ITC to invest Rs1540-cr in paper biz over two years
ITC plans to invest Rs1,540 crore in the next two years to expand production capacity for paperboards and specialty papers. The company is creating two centres of board manufacturing in Bhadrachalam and Coimbatore units. In Bhadrachalam (Andhra Pradesh), the company's overall investment will be of the order of Rs1,100 crore by April 2008. The company will also invest Rs4,400 crore by October 2008 in a plant near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

With the expansion, the total paper production capacity at the Bhadrachalam plant would go up to four lakh tonne per year by April 2008 from three lakh tonne now.

The pulp and paper industry is one of the 17 major polluting industries identified by the central government.

ITC has also got clearance from the ministry of environment and forests for expansion of the Bhadrachalam plant and is awaiting clearance for investment in the Coimbatore plant.
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ITC ties up with Marubeni for food biz
New Delhi: Cigarettes and hotels major ITC has tied up with Japanese trading house for food business. According to a release issued by Marubeni, the two companies will jointly consider exporting Indian-made soybean cake and maize grains for livestock feed and will also consider jointly building silos and other grain-related facilities and launching a soybean protein business, the release added.
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BSNL-MTNL to set up India-S'pore submarine cable
New Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) plan to lay an undersea cable between India and Singapore with a joint investment of Rs1,800-2,000. The two companies have hired a consultant to prepare a blueprint for the project, and a Rs2,000 crore tender may be floated by March next year.

The submarine cable would connect South East Asia and the Middle East, and eventually the US and Europe. Millennium Telecom, would lay the cable. The company is a subsidiary of MTNL, in which BSNL has a stake of 49 pc stake.
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TDSAT issues notices to Trai, BSNL on roaming charges
New Delhi: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has issued notices to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and BSNL on a petition filed by private GSM operators over the issue of additional revenue share on roaming calls.

The GSM operators' body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had challenged the additional revenue charged by BSNL on roaming calls earlier.

Trai and BSNL have been directed to file replies within four weeks.

COAI, which comprises 18 private operators, has contended that BSNL had no right to collect additional charges except 30 paise fixed by Trai however the association said its members would continue paying the additional sum to BSNL pending a final decision.

COAI's stand is that BSNL could charge only 30 paise on national roaming and Rs3.70 for international roaming.
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Taj GVK Hotels announces Rs100-cr revamp of Taj Deccan
Hyderabad: Taj-GVK Group of Hotels and Resorts has embarked on a Rs100 crore expansion for its Taj Deccan hotel which a few days earlier was called Taj Residency. Taj GVK intends to add more rooms to the existing 150 in the next two to two-and-a-half years and will also give a new look to the hotel with an upgraded lobby, lobby lounge and reception, and a new all-day dining restaurant.

Taj Group of Hotels has already invested around Rs20 crore in upgrading the hotel in the first phase and in keeping with the demand, plans to add 180-200 rooms. The construction work is expected to start soon.
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Alcatel-Lucent announce big India investment plans
New Delhi: French telecom major Alcatel, plans to invest $200 million (about Rs1,000 crore) in India every year over the next few years. Till now the group has invested more than one billion euro (close to Rs6,000 crore) in India. Its future investment plans are to the tune of $200 million every year in various activities including R&D.

Alcatel has a manufacturing tie-up with ITI, and has already made two plants at Mankapur and Rai Bareily operational. Additional plants would soon be made functional for manufacturing ADSL - equipment used for offering broadband services.

With the acquisition of Lucent Technologies, the French telecom giant now has a reach in the emerging CDMA technology. In GSM services, Alcatel has a major share in the operations of state-owned service providers - BSNL and MTNL - and is also in talks with most of the private players.
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HCL to expand capacity
New Delhi: HCL Infosystems has set aside an investment of Rs70 crore over the next one year to expand production capacity and strengthen distribution and retail network in the country.

The company would invest substantially in expanding its production capability. It recently commissioned its second manufacturing unit in the country, at Uttranchal.

By end of the current financial year, HCL aims to achieve a total manufacturing base of two million PCs from the current level of 1.2 million annually.

Aiming to capture the growing lifestyle and retail opportunities, HCL would also spruce up its marketing and distribution network across India.

The company has tied up with Tata Croma among other 'electronics retailers', apart from aggressively expanding its own chain of retail outlets, HCL Digilife.

The Digilife stores house digital and ICT products of HCL and other brands including Apple, Casio and Toshiba. HCL has already opened 20 stores nationwide and would take the franchisee route to reach 100 stores by end of 2007.
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Paras to invest Rs400-cr in healthcare
New Delhi: Paras group is making plans to enter the healthcare sector in a big way. The group already has a fully functional hospital in Gurgaon, and now plans to invest another Rs400 crore to set up new hospitals as well as make acquisitions in the national capital region. The company has plans to set up two super-speciality hospitals with an investment of Rs150 crore each.
The group has acquired land in Noida and is in the process of finalising its plans. Another hospital is expected to come up in Shahdara. Both the hospitals will have a capacity of 250 beds. The company is also looking at acquiring two hospitals in Delhi with an investment of Rs60-70 crore per hospital.
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Nasscom ties up with Canadian co for net connectivity in villages
New Delhi: IT industry body Nasscom has tied up with Canada-based Data Wind Corporation to provide internet connectivity in rural areas of the country.

The two companies have started pilot projects in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra, where net access device PocketSurfer developed by the Canadian firm was being distributed by Nasscom for internet connectivity, according to a Nasscom release.

The project would be reviewed by an expert team in the next quarter of the current fiscal and then implemented at the grassroots level, it said.
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