 2005 and 2006 from the current one million.

It is also issuing 4.08 lakh warrants to promoters and their associates. These warrants will allow the holder to acquire one fully paid up equity share of Rs10 each for cash at a premium of Rs 725 per share within 18 months.
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Aberdeen picks up stake in CMC
Hyderabad: CMC Ltd has informed the National Stock Exchange that Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd has on behalf of funds acquired 39,000 shares aggregating 0.2574 per cent of the total paid-up capital of CMC Ltd, thereby crossing the 5-per cent mark.

These shares were acquired on December 17 through open market purchase. The shareholding of Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd on behalf of funds advised and managed by them, after the said acquisition, is now at 7,80,018 shares aggregating 5.1486 per cent of the total paid up capital of CMC Ltd.
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Glenmark to issue 1:1 bonus
Mumbai: The board of directors of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd has approved a bonus share issue in the ratio 1:1 or one share for every one held, the company said.

The bonus issue is to share the benefits of the company's growth with the shareholders, Glenn Saldanha, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, said in a statement.

The board's decision is subject to the approval of shareholders.
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Ford India sales up 34 per cent for December '04
Chennai: Ford India sold 3,092 vehicles in December 2004, a 34 per cent increase over the 2,303 units it sold in December 2003.
The company exported 2,046 kits of the Ikon against 1,702 kits in December 2003.

For the whole of the year, its sales were up 32 per cent - from 18,558 units to 24,536 units. Ford sold 2,566 units of the Ikon in December, a 21 per cent increase over the 2,118 units sold in December 2003.

It sold 197 units of its sports utility vehicle, Ford Endeavour, compared to 175 units in December 2003 and 329 units of the Fusion, described an urban activity vehicle, which was launched in December 2004. However, Ford India did not sell a single unit of its luxury sedan, Mondeo, while it sold ten cars in December 2003.
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