BSNL mobile connections to be available on demand
New Delhi: BSNL mobile phones will be available on demand in the next six months, the government has said in the Lok Sabha.

"Twelve million lines will be provided by BSNL from May this year. In the next six months, BSNL phones will be available on demand," Communications and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran said during Question Hour.

He said in the next three years, 160 million lines would be made available by the BSNL and added the number of mobile phone subscribers in the country was 88,46,477 as on February end.
Back to News Review index page  

FDA hauls up Johnson & Johnson on 'baby' branding
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has served a notice on Johnson & Johnson to remove the word 'baby' from their products. The FDA says it passed the order because Johnson & Johnson products do not use anything that qualifies as a childcare ingredient.

The notice, which was prompted by consumer complaints, says the company is misbranding its products.

"We received complaints that some children had had rashes as a side effect. We conducted investigations and realised that Johnson's Baby Oil is made completely of liquid paraffin. That is mineral oil which is not in keeping with branding of the product or the way it is communicated," said A Ramkrishnan, FDA Commissioner, Maharashtra. Johnson & Johnson has 15 days to file its reply to the notice.

The government is also targeting other cosmetic goods, which promote brands based on various natural ingredients.

"Some Wipro products are also being investigated. Soaps that are being branded as turmeric soaps and sandalwood soaps even though there is no percentage of these ingredients used. Companies cannot sell such misbranded products," Ramkrishnan said.
Back to News Review index page  

Malaysia Airlines to launch more flights in the country
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will increase flights to India and China in order to enhance bilateral trade with the two countries.

Airline officials said that since India allows MAS to operate from secondary airports, they would certainly be looking to achieving this connectivity once they obtained additional aircraft.

The national carrier will also introduce flights to more destinations in China besides the eight places it currently flies to.
Back to News Review index page  

Orchid in deal with Stada for generic drug products
New Delhi: Indian drugmaker Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd has inked a deal with Germany's STADA Arzneimittel AG for the development and supply of six prescription generic drug products to STADA for the American market.

The six drugs include those for the heart, the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal system, allergies and infection.

Orchid hopes to supply the drugs to STADA by the beginning of 2007 when the patents of the original products expire in the US.
Back to News Review index page  

GVFL sets up Rs50 crore biotech venture fund
Ahmedabad: GVFL Ltd (formerly known as Gujarat Venture Finance Ltd) has launched a Rs50-crore biotechnology venture fund for Gujarat-based companies.

The 12-year closed-ended fund has received Rs5 crore as seed capital from the Gujarat Government and GVFL will mobilise the rest from institutional investors, a company release said here on Wednesday.

The fund plans to invest in start-ups in the areas of biopharma, agriculture biotechnology, contract research, bioinformatics and industrial, marine and environment biotechnology.

Among the first Indian companies to start venture capital funding, GVFL was set up by the Gujarat Industrial and Investment Corporation in 1990 at the initiative of the World Bank. Since then, it has raised four venture capital funds with a combined capital of Rs125 crore and invested in 56 companies across the country.
Back to News Review index page  

Rajesh Exports bags Rs.132 crore order from UAE firm
Mumbai: Rajesh Exports Ltd has announced that it has received an order for Rs132 crore from Excel Goldsmiths, a UAE-based company, for the export of 22-carat designer jewellery. As per the terms of the contract, the order has to be executed over a period of four months.

"This order is the second big win for the company in this quarter, coming close on the heels of another major order worth Rs146 crore from Gold Star Jeweller Pvt Ltd of Singapore last month," said Rajesh Exports in a notice to the BSE.
Back to News Review index page  

MICO to increase supplies to Bosch
New Delhi: Motor Industries Company (MICO), part of the euro 40 billion automotive technology provider Bosch Group, expects to gain more orders from its parent company Bosch, with the German firm looking to source more products from countries with lower production costs.

MICO is looking to increase sales of products such as single cylinder pumps to other Bosch subsidiaries by 10-15 per cent in the next five years. MICO exported about Rs340-crore worth of components to Bosch alone last year.

In 2004, MICO's export earnings stood at around Rs400 crore with about 85 per cent of this coming from outsourcing of components to Bosch, company officials said.

In recent months Bosch has relocated manufacturing of certain components to India from other locations, including Brazil, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, the company today also said that it was bullish about growth in the domestic market in view of emerging opportunities arising from implementation of new vehicular emission norms. The company will soon start production of various components for the common rail system (CRS) at its plants in Bangalore and Nashik.

Last year, the company had announced a Rs1,000-crore investment in India to be made over the next three years. Of this, about Rs550 crore would go for the introduction of common rail diesel injection systems.

In 2004, MICO registered a 23 per cent growth in sales to Rs2,328 crore with its net profits growing at a compounded rate of 66 per cent per annum to Rs375 crore last year.
Back to News Review index page  

TVS Motor targets sales of 1.2 mn two wheelers
Kolkata: TVS Motor Company Ltd hopes to sell 1.2 million two-wheeler units during the year ending March 31, 2005, which will translate into a turnover of around Rs3,000 crore.

In 2003-04, TVS Motor sold 1.1 million two-wheeler units, thereby generating revenues of around Rs2,800 crore. The company said that the expected sales of 1.2 million two-wheeler units in the current fiscal would include motorcycles, mopeds and scooterettes. With the launch of the TVS Star for the "economy segment", TVS Motor was hopeful of increasing its share of the domestic market for motorcycles to 20-22 per cent from 17 per cent at present.

Officials said that TVS Star had been received well in the market and, to keep pace with the demand, the company's Hosur plant's capacity to manufacture the bike was being augmented from 26,000 units per month, at present, to 50,000 units. Besides, a two-wheeler manufacturing plant is to be set up in Himachal Pradesh at an estimated investment of Rs90 crore. The plant is expected to commence production by the end of the next fiscal.
Back to News Review index page