Reliance Infrastructure gets approval to run cargo trains
Mumbai: The Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Infrastructure has received an in-principle approval from the Railway Board for running container trains on specific routes across the country. The company is expected to invest about Rs500 crore for the project.

Sources in the railway board confirmed the in-principle approval to Reliance Infrastructure. They said company had to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Railways before implementing the project.

Reliance Infrastructure would run trains in the category-I routes, being managed by the Container Corporation of India (Concor) which include all existing and future inland container depots (ICDs) linking the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mumbai Port Trust, National Capital Region, Pipavav Port, Mundra Port, Kandla Port, Chennai Port, Ennore Port, Visakhapatnam Port, Kochi Port, New Mangalore, Tuticorin, Haldia Docks System, Kolkata Port, Paradip Port and Mormugao. At present Concor is the only company engaged in container train services in India.

Concor, Gateway Distriparks, Pipavav Rail Corporation, Sical Logistics, Hind Terminals, Adani Logistics, Mundra International Container Terminal, Delhi Assam Roadways Corporation and the J M Baxi group have already received the go-ahead for running container trains.
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Sahara One gets telecast rights for India-England test series
Mumbai: Nimbus Communications has signed a deal with Sahara One Media and Entertainment to telecast the upcoming India-England test series. Nimbus has also signed an agreement with Doordarshan to broadcast all the matches.

Sahara One Television will broadcast the India-England international cricket series starting March 1 comprising 3 Tests and 7 ODIs. The England territory rights will remain with Sky Sports.

"Nimbus will also produce wrap-around programming pre/post match and during breaks, to enhance the viewer experience on Sahara One,'' according to a Nimbus press release.
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Lintas starts consultancy firm Media Futures
Mumbai: Lintas Media group has started a new company- Media Futures. The new company will cater to media brand owners by providing strategic consultancy offerings. Lintas is partnering with market information firm Taylor Nelson Sofres, international broadcast specialist Bruce Dunlop & Associates and print and information design firm Garcia Media for the media firm.

The Lintas initiative will provide specialised services to media owners by providing cutting edge media brand solutions.

The company will be headed by Raj Gupta as president. Gupta is also the president of Lintas agency Insight.

Media Futures has identified three growth areas — serving content across media channels and formats, increasing life span of contents and repackaging these as product and services for media brands. This will provide higher returns to media owners.
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Pantaloon arm acquires over 1 per cent stake in Divi's for Rs20 crore
Mumbai: Manz Retail, the investment arm of Pantaloon, has acquired more than 1 per cent equity stake in Divi's Laboratories. Manz Retail bought Divi's shares through an auction held by the Income Tax (I-T) Department for Rs20 crore.

Earlier, the I-T Department had attached properties of Amrut Credit, a defaulting firm, which included 1.2 lakh shares of Divi's Laboratories held by Amrut Credit. The department had put these shares up for auction to recover tax arrears of Amrut Credit. Life Insurance Corporation and Kothari Products were the other two bidders for Divi's shares, I-T sources said.

The sources said though the defaulting company owes around Rs9 crore as arrears to the department, it received Rs10 crore though the auction of Divi's shares.

Divi's is one of the largest exporters of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to regulated markets such as the US and Europe. Currently, the company has 19 drug master files (DMFs) pending with the US Food and Drug Administration which is expected to increase to about 25 by the end of the current fiscal.
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New Delhi-Mumbai calling at local call rates: MTNL
New Delhi: The Department of Telecom is understood to have accorded in-principle approval to MTNL request for an STD licence that would allow it to treat calls between Delhi and Mumbai as local.

MTNL applied for the NLD licence last month and is expected to get it anytime.

From March 1, MTNL OneIndia plan will offer STD calls at Re one per minute.
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Tatas involved in multiple breach of licence: Birlas
New Delhi: The Aditya Birla group said the Tata Group was involved in multiple breach of licence with regard to Idea Cellular in as many as seven telecom circles and not just in Delhi Circle as the Tatas claim.

Birlas have alleged violation by the Tatas in Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

The Aditya Birla Group contended that Idea Cellular had been operating in Madhya Pradesh since December 2001 through a subsidiary, while Tata Teleservices (TTSL) obtained a Universal Access Licence for the concerned service area only in April 2004.

As per regulatory norms, a company must not be subject to competition from its own promoters and equity holders which have over 10 per cent stake in another company in the same circle.

The Birlas said while the Tata's brought its share-holding in TTSL to below 10 per cent by transfer of its shares to other Tata group companies before the licence for MP was obtained, "such intra-group transfer had no impact on the Tata Group's actual shareholding and its promoter stake and share and status in TTSL."

The Birlas also said the then promoters of Idea Cellular had signed an MoU with the Escorts Group on October 30, 2003, for acquisition of the latter's mobile services in Kerala, Haryana, UP (West and East), Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan by Idea Cellular.

The Tatas had applied for licence for these circles on January 30, 2004, which came at the same time when Idea was in the process of completing its acquisition.

The Birlas say that multiple holdings of the Tata group have resulted in non-compliance with the licences of Idea and its subsidiaries as well as the licences of TTSL, and the responsibility for rectifying the breaches is on the Tata Group, they added.
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Sahara puts brand value at $10.5 billion
Lucknow: The chairman of the Sahara group Subroto Roy said Sahara has emerged as the biggest Indian brand with a brand value of $10.5 billion or Rs48,000 crore.
Last month the Tatas had claimed the brand of their group companies and products was valued at Rs24,396 crore, saying they were "head and shoulders above anybody".
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Company to pass on ADC cut gains to users: Bharti
New Delhi: Bharti TeleVentures' joint managing director, Akhil Gupta, welcoming the move to slash ADC said the cuts would be passed on to customers.

In an exclusive interview to a leading television channel he said the company would slash its telecom and pass on the gains from the ADC cut to its consumers. He said the company would benefit as there would be a huge rise in NLD traffic after the cut was effected.
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