Passenger car December sales up 8.8 pc
New Delhi: Passenger car sales rose by 8.8 per cent at 65,853 units in December 2005 as against 60,521 units in the corresponding month a year ago according to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM ).

Two-wheeler sales remained flat with just 1.7 per cent growth with 5,62,153 units sold in December last year as compared to 5,52,529 units in the same month a year ago. The commercial vehicles segment, however, could not halt the slide registering a negative growth of almost 6 per cent with 27,726 units sold in December 2005 as compared to 29,491 units in the same month a the previous year.
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Arcolab to supply AIDS drugs
Mumbai: Strides Arcolab has signed a pact with the Clinton Foundation to supply a range of affordable anti-retroviral drugs for treating AIDS. The anti-retroviral drugs would be supplied to countries that are under the aegis of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS initiative.

"We are committed to supplying a comprehensive range of first line and second line anti-retroviral drugs that meet global quality standards at affordable prices, Strides Arcolab Group CEO and managing director, Arun Kumar said at a ceremony in New York.

Clinton Foundation president, Bill Clinton said, "Strides Arcolab (India) will offer the ARV efavirenz for $240 per patient per year representing a savings of more than 30 per cent from current market rates. Following today's agreement, Strides will also supply first-line ARVs under Clinton Foundation agreements."

GHCL ramps up production at Romanian soda ash plant
Mumbai: Soda ash maker, GHCL, is increasing the production capacity of its Romanian plant and has started implementation cost reduction measures in input costs of raw materials and utilities.

The company is trying to turn around its Romanian soda ash business by optimising operations to increase production capacities, modernising the plant and improvement of price points within identified market segments. The company has been able to increase the current production rate by 34 per cent to 650 tonnes per day, higher than last year per day average of 486 tonnes (Jan 05 to Nov 05).

Last year GHCL acquired a controlling stake of 65 per cent in S C Bega Upsom SA, a leading soda ash manufacturer in Romania.
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Tata Motors to raise car prices
New Delhi: Tata Motors will raise car prices by Rs1,500 to Rs11,000 from January 15 said the company's senior vice-president, Rajiv Dube.

A few days ago Maruti Udyog and Ford India announced an increase in prices of their products citing higher input costs and freight charges. Maruti increased prices of all products across the board from Rs1,500 to Rs15,000 on various models. Ford hiked the price of the newly launched Ford Fiesta only.
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Suzuki rolls out 2 new bikes in India
New Delhi: Japanese motorcycle giant Suzuki Suzuki is re-entering India after it severed ties with TVS Motor Company in 1999-2000. The company has launched its India operations with the launch of two new motorcycles at the ongoing Auto Expo here.

The two new motorcycles are Heat and Zeus. The former is priced at Rs37,893 while Zeus is also expected to be competitively priced. The company has already invested Rs200 crore in its manufacturing facility at Gurgaon and plans to produce and sell one-lakh units in 2006.

Suzuki Motor Corporation has 74-per cent stake in its Indian subsidiary, Suzuki Motorcycle India.
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India's Tata, Fiat to share car dealer networks
New Delhi: Tata Motors and Fiat SpA have agreed to share their dealer networks in India and abroad. The deal is expected to offer both car makers access to new markets and also cut costs.

Chairman Ratan Tata said the alliance would help Tata Motors expand overseas via Fiat's vast dealership network in Europe. 'The association will add enormous value to Tata Motors in terms of access to products, technology, components from a world-class company, he added.

Under the agreement, Fiat cars would be available in India at Tata dealerships from March, the companies said in a joint statement.

Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne also said Fiat might also source auto components from India. The Italian company is trying to come out of its worst ever crisis by launching new models, striking industrial alliances and producing in low-wage countries to cut costs.

The Palio, currently produced in Turkey, will also be assembled in Russia from 2007. Last year, Fiat and U S Ford Motor Co. agreed jointly to develop a new platform for small cars in Europe.
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Hero Honda to invest Rs 320 crore in '06
New Delhi: Hero Honda plans to invest Rs320 crore in India in 2006, which includes spending Rs250 crore for setting up a third plant, according to the company's managing director Pawan Kant Munjal. The company will also be investing Rs70-75 crore for ramping up capacity at its existing plant at Dharuhera to take care of any capacity constraints.

"After the expansion likely to be completed by August, total production between our existing two plants will be 3.6 million units," Munjal told reporters at the Auto Expo.

The company is looking to go in for an initial capacity of 4,50,000 units for its new plant and would be investing Rs320 crore for this he said.

Hero Honda is a joint venture between the Munjals and Japan's Honda company. Both hold 26 pet cent each in the company, the biggest bike-maker in India.

The company recently forayed into the scooter market, launching a 100-cc range 'Pleasure' which is priced at Rs36,240.
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Infosys to set up campus at Kerala's Technopark
Thiruvananthapuram: Infosys is signing an agreement to set up its new campus at Kerala's Technopark on Saturday.
Infosys would take possession of 50 acres of land at Technopark campus.

The arrival of Infosys will give a major boost to the Technopark, which already has 76 companies operating in the campus employing a little more than 10,000 people.

Infosys has been given the land at a price of Rs20 lakh per acre. Reports say that the company would be investing around Rs400 crore at the Technopark centre.

Infosys is expected to create 5,000 new jobs at the development centre which will be ready in a year's time. The company is already operating from a rented building at the park with 900 employees.
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TCS wins $40 mn US deal
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software services exporter, has won a $40-million multi-year deal from a US consumer goods firm in its fiscal third-quarter to end-December. The company plans to add a total of 8,000 employees in the three months to March 2006.

It The company said 3,500 employees would be directly recruited, while the remaining would come through acquisitions. Shares in TCS, which reported a 3.5 per cent rise in quarterly earnings to Rs7.32 billion, rose 0.6 per cent to Rs1,681.
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GHCL ramps up production at Romanian soda ash plant
Mumbai: Soda ash maker, GHCL, is increasing the production capacity of its Romanian plant and has started implementation cost reduction measures in input costs of raw materials and utilities.

The company is trying to turn around its Romanian soda ash business by optimising operations to increase production capacities, modernizing the plant and improvement of price points within identified market segments. The company has been able to increase the current production rate by 34 per cent to 650 tonnes per day, higher than last year per day average of 486 tonnes (Jan 05 to Nov 05).

Last year GHCL acquired a controlling stake of 65 per cent in S C Bega Upsom SA, a leading soda ash manufacturer in Romania.
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