Q2 subsidy burden indicated at over Rs 13,000cr: ONGC

The Kirit Parikh panel is likely to submit its report on Pricing Methodology of Petroleum Products to the government on October 30; it is widely expected that the panel will recommend an immede hike in fuel prices including a diesel price hike of Rs 5/liltre. ( Read More )

According to media reports, the panel has also prescribed that the subsidy burden on OIL and Natural Gas Corporation ( ONGC ) and on Oil India (OIL) will be capped at 50 percent of crude oil prices at USD 120/barrel irrespective of the quantum of losses suffered by oil marketing companies (OMCs).

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on these recommendations, ONGC CMD Sudhir Vasudeva said with every rupee hike in diesel price, under-recoveries will reduce by about Rs 2,600 crore. If diesel price is raised by Rs 5/litre then it would lead to Rs 22,000 crore reduction in the company's under-recoveries. However, he doubts if the government has the wherewithal to go ahead with it especialy when general elections are nearing.  

Further he added that capping subsidy burden at 50 percent of crude oil price at USD 120 a barrel and above is not as per their expectations, but it is better than the what they are currently shelling out as subsidy.

Meanwhile, ONGC's Q2 subsidy burden is expected to be at over Rs 13,000 crore and the company is in talks with ministries to reduce it, Vasudeva added.

Below is the edited transcript of Sudhir Vasudeva's interview with CNBC-TV18

Q: There have been a couple of media reports suggesting that the Kirit Parikh committee has prescribed that the subsidy burden on Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and on Oil India Ltd (OIL) will be capped at 50 percent of the crude oil prices at USD 120/bbl irrespective of the quantum of losses that are suffered by the oil marketing companies (OMCs) what would your view be on that?

A: I have also read the report. It says that at USD 80/bbl it would be about 40 percent and it will increase to 50 percent. This means that at USD 100/bbl, we get only about USD 55/barrel and we will have to give USD 45/barrel in subsidy. Although it has not as per our expectations, but it is better than what we have been getting. In fact we have been demanding that we should get in excess of USD 60/barrel.

The proposal we had made to Kirit Parikh committee also was that upto USD 60/bbl. We should be allowed to retain 100 percent and beyond that we are willing to share upto 75 percent of incremental with the government and beyond 100 percent up to 90 percent with the government and we will retain only 10 percent. So, from that view point it is slightly less, but it is certainly better. We got only USD 47/barrel last year and Q1 we got only USD 40.17/barrel. If we compare with that then this is certainly a step better than that.

Q: We now have confirmed information that GAIL is going to be excluded from the subsidy in the second half. So do you see an immediate actual rise in your burden?

A: The subsidy burden that has been indicated to us for Q2 is about Rs 13,700 crore. It is more than what we paid in Q1. What I have read from statement of Mr Tripathi is that probably GAIL's burden for this year is capped at Rs 1,400 crore and they paid something like Rs 2,600 crore last year. So, we will have to see as to how this will pan out and whether it will be passed on to ONGC and Oil India or this will be taken by the government of India.

Q: If the diesel prices are hiked as the reports are suggesting would that mean that you would have no problem even sharing that 50-60 percent of the balanced subsidy?

A: Everything has to be made clear. Today, the recommendations of Kirit Parikh committee are coming in bits and pieces. If they are suggesting that prices should be increased by Rs 5/litre - every rupee increase in diesel price reduces under-recovery by about Rs 2,600 crore. So, a Rs 5/litre means about Rs 22,000 crore will be the reduction in under-recovery. Any increase is certainly better, but it all depends upon whether we have the political will to pass on this burden to the customers at this sensitive time.

On October 30, 2013, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation closed at Rs 288.65, down Rs 1.85, or 0.64 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 354.10 and the 52-week low was Rs 234.40.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 22.05 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 13.09. The latest book value of the company is Rs 145.47 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.98.

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Taking corrrective measures on regulatory issues: Wockhardt

Commenting on the concerns regarding regulatory issues surrounding plants in Waluj and Chikalthana, Dr Habil F Khorakiwala, Founder Chairman & Group CEO, Wockhardt says they are taking corrective measures. "I can only say that we are taking appropriate measures internally by restructuring the organisation and having the expert inputs through consultants," says Khorakiwala.

The US FDA has put an import ban on Wockhardt 's injectible facility in Waluj . Apart from an import ban on the Waluj facility, the UK drug regulator has issued a restricted GMP certificate to Wockhardt's plants in Chikalthana and Kadaiya.

The anti-dumping duty on Chinese Paracetamol would benefit the Indian pharma industry but it could also result in 5-10 percent price increase, says Khorakiwala, in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

"Chinese tendency has been that when they dump, they get manufacturers out of the system and then they raise the prices significantly," he adds

Paracetamol is a very important anti-fever and painkiller, which has a large domestic production. India consumes about 10,000 tonnes of the drug in one year, he adds.

According to him the anti dumping duty is for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), the bulk drug of Paracetamol.

Below is the verbatim transcript of his interview on CNBC-TV18

Q: Government has decided to impose anti-dumping duty on Chinese paracetamol. What is your reaction on that? How much of a fillip would it actually add to the Indian paracetamol market?

A: Paracetamol is a very important anti-fever and painkiller and there is a large domestic production too. There has been a dumping by China on this product, so I think it is appropriate for government what they did to protect the Indian industry from an unrealistic pricing.

India consumes about 10,000 tonnes of paracetamol a year and it is one of the main products. Chinese tendency has been that when they dump, they get manufacturers out of the system and then they raise the prices significantly.

So, this decision will certainly protect the Indian manufacturers and also ensure the availability of paracetamol. However it will also have an impact on the increase of the prices by about 5-10 percent.

Q: How much of the market share is actually shared by Chinese paracetamol at this point?

A: They have been supplying fairly significant amount of it. I am not familiar with the market share but they also supply the intermediate. Indian companies over the years have started using the Chinese intermediate because they are much cheaper than to make it themselves.

Q: Would it fall under the new pricing policy?

A: Yes the product containing paracetamol would fall under the new pricing policy.

Q: The market is also looking for some responses from you on what has been happening on regulatory front with your company, especially with plants at Waluj and Chikalthana. If you could give your investors an assurance on by when some of these issues will be resolved.

A: I can only say that we are taking appropriate measures internally by restructuring the organisation and having the expert inputs through consultants.

We believe that once we are done with it we would invite FDA to revisit us and hope that they would visit us hopefully in early 2014 and then we will need to see their response.

Q: What is the current status at the Chikalthana unit?

A: As of now we have not heard anything from FDA, but at the same time we have taken very active action in all compliances in Chikalthana. We are now manufacturing under the consultant oversight and we are keeping FDA informed of the progress we are making on a regular basis.

Q: Is this anti dumping duty on paracetamol is it for all drugs that contain paracetamol or is it just a standard sale of the drug?

A: My understanding is that the anti dumping duty is for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), the bulk drug of Paracetamol. And as far as the price control issue is concerned it is only Paracetamol and not all product containing Paracetamol.

Q: So there will be far big increase of prices across drugs if it is the intermediate or API right?

A: No, it is API at the moment and it will have impact on Paracetamol and not a combination with Paracetamol.

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EPC biz turnover to improve by 15% ahead: Ashoka Buildcon

Paresh Mehta, CFO of Ashoka Buildcon expects the company's engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) segment to clock 15 percent higher revenue this year versus previous year.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 about the financial performance of the company, Mehta said, it aims to achieve toll revenue of Rs 300 crore and toll revenue and Rs 100 crore profit this year.

In Q2FY14, Ashoka Buildcon's turnover and EBITDA stood at Rs 777 crore and Rs 180 crore respectively. Its EPC turnover was at Rs 631 crore over Rs 624 crore.

Also Read: FY14 sales to grow 25%; 5% margin dip seen, says Ashoka Buildcon

Below is the edited transcript of Paresh Mehta's interview with CNBC-TV18

Q: It has been a bit of a sluggish quarter for you this time, can you just take us through how your segments did and which one possibly was the one which was most pressured?

A: We did a turnover of Rs 777 crore and EBITDA of Rs 180 crore. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) turnover stood at Rs 631 crore over Rs 624 crore. So, from an EPC angle, though we were higher, we are slightly lower than the expected turnover due to extended monsoon.

This year monsoon started quite early and it continues in various stretches. We have projects in Orissa and Bengal where monsoon intermittently is interrupting work. Keeping that in perspective and having more five months wait in time; we will catch up with expected revenue on the EPC front.

Secondly, total revenues on the BOT side were Rs 137 crore vis-à-vis Rs 147 crore over last year. The drop is due to one of our projects being terminated last year where revenues were captured in the first half year. Otherwise, due to the slowdown, revenue is not as expected.

We believe that in H2 there will be ramp up of traffic because of good monsoons, good harvesting and effectively good industrial and agricultural production and more traffic will turn into higher toll revenues.

Q: What would the outlook be for second half? What do you think you can deliver as earnings per share (EPS) for full year?

A: We believe that the turnover on the EPC side would be 15 percent higher than the previous year. We will try to do toll revenue of around Rs 300 crore. We will probably make a profit of approximately Rs 100 crore by the year-end and perform slightly better than last year.

On October 30, 2013, Ashoka Buildcon closed at Rs 47.00, up Rs 2.75, or 6.21 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 82.48 and the 52-week low was Rs 41.30.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 6.59 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 7.13. The latest book value of the company is Rs 54.06 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 0.87.

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ICICI Lombard GI posts Rs 359 crore profit in H1 of FY14

Private sector general insurer ICICI Lombard General Insurance has reported a close to two times rise in its net profit to Rs 359 crore in first half of the current financial year, a company release said.

Also Read: Sigh of relief! Now insurance cover online transactions

Net profit of the insurer was Rs 184 crore in the same period of previous fiscal. Gross Written Premium (GWP) income increased by 19 percent to Rs 3,404 crore in H1 of this fiscal against Rs 2,860 crore reported a year earlier.

The company also said that it has increased its market share to 9.4 percent from 9.1 percent a year earlier. "The rise in profit has been a result of our prudent underwriting practices, comprehensive product offerings and customer service," Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Bhargav Dasgupta said.

The combined ratio excluding the impact of motor pool improved to 99 percent in the first half of this fiscal from 99.7 percent reported a year earlier. ICICI Lombard is the joint venture between ICICI Bank and Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings with the former holding majority stake.

By the end of last financial year, the general insurer had a gross written premium of Rs 6,420 crore.

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SC refuses to pass order allowing Subrata Roy to go abroad

The Supreme Court today refused to pass any interim order for allowing Sahara chief Subrata Roy to go abroad before his group files a review petition seeking to modify the court's earlier order restraining him from leaving.

Also Read: SC orders Sahara to submit property deeds worth Rs 20000 cr

A bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and AK Sikri, before which the matter was mentioned by Sahara's counsel, said it cannot pass any order until an application is filed and asked the group to file review plea if it wants modification in the earlier order. Senior advocate CA Sundaram, appearing for the Group, submitted that he is not seeking review of the order but only pointing out the difference in the decision which was uploaded on the Supreme Court website and the order passed in the open court.

The bench, however, was not satisfied with his arguments and said, "You have to file review" and only then it can be considered. Sahara had yesterday moved the apex court claiming that there was a mistake in its October 28 order restraining Roy from leaving the country till it hands over title deeds of its properties worth Rs 20,000 crore to SEBI.

Its counsel had said that while passing the order, the apex court had said if documents are not handed over to the market regulator within three weeks only then Roy would be restrained from going abroad. Holding that it was playing "hide and seek" and cannot be trusted any more, the court had directed Sahara Group to hand over title deeds of its properties to SEBI.

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SpiceJet plans gradual global expansion

Aiming to expand its international network gradually, no-frills carrier SpiceJet today said it would add two more global destinations, Dammam and Kuala Lumpur, by March next year along with increasing frequencies on certain foreign routes.

"We are going to start operations to Dammam (Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) within this financial year. We are currently working on the financial details and also trying to increase frequencies to certain existing destinations," SpiceJet's Senior Vice President (Commercial) V Raja said here today.

Also read: FIR against Mallya, KFA for non-payment of airport fee

Asked whether SpiceJet was in talks with any foreign carrier for investment in its equity, he said these were "only reports", but added that "if there is a good proposal which is economically and commercially good for us, it will be wrong not to look at it".

With this planned expansion, SpiceJet would raise its foreign flights per day from 28 to about 42 within this financial year, Raja and other senior airline officials said.

Raja was talking to reporters after the airline added the Thai capital, Bangkok, as its tenth foreign destination, launching two flights simultaneously from Bangalore and Pune to the Suvarnabhumi International Airport here.

Congratulating the Indian carrier for starting the services, Indian Ambassador to Thailand Anil Wadhwa said the growing number of flights from India would further cement the historic bilateral ties and improve regional connectivity.

There were currently 156 flights per week between the two countries, with leisure and business travel growing at a phenomenal pace.

"Last year over 1.15 million Indians visited Thailand, while 88,000 Thai visitors went to India, mainly to Buddhist pilgrimage sites," the envoy said.

Besides being a popular destination for shooting of films, Thailand have also emerged as a favourite wedding destination with business estimated at around 30-40 million Baht (USD 32 million) a year, growing at a rate of 15-20 per cent rate.

"These is certainly a positive trend for airlines operating from India," Wadhwa said, adding that ten Indian cities are now connected with Bangkok.

Referring to road connectivity, the Indian ambassador said initiatives like the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway under the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) framework is under construction to connect the two nations.

India has invested USD 258 million on the 1,632 km long highway and is constructing 71 bridges on the entire length.

On October 28, 2013, SpiceJet closed at Rs 20.30, down Rs 0.5, or 2.4 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 50.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 18.05.

The latest book value of the company is Rs -3.88 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was -5.23.

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Vodafone India to invest Rs 4,000-6,000 cr annually

Vodafone India, the nation's second-biggest telecom firm, will continue to invest a minimum of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 6,000 crore every year to expand operations in the world's second-biggest mobile phone market, its chief executive has said.

The company, which has invested Rs 55,000 crore since coming to India in 2007, plans to invest in networks after it gets new spectrum and its licences are extended.

"We see every year investment level of around anything between Rs 4,000 and 6,000 crore that we have done in last (few) years. On top of that Rs 11,500 crore is what we paid for 3G spectrum. You can expect that (this) level at least will be sustained," Vodafone India's MD and CEO Marten Pieters told PTI in an interview here.

Also read: Tax dispute a sideshow; won't impact India plans: Vodafone

He said that the company has invested total of about Rs 55,000 crore in its telecom networks in period of last six years and paid government an equivalent amount in terms of licence fee, taxes and for buying spectrum.

UK-based Vodafone has around 154 million subscribers in India, and broadly 18 per cent of the Indian mobile market as per August data. It is country's second-biggest telecom company in terms of user base.

Pieters, however, said that the investments will depend on spectrum and licence extension, where a lot of clarity needs to come.

"But again I need spectrum for that (investments) because even if I want to I don't know where to invest. Once I get spectrum, you would see us investing at that level," he said.

Vodafone India's licences are due to expire in three metros -- Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The spectrum held by Vodafone in three metros, Bharti Airtel in two metros and Loop Mobile in Mumbai would be put for auction, which is expected to start in January, 2014.

As per government announcements, the company will have to bid for spectrum in the auction, initially being conducted for three metros, to continue its business in these service areas.

Asked about Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal's recent statement about Vodafone Group Plc having told him about plans to invest more than USD 2 billion in the country, he said that spending referred to the UK parent's plan to raise stake in the Indian unit to 100 per cent.

This follows the government's decision in August to remove the sectoral cap on foreign firms investing in telecom firms. Vodafone directly and indirectly owns a combined 84.5 per cent of Vodafone India.

Earlier, foreign firms were restricted from holding no more than 74 percent of telecom firms in direct ownership.

"100 per cent FDI was welcomed by Vodafone because we think that we need more growth opportunity in the future financially.

"Actually Indian ownership was a restriction which means if you want to strengthen your balance sheet by bringing in equity, also your Indian partner needs to bring in equity which is of course tough. Vodafone will use that opportunity to go to 100 per cent," Pieters said.

On the status of Vodafone group's application before Foreign Investment Permission Board (FIPB), he said: "I know only as much as you know."

India is fifth largest contributor to Vodafone Plc's revenues and fourth in terms of profits.

"We are absolutely number 1 when it comes to customers.

Since, the customer don't give us so much money in India, the revenue is about number 5, operational profitability we are number 4 now," he said.

Pieters said Vodafone is also working out plans to invest in India under Project Spring where its plans to invest about USD 9 billion in next three financial years across the globe in its 4G, 3G and other telecom networks.

"We are planning for that (Project Spring) of course in India also but again it is very much depending on can we get spectrum to spend that money," he said.

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Airtel Digital TV launches set-top box for Rs 2,000

Oct 27, 2013, 02.10 PM IST

Airtel Digital TV, the direct to home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel, today launched a set-top-box for Rs 2,000 wherein customers can record by plugging-in an external storage device such as pen drive.

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Airtel Digital TV launches set-top box for Rs 2,000

Airtel Digital TV, the direct to home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel, today launched a set-top-box for Rs 2,000 wherein customers can record by plugging-in an external storage device such as pen drive.

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Airtel Digital TV launches set-top box for Rs 2,000

Airtel Digital TV, the direct to home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel, today launched a set-top-box for Rs 2,000 wherein customers can record by plugging-in an external storage device such as pen drive.

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Airtel Digital TV, the direct to home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel , today launched a set-top-box for Rs 2,000 wherein customers can record by plugging-in an external storage device such as pen drive.

"The new standard definition (SD) set-to-box will allow customers to enjoy recording by just plugging-in an external storage device," the company said in a statement.

The company said customers can just plug-in their pen drive or other external storage device into the set-top box to start recording and can schedule the recordings even via mobile or Internet.

Also read: Bharti Airtel board okays merger of subsidiary with itself

"Customers can record on an external storage device of up-to 2 terabytes and create an unlimited personal content library by using multiple storage devices for the recordings," it added.

The recorded programmes can be watched with a DVD like control of TV viewing with features such as pause, rewind, slow-motion viewing and fast-forward, the company said.

Airtel Digital TV had 8.5 million customers as on June 2013 and it offers 373 channels, including 17 HD channels and five interactive services.

On October 28, 2013, Bharti Airtel closed at Rs 339.80, down Rs 3.85, or 1.12 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 370.40 and the 52-week low was Rs 266.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 11.47 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 29.63. The latest book value of the company is Rs 135.70 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 2.50.

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Walmart resumes US lobbying on FDI in India

Global retail giant Walmart has resumed its lobbying with the US lawmakers on matters related to FDI in India and it spent USD 1.5 million on about 50 specific issues, including those related to Indian market during the last quarter.

"Discussions regarding Foreign Direct Investment in India" is one of the ten-odd specific issues in the area of trade that were carried out by registered lobbyists on behalf of Walmart during third quarter of 2013, according to its latest Lobbying Disclosure Form submitted to the US Senate.

Also read: Studying feasibility of FDI norms in multi-brand: Wal-Mart

Overall, Walmart lobbyists discussed nearly 50 'specific issues' with the US lawmakers during the quarter, resulting into total expenses of USD 1.5 million relating to lobbying activities for the reporting period, shows the 19-page disclosure report.

Walmart's lobbying activities covered the Senate, House of Representatives, Department of State, US Trade Representatives, US Agency for International Development and the Department of Labour, among others.

As per Congressional records, Walmart had halted its lobbying with the US lawmakers and federal agencies on India- specific issues in the preceding quarter, after seeking their support for about five years to facilitate its entry into the high-growth Indian retail market.

However, such lobbying activities resumed during the last quarter -- a period which also saw hectic parleys in India with regard to Walmart's business activities in the country.

After months of discussions, Walmart earlier this month announced buyout of Bharti group's 50 per cent stake in their wholesale retail business in India.

Walmart has also been requesting the Indian government to further relax norms for FDI in multi-brand retail business, where 51 per cent foreign equity was allowed last year despite opposition by various political parties.

Incidentally, a probe report on Walmart's lobbying for entering India may soon be discussed by the Union Cabinet. The probe is said to have remained inconclusive as Walmart and others did not provide required information. .

The Indian government had ordered the probe on Walmart's lobbying late last year after a huge political outcry over the American retail giant having spent millions of dollars on its lobbying activities in the US for years on various issues, including on access to the Indian market and the relevant FDI norms.

Lobbying is legally permitted in the US, but the companies and their registered lobbyists are required to make detailed disclosures about their activities every quarter.

Walmart, on its part, has been maintaining that it has disclosed all its lobbying activities as per the US rules and it did not violate any Indian regulations in this regard.

There are no clear regulations on lobbying in India, although companies here also indulge in activities promoting their cause with the government and other agencies, either directly or through industry bodies and other groups.

As per the Congressional records, Walmart began lobbying in the US on India-specific issues way back in 2008. Since then, the company has spent a total amount of USD 39.42 million (about Rs 242 crore) on numerous lobbying issues, including those related to India.

Out of this, over USD five million have been spent so far in 2013. Walmart's lobbying issues did not include India in the second quarter of this year, while the first quarter of 2012, as also all four quarters of 2009 also did not have any single lobbying issue related to India.

Walmart and many other overseas supermarket chains have been wanting to set shop for many years in India, which opened up this business for foreign players only last year.

Still, there are many restrictions, such as those on sourcing of products, that are keeping foreign multi-brand retailers away from the country.

Separately, Walmart was also facing a probe by the Enforcement Directorate here for alleged violation of FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) norms, but is said to have been given clean chit on that front.

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CIL stake sale likely in November or December: Jaiswal

The government today said the five percent stake sale in state-owned Coal India (CIL) is likely to take place either in November or December.

"It is likely that it (stake sale in Coal India ) may happen either in November or December," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters here. "You may be aware that Coal India Chairman has gone (overseas) for this purpose only," he added.

Also Read: Difficult to meet FY14 divestment target: Fin Min Sources

To woo foreign investors for Coal India stake sale, the disinvestment department (DoD) has embarked on a roadshow spanning across five nations, including Germany and the UK. The roadshow began last week amid threats by workers of the state-owned firm to go on strike in December against the government move to divest its stake further.

The Minister also said that though the production of CIL has been hit in the current month on account of Cyclone Phailin, however, "We are hopeful that (Coal India) will achieve its production target (of 482 million tonnes) for the current fiscal." Government currently hold 90 percent stake in CIL. It has already selected seven merchant bankers, including Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and SBI Caps, to manage the CIL stake sale which is to take place through the offer for sale route.

The Disinvestment department was originally planning to offload 10 percent stake in CIL, but faced strong opposition from employees union who threatened to go on strike. CIL workers' union had in September decided to defer its proposed three-day strike to December 17. Earlier, it was planned from September 23.

CIL got listed on the bourses in 2010 through an initial public offering in which the government raised Rs 15,199 crore by selling 10 percent stake. The company has a cash balance of about Rs 60,000 crore. The government plans to garner Rs 40,000 crore this fiscal by way of disinvestment and CIL's stake sale is expected to be the largest.

On October 28, 2013, Coal India closed at Rs 276.55, down Rs 2.5, or 0.9 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 374.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 238.35.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 13.88 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 19.92. The latest book value of the company is Rs 32.48 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 8.51.

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No-confidence motion moved against GCMMF Chairman

A no-confidence motion has been moved against the Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the apex marketing body of various district dairy cooperatives that markets Amul brand for alleged mismanagement.

The resolution to bring no-confidence motion against Vipul Chaudhary was signed by 14 out of 17 directors of various district dairy cooperatives and is expected to be taken up at the board meeting on Saturday.

A director, who had signed the resolution, said "Despite protests from several quarters in the Board not to sell cattle feed to Maharashtra, Mr. Chaudhary went ahead with the decision and gave it for free to the neighbouring state."

"However, when Gujarat was reeling under scarcity and the state government approached the federation for cattle feed, it was provided but not free of cost," the director said.

"Mismanagement in Mehsana's Dudhsagar Dairy Board, where Mr. Chaudhary is the chairman, has also come to the fore," the director said, adding that Mr. Chaudhary had taken several decisions which were against the federation's constitution.

Mr. Chaudhary had taken over as GCMMF chairman in August 2012.

Repeated attempts to contact Mr. Chaudhary failed. There are three district dairy cooperatives which are backing him. Those who are not signatories to the resolution to move no-confidence motion are Amul Dairy of Anand, Mehsana's Dudhsagar Dairy and Valsad Dairy.

Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd Chairman Ramsinh Parmar said, "The no-confidence motion against Chaudhary is illegal. Why have they brought the motion? What wrong has he done? Has he caused losses to GCMMF, farmers?"

"Those who have brought the motion are not thinking about the consumers or about marketing," he said.

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Don't have power to monitor NSEL e-series: FMC

After much delay, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) today cited an internal communication with the Finance Ministry before the Bombay HC to clarify that as per the August notification, FMC does indeed have the power and responsibility to monitor NSEL e-series.

FMC tried justifying the inaction prior to the notification arguing that NSEL was not recognised under the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, nor was it registered with the FMC and hence was beyond the scope of FMC's regulation.

Also Read: NSEL board, management set to face criminal charges

Bombay HC observes that this was turning into a fight between the centre and the FMC and was a sorry state of affairs. The HC has directed FMC and the Finance Ministry to put the clarification in an affidavit. The HC will give a final ruling on October 28.

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Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Oct 25, 2013, 09.23 PM IST

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

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Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

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Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

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Aditya Birla Group firm Ultratech Cement plans to increase the strength of its Board to 15 from 12 now, keeping in mind company's current size of business and its future growth plans.

Also Read: UltraTech Q2 net falls 52% on subdued demand, lower prices

"The maximum permissible limit of the Directors under Articles of Association of the company is 12. "Considering the increase in size of operations of the company and its future growth plans, it is proposed to increase the maximum number of directors from the existing 12 to 15," the company said in a notice to shareholders.

Ultratech Cement thus proposes to alter the existing Article  5 of the Articles of Association of the company. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Board. The company is the largest cement maker in the country with installed manufacturing capacity of 59 million tonnes. Ultratech Cement, which recently added 4.8 mtpa by acquiring Jaypee Group firm's cement unit in Gujarat, hopes to take the capacity to 70 mtpa by 2015.

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

On October 25, 2013, UltraTech Cement closed at Rs 1944.05, up Rs 0.50, or 0.03 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2066.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 1404.95.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 82.55 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.55. The latest book value of the company is Rs 555.58 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 3.50.

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Q2 earnings hit by recent regulatory actions: Wockhardt

Troubled drug maker Wockhardt reported a weak set of Q2 earnings . It posted a 70 percent drop in its profit after tax at  Rs 138 crore and an 11 percent drop in consolidated revenues at Rs 1197 crore on a year on year basis because of product recalls and import ban on its facilities from the US and UK regulators on non GMP compliance.

As the drug regulators tighten their noose, Wockhardt stock has been volatile and investors are wary of the company's recovery and this was evident during the company's investor call as prominent investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala quizzed Wockhardt chairman Habil Khorakiwala about the company's remediation plans.

Below is the edited transcript of the interview

Q: You have various regulatory problems in various plants. So you think to resolves all this it will take around 15 months?

A: In terms of our corrective and remediation plan it will take about six months, I feel. Then we will apply for re-inspection and then it depends on the regulatory agency. Probably the entire process will take upwards of a year from now. It could be earlier than that or it could take longer than that. The situation is very uncertain and it is very difficult to predict.

Q: Today Waluj facility is under an import alert, remediation plan is under progress and when it is complete and we are ready, we will ask FDA for a re-inspection. Is it the same for Chikalthana?

A: That's right. For Chikalthana, as far as US is concerned, we have provided our responses, they have not taken any action as of now.

Q: So we are able to export to the US from Chikalthana?

A: Yes we are exporting to the US from Chikalthana. For the UK market, we can export 10 out of the 22 products that are registered there, which has an annualized value of 3 million pounds.

On October 25, 2013, Wockhardt closed at Rs 455.35, down Rs 4.5, or 0.98 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2166.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 344.15.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 51.43 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 8.85. The latest book value of the company is Rs 74.56 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 6.11.

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Ajit Singh writes to PM seeking export sops for sugar mills

In view of surplus domestic sugar output, Union Minister Ajit Singh today shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding export sops and hike in import duty to improve finances of millers.

The letter to PM comes in the backdrop of sugar mills, particularly from Uttar Pradesh, facing financial problems because of lower sugar rates. UP mills have not been able pay cane arrears to the tune of Rs 2,400 crore. They have also incurred cash loss of Rs 3,000 crore last year. Singh, the chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal, also warned that mills may delay crushing operation of sugarcane and compel farmers to burn cane this year.

"30-40 lakh tonnes of sugar needs to be exported in the next 8-10 months. I understand that the global sugar prices are depressed and sugar exports from India is unviable. "Therfore, similar to 2006-07 and 2007-08 season, the government should announce incentives to target for 30 lakh tonnes of exports," said Singh, whose party has strong presence in the sugarcane belt of western UP, in the letter. The country's sugar output stood at over 25 million tonnes in the 2012-13 season (October-September) against the demand of 22 million tonnes. India started the new sugar marketing year on October 1 with record carry-forward stocks of 8 million tonnes.

With so much surplus sugar in the country, Singh said: "There is obsolutely no reason to import any sugar into India. We need to export sugar and not import cheap sugar from Brazil and Pakistan. Hence, the improt duty on sugar should be increased from 15 percent to 40-60 percent immediately."

Stating that banks are not showing interest to extend working capital loans to mills, Singh said, "Unless efforts are made to reduce the surplus to the manageable levels and mills are financially assisted, the sugar industry will struggle for liquidity."

The ex-factory sugar price in UP have falled to Rs 29 per kg now, as against Rs 36 per kg in the year-ago period. "May I therefore request for your personal intervention in the matter and get the above request examined in the next meeting of the Cabinet," he wrote in the letter.

"Any delay may cause many sugar mills do no operate and may lead farmers to burn their cane, which will create a difficult situation to control," he said in the letter.

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No-confidence motion moved against GCMMF Chairman

A no-confidence motion has been moved against the Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the apex marketing body of various district dairy cooperatives that markets Amul brand for alleged mismanagement.

The resolution to bring no-confidence motion against Vipul Chaudhary was signed by 14 out of 17 directors of various district dairy cooperatives and is expected to be taken up at the board meeting on Saturday.

A director, who had signed the resolution, said "Despite protests from several quarters in the Board not to sell cattle feed to Maharashtra, Mr. Chaudhary went ahead with the decision and gave it for free to the neighbouring state."

"However, when Gujarat was reeling under scarcity and the state government approached the federation for cattle feed, it was provided but not free of cost," the director said.

"Mismanagement in Mehsana's Dudhsagar Dairy Board, where Mr. Chaudhary is the chairman, has also come to the fore," the director said, adding that Mr. Chaudhary had taken several decisions which were against the federation's constitution.

Mr. Chaudhary had taken over as GCMMF chairman in August 2012.

Repeated attempts to contact Mr. Chaudhary failed. There are three district dairy cooperatives which are backing him. Those who are not signatories to the resolution to move no-confidence motion are Amul Dairy of Anand, Mehsana's Dudhsagar Dairy and Valsad Dairy.

Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd Chairman Ramsinh Parmar said, "The no-confidence motion against Chaudhary is illegal. Why have they brought the motion? What wrong has he done? Has he caused losses to GCMMF, farmers?"

"Those who have brought the motion are not thinking about the consumers or about marketing," he said.

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Don't have power to monitor NSEL e-series: FMC

After much delay, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) today cited an internal communication with the Finance Ministry before the Bombay HC to clarify that as per the August notification, FMC does indeed have the power and responsibility to monitor NSEL e-series.

FMC tried justifying the inaction prior to the notification arguing that NSEL was not recognised under the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, nor was it registered with the FMC and hence was beyond the scope of FMC's regulation.

Also Read: NSEL board, management set to face criminal charges

Bombay HC observes that this was turning into a fight between the centre and the FMC and was a sorry state of affairs. The HC has directed FMC and the Finance Ministry to put the clarification in an affidavit. The HC will give a final ruling on October 28.

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Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Oct 25, 2013, 09.23 PM IST

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

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Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

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Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

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Aditya Birla Group firm Ultratech Cement plans to increase the strength of its Board to 15 from 12 now, keeping in mind company's current size of business and its future growth plans.

Also Read: UltraTech Q2 net falls 52% on subdued demand, lower prices

"The maximum permissible limit of the Directors under Articles of Association of the company is 12. "Considering the increase in size of operations of the company and its future growth plans, it is proposed to increase the maximum number of directors from the existing 12 to 15," the company said in a notice to shareholders.

Ultratech Cement thus proposes to alter the existing Article  5 of the Articles of Association of the company. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Board. The company is the largest cement maker in the country with installed manufacturing capacity of 59 million tonnes. Ultratech Cement, which recently added 4.8 mtpa by acquiring Jaypee Group firm's cement unit in Gujarat, hopes to take the capacity to 70 mtpa by 2015.

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

On October 25, 2013, UltraTech Cement closed at Rs 1944.05, up Rs 0.50, or 0.03 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2066.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 1404.95.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 82.55 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.55. The latest book value of the company is Rs 555.58 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 3.50.

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Q2 earnings hit by recent regulatory actions: Wockhardt

Troubled drug maker Wockhardt reported a weak set of Q2 earnings . It posted a 70 percent drop in its profit after tax at  Rs 138 crore and an 11 percent drop in consolidated revenues at Rs 1197 crore on a year on year basis because of product recalls and import ban on its facilities from the US and UK regulators on non GMP compliance.

As the drug regulators tighten their noose, Wockhardt stock has been volatile and investors are wary of the company's recovery and this was evident during the company's investor call as prominent investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala quizzed Wockhardt chairman Habil Khorakiwala about the company's remediation plans.

Below is the edited transcript of the interview

Q: You have various regulatory problems in various plants. So you think to resolves all this it will take around 15 months?

A: In terms of our corrective and remediation plan it will take about six months, I feel. Then we will apply for re-inspection and then it depends on the regulatory agency. Probably the entire process will take upwards of a year from now. It could be earlier than that or it could take longer than that. The situation is very uncertain and it is very difficult to predict.

Q: Today Waluj facility is under an import alert, remediation plan is under progress and when it is complete and we are ready, we will ask FDA for a re-inspection. Is it the same for Chikalthana?

A: That's right. For Chikalthana, as far as US is concerned, we have provided our responses, they have not taken any action as of now.

Q: So we are able to export to the US from Chikalthana?

A: Yes we are exporting to the US from Chikalthana. For the UK market, we can export 10 out of the 22 products that are registered there, which has an annualized value of 3 million pounds.

On October 25, 2013, Wockhardt closed at Rs 455.35, down Rs 4.5, or 0.98 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2166.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 344.15.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 51.43 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 8.85. The latest book value of the company is Rs 74.56 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 6.11.

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Ajit Singh writes to PM seeking export sops for sugar mills

In view of surplus domestic sugar output, Union Minister Ajit Singh today shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding export sops and hike in import duty to improve finances of millers.

The letter to PM comes in the backdrop of sugar mills, particularly from Uttar Pradesh, facing financial problems because of lower sugar rates. UP mills have not been able pay cane arrears to the tune of Rs 2,400 crore. They have also incurred cash loss of Rs 3,000 crore last year. Singh, the chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal, also warned that mills may delay crushing operation of sugarcane and compel farmers to burn cane this year.

"30-40 lakh tonnes of sugar needs to be exported in the next 8-10 months. I understand that the global sugar prices are depressed and sugar exports from India is unviable. "Therfore, similar to 2006-07 and 2007-08 season, the government should announce incentives to target for 30 lakh tonnes of exports," said Singh, whose party has strong presence in the sugarcane belt of western UP, in the letter. The country's sugar output stood at over 25 million tonnes in the 2012-13 season (October-September) against the demand of 22 million tonnes. India started the new sugar marketing year on October 1 with record carry-forward stocks of 8 million tonnes.

With so much surplus sugar in the country, Singh said: "There is obsolutely no reason to import any sugar into India. We need to export sugar and not import cheap sugar from Brazil and Pakistan. Hence, the improt duty on sugar should be increased from 15 percent to 40-60 percent immediately."

Stating that banks are not showing interest to extend working capital loans to mills, Singh said, "Unless efforts are made to reduce the surplus to the manageable levels and mills are financially assisted, the sugar industry will struggle for liquidity."

The ex-factory sugar price in UP have falled to Rs 29 per kg now, as against Rs 36 per kg in the year-ago period. "May I therefore request for your personal intervention in the matter and get the above request examined in the next meeting of the Cabinet," he wrote in the letter.

"Any delay may cause many sugar mills do no operate and may lead farmers to burn their cane, which will create a difficult situation to control," he said in the letter.

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Tata SIA Airlines flights likely by May-June

A day after FIPB cleared the Tata-Singapore Airlines' (SIA) airline venture, Tata group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and SIA chief Goh Choon Phong today met Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh exuding confidence of launching flights by May-June next year.

Also Read: FIPB nod toTata-SIA JV will fuel growth: CAPA

"We are looking at very fast clearances. We hope that we will be able to launch by May-June," Tata SIA Airlines Chairman Prasad Menon, who accompanied Tata and Goh, told reporters after the 45-meeting with Singh here. Maintaining that the entry of Tata-SIA Airlines would benefit the Indian aviation sector, the minister said SIA was globally known for its expertise in technical and managerial matters and was one of the best airlines in the world.

Asked by when the Civil Aviation Ministry would give the necessary clearances to the new carrier, Singh said, "I don't see any problems. DGCA will have to be satisfied. There are issues relating to fleet, parking space, slots and routes. It depends on how fast they (Tata-SIA) provide all those data and documents."

Complimenting the minister for "opening up the aviation sector in a really global manner", Tata said "It is our responsibility to make him proud" and the Tata Sons' airline venture with SIA was "a great opportunity" towards that end. The meeting came a day after the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) gave its green signal to their proposal to start a full-service airline entailing an initial foreign investment of USD 49 million. Tata Sons will invest USD 100 million in the joint venture.

This is Tatas' second venture in the aviation sector after its tie-up with Malaysian carrier Air Asia in February for a low-cost passenger air service in the country.

To a question on what kind of aircraft would the proposed airline consider flying, SIA CEO Goh and Menon said no fleet plan has yet been drawn up. "We are working on it," said Goh. Maintaining that "the new airline will provide premium (full-frill) service", Tata said he was excited about FIPB approval and added that a lot of hard work needed to be put in to start the airline.

Asked whether they would start the airline with a few aircraft from the SIA fleet like AirAsia India was planning to do, Goh said, "We will consider it (operating flights with SIA planes till new fleet is inducted). That is a possible option."

Goh and Menon said SIA would pump in money for equity infusion into the new airline joint venture. Earlier in the day, Tata and the delegation met Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram. Yesterday, Tata and Goh had also met Finance Minister P Chidambaram after the FIPB cleared the venture.

To be called Tata SIA Airlines Ltd, the venture would be headquartered in Delhi. In seeking approval to offer full-service passenger airways on both domestic and international routes, Tata Sons and SIA have assured the government that control of their proposed venture would always remain in Indian hands. Of the six directors, four would be nominated by the Tatas. Aviation industry analysts have welcomed the decision, saying it would send very positive signals to the global investor community.

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Unichem gets approval for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets

Oct 25, 2013, 05.48 PM IST

Unichem laboratories Limited are pleased to announce that it has received ANDA approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets

Source: Business Wire India

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Unichem gets approval for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets

Unichem laboratories Limited are pleased to announce that it has received ANDA approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets

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Unichem gets approval for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets

Unichem laboratories Limited are pleased to announce that it has received ANDA approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets

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Unichem laboratories Limited are pleased to announce that it has received ANDA approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets.

Amlodipine Besylate Tablets USP 2.5mg, 5mg and 10mg are therapeutically equivalent to NORVASC® Tablets 2.5mg, 5mg and 10mg from Pfizer Inc.

Also read: US showing good growth; EMs steady: Unichem Labs  

Amlodipine Besylate Tablet USP is a calcium channel blocker indicated for the treatment of hypertension, to lower blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions.

The product will be commercialized from Unichem's Goa plant. Active pharmaceutical ingredient i.e., Amlodipine Besylate used for this ANDA is also made in house at Roha plant.

Currently, there are 6-7 companies are dominating the US market. The current market size is around US$ 45~50 Million.

On October 25, 2013, Unichem Laboratories closed at Rs 170.50, up Rs 3.85, or 2.31 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 216.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 138.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.76 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 11.55. The latest book value of the company is Rs 89.75 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.90.

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Telecom user base grows marginally to 90.61 cr in Aug

Oct 25, 2013, 05.59 PM IST

The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 87.48 crore in July to 87.67 crore in August, a monthly growth of 0.21 percent.

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Telecom user base grows marginally to 90.61 cr in Aug

The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 87.48 crore in July to 87.67 crore in August, a monthly growth of 0.21 percent.

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Telecom user base grows marginally to 90.61 cr in Aug

The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 87.48 crore in July to 87.67 crore in August, a monthly growth of 0.21 percent.

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The total number of telecom subscribers rose marginally to 90.61 crore at end of August this year, sectoral regulator Trai said today. "The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 904.46 million at the end of July, 2013 to 906.18 million at the end of August 2013, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.19 per cent," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in a statement.

The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 87.48 crore in July to 87.67 crore in August, a monthly growth of 0.21 percent. "The share of urban wireless subscribers has declined from 60.10 per cent to 59.98 percent whereas share of rural wireless subscribers has increased from 39.90 per cent to 40.02 percent," Trai said. The overall wireless teledensity in the country is 71.21 against 71.13 in the previous month.

Also Read: Long term business trends remain robust, says Idea

At end of August, private operators hold 88.38 percent of the wireless market share (based on subscriber base) whereas BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU operators held only 11.62 percent market share, it said. Aircel added 8.76 lakh users in August to take its subscriber base to 6.26 crore, followed by Bharti Airtel which added 8.33 lakh new users during the period and its subscriber base stands at 19.22 crore at the end of August.

Idea Cellular added 7.52 lakh subscribers and its base stands at 12.60 crore whereas dual technology operator Reliance Communications added 5.10 lakh users to take its base to 12.67 crore. Videocon and Loop added 1.58 lakh and 65,057 new users respectively during August. Country's second largest operator Vodafone lost 85,811 subscribers in the reported period and its base has decreased to 15.43 crore at the end of August. However, Uninor lost 5.05 lakh users, the maximum for the month, and the company's base has shrunk to 3.22 crore.

State-run BSNL and MTNL too lost 1.31 lakh and 2.92 lakh users respectively. Their subscriber base stand at 9.79 crore and 39.73 lakh respectively. Tata Teleservices and Sistema Shyam Teleservices too lost 3.73 lakh and 15,515 users respectively during the month. The total number of subscribers who have submitted their request for mobile number portability (MNP) stands at 23.7 lakh at end of August. MORE PTI KIR

Trai said the total number of MNP requests have reached over 10 crore by the end of August. "As per the data reported by the service providers, by the end of August 2013 about 100.20 million subscribers have submitted their requests to different service providers for porting their mobile number," it said. The wireline subscriber base declined from 2.95 crore at July-end to 2.94 crore at the end of August.

"Total broadband subscriber base has increased from 15.24 million at the end of July 2013 to 15.28 million at the end of August 2013, there by showing a monthly growth of 0.26 percent," it said. Yearly growth in broadband subscribers is 3.10 percent during the last one year (August 2012 to August 2013). As on August 31, 2013, there are 162 internet service providers (ISPs) which are providing broadband services in the country.

On October 25, 2013, Idea Cellular closed at Rs 171.80, down Rs 3.4, or 1.94 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 188.35 and the 52-week low was Rs 80.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 3.11 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 55.24. The latest book value of the company is Rs 42.28 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 4.06.

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GAIL sells part of stake in China Gas Holdings for Rs 385cr

Oct 25, 2013, 06.22 PM IST

The board of GAIL had accorded approval to partially divest its equity stake in China Gas for recoupment of entire initial investment, while retaining the strategic advantage as envisaged at the time of initial investment.

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GAIL sells part of stake in China Gas Holdings for Rs 385cr

The board of GAIL had accorded approval to partially divest its equity stake in China Gas for recoupment of entire initial investment, while retaining the strategic advantage as envisaged at the time of initial investment.

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GAIL sells part of stake in China Gas Holdings for Rs 385cr

The board of GAIL had accorded approval to partially divest its equity stake in China Gas for recoupment of entire initial investment, while retaining the strategic advantage as envisaged at the time of initial investment.

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State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd today said it has sold more than a fourth of its 4.6 percent stake in Hong Kong-listed city gas distribution firm China Gas Holdings for Rs 385 crore.

Also Read: GAIL Q2 PAT may dip 20% at Rs 786 cr: KR Choksey

GAIL, which made a strategic investment of Rs 137 crore by acquiring 210 million shares of China Gas in 2005, has sold 60 million shares, company's chairman and managing director BC Tripathi told reporters here.

"We had acquired the shares at Hong Kong Dollar 1.1 and we sold the shares at HKD 8.2," he said. The gas utility plans to keep a small strategic interest in the company that will help it retain its board position in China Gas Holdings. "Our gross realisation is Rs 385 crore," he said, adding that the company has to pay taxes like capital gains on this realisation.

The board of GAIL had accorded approval to partially divest its equity stake in China Gas for recoupment of entire initial investment, while retaining the strategic advantage as envisaged at the time of initial investment. "We sold the stake to capitalise on the high price of the shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange," he said.

China Gas has exclusive rights to set up gas distribution projects in 42 cities in China. GAIL picked up equity in the company as China was keen to replicate Delhi's success in using natural gas as a vehicular and domestic fuel in its cities, primarily Beijing, before the 2008 Olympics.

GAIL saw synergies in city gas/CNG business. Now that the city gas distribution business is being pursued by GAIL's wholly-owned subsidiary, GAIL Gas, the company feels continuation of the investment in China Gas does not appear to meet the original objectives. Also, China Gas shares are currently performing well on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, giving the company a market capitalisation of around USD 4.4 billion.

Sources said GAIL has earned only Rs 16.29 crore as dividend on its investment in China Gas over seven years. As the current share price is more than seven Hong Kong dollars, GAIL believes it is a good time to sell and re-invest the earnings from the stake sale in overseas upstream assets.

On October 25, 2013, GAIL India closed at Rs 343.55, down Rs 7.85, or 2.23 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 395.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 273.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 29.14 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 11.79. The latest book value of the company is Rs 191.00 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.80.

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Sebi orders a/c attachment to recover Rs 1520cr from CIS co

Market regulator Sebi today ordered attachment of over 50 bank accounts of West Bengal-based MPS Greenery Developers Ltd for recovery of Rs 1,520 crore, along with applicable returns, collected from investors through illegal collective investment schemes.

This is the first direct attachment order issued by the Sebi in a case involving an unauthorised CIS scheme, which has emerged as a major route for illegal raising of public funds. Sebi has taken action against a number of unauthorised CIS entities from West Bengal including Saradha, Rose Valley and Sumangal group entities.

Also Read:  Sebi lays out guidelines for listing of SMEs, start ups

Passing the order, Sebi said MPS Greenery was ordered in December last year to refund Rs 1,520 crore along with return to investors, but it failed to do so and therefore the regulator was now passing an attachment order for recovery of this money.

Sebi has asked eight banks, including both public and private sector entities, to attach at least 51 accounts held by MPS Greenery with them, as also other accounts that the defaulter entity may have with those banks. Sebi also ordered attachment of "all other accounts by whatever name called of the defaulter, either singly or jointly with any other persons".

It is further asked the banks not to allow any debit in these accounts until further orders. However, the credits, if any into the account may be allowed, the Sebi said. The move is part of Sebi's efforts to recover a total fine of about Rs 1,520 crore "along with interest, all costs, charges and expenses in respect of all proceeding for recovering the said sum against defaulter and the same is due from it."

The government recently granted Sebi powers to attach properties and bank accounts, among other things, of persons and entities which have failed to comply with directions involving payment of penalties and other dues.

Sebi has also asked banks to provide details of all accounts, including lockers held by MPS Greenery, copy of account statements of the past one year, confirmation of attachment of the said accounts.

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Federal Bank gets FIPB nod to raise foreign shareholding

Oct 24, 2013, 07.10 PM IST

The Kerala-based bank had approached FIPB for permission to increase foreign shareholding after the RBI prohibited foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin from purchasing shares in Federal Bank as its foreign holding had crossed 49 percent.

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Federal Bank gets FIPB nod to raise foreign shareholding

The Kerala-based bank had approached FIPB for permission to increase foreign shareholding after the RBI prohibited foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin from purchasing shares in Federal Bank as its foreign holding had crossed 49 percent.

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Federal Bank gets FIPB nod to raise foreign shareholding

The Kerala-based bank had approached FIPB for permission to increase foreign shareholding after the RBI prohibited foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin from purchasing shares in Federal Bank as its foreign holding had crossed 49 percent.

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Private sector lender Federal Bank today got FIPB approval for hiking foreign shareholding limit in the bank to 74 percent. Since the proposal involved foreign investments of about Rs 1,400 crore, it would also require clearance of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA), a Finance Ministry official said after Federal Bank's application was approved in the meeting of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

Also Read: FIPB okays JM Fin's Rs 22cr warrant issue to Vikram Pandit

The Kerala-based bank had approached FIPB for permission to increase foreign shareholding after the RBI prohibited foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin from purchasing shares in Federal Bank as its foreign holding had crossed 49 percent.

As on September 2013, holding of FIIs in the bank was 44.11 percent, of DII (domestic institutional investors) 20.60 percent and of others 35.29 percent. The bank's scrip today closed at Rs 82.25, up 4.84 percent on BSE over its previous day's close.

On October 24, 2013, Federal Bank closed at Rs 82.25, up Rs 3.80, or 4.84 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 110.15 and the 52-week low was Rs 44.25.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 8.93 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 9.21. The latest book value of the company is Rs 74.41 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.11.

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PowerGird FPO anytime next month; govt may raise Rs 1,900cr

Oct 24, 2013, 07.07 PM IST

According to the company, the government could get about Rs 1,900 crore from the process, while the company will garner about Rs 6,000 crore from the sale of fresh equities.

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PowerGird FPO anytime next month; govt may raise Rs 1,900cr

According to the company, the government could get about Rs 1,900 crore from the process, while the company will garner about Rs 6,000 crore from the sale of fresh equities.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

PowerGird FPO anytime next month; govt may raise Rs 1,900cr

According to the company, the government could get about Rs 1,900 crore from the process, while the company will garner about Rs 6,000 crore from the sale of fresh equities.

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State-run transmission utility Power Grid Corporation today said it expects to launch the follow on public offer (FPO) anytime next month.

Also Read: Rs 7k cr capitalization enough to take view for yr: PGCIL

According to the company, the government could get about Rs 1,900 crore from the process, while the company will garner about Rs 6,000 crore from the sale of fresh equities. The company plans to sell 17 percent equity, through the FPO route, out of which the government share will be around 4 percent and the rest 13 percent will be fresh issue of equity shares to the extent of 13 percent of the pre-issue equity capital worth around Rs 6,000 crore, the company said.

"We have completed all the necessary procedures from our side and can launch it as soon as possible. But we are awaiting the approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)," Chairman and Managing Director R N Nayak told reporters here.

Another official said: "We are expecting the approval soon. We can even float the FPO in November." The Navratna company has proposed to issue fresh 60.18 crore shares, or 13 percent of the current equity base, through the FPO, while the government proposes to dilute its 18.51 crore shares or 4 percent stake out of its current 69.42 percent holding, as part of its Rs 44,000 crore divestment programme, out of which it could so far raise a little over Rs 1,100 crore.

After the FPO, the government stake in the company will reduce to 57.89 percent, Nayak said. ICICI Securities, SBI Capital, Citi, UBS and Kotak Securities are managing the sale. This will be the second follow-on offer from PowerGrid, which sold a 10 percent with a similar stake divested by the government in November 2010 at an issue price of Rs 90 a share.

The company hit the capital markets with its initial public offer in October 2007. Meanwhile, the company posted a 10 percent increase in its net profit in the September quarter at Rs 1,239 crore against Rs 1,126 crore a year ago. Total income stood at Rs 4,104 crore, registering 27 percent growth, compared to Rs 3,243 crore a year ago. Currently, PowerGrid is operating more than 1,02,100 circuit km of transmission lines along with 172 sub-stations and transformation capacity of around 1,72,370 MVA with an inter-regional power transmission capacity of about 31,850 mw.

On October 24, 2013, Power Grid Corporation of India closed at Rs 98.85, down Rs 1.8, or 1.79 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 122.45 and the 52-week low was Rs 86.70.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 9.76 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 10.13. The latest book value of the company is Rs 56.68 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.74.

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Axis Bank now Aadhaar linked, launches eKYC for a/c opening

UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani today launched an electronic-KYC system for Axis Bank . Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO, Axis Bank told CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh that it launched an eKYC for account opening across 1,000 branches of the bank across the country. She hopes to be able to extend the same service to all branches of the bank by month end. She feels this brings a completely different level of convenience and access to bank accounts for customers.

Also Read: India is now tech capital of biometrics: Nandan Nilekani

In case of a person migrating to a different city, Nilekani says there will be a very simple process by which one can update hos or her address in the Aadhaar database. It is designed for quick address updates, but it is still being refined and in the next few months it will be relatively easy to change one's address in the Aadhaar system.

Below is the verbatim transcript of Shikha Sharma & Nandan Nilekani's interview on CNBC-TV18

Q: Let me straightway get to Shikha and get what exactly she has in terms of plans. What exactly have you unfurled today?

Sharma: What we have launched today is being able to do eKYC for account opening across 1000 branches of Axis Bank across the country. We hope to be able to do this for all branches of the bank by the end of the month.

So, what it means for customers is that they can walk in with their Aadhaar number to any branch of Axis Bank, they can do a biometric authentication which will serve as their ID proof and their address proof and they can pretty much walk out with an account. So it brings a completely different level of convenience and access to bank accounts for customers.

When Aadhaar was launched the promise was that it would have the ability to transform the way banking and payment is done. I am delighted that we actually have a real service out there which demonstrates that we can completely change the way banking is done using the Aadhaar platform.

Q: Do you think it is really going to open banking to a whole lot of people. At the moment you all are not really in rural area in a very big way. Even now about 30 percent of India is still unbanked. The category of people you are catering to would have other identification papers, wouldn't they? Is it going to be of very great use now or is it more in terms when you get into financial inclusion in a big way?

Sharma: It does two things, it first of all makes the account opening process much simpler because you do not have to get a host of documents and we have reduced the processing time at the branch dramatically and when you have such a convenient process then it is possible to take it out to branches and to BCs and that is what the intent would be. So while immediately we are going to all our branches, but the end-state would be to actually be able to do this eKYC through BCs and go to customers even in areas where we do not have a branch.

Q: Do you see teething problems? There are kids who come from other places to our office. Here at least you have an office account, but when people migrate and they do not have a permanent address they take their Aadhaar which has an address of another town and come to your branch and get authorisation. You all will not raise complaints that you do not have a local address over here and therefore we cannot open an account here?

Sharma: As long as the address is the same as what is on their Aadhaar identity detail, you can go and open an account, but if you have a new address then they will have to get some address proof from their current employer.

Q: So they will have to get it changed in their Aadhaar card as well?

Sharma: They could do that later, but they could for their account opening get a separate address proof.

Q: When does this process get really streamlined? It is not all that easy to open a bank account, especially when a person is new in a town and may not be able to produce any permanent papers. Does Aadhaar breach this gap at all?

Nilekani: Yes, because the whole idea is that Aadhaar is nationally mobile proof of ID and proof of address. So if you migrate to a new city, we will give a very simple process by which you can update your address in our database. You would update it first in the Aadhaar database and then you can use it anywhere because you now have the latest address in the Aadhaar database. So it is designed for quick address updates and we have launched the update, but we are refining it and in the next few months it will be relatively easy to change your address in the Aadhaar system.

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CBI questions senior executive of JSPL

CBI today questioned a senior executive of Jindal Steel and Power Limited in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal block to the company. CBI sources said they had sought appearance of any executive of the company for examination and Director Group HR Rajiv Bhadauria had offered to appear.

Bhadauria was also present at one of the locations searched immediately after filing of the FIR against JSPL and Congress MP Naveen Jindal, the sources said. Bhadauria was questioned for nearly three hours on various company's documents related to allocation of the coal block.

Also Read: Coalgate: CBI will stand by FIR against Kumar Mangalam

CBI has named Jindal, JSPL, former MoS Coal Dasari Narayan Rao in the FIR in alleged misrepresentation of facts in allocation of Amarkonda Murugadangal Coal block. During its probe into the scam, it was for the first time the then minister of state was named as an accused in an FIR by CBI in which it was alleged that he had received Rs 2.25 crore camouflaged as investment from one of Jindal's firms within a year of allocation of a coal block to him. CBI sources said Jindal Steel and Power Limited and Gagan

Sponge Iron Limited, also a Jindal firm, had bagged Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Birbhum, West Bengal in 2008 by alleged misrepresentation of facts when Rao was the Minister of State for Coal.

Reacting to the FIR, head of external affairs, JSPL Manu Kapoor had said, "JSPL, as a law abiding company, is governed by a strong ethical code of conduct. This is an ongoing CBI investigation into coal block allocation. At this stage of investigation, JSPL is committed to fully cooperate with CBI."

CBI has claimed in its FIR that the misrepresentation was allegedly done on three counts - land, water supply and previous allocations.

On October 24, 2013, Jindal Steel & Power closed at Rs 240.90, down Rs 4.55, or 1.85 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 473.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 181.55.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 19.46 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 12.38. The latest book value of the company is Rs 132.09 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.82.

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Unichem gets USFDA nod for generic hypertension tablets

Unichem Laboratories today said it has received approval from the US health regulator USFDA for its generic amlodipine besylate tablets used for treating hypertension and coronary artery disease.

Also Read: Lupin to rely on Antara sales to rebuild brand: MD

"The company has received (ANDA) approval from the US Food an Drug Administration (USFDA) for amlodipine besylate tablets," Unichem Laboratories said in a filing to BSE. The product in the strengths of 2.5 mg, 5 mg and 10 mg are equivalent to Pfizer Inc's Norvasc tablets in the same strengths, it added.

"Currently there are 6 to 7 companies dominating the US market. The current market size is around USD 45-50 million," Unichem Laboratories said. The product will be commercialised from the company's Goa facility, it added.

"Amlodipine besylate tablets is a calcium channel blocker indicated for the treatment of hypertension, to lower blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and non fatal cardiovascular events...," Unichem said. Shares of Unichem Laboratories today closed at Rs 166.65 per scrip on BSE, up 1.21 percent from its previous close.

On October 24, 2013, Unichem Laboratories closed at Rs 166.65, up Rs 2.00, or 1.21 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 216.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 138.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.76 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 11.29. The latest book value of the company is Rs 89.75 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.86.

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Companies meet IMG on delays in coal blocks' development

The Coal Ministry has asked firms including JSPL , NTPC , SAIL and Tata Power to make presentation before the IMG on Thursday and Friday on the achievement of milestones prescribed for developing 30 mines that were allotted to them and their reasons for delays.

"The reply submitted by your company (companies) is under consideration of the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG)...and it has been decided to provide an opportunity to you to present your explanation/version before the IMG on the current status of development of allocated coal block," according to a coal ministry document.

Also read: Jaiswal labels ex-coal secy Parakh as 'Sheikh Chilli'

"You are requested to make a presentation with respect to the achievement of different milestones prescribed for the development of coal block and reasons for delay, if any, with respect to achievement of the same," it said.

The coal block allocatees were earlier issued show-cause notices for delaying the production from their mines. Jindal Steel and Power Ltd has been asked to make presentation with regard to delaying the production from its four coal blocks -- Amarkunda Murgadangal in Jharkhand, Utkal B1 and Ramchandi Promotional block in Odisha and Urtan North in Madhya Pradesh.

SAIL has been asked to make presentation for Sitanala mine in Jharkhand, and NTPC  for Parki Barwadih mine in Jharkhand and Talaipalli mine in Chhattisgarh. Other firms which have been asked to make presentations are GVK Power , Abhijeet Infrastructure, Bhusan Steel and Power and Monnet Ispat & Energy among others.

 The Coal Ministry has also asked the companies to provide before IMG the details of investment made vis-a-vis the ones planned for developing coal blocks, and progress of the implementation of end-use plants among others.

The government had formed the IMG last year to review the progress of coal blocks allocated to firms for captive use and recommend action, including de-allocation. The panel under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary in the Coal Ministry has members from other ministries including steel and power.

On October 23, 2013, Jindal Steel & Power closed at Rs 245.45, down Rs 1.5, or 0.61 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 473.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 181.55.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 19.46 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 12.61. The latest book value of the company is Rs 132.09 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.86.

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TRAI sticks to its guns on spectrum reserve price

The TRAI today minced no words in its response to the Department of Telecom's view that the proposed sharp cut in reserve price of 900 and 1800 Mhz spectrum was based on assumptions that did not stand scrutiny. In a hard hitting response, TRAI rejected the government's contentions and blamed a series of man-made policy mistakes for bringing the sector down to its knees, reports CNBC- TV18 's Siddharth Zarabi.

Earlier this month, MF Farooqui, secretary, DoT, had written to TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar seeking clarifications and reconsideration of some of recommendations provided by the regulator in September this year.

Based on an assessment by a panel of its officers, the DoT had said it would not be appropriate to conclude that the 1800 Mhz spectrum sold during the last two auctions was a distress purchase and that the auction price was not the true market price. In response, the TRAI said it had adopted objective and scientific methodologies for arriving at the valuations which are grounded in economic theory and have widespread international acceptance.

Also Read: Reliance Jio gets Unified Licence to offer all telecom svcs

On the 900 Mhz band reserve price, the TRAI said it was puzzled by the DoT's observations that there was no clear basis to the recommendations. "Perhaps a re-reading will provide the necessary clarity", it told the DoT today.

The regulator also made it clear that it cannot support the idea of providing any sort of reservation to incumbent operators in future auctions. "The idea is to have an open, transparent, objective, responsive, unrestricted and successful auction of 900 and 1800 Mhz spectrum and to ensure a level playing field amongst bidders", it said. This could well prove to be bad news for the likes of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone amongst others.

The authority has reiterated that no further CDMA or 800 Mhz band spectrum should be auctioned until the feasibility of extended GSM (E-GSM) is explored in India. It has also stuck to its recommendation for a gradual transition towards a uniform three per cent spectrum usage charge. This may be a mixed bag for the likes of Reliance Jio Infocomm.

But it is the last word in the epilogue that is vintage Rahul Khullar. "Howsoever unpleasant it may be, the truth that we need to face is we have lagged behind the rest of the world just when we had begun to catch up. There is a telecom revolution under way in many parts of the world. By conservative estimates, we are 5-10 years behind."

Khullar ends by quoting Shakespeare:"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures."

Meanwhile, CNBC TV18 learns that the DoT will now go back to the drawing board on the spectrum reserve price and auction timeline. Sources said that a final call would be taken by the Cabinet and a formal proposal would be prepared for its decision soon.

On October 23, 2013, Bharti Airtel closed at Rs 347.90, down Rs 4.2, or 1.19 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 370.40 and the 52-week low was Rs 264.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 11.47 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 30.33. The latest book value of the company is Rs 135.70 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 2.56.

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Leela Venture looking to sell stake in 2 projects: Sources

In a CNBC-TV18 exclusive, sources say that Leela Venture is looking to divest its stake in two of its projects, Leela Palace Delhi and Leela Palace Chennai. Leela Venture is in talks with individual investors for stake divestment, which will help the company reduce its debt burden.

Also Read: Leela calls off 25-yr-old alliance with Kempinski

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Tax dispute a sideshow; won't impact India plans: Vodafone

Vodafone's MD and CEO Martin Pieters has welcomed the TRAI's move to stick to its stance . In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan Pieters spoke about the new M&A policy and the conciliation process with the government over the tax dispute. Pieters says Vodafone is confident of investing in India and that the tax matter is just a side show.

Below is the edited transcript of Pieters' interview with CNBC-TV18

Q: What is your take on TRAI's view on reserve price?

A: It was not a surprise because TRAI came out with a very solid set of recommendations in the first place. This wasn't the rebound so to say. So, we didn't expect that TRAI in such a short time now would suddenly change its mind.

Q: With the TRAI digging its heel in on its recommendations do you believe that DoT and the telecom commission will finally agree and adhere to the recommendations, is that your hope?

A: I am not a member of that commission. What we have seen is that there is a kind of hesitation in the bureaucracy to take tough decisions for reasons we all know the 2G scam, bureaucrats being blamed sometimes 10 years later for things they might have done. So, there is a kind of general resistance to take tough decisions and bite the bullet. That is why it was sent back to TRAI.

TRAI has come with more or less the same recommendations, so that gives a good reason for the Telecom Commission now to adopt these and send them on to the EGoM for a decision.

Q: If we actually see the telecom commission and the government decide we are not going to go down the road of the TRAI but we are going to stay where we are as far as spectrum prices are concerned, are we likely to see a third failed auction?

A: I see no reason why if you would not change the price why it would go any better in the next auction. What the TRAI has done, it has made it very clear that for this country we are in a situation that is actually not good for the country. It is not good for the ex-chequer because there is no money coming into the coffer of the finance minister and he needs it desperately as you know, but also the country needs better services and needs more broadband services.

The spectrum policy as now laid out by the TRAI opens up the window to make sure that where this industry was stuck for two or three years in a lot of trouble due to various reasons to make a fresh start and make sure that there is a future not only for the companies in the industry, but I would say for India because India is really far behind if it comes to broadband penetration.

Q: Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been tweaking M&A guidelines and perhaps making it better for the large telecom players to say that permissible market share can go up from 35 percent to 50 percent. Does that make sense? Does it make it better? Are we actually going to see consolidation over the next 3-5 years in this country?

A: We need to see consolidation. Consolidation is happening while we speak, but it is what I always call course consolidation, meaning that you have seen quite a lot of telecom companies that were there three years ago are completely disappearing or reducing the level of activity in the country. Some of them who used to be country-wide, nation-wide are now only in a few circles.

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