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L&T bags contracts worth Rs.340 crore in Dubai residential project
Mumbai: Larsen & Toubro Ltd has won contracts worth Rs340 crore in a residential project, worth Rs450-crore. The project, of a United Arab Emirates-based company, is for building a residential property in Dubai. The rest of the amount would be the value of works to be executed by nominated sub-contractors, said a news release from L&T.

The project involves construction of Mogul Gardens-2 at Discovery Gardens located on Shaikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

The project will be executed by ECC, L&T's construction division, and is to be completed in 560 days from the date of signing of the deal. It involves construction of 27 residential blocks with a total built-up area of 178,050 square metres. In all there will be 1,908 apartments.

Nakheel, a leading project developer in UAE, is involved in several major property development projects with investments to the tune of US$12bn in Dubai, said the release. The developer has to its credit a variety of landmark structures in Dubai.

With this order, L&T has further strengthened its presence in the Gulf region, the company said. Recently, L&T and its Oman-based subsidiary secured five contracts cumulatively valued at Rs467 crore to provide water supply distribution system to Saham and Khaburah towns in Oman. The company also secured contracts in Dubai for the construction of two 39-storied commercial and office buildings, and two 35-storied and 25-storied towers of luxury condominiums.
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Mercer survey: Indian IT managers amongst lowest paid in the world
IT managers in India are among the lowest paid in the world, according to a new survey by Mercer Human Resources Consulting. IT managers, in India, on an average earn US$26,500 a year, the survey said. IT managers may be defined as those who are responsible for developing IT systems and managing a company's IT specialists.

While the top earners are IT managers in Switzerland who take home an average of US$1,61,900 a year, those who earn the least are IT managers in Vietnam who are paid an average of US$20,100 a year.

The survey, which covered 5,300 companies across the world, found that eight of the 10 highest-paying countries for IT managers are in Western Europe.

Japan and Hong Kong are the only two non-European nations that rank among the top 10. According to the survey, IT managers in Japan earn on an average US$1,12,300 a year and those in Hong Kong US$97,600 a year.

German IT managers earn an average of US$1,26,700 a year, while those in Denmark take home an average salary of US$1,16,000 a year. IT managers in the US, which is ranked 14th, earn an average yearly salary of US$89,100.

At the other end of the scale, IT managers in the Philippines earn an average salary of US$20,700 a year and those in Bulgaria and Malaysia an average of US$28,800 a year, the survey found.
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Kerala Pollution Ccontrol Board asks Coca-Cola to stop production at Plachimada
Thiruvanathapuram: The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has directed Coca-Cola India to stop production at its Plachimada plant in Palakkad district with immediate effect.

In its order, the PCB said the company's reply to its notice of July 1 seeking clarification on the source of cadmium in the sludge discharged from the plant was not satisfactory.

"It was detected by the board that due to existence of cadmium in the effluent as well as in the sludge, the groundwater in the vicinity was found contaminated," the order said.

The board also said the company had failed to provide drinking water facility to people in the affected areas as directed by the Supreme Court (SC) monitoring committee.

The company is reviewing the order and assessing its implications. "We are in the process of evaluating the future steps including a judicial review," said a spokesperson.

The plant had remained closed for about two years before it resumed production of soda bottling only a few days ago. The decision came at a time when the plant was preparing to resume full production on the strength of a Kerala High Court order which had asked the panchayat of Perumatty, where the plant is located, to renew the plant's licence.

The local body, however, moved the SC against the order. It also charged the company with failure to install a reverse osmosis system for better effluent treatment as directed by it and the SC monitoring committee.
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Air-India opts for Perfect Relations for its public relations
Mumbai: Air-India, India's state-owned international carrier, on Friday appointed Perfect Relations Ltd as its public relations agency for India. The appointment has been made in order to project the correct corporate image of the airline in the light of the recent expansion of network and the fleet acquisition plans of Air-India.

All subsidiaries of Air-India will also fall under this agreement.

The agency responsibilities for Air-India will also include the continuous image audit, media relations, communication counseling and advice on a regular basis.

This will help Air-India develop an effective channel of communication with consumers, employees, trade and other partners.

The hiring of a professional agency 'will enable the carrier to respond faster to local issues and ensure coordinated and synergised approach to various local issues faced by Air-India,' said a media statement from the airline.
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Grasim and Sterlite in race for Punjab Alkalies
Mumbai: Grasim of the Aditya Birla group and Sterlite of the Vedanta group may be among the six industrial houses that have expressed an interest in picking up the Punjab government's 44.26 per cent stake in Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals.

Confirming this, sources in the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC), the investment agency through which the Punjab government holds its stake, said the sale process was expected to be over by next month.

Buoyed by the news, the Punjab Alkalies stock hit the 20 per cent upper limit to close at Rs96.75 in a flat Friday market.

Sources in the two companies said they had shown an interest in acquiring the government's shareholding nearly two years ago, when the government had put its stake on the block. In addition to the PSIDC's 44.26 per cent stake, the Unit Trust of India also holds a nearly 6 per cent stake.
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Shantha Biotechnics launches combo-vaccine
Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based biotech firm Shantha Biotechnics Ltd has announced the launch of the country's first indigeneously developed 4-in-1 combination vaccine in the country.

According to Varaprasad Reddy, MD, the new vaccine protects children against four life-threatening infections diphteria, tetanus, pertussis and Hepatitis-B. This combo-vaccine called Shantetra, has undergone trials at five centres with 150 subjects without causing any adverse affects.

At present, GSK and Chiron are the two global companies that manufacture the tetravalent vaccine. Globally, the phenomenon of combination vaccines is catching up as it reduces the number of infections, cuts overall cost of vaccination besides increasing parent acceptability and simplify delivery logistics. While the conventional vaccine is given six times, Shantetra hopes to reduce the doses to three times for a child, Reddy added.

Being a trusted vendor to UNICEF, WHO, Shantetra is expected to capitalise on the reputation built by the flagship product Shanvac-B to enter major markets. Shantetra is available in two presentations - 0.5 ml and 5 ml and can be administered to infants from the sixth week onwards.
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Zee Tele in pact with IBM Global for media asset management solutions
Mumbai: Zee Telefilms Ltd and IBM Global Services India Ltd have entered into an agreement to develop end-to-end digital media asset management solutions.

This initiative is expected to take about 12 months of implementation and integration at Zee headquarters in Mumbai and broadcast centre at Noida. The estimated cost of entire implementation and digitisation of existing assets will be over US$7mn.

"Zee has always been at the forefront of deploying emerging technologies for business solutions. With the implementation of Zee Asset Management Solution, we will be the first company in India to have end-to-end technology platform for digital acquisition, development and playout of entertainment content," ZTL said in a news release quoting its Director, Punit Goenka.

The implementation will enable Zee to streamline and optimise the process involved in enterprise content management, deliver content to emerging mediums.
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Increase in number of companies registered in April 2005
New Delhi: The month of April 2005 saw an increase in the number of companies registered under the Companies Act when compared with the same period last year.

The number of companies registered during the month stood at 4,083 against 3,183 registered in the same month last year.

The highest number of companies, limited by shares, registered during the month under review was reported from Delhi (1,058) followed by Maharashtra (742). Tamil Nadu (391), Andhra Pradesh (286), West Bengal (274), Karnataka (222) and Uttar Pradesh (211) also reported comparatively larger number of companies registered during the month. Taken together, these seven States accounted for nearly 78 per cent of the total companies registered during the month.

The highest number of companies were registered under the industrial classification of finance, insurance, real estate and business services (1,307) followed by manufacturing (1,085) and wholesale and retail trade, and restaurants and hotels (692).

Under other industrial classifications the number of companies registered were construction (562), community, social and personal services (165), transport, storage and communication (141), agriculture and allied activities (68) and mining and quarrying (45).
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Kinetic launches gearless scooterette 'Kine'
Pune: The Kinetic Motor Company has introduced `Kine', a gearless scooterette.

Launching the scooterette, Ms Sulajja Firodia Motwani, joint managing director, Kinetic, said it offered cool looks, convenience and performance. The price of the vehicle was Rs27,600 ex-showroom.

The target audience included students and executives. Kine would offer customers the benefits of a 72 cc 4.2 bhp engine, double seat, electric start and gearless transmission. Besides mileage of 55-60 kmpl, it featured mobile charge point, puncture-resistant tyres, large under-seat storage area and spacious footboard.
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Corporate Results: PFC
PFC to pay Rs 75 cr final
The Power Finance Corporation (PFC) Ltd has declared a final dividend of Rs75 crore for 2004-05. With this it has paid a total dividend of Rs385 crore for 2004-05.

A dividend cheque of Rs145.24 crore was presented to P.M. Sayeed, Union Minister for Power, by Dr V.K. Garg, Chairman and Managing Director, PFC. PFC has sanctioned Rs80,000 crore and disbursed Rs51,000 crore since its inception.
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