CCI clears Wipro GE Healthcare-GE India Technology deal

The Commission observed that while Wipro GE is engaged in manufacturing and distributing various medical equipment and solutions including life sciences equipment and devices, GE India Technology is into multi-disciplinary research and development in various technologies such as bio-technology.

The Competition Commission has approved medical equipment firm Wipro GE Healthcare's proposed deal to acquire GE group's assets related to bio-technology and life sciences.

According to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) "the proposed combination is not likely to have appreciable adverse effect on competition in India". Under the deal, Wipro GE would acquire assets of GE India Technology Centre -- part of US-headquartered conglomerate General Electric group -- used in the research areas of bio-technology and life sciences.

Also read: Piramal, Navin Fluorine to form healthcare JV

The Commission observed that while Wipro GE is engaged in manufacturing and distributing various medical equipment and solutions including life sciences equipment and devices, GE
 India Technology is into multi-disciplinary research and development in various technologies such as bio-technology.   '

"Accordingly, it is observed that there is no horizontal overlap between the businesses of Wipro GE and GE India Technology Centre Ltd," CCI said in an order released today. Further, CCI noted that "the proposed combination would facilitate vertical integration of the businesses of Wipro GE as it would enable Wipro GE to sell equipment as well as provide related research and other support services in biotech and life-sciences areas".

"It is also observed that GE India Technology Centre renders 100 per cent of its services to the affiliates of GE group across the world, including India," CCI said. "Therefore, this vertical integration is unlikely to result in any appreciable adverse effect on competition," the fair trade regulator added. The 'Asset Purchase Agreement' was entered between the two companies on July 7, 2014 following which they had approached the competition commission for approval in the same month.

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Indian Bank to revise interest rates on FCNR (B) deposits

"For FCNR (B) deposits, in USD, the revised interest rate has been revised to 2.34 percent (from 2.36) for deposits of one year and above but less than two years", the Chennai-based bank said in a statement

Public sector  Indian Bank will revise its interest rates on the foreign currency non-resident (banking) term deposits from tomorrow.

"For FCNR (B) deposits, in USD, the revised interest rate has been revised to 2.34 percent (from 2.36) for deposits of one year and above but less than two years", the Chennai-based bank said in a statement.

For deposits of two years and above but less than three years, interest rates have been revised to 2.71 percent from the existing 2.76 percent. Interest rates have been revised to 3.64 percent for deposits of three years and above but less than four years from the existing 3.71 percent, it said.

For deposits of four years and above but less than five years, interest rates have been revised to 4 percent from existing 4.11 percent. Interest rates have been fixed at 4.27 percent for deposits upto five years only from the existing 4.40 percent, the statement said.

Indian Bank stock price

On August 22, 2014, Indian Bank closed at Rs 136.65, down Rs 7.2, or 5.01 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 198.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 60.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 22.56 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 6.06. The latest book value of the company is Rs 298.40 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.46.

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NDA completes 100 days: Coal auction still a concern?

Whatever be the verdict of the Supreme Court on September 1, auction of coal blocks, an increase in coal imports will only lead to a spike in electricity tariff. The government will have a tough time striking a balance to achieve rational electricity tariff and deliver on its promise of 24x7 power supply.

Continuing with the theme of 100 days agenda of the NDA-led government, the Supreme Court's order on coal block allocation has added to the uncertainty surrounding the sector. This is just one of the many challenges facing the coal minister Piyush Goyal. CNBC-TV18's Anshu Sharma briefs with the details of achievements and the road ahead.

Clubbing the coal and power ministries was one of the best ideas to push the infra agenda of the NDA government. The new minister's mission is to enhance coal production, bring in transparent policies to attract private investments.

So far, Piyush Goyal has managed to get few power projects inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi across India, which were initiated by the UPA govt. Goyal has visited 9 states and has had meetings with 8 states in the capital to iron out issues of power and coal sector but a real change is yet to be seen.

However, Goyal's plans could suffer a huge setback as the Supreme Court verdict may derail government's plan to fast-track policy making or attract investment when the domestic industry dependent on coal is bleeding red.

Piyush Goyal had earlier said, "We welcome supreme court order, we will look at auctioning of coal blocks."

If the government looks at auctioning coal blocks, it will have to start amending laws under Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, bring in a tough coal regulator and rework bid document for auctions. The recent response to coal block auction was tepid industry will have to be taken in confidence before auction is kick-started.

Whatever be the verdict of the Supreme Court on September 1, auction of coal blocks, an increase in coal imports will only lead to a spike in electricity tariff. The government will have a tough time striking a balance to achieve rational electricity tariff and deliver on its promise of 24x7 power supply.

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4 auto manufacturers to invest Rs 11,510 cr in Maharashtra

Ahead of the Assembly elections, Maharashtra government today signed four agreements with leading auto companies, involving an investment of Rs 11,510 crore.

The agreements were signed with domestic auto majors Tata Motors ,  Mahindra and Mahindra and Bajaj Auto , and German luxury car major Volkswagen, following the government restoring VAT set-off claims to gross sales.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, state industries minister Narayan Rane, M&M chairman Anand Mahindra, Tata Motors executive director for commercial vehicles Ravi Pishrody and Volkswagen executive director Pankaj Gupta were present on the occasion.

Under the agreements, Tata Motors and Mahindra will invest Rs 4,000 crore each, Bajaj will pump in Rs 2,000 crore while Volkswagen will invest Rs 1,510 crore in existing facilities.

In April 2011, the state amended the VAT Act to make tax set-off claim applicable on net sales and not on gross sales. Auto industry complained that this took away the competitive advantage of the Chakan-Talegaon auto hub. Some companies had even threatened to pull out their investments from the state. Under the tweaked norms and the state's industrial mega project policy announced in June 2005, large auto investors and also non-auto sector investors with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore or more are entitled for VAT set-off claim on gross sales. However, the claim will not exceed 12.5 percent of the total eligible VAT refund in a year.

"It was an error of judgement at that time," Chavan said, adding that the tweaking of VAT norms will help the industry. "We have already invested Rs 4,000 crore in the Chakan plant so far and are looking at investing an additional Rs 4,000 crore during next seven years," Mahindra said.

Of the four projects, three will be in Pune district and one in Waluj in Aurangabad. Total investment of all four projects together will result in employment opportunities for 6,270 people, the government said.

While Mahindra's Rs 4,000 crore investment to expand capacity at the Chakan plant will create 2,500 jobs, Tata Motors' investment of Rs 4,000 crore will create 1,200 jobs. Volkswagen will invest Rs 1,510 crore to manufacture diesel engines and related parts of backward integration at the Chakan plant, creating 570 jobs.

Bajaj Auto's Rs 2,000 crore investment will come in two phases for capacity expansion from 22,80,000 to 33,60,000 units in first phase and from 33,60,000 to 38,40,000 units in second phase at Waluj. On completion of the project, it would create 2,000 jobs.

M&M has plans to increase its vehicle manufacturing capacity in Chakan to 4,50,000 units over the next 18 months, from the present 3,20,000. Mahindra & Mahindra, which currently employs 4,000 people
in the state, also plans to recruit another 2,000. The Chavan government had signed some 32 agreements with the private companies, including Tata, Mercedes, Bosche, Shree Uttam Steel, among others, entailing an investment of Rs 23,850 crore in February, just days before the UPA government announced general elections.

Under the 2005 industrial mega project policy, the state has so far approved 415 mega projects with assured investment of Rs 3,23,902 crore with the potential to generate 3.63 lakh jobs, the government said.

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DGCA warns carriers over rising passenger complaints

Air carriers have also been told to improve quality of service particularly when the flights have been delayed or cancelled.

On Air India Day, the national carrier has topped aviation regulator DGCA's list of airlines that passengers have complained against the most.

Almost 30 percent of passenger complaints are related to troubles with flight cancellations or delays, while about 25 percent of passengers expressed discontent over customer services.

The DGCA has warned airlines to check and rectify instances of rude or unhelpful behaviour of their staff at airports and in the aircraft.

Air carriers have also been told to improve quality of service particularly when the flights have been delayed or cancelled.

The regulator has been carrying out surprise checks on various airlines.

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HSBC, others picked for India's $436 mn NHPC share: Srcs

IDFC Capital Ltd and Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd are the other two advisors for the sale of an 11.36 percent government stake in NHPC. The stake is worth about USD 436 million at current market price.

HSBC Holdings Plc and two Indian investment banks will manage the government's planned stake sale in hydropower producer  NHPC Ltd , two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Wednesday.

IDFC Capital Ltd and Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd are the other two advisors for the sale of an 11.36 percent government stake in NHPC. The stake is worth about  USD 436 million at current market price.

The federal government currently owns almost 86 percent of NHPC.

To help plug its deficit, new government is looking to raise a record USD 10.5 billion from asset sales during the current fiscal year to March 2015. The finance ministry on Monday mandated five banks to manage a USD 3 billion share sale in top energy explorer  Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

NHPC stock price

On August 28, 2014, at 09:22 hrs NHPC was quoting at Rs 21.40, up Rs 0.45, or 2.15 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 29.20 and the 52-week low was Rs 15.85.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 0.79 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 27.09. The latest book value of the company is Rs 23.55 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.91.

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In India, the big salaries are back

After a lull in recent years, India's labor market is enjoying a burst of activity, as euphoria over a new government, a booming stock market and improved business sentiment are encouraging employers to hire in a big way.

Salaries in recent months have gone up by up to 60 percent compared to last year in some industries with perks like sign-on bonuses, stock options and even counter offers making a comeback, experts told CNBC.

"The negativity surrounding India's political scene is gone," said Dony Kuriakose, director, EDGE Executive Search. "Hiring seems to be part of a long-term plan for India."

The sentiment is a sea change from just a year ago, when the Fed taper tantrum sparked an outflow of funds from emerging markets including India, causing local stock markets and the India rupee to plummet. This coupled with policy paralysis as the government prepared for polls created a negative business environment forcing employers to cut costs and axe jobs.

Read More: The man who would remake India: A 90-day scorecard

Hitesh Oberoi, CEO of Info Edge, the owner of job site Naukri.com, has seen a 20 percent year on year hike in hiring activity in July, after a tough five to six quarters. "Over the next few years India is going to have a good run," he said.

At BITS Pilani University, one of India's premier engineering colleges, there has been a 38 percent year on year increase in the number of employers visiting its three Indian campuses during the placement season that begins in August, including high profile names like Goldman Sachs to eBay and Shlumberger.

Salaries offered have risen between 7 percent and 42 percent, according to G Balasubramanian, chief placement officer of BITS.

IT, e-Commerce: We are hiring!

Positioned a tech hub, it's not surprising that the hiring frenzy in India is most pronounced in the e-commerce and IT related sectors. The country's e-commerce industry has been on an expansion drive with investors pouring in close to $2 billion in this sector this year alone, while IT services, which hires an estimated 150,000 fresh graduates every year, has benefited from the depreciation of the rupee and improving demand in western countries.

Read More: India goes from fragile to fabulous

And often, salary is not a consideration in a bid to attract the best talent. One of India's largest e-commerce companies recently paid a million dollars to hire a chief technology officer, industry sources told CNBC. The 38-year-old relocated to India after 10 years in the US, as such salaries are "not normal even in America."

New Delhi-based online restaurant guide Zomato.com is struggling to fill positions at its rapidly-expanding firm. The six-year-old start-up is currently present in 13 countries and 100 cities and wants to expand to 10 new international markets within the next five years.

"We are scaling up…at the moment we are just 1 percent of where we want to be," Zomato's regional director Upasana Nath told CNBC, adding that the firm is adjusting salaries upwards by up to 60 percent for certain roles. "If we have more people we can expand more; we are hiring heavily."

It's a sentiment shared by India's leading online marketplace Flipkart.com, which received a whopping USD 1 billion from investors in July. The firm is planning to increase its technology team three-fold by the middle of next year. "We have grown 100 times in the last three years and we don't see any signs of slowing down," chief placement officer Mekin Maheswari told CNBC.

Non-tech also benefitting

The job creation among Internet companies may be at a freneticpace, but hiring in traditional sectors like banking and telecommunications isalso picking up. According to the Naukri Job Speak Index, a monthly report onhiring activity in India, there has been a near 25 percent year on year uptickin hiring in the banking and telecom sectors in July.

Read More: Mozilla takes swipe at India market with $33 smartphone

Thirty-five-year-old Delhi-based banker Anubhav Gupta has been lookingto change jobs since 2008 and his search has just ended. The MBA-degree holderwith 12 years of work experience finally landed a new role recently withanother financial institution with a "minor" increase in salary."Things are looking slightly better now, hopefully my next job shift won'ttake so long," he said.

Hiring executives also point to areas like R&D and lifesciences where foreign investment is coming in after a lull period prior to thenew government taking over in May. "They [foreign companies] are alllooking for country managers and are offering salaries of close to USD 200,000 topeople in their 30s," said Lakshmikanth of the Head Hunters.

Caution ahead

It's worth noting that the battle for talent is taking place in the below-40s segment of the market, as the younger demographic have more relevant skills in the nouveau tech space. This is leaving the older unemployed population out in the cold.

Read More: Asbestos still pushed in India and business is booming

"It is still a bad market for them…unless traditional companies in the engineering and automobile spaces start hiring, many of them are still sitting at home," said EDGE Executive's Kuriakose.

Other recruitment experts warn that the current hiring buzz is owed largely to a few industries. "There is a lot of excitement around just 10 internet companies…how many can they alone hire? 500 management graduates?" said Oberoi of Naukri.com.

And should the economy suffer from external shocks much like the battering emerging markets took last year, these tech firms – many which are built on foreign investment – could see an exodus of funds, putting jobs on the line, experts warn.

Read More: Millennials are reshaping India's travel industry

But for 24-year-old Ravneet Kaur, who left her job with an established Indian design label to join a digital fashion start-up, it's a risk she is happy to have taken.

Armed with a Masters degree in international media business from the University of Westminster, Kaur says the excitement of being in a growth industry far outweighed the "substantial salary hike" she got when making the shift. Kaur, whose parents wanted her to stay on in London after her post graduation, chose to come back to India where she says the action is. "E-commerce is such a new thing in India, unexplored and I want to grow as the company grows," she said.

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Indian infra, defence ripe for investment: UK Deputy PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charms seem to have rubbed off on the British government. In an exclusive conversation with CNBC-TV18's Menaka Doshi, UK's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that the Indian infra and defence sectors are ripe for investment .

"The opportunities are huge. If you bear in mind that the relationship is already very strong, sometimes we overlook how strong it is. After all Britain is the largest investor in India from all the G20 countries and in fact by some measures by quite some distance, but also conversely Indian investment in Britain is greater than all investment put in by the rest of the European Union put together," he added.

He further added that Modi's central purpose and ambition is to unlock the dynamism of the Indian economic, which was hit by slow decision making, regulatory and administrative obstacles. "This presents a massive opportunity for British investments and further two-way traffic in the commercial relationship between our two nations," he said.

Below is the edited transcript of Nick Clegg's interview with Menaka Doshi on CNBC-TV18.

Q: Let me ask you about the infrastructure and the defense opportunity. Are British businessmen telling you in terms of numbers what Britain' involvement in India's infrastructure growth could be like or similarly for defense, now that the foreign investment limit has been raised what kind of British investment we might see come into India on the back of that?

A: Yes, they tell me there is a wall of money waiting to find a home to be invested in India. if some of the blockages and delays that have stopped projects from proceeding in the past could be removed. There are a number of stranded projects which started and then stopped. Just to complete those, that itself will unlock billions of pounds of additional investment, much of it from United Kingdom in India but also vise versa.

I met a number of Indian investors who run world-beating pharmaceutical companies or engineering companies, who make massive investments in the United Kingdom. For example the Tata Group is now one of the principal employers in the manufacturing sector in Britain. We are very grateful for the investment. So, it is a two-way street.

It's terribly important that we don't simply seek to try and extract advantage from one country or another. It is about partnership which benefits both United Kingdom and India.

Q: What was your assessment of India's position on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement and the negative position that we took on that?

A: I regret that, because the trade facilitation agreement is one that will bring considerable benefit to the people of India but many-many people, other people around the world particularly in low income countries. Having said that, I listened very carefully to the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Jaitley explained to me and he is clear that the objections of the Indian government are not to Trade Facilitation aspect of the Bali Agreement as such, but about the legitimate issues surrounding food security and food subsidies for many of the subsistence farmers in India.

My view is we can find a solution to that. When I will return to London, I'll be redoubling my efforts to ensure that we craft a solution to that because we must find a solution and because it would be an unwelcome irony if in seeking to understandably defend the interest of some of the poorest farmers in India, we were to deprive many poor communities elsewhere in the world.

I think we can find a solution to India's concern and for me it is important and we talked about this that we maintain political confidence in the World Trade System. I very much hope that we will be able to come together deal with the issue of food security in India and endorse and ratify and apply the trade facilitation agreement.

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CCI imposes Rs 2,545 crore penalty on 14 car makers

Honda Siel Cars India, Volkswagen India, Fiat India Automobiles, BMW India, Ford India, General Motors India, Hindustan Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mercedes-Benz India, Nissan Motor India, Skoda Auto India and Toyota Kirloskar Motor have also been penalised.

In the first major order against the auto sector, the Competition Commission Monday slapped a penalty of Rs 2,545 crore on 14 car makers, including  Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors , for violating trade norms in the spare parts and after services market.

Honda Siel Cars India, Volkswagen India, Fiat India Automobiles, BMW India, Ford India, General Motors India, Hindustan Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra , Mercedes-Benz India, Nissan Motor India, Skoda Auto India and Toyota Kirloskar Motor have also been penalised.

In a 215-page order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty totalling Rs 2,544.64 crore on the 14 car companies. For each entity, the individual fine amounts to 2 percent of their average turnover. The penalty is to be deposited within 60 days of receipt of the order. Nissan Motor India spokesperson declined to comment on the order.

Comments from 13 other companies could not be immediately obtained. A detailed investigation revealed that these car companies violated competition norms with respect to its agreements with local Original Equipment Suppliers (OESs) as well as in terms of pacts with authorised dealers.

Through these agreements, the car makers "imposed absolute restrictive covenants and completely foreclosed the after market for supply of spare parts and other diagnostic tools", the statement said.

The Commission also found that these companies, who were found to be dominant in the after markets for their respective brands, abused their dominant position affecting around two crore car consumers, it added.

"The 14 car companies were found to be indulging in practices resulting in denial of market access to independent repairers as the latter were not provided access to branded spare parts and diagnostic tools which hampered their ability to provide services in the aftermarket for repair and maintenance of cars," the statement said.

The fair trade watchdog has also directed the car makers to "cease and desist" from anti-competitive practices.

Maruti Suzuki stock price

On August 26, 2014, at 09:23 hrs Maruti Suzuki India was quoting at Rs 2781.70, down Rs 20.7, or 0.74 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2823.95 and the 52-week low was Rs 1217.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 96.45 per share as per the quarter ended March 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 28.84. The latest book value of the company is Rs 694.45 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 4.01.

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Citi, HSBC, UBS among 5 bankers to manage ONGC share sale

Besides UBS Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital and HSBC Securities have also been shortlisted for the job, according to sources.

The disinvestment department has selected five merchant bankers, including Citigroup and ICICI Securities for managing the 5 percent stake sale of ONGC , which could fetch about Rs 18,000 crore to the exchequer.

Besides, UBS Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital and HSBC Securities have also been shortlisted for the job, according to sources.

As many as 14 merchant bankers today made presentations before the disinvestment department for managing the ONGC stake sale.

Shares of ONGC today closed at Rs 428.75, up 0.45 percent over previous close on the BSE.

At the current market price, a 5 percent stake sale or over 42 crore would fetch about Rs 18,000 crore to the exchequer.

The merchant bankers would advise the government on the timing and the modalities of the Offer For Sale (OFS) and ensure best return to the government.

The government currently holds 68.94 per cent stake in ONGC.

The Cabinet nod for ONGC stake sale is expected shortly as the Petroleum Ministry has given in-principle approval for the stake sale. The government had last sold 5 per cent stake in ONGC in2012 for Rs 14,000 crore.

In the current fiscal the government plans to mop up Rs 43,425 crore from selling stake in PSUs.

ONGC stock price

On August 26, 2014, at 09:20 hrs Oil and Natural Gas Corporation was quoting at Rs 431.15, up Rs 2.40, or 0.56 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 472.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 234.40.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 26.72 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 16.14. The latest book value of the company is Rs 171.29 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.52.

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Millennials are reshaping India's travel industry

The rise of the Millennials in India is changing the face of the business travel and forcing hoteliers to refocus their efforts to tap this increasingly wealthy and mobile market.

Take Gayatri Gupta. The Pune-based, 34-year old spends two weeks per month in New Delhi for her job.

"My hotel has become a second home. Hotel staff from the bell captain to the concierge know my name, favorite foods and choice of music. I also get a loyalty discount and a room with the best view," the independent soft skills trainer said.

Gupta said her expenditure on business stay is down 60-70 percent.

"Five to seven years ago, it was impossible to get a hotel room in Gurgaon (Delhi's new commercial hub) below USD300. Today I can get a clean, modern, well-designed room in a new hotel for USD80-USD120 a night."

Read More: Donald Trump plans investment in India

India's USD 135 billion tourism and hospitality industry is in the throes of a change. While rosy projections for a USD 418.9 billion market by 2022 led hoteliers to increase room capacity, an economic downturn over the past 5 years has dampened reality. Slowing economic growth over the past 5 years, soaring inflation, weak demand and high supply has shifted pricing power to the buyer.

It has also shifted hoteliers' focus from the leisure traveler to the more resilient business travel market. According to the Global Business Travel Association, India was the world's 10th largest business travel market in 2013, up from 24th in 2000.

"More people across the organizational hierarchy are travelling. Better air connectivity to second-tier towns means new demand is cropping across different price points and age groups," said Akshay Kulkarni, Regional Director, Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality.

Read More: Modi at the helm, and the rupee…falls

A new breed of business traveler

No longer is the typical hotel customer a middle-aged executive clad in a pin-stripped suit. Instead, he is a blue-jeans wearing executive with an informal and casual air, most likely to be in his thirties. With over 150 million Indians belonging to the Millennial category (born between 1980-2000), it's a coveted catch for the hotel industry.

This category also has a very large number of female professionals, like Gupta. Women account for 41.6 percent of those enrolled in higher education and are entering the professional hierarchy in a big way. Further, they already account for an estimated 30 percent of the economically active workforce and nearly 25 percent of domestic business travelers.

"Self-assured, optimistic, globally connected and curious, the Millenials are poised to take the hotel industry by storm," Ernst &Young said in a 2014 report on Global Hospitality.

New product and service offerings

To cater to the tighter wallets and smart spending habits of young business travelers, the Tatas launched the Ginger brand, which operates in 30 business locations from the 'steel' city of Jamshedpur to 'call center' hub at Pimpri. Brands like Keys, Lemon Tree, Tune, Fern and Sarovar are also pushing the market beyond top-tier cities.

"For the first time in India, travelers can now get standardized products and comparable service wherever they go," says P. R Srinivas, Director of hospitality, Cushman & Wakefield, India.

Millennials are speed demons, according to the Ernst & Young report. To meet their demand for instant gratification over face-to-face interaction or friendly services, hotels are increasingly providing check-in kiosks, TV checkouts, pre-authorized credit card sanctions and room key access to everything from vending machines to the gymnasium.

Yet, they are highly social. Hotels like The Lemon Tree and Keys have fun zones complete with pool tables, electronic dart boards and gaming consoles, never mind the budget positioning.

"We believe that if we provide products or services to their customized need, we will not only get loyalty but peer-to-peer marketing from their friends and followers," said Sanjay Sethi, managing director of Keys Hotels.

Catering the customization card further are women-only floors at hotels like The Lemon Tree and Ginger to provide enhanced safety and privacy. The Hyatt Regency Hotel even offers a women's only bar 'Escape' in Chennai, a first-of-its-kind offering in India.

Read More: China to top US business travel spending by 2016

To keep up with Millennials posting their experiences online and researching hotels through crowd-sourced review sites, hotels are shifting their customer care online.

"We spend a significant part of our budget now on maintaining high online visibility to stay ahead in the game," says Sethi.

It seems the whole paradigm of competitive advantage has changed. It's no longer about just the product, price, service or feature on offer. Rather it is about building a rapport and trust with the new generation customer in a world that is always-on and always connected. 

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Steel players may benefit from low coking coal prices: Icra

The domestic steel players producing steel through the blast furnace route stand to benefit from the continuing weakness in the international coking coal prices, but iron ore continues to play spoilsport for the Indian steel industry, rating agency ICRA has said.

"We expect the domestic players producing steel through the blast furnace route to benefit from the continuing weakness in international coking coal prices, a trend which has already been observed in the financial results posted by a number of companies in the first quarter of 2014-15," it said.

Coking coal prices have declined by around 16 percent in the first quarter of 2014-15 (Q1FY15) over the previous quarter, and the same contract prices have been rolled over in Q2FY15. This followed a 13 percent decline in coking coal prices over the whole of FY'14.

"With the exchange rate remaining largely stable in FY'15 till date, the price decline has provided a relief to the blast furnace operators in the country, which import coking coal for producing steel," ICRA Senior Vice-President and Co-Head (Corporate Sector Ratings) Jayanta Roy said.

Domestic iron ore production, however, continues to suffer in spite of the lifting of bans from mines in Karnataka and Goa. The continuing short supply situation in the country has been further aggravated by the recent closure of iron ore mines in Odisha, although temporarily.

While some of the mines, which were initially under the purview of this ban, have been allowed to commence operation subsequently, production is yet to resume at the other merchant mines, which had accounted for around 15-20 million tonnes of iron ore production in FY14 in the state.

ICRA expects the domestic iron ore to remain in short supply for the steel makers without captive sources of ore at least in the near term, which may affect their capacity utilisations.

Even though the international prices have seen a sharp decline in recent months driven by a weakening of demand from China, and prospects of higher supply following capacity expansions by large global mining companies, the domestic iron ore prices remained at an elevated level due to the shortage.

"An upward revision of royalty rates on minerals, as announced by the government, and higher railway freight rates would further impact the cost structure of steel players", Roy said.

On the demand front, ICRA expects the domestic steel demand to recover gradually from H2FY15 on the back of a somewhat better performance of the Indian economy.

Domestic steel consumption growth declined in the fourth consecutive year to 0.6 per cent in FY'14 from 3.3 per cent in FY'13 and has remained at nominal level during the current year as well.

However, ICRA believes that the apparent bottoming out of the growth rates of some of the demand drivers, including automobiles, and the new government's focus on infrastructure and construction sectors as highlighted in the budget point to a likely pickup in steel demand going forward. However, significant project off-takes remain uncertain in the immediate term.

Stable international prices and exchange rates in the current year and weak domestic demand conditions forced Indian steel players to partially roll back price hikes announced in Q4FY14. However, rising costs have made a number of players to announce price hikes again in coming months.

ICRA said that near-term margin outlook for the steel industry would depend on the sustainability of such hikes. However, for a sustained recovery of RoCE levels, domestic demand conditions have to improve meaningfully, it said.

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Pearl Agrotech to move SAT against Sebi order

Sebi has cracked the whip on Rajasthan-based real estate major and has asked it to refund Rs 50,000 crore to people who invested in its collective investment scheme.

Facing a Sebi order with charges of running an illicit money pooling scheme worth about Rs 50,000 crore, Pearl Agrotech Corporation (PACL) today said it will approach the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT)  against the directive of the capital markets regulator.

"Sebi has unfortunately failed to recognize the submissions of the company that it can't be treated like a CIS. The company would now appeal this order before the Securities Appellate Tribunal," PACL said in a statement after the Sebi order.

"PACL limited, in its submission to the Sebi bench had submitted that it is not running a CIS. "Further, the company has sufficient asset holdings vis-a-vis the money raised for its real estate business," the company said. PACL further said it "would also like to remind its customers that it has always kept their interest paramount and would continue to do so".

"We assure our customers that their investments are safe& their interests would not be jeopardized," the company added. Sebi in its order earlier this evening asked PACL and its promoters and directors to refund investors' money within 3months and immediately stop raising money from all their collective investment schemes, after finding them guilty of raising close to Rs 50,000 crore through unauthorised CIS activities.

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All cos must apply 2-step payments for credit cards: RBI

The announcement on Friday comes after local taxi companies had complained that Uber was not following the two-step verification process required for credit card transactions in India, according to media reports.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that all transactions involving domestic credit cards must follow rules requiring additional verification, a stance that could impact companies such as Uber Technologies Inc that provide more simple app-based purchases.

The announcement on Friday comes after local taxi companies had complained that Uber was not following the two-step verification process required for credit card transactions in India, according to media reports.

All Uber payments are directly processed using the customer's stored credit card information in a simple process that bypasses any monetary exchange between drivers and users.

Although the RBI did not specifically address any company, it noted "it has come to our notice" cases in which domestic credit card transactions avoided the additional verification process by using an overseas payment system.

The RBI noted companies would have until Oct. 31 to ensure the two-step verification process was being followed, while noting that payments must be routed through a domestic bank and settled in Indian rupees.

"It is advised that entities adopting such practices leading to wilful non-adherence and violation of extant instructions should immediately put a stop to such arrangements," the RBI said in a circular.

San Francisco-based Uber did not immediately respond to an e-mail from Reuters seeking comment.

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Uber's India ride gets bumpy with RBI rule violation

The Reserve Bank notification does not specify the company Uber or any other company for that matter. However, it has only observed that certain credit card transactions are violating FEMA rules.

Global tax app Uber's India ride just got bumpy as the Reserve Bank of India has declared that the company cannot use its international payment gateway as it is in violation of FEMA rules.

The Reserve Bank notification does not specify the company Uber or any other company for that matter. However, it has only observed that certain credit card transactions are violating FEMA rules.

Let me just explain to you what the notification means. Currently most of the credit card transactions require a two-stage authentication. In the first stage the customer gives details of the credit card that is visible on the card and in the second stage, the customer gives a one time pin which is not on the card but which he receives via a message on his phone.

RBI has observed that some of the credit card transactions are not following this two stage authentication. These transactions are being routed via an international payment gateway, which does not require this two-stage authentication and this is mainly done purely for convenience sake and not keeping in mind the security aspect. So, RBI believes that routing these transactions through an international payment gateway or a bank situated overseas results in foreign exchange outflow and therefore violates FEMA.

Therefore, RBI has said that most of these credit card transactions that happen between two residents in India or domestically should be settled and routed domestically itself. So, this comes in the backdrop or in the wake of the recent complaints that has been raised against Uber that is routing its payments through the international payment gateway.

Purely for convenience sake, Uber collects credit card details of the customer at the time of registration and after which there is a standing instruction to deduct the money from the credit card.

RBI believes that routing these transactions that have actually happened in India through an international payment gateway is a risk for the customer and therefore there should be a two stage authentication that Uber has to follow.

With the RBI order coming in, Uber will have to review its payment authentication process going forward.

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No buyer for Star's stake in Balaji Telefilms: Star India

Star Group which had bought 21 percent stake in Balaji in 2004 for an amount of Rs 123 crore, is desperate for an exit. In an exclusive conversation with CNBC-TV18, Star Group's legal counsel, Deepak Jacob, said that they are in search of a buyer to exit their 21 percent stake completely, but are unable to find their right price.

Star Group which had bought 21 percent stake in Balaji in 2004 for an amount of Rs 123 crore, is desperate for an exit. In an exclusive conversation with CNBC-TV18, Star Group's legal counsel, Deepak Jacob, said that they are in search of a buyer to exit their 21 percent stake completely, but are unable to find their right price.

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Bitter pill gets bitterer: Ranbaxy faces Rs 240-cr US fine

While specific details of the fine are still awaited, CNBC-TV18 reports the fine by the US Department of Justice could be possibly over violations in its Toansa facility.

Moneycontrol Bureau

Shares of pharma majors  Ranbaxy and Sun Pharma , which has agreed to buy out the former by year-end, are likely to be in focus today over a possible Rs 240 crore penalty imposed by US authorities. While specific details of the fine are still awaited, CNBC-TV18 reports the fine by the US Department of Justice could be possibly over violations in its Toansa facility.

In January 2014, the USFDA had barred supplies from Ranbaxy's Toansa (API facility). The Toansa facility was issued an administrative summons by US attorney for New Jersey, which the pharma major talked about in its concall.

This was triggered apparently due to investigation into alleged violations of manufacturing norms and the company was asked to bring up issues previously raised by USFDA.  

According to an Economic Times report, which says the fine is imposed by the State of Texas, could be part over some dues claimed on account of Ranbaxy's previous slippages from the US-prescribed manufacturing practices, which led to its earlier USD 500 million as fine in the US in May last year.

Another component of the settlement sum could be flowing from an assessment by the US state, which shows that the drugmaker has overcharged the state of Texas on one or more drugs under its public-funded Medicaid programme, ET quoted a source.

This Rs 240 crore penalty is likely to add on to the agony of Ranbaxy, which reported a drop (down 9.6 percent) in its Q1 consolidated revenues due to lower exports (down 13 percent), while domestic revenues increased by 11.8 percent. (More details on Q1 earnings)

In its statement to the BSE, Ranbaxy said it has made a provision of Rs 237.75 crore for on-going settlement discussions with certain government authorities in USA.

Meanwhile, Sun Pharma today has scheduled a meeting with its shareholders to seek approval on the Ranbaxy merger.

Morgan Stanley on Sun Pharma after the broking firm's recent interaction with CFO Uday Baldota:

On Ranbaxy merger: The integration teams have been formed and are engaged in integration planning. The company remains confident of achieving USD 250 million synergy benefits in three years. As and when the four closed facilities fall back in compliance, the utilisation may be gradual and more dependent on new filings. Gains from these facilities will be incremental to USD 250m synergy benefits and will play out in the longer term.

MS has Sun as its top pick in the industry and part of the Asia-Pacific Best Idea list. "Ranbaxy's potential launch of Nexium and SPARC's potential Latanoprost BAK free approval are two key catalysts in the months ahead," it said in its research note.

Ranbaxy Labs stock price

On August 22, 2014, at 09:20 hrs Ranbaxy Laboratories was quoting at Rs 629.00, down Rs 12.1, or 1.89 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 648.55 and the 52-week low was Rs 297.25.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 9.78 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 64.31. The latest book value of the company is Rs 25.87 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 24.31.

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Basel III: LCR norms to make life tougher for Indian banks

Moneycontrol Bureau

Even as the Indian banking sector reels under a slew of recent bad news related to its non-performing assets, a quiet crisis -- of a regulatory nature -- may be brewing.

By January 2015, Indian banks will have to meet norms pertaining to liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) as prescribed by Basel III norms, starting with 60 percent, and going up to 100 percent by 2019 when the norms come into effect.

Under the LCR rules, banks will need to maintain high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) equal to one month of net cash outflows in stressed conditions.

While this may seem a way out for our stressed lenders to better tackle the bad loan menace, but maintaining such high liquidity given the large liquidity standards requirements in India, is a challenge, says a Morgan Stanley report.

Also Read: Winsome shady deal symbolic of PSU banks' bad-loan rot

The Problem

Once LCR comes into play, banks will have to focus on stickier deposits. At the same time, on the asset side, they will have to increase the proportion of high quality liquid assets. This could constrain private banks' lending capacity and keep rates higher for longer, pushing down profitability, the report says.

According to research firm, most large banks will be able to meet the near-term target of 60 percent. However, the bigger challenge will be improve this to 100 percent, especially as loan growth picks up. For smaller private banks their small balance sheet sizes may help. However, a marginal impact on NIM is likely, the report says.

Secondly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recent monetary policy move to cut SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) requirement for banks by 50 basis points to 22 percent, will help banks move towards the Basel III guidelines. The SLR mainly comprises of government securities held by banks; and this reduction would free up close to Rs 43,000 crore of funds. But, unless RBI changes guidelines or reduces SLR rates sharply to mid-high teens by 2019, the banking industry will feel the pinch, the report says.

What needs to be fixed

Banks on their own can increase LCR by a bit, by changing the nature of wholesale liabilities. For example, more funding with no premature withdrawal clause and by keeping a close watch on stickier deposits, says the report adds.

But, the larger solution lies in the hands of RBI. As of now, RBI is not giving banks the benefit of lower reserve requirements (CRR/SLR), if that is waived on deposits outflow then LCR for large private banks will increase to nearly 80 percent. Smaller private banks will also benefit meaningfully from this move.

Agressive SLR cuts is the key. "RBI has cut SLR by about 1 percent point in the last quarter. We expect it to keep cutting SLR over the next three to four years as the LCR requirement increases. This will not imply any loosening by RBI – as banks will not be able to sell bonds, given LCR requirements," the report adds.

(Posted by Harsha Jethmalani)

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PepsiCo's Shree City plant to start operations next year

While rural India holds key for FMCG companies' growth, e-commerce and digital is the future of distribution. That's the word coming in from PepsiCo India chairman and CEO D Shivakumar. In an exclusive chat with CNBC-TV18, Shivakumar also spoke about the company's investment plans for India.

While rural India holds key for FMCG companies' growth, e-commerce and digital is the future of distribution. That's the word coming in from PepsiCo India chairman and CEO D Shivakumar. In an exclusive chat with CNBC-TV18's Pavni Mittal, Shivakumar also spoke about the company's investment plans for India.

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Cos tool up for defence orders on Modi's 'buy India' pledge

Some of India's biggest companies are pouring billions of dollars into manufacturing guns, ships and tanks for the country's military, buoyed by the new government's commitment to upgrade its armed forces using domestic factories.

India, the world's largest arms importer, will spend USD 250 billion in the next decade on kit, analysts estimate, to upgrade its Soviet-era military and narrow the gap with China, which spends USD 120 billion a year on defence.

Under the last government, procurement delays and a spate of operational accidents - especially dogging the navy - raised uncomfortable questions over whether India's armed forces are capable of defending its sea lanes and borders.

Even before his landslide election victory in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to assert India's military prowess and meet the security challenge posed by a rising China and long-running tensions with Pakistan.

Within weeks of becoming prime minister, he boosted defence spending by 12 percent to around USD 37 billion for the current fiscal year and approved plans to allow more foreign investment into local industry to jump-start production.

Launching a new, Indian-built naval destroyer last week, Modi said: "My government has taken important steps in improving indigenous defence technology ... We can guarantee peace if our military is modernised."

This build-up comes as Southeast Asian nations expand their own defence industries, spurred by tensions with China. India, reliant on a state defence industry that often delivers late and over budget, risks being caught flat-footed.

"The opportunity is huge," said MV Kotwal, president (Heavy Engineering) at  Larsen and Toubro Ltd, one of India's biggest industrial houses.

"We really expect quicker implementation. There are signs that this government is very keen to grow indigenisation," added Kotwal, referring to increasing domestic production.

Tata Sons [TATAS.UL], a USD 100 billion conglomerate, said last month it will invest USD 35 billion in the next three years to expand into new areas with a focus on a handful of sectors including defence.

Larsen is putting USD 400 million into a yard to build ships for the navy, while Mumbai-based Mahindra Group is expanding a facility that makes parts for planes, including for the air force, and investing in armoured vehicle and radar production.

The companies are being lured by the prospect of lucrative returns on their investments as the Modi government has pledged to make "buy Indian" the default option for future orders.

Larsen is targeting a fourfold increase in annual defence revenue to USD 1 billion within the next five years.

Critics of indigenisation argue that producing gear - especially in the lumbering state sector - is more costly than buying from abroad. Such deals can add layers of bureaucracy, increasing risks of corrupt dealings.

Indian industry is renowned for its ability to adapt, yet questions remain whether the private sector can come up with the solutions needed to bring armed forces into the 21st century without sufficient access to world-class foreign technology.

DELAYS

Some companies are also sceptical of the government's commitment to grow the private market given New Delhi's history of delays and order cancellations, and the traditionally strong ties between the military and state-run manufacturers.

They cite the case of a USD 10 billion Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) programme. Conceived in 2009, the defence ministry invited three private players and the Ordnance Factory Board, a state entity, to bid for the 2,600-vehicle contract but suddenly withdrew the letter of intent in 2012.

Bidders included Mahindra and Tata, which is developing a vehicle along with Lockheed Martin Corp and General Dynamics Corp that could compete for a future contract, said Rahul Gajare, an analyst at Edelweiss Securities.

A quick decision to relaunch the programme would demonstrate Modi's resolve, said SP Shukla, who heads Mahindra's defence business. Past tenders have stalled amid wrangling over whether or not to allow state manufacturers to bid and under what terms.

Larsen's Kotwal said its Kattupalli shipyard in south India has yet to receive any orders for warships or submarines despite being designed to do just that and despite past government pledges to build at least two submarines in private yards.

In the meantime, the yard has switched to constructing and repairing commercial vessels.

"The policy in India has been right since 2006. The problem has been implementation," said Rahul Chaudhry, CEO at  Tata Power SED, which makes rocket launchers, sensors and radars.

Local firms have captured a fraction of the Indian defence market since it first opened to private participation in 2001. Consecutive governments have handed orders to state factories or to foreign giants like Boeing, Lockheed and BAE Systems.

Gajare at Edelweiss estimates total India private sector revenues from defence, including overseas orders, at below USD 2 billion last year, less than 6 percent of the country's defence spending.

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Ashok Leyland completes sale of properties at Chennai

The company has completed the sale of the residual section of one of its residential properties at Chennai as part of its strategy to sell non-core assets, Ashok Leyland said in a filing to the BSE.

Hinduja Group flagship company  Ashok Leyland has completed the sale of residential properties at Chennai for a total consideration of Rs 210, as part of its strategy to sell non-core assets.

The company has completed the sale of the residual section of one of its residential properties at Chennai as part of its strategy to sell non-core assets, Ashok Leyland said in a filing to the BSE today.

"With this transaction, the sale of the entire property stands completed, for a total consideration of Rs 210 crore, the proceeds of which has since been received by the company fully," it added.

Ashok Leyland shares today closed at Rs 37.80 apiece on the BSE, up 7.39 percent from its previous close.

Ashok Leyland stock price

On August 20, 2014, at 09:24 hrs Ashok Leyland was quoting at Rs 37.70, down Rs 0.1, or 0.26 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 39.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 11.82.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 0.43 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 87.67. The latest book value of the company is Rs 15.69 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.40.

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NTPC plant loses 800 million units due to fuel shortage

State-run power major had last month informed Power Ministry that six of its power plants were battling coal shortage with stocks for less than a week.

Country's largest power producer NTPC  has lost 800 million units of electricity generation at its Vindhyachal thermal plant due to scarcity of coal.

"The 4,260 MW Vindhyachal thermal power station is facing acute coal shortage. Its linked mine Nigahi of Northern Coalfields is supplying 5-6 rakes per day in August," NTPC said in a statement.

This year's annual contracted quantity (ACQ) increased by 15.75 percent compared to last year due to addition of Stage-IV (2x500 MW).

"We have already lost more than 800 million units on account of coal shortage whereas there was no loss of generation on account of coal shortage during the same period last year," the statement said.

Due to coal shortage, our four units (2x210 MW and 2x500 MW) are stopped, the company added.

The generation of balance unit is also regulated and is running at 49 percent of the plant load factor or efficiency.

"If coal supply does not improve, Vindhyachal may have to further stop one or two more units for want of coal," it added.

The coal supplies at the plant have not improved despite for the past 4-5 days, it further added. NTPC supplies electricity to Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Daman & Diu and Dadar Nagar Haveli from this plant.

State-run power major had last month informed Power Ministry that six of its power plants were battling coal shortage with stocks for less than a week.

The current installed capacity of NTPC stands at 43,128 MW.

NTPC stock price

On August 11, 2014, NTPC closed at Rs 135.80, down Rs 2.2, or 1.59 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 168.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 110.90.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 12.91 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 10.52. The latest book value of the company is Rs 104.08 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.30.

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MCX board approves Kotak investment; to shy away from FTIL

In a move seen as an attempt to distance itself from Financial Technologies, the board has decided not to depend on one vendor for its software. Currently, FTIL is the only provider of software.

After a meeting today, the MCX board has given in an in-principle approval to Kotak Mahindra Bank  buying 15 percent stake for Rs 459 crore. In addition, it is also reworking with Kotak to renegotiate the terms of agreement of the contract in light of the PwC report.

The PwC report had earlier pointed out that around Rs 700 cr was spent by MCX for services availed of from FTIL and no evidence that MCX sought quoted from global or Indian technology while awarding these contracts.

In a move seen as an attempt to distance itself from Financial Technologies , the board has decided not to depend on one vendor for its software. Currently, FTIL is the only provider of software.

They are also likely to make changes to exit clause and reduce the tenure of software contract to 10 yrs from 33 yrs. MCX board, FTIL and FMC have also requested SEBI to waive the 2 percent cap on FTIL that prevents them from exiting their stake in MCX completely. After this waiver, FTIL will be allowed to sell remaining 5 percent stake in MCX even via block deal.

Also read:  MCX attains highest market share since Oct 2013

Kotak Mahindra stock price

On August 19, 2014, at 09:25 hrs Kotak Mahindra Bank was quoting at Rs 973.55, up Rs 5.55, or 0.57 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 979.35 and the 52-week low was Rs 588.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 19.84 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 49.07. The latest book value of the company is Rs 159.25 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 6.11.

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Sultan of Brunei denies bidding for Sahara hotels

A spokesman for the Sultan of Brunei dismissed a report by the Wall Street Journal online that he had made a bid for New York's Plaza Hotel, Dream Hotel and London's Grosvenor House hotel.

The Journal's website edition reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the situation, that an investment firm affiliated with Brunei had offered to pay USD 2 billion for the three hotels, which are currently owned by India's Sahara conglomerate.

"Neither His Majesty, the Brunei Investment Agency, nor the government of Brunei are involved in any way in the purchase of the Grosvenor House in London or the Plaza and Dream Downtown hotels in New York," a spokesman at Bell Pottinger, acting on behalf of the Sultan of Brunei, wrote in an email.

Brunei has been criticized by civil rights and gay rights advocacy groups in the United States for becoming the first East Asian country to adopt sharia criminal law, which punishes sodomy and adultery with death by stoning.

The City of Beverly Hills voted in May to pressure the sultan's luxury hotel operator, the Dorchester Collection, to divest the Beverly Hills hotel.

The Journal story made headlines in India, where Sahara is best known as the long-time former main sponsor of India's national cricket team.

Its chairman, Indian tycoon Subrata Roy, has been negotiating a sale of the hotels from a makeshift office in prison in New Delhi. He wants to raise $1.6 billion for bail.

Roy has been held for more than five months after failing to appear at a contempt hearing in a long-running dispute with regulators over his group's failure to repay billions of dollars to investors who were sold outlawed bonds.

Sahara bought the Plaza Hotel for about USD 570 million in 2012. Two years earlier, it paid 470 million pounds (USD 786.5 million) for the 494-room Grosvenor House overlooking Hyde Park near Buckingham Palace.

The group is also looking to sell the Dream Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

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Bajaj Auto hikes wages by up to Rs 10,000/month

After months of negotiations and intermittent unrest affecting production, Pune-based  Bajaj Auto Ltd and its Chakan plant unions have finally reached a wage agreement under which the management has agreed to hike the wages by up to Rs 10,000 a month.

Under the revised wage agreement, permanent employees having been with the company for five or more years will get a wage hike of Rs 10,000 a month while those having spent three years or more will be given Rs 9,500 a month.

"We are happy that the Chakan union has agreed to our proposals on the wage hike, which we had come up with at the time we entered into negotiations with them," a company official said and confirmed the wage hike pact reached with its union.

The settlement was reached last week with the management and the Chakan plant employees' union, Vishwakalyan Kamgar Sanghatna. Under the settlement agreement, the management has also decided to convert the earlier Rs.12,000 annual attendance award for full attendance to Rs 1,000 a month, people in the company familiar with the matter said in Mumbai.

The new agreement will be effective retrospectively from 1 April 2013 for three years and ends the near 18-month uncertainty, which was marked by strikes and frequent labour unrest at the company's main plant at Chakan near Pune. Apart from the wage hike, the other major demand was the near-free allotment of Bajaj shares to them through an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) agreement, which managing director and chief executive Rajiv Bajaj had vehemently opposed.

Significantly, the new wage agreement does not include the ESOP. Under the agreement, 60 percent of the revised wage will be part of the basic pay and the rest in allowances. Besides, the existing regular attendance bonus of Rs.480 has been revised and half of this (Rs.240) will be merged and the rest divided into weekly pay of Rs.60 each.

"In all, the minimum hike now stands at Rs.10,280 and the maximum at Rs.11,520 following the tweaking of perks and variables," a person from a union familiar with the matter said. Both the Bajaj management and the unions have also agreed to withdraw all cases related to Chakan plant within 15 days of the date of settlement.

The Chakan plant employs over 2,000, including around 900 permanent workers, and produces 1.2 million motorcycles, including the flagship Pulsar, the Avenger, the Ninja and the KTM brands, annually.

Bajaj Auto stock price

On August 18, 2014, at 09:20 hrs Bajaj Auto was quoting at Rs 2156.55, up Rs 21.60, or 1.01 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2363.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 1683.35.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 112.16 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 19.23. The latest book value of the company is Rs 332.04 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 6.49.

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Young Turks Mentor: Advising early stage start-ups

Young Turks Mentor will deep dive into your business plans, put themselves in your shoes & advise you on the possible routes you can explore as an early stage start-up. First mentor in this special series is a Young Turk from 2005, the founder & CEO of makemytrip, Deep Kalra.

Young Turks has given the traditional tutorial a twist on the Young Turks Mentor. The mentors will deep dive into your business plans, put themselves in your shoes and advise you on the possible routes you can explore as an early stage start-up. First mentor in this special series is a Young Turk from 2005, the founder and CEO of makemytrip, Deep Kalra.

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Sun Pharma unit recalls mutiple lots of capsules from US

The recalled drug bottles were distributed by Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd in the US while manufactured in India by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, a unit of Sun Pharma , has initiated a recall of multiple lots of Cephalexin capsules from the US market.

According to a notification by the USFDA, the recall of the 3,40,553 units of 500 mg and 1,13,677 units of 250 mg bottles is voluntarily initiated by the company through a letter to the regulator in June under 'Class-II' classification.

Cephalexin is an antibiotic that belongs to the family of medications known as cephalosporins. It is used to treat certain types of bacterial infections.

"CGMP Deviations: These products are being recalled because they were manufactured with active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that were not manufactured with good manufacturing practices," USFDA's website said citing the reason for recall.

When contacted, a Sun Pharma spokesperson offered no comments.

The recalled drug bottles were distributed by Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd in the US while manufactured in India by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

According to American health regulator USFDA, Class II recall is a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

Recently Caraco Pharmaceutical had said that it initiated a recall of some lots of Venlafaxine Hydrochloride extended-release tablets from the US market for not meeting the drug release dissolution specifications under 'Class-II' classification.

Meanwhile, in another notification FDA said  Wockhardt USA has initiated a recall of 840 bottles of Bupropion hydrochloride extended-release tablets USP (SR), 100 mg, (500-count bottle) from USA market. The reason for recall: "Out of specification levels of the impurity m-chlorobenzoic acid were observed'.

Bupropion hydrochloride extended-release tablets (SR) are indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder.

Sun Pharma stock price

On August 11, 2014, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries closed at Rs 763.35, up Rs 4.05, or 0.53 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 799.45 and the 52-week low was Rs 475.60.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 1.46 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 522.84. The latest book value of the company is Rs 41.64 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 18.33.

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What's riding on Tata Zest?

Tata Motors finally launched the much awaited Zest this week. The compact sedan is the company's first new passenger vehicle in four years and also the first to be launched under its new strategy to turnaround the company's weak domestic business. Animesh Das finds out if the Zest will be a game changer for Tata Motors.

Tata Motors  finally launched the much awaited Zest this week. The compact sedan is the company's first new passenger vehicle in four years and also the first to be launched under its new strategy to turnaround the company's weak domestic business. Animesh Das finds out if the Zest will be a game changer for Tata Motors.

Tata Motors stock price

On August 11, 2014, Tata Motors closed at Rs 447.40, up Rs 14.40, or 3.33 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 488.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 276.15.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 0.08 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 5592.5. The latest book value of the company is Rs 59.58 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 7.51.

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India fastest growing, most important market for us: Viber

Talmon Marco, chief executive officer, Viber, says the text messaging application already has 25 million users in India.

Text messaging application Viber is betting big on India. Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, Talmon Marco, CEO Viber says that India will be crucial to their growth and Whatsapp is its key competitor here. 

Viber already has 25 million users in India and it is one of the only places country where the company has a local team for operations.

Talmon Marco, CEO, Viber, says, "Our core competition is really the other messaging applications. It varies by country. We do not see Skype as competition. Here in India our key competitor obviously is Whatsapp. In other markets it may be other players."

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Mining to resume in Goa by year-end: Parrikar

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today said that the mining industry will resume operations by this year end, thereby restarting the economic activity in the iron ore rich belts of the state.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today said that the mining industry will resume operations by this year end, thereby restarting the economic activity in the iron ore rich belts of the state.

"State government has already started the process to resume mining activity in the state. Mining has been an important issue before the government. It will start before this year end," Parrikar said addressing the gathering after hoisting national flag on 68th Independence Day.

He said that post the resumption of mining, economic activity in the iron ore rich belt will pick up thereby addressing the crucial issue of livelihood by the people dependent on mining industry.

The chief minister thanked people for electing BJP-led government at the Centre, which according to him, would now help in expediting the development of Goa.

"For last two years, the state government struggled for a fast paced development due to non-cooperative behaviour of Congress-led Central government," he added.

Parrikar said that the state government has already reached almost 75-80 per cent of the population through its social welfare schemes.

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RBI curbs free usage of cross-bank ATMs

The Reserve Bank of India reduced free usage of other bank automated teller machines (ATMs) to three per month from five as the number of such machines has increased to 160,000 by March-end from 27,000 seven years earlier, it said on Thursday.

The Reserve Bank of India reduced free usage of other bank automated teller machines (ATMs) to three per month from five as the number of such machines has increased to 160,000 by March-end from 27,000 seven years earlier, it said on Thursday.

The reduction will, however, not be applicable to customers having basic or small savings bank accounts as well as for ATMs located outside Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

The RBI also allowed banks to levy ATM charges beyond 5 transactions for the same bank's account holders.

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India fastest growing, most important market for us: Viber

Talmon Marco, chief executive officer, Viber, says the text messaging application already has 25 million users in India.

Text messaging application Viber is betting big on India. Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, Talmon Marco, CEO Viber says that India will be crucial to their growth and Whatsapp is its key competitor here. 

Viber already has 25 million users in India and it is one of the only places country where the company has a local team for operations.

Talmon Marco, CEO, Viber, says, "Our core competition is really the other messaging applications. It varies by country. We do not see Skype as competition. Here in India our key competitor obviously is Whatsapp. In other markets it may be other players."

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SC to examine issue of availability of medicines, vaccines

A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and V Gopala Gowda sought a response from the Centre on a PIL that the national health policy introduced in 2002 for making use of generic drugs and vaccines, was not being implemented properly.

The Supreme Court today decided to examine the issue that the national health policy of the country was hit due to non-availability of cheaper medicines and vaccines of same generic nature.

A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and V Gopala Gowda sought a response from the Centre on a PIL that the national health policy introduced in 2002 for making use of generic drugs and vaccines, was not being implemented properly.

The bench, which sought the Centre's response in four weeks and appointed senior advocate B H Mariapalle as an amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter, said it will not go into the market issue raised by the petitioner.

The bench clarified that it was intended to issue notice on the matter that despite "there being a policy for generic drugs and vaccines, it was not followed in proper perspective as a result of which cheaper medicines of same generic composition were not available".

The PIL filed by advocate Reepak Kansal submitted that despite the national health policy for the use of generic drugs and vaccines, which fundamentally is a policy for ensuring the health security of the country, it was not properly implemented.

"As a consequence, people below the poverty line or slightly above it do not get medicines
when needed," the bench noted this submission.

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Little elbow room for premium carriers focused on low-fare

A decade after low-cost carriers led India's air travel boom, full-service airlines are gearing up for a battle for premium passengers that only the deep-pocketed are likely to win.

Flag carrier Air India, which has only offered premium travel, will face more competition from second-largest airline Jet Airways, which on Monday said it would ditch its budget unit and focus on the full-service market amid mounting losses.

The carriers are also bracing for Vistara, a venture between Singapore Airlines Ltd and conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd which will start flying in October.

The competition in the full-service sector is heating up with no guarantees there will be enough passengers willing to pay higher prices to sustain three carriers in a market where low-fares dominate and where airlines struggle to make a profit.

"There will be a bloodbath. The competition is only going to become more intense," said Amber Dubey, head of Aerospace and Defense at consultancy KPMG.

A large, and increasingly affluent, population make India one of the world's most attractive air travel markets. Passenger numbers have risen 13 percent a year since 2003, a rate analysts say outpaces most other markets.

But intense competition and higher operating costs mean Indian airlines lost a combined USD 1.77 billion last year and are projected to lose up to USD 1.4 billion this year, according to data from industry consultancy Centre for Aviation (CAPA).

That compares with the USD 18 billion profit airlines globally are expected to make this year, up from last year's USD 10.3 billion, International Air Transport Association data shows.

Low-cost carriers like Indigo,  SpiceJet and GoAir have cornered two thirds of the domestic market, and were joined this year by a joint venture between Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd and Tata Sons Ltd.

Full-service carriers compete for the remainder one-third domestically, and with foreign carriers like Emirates, Qatar Airways, British Airways, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Lufthansa on international routes.

Increasingly, they must also battle each other.

"There is demand at the upper end in India but it is nothing like the demand at the bottom end," said Kapil Kaul, chief executive for South Asia at CAPA. "You now have three airlines competing for the same customer."

BUDGET RULES

Air India is the most unprofitable carrier, but is also the one most likely to survive the battle for passengers because of government support.

The carrier, which received a USD 5.8 billion state bail-out in 2012, halved its operating losses in the 2013-2014 fiscal year to Rs 21.2 billion (USD 353 million) by restructuring its operations over several years and cutting costs.

It retired older aircraft and introduced fuel-efficient planes such as the Boeing 787, and plans to add new Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.

Air India also finally joined the Star Alliance group of carriers this year, allowing it to leverage the network of, and traffic feed from, partners such as Lufthansa, United Airlines and All Nippon Airways.

"The Indian government owns us. Just like any other promoter, they will pump money into their investment," said a senior Air India executive who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

"Do you think the government will allow us to fail after investing so much money?" he added.

Jet Airways , which has yet to turn a profit since 2007, said it would focus solely on full-service to gain market share. It barely survived a battle with Kingfisher Airlines , which folded in 2012, and its balance sheet is shored up by Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, which bought a 24 percent stake this year.

"It is impossible to keep a foot in both markets when there are strong competitors on both ends," said a Jet executive who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Etihad offers Jet an extensive international network via Abu Dhabi. Jet will receive its first 787s from 2015 and is likely to order new 737s to replace its existing ones. It aims to return to profitability by 2017.

Executives at the SIA-Tata venture Vistara say the full-service airline is focusing on a "neglected" sector in India.

Growth, however, has been faster at the low-cost segment compared to full service airlines and government policies to build airports in less-developed cities, where passengers tend to be more price-conscious, will favour budget carriers.

CAPA data shows that compounded annual passenger numbers were up 30.9 percent at IndiGo, 20.6 percent SpiceJet and 19.5 percent at GoAir between 2008 and this year, outpacing the single-digit growth at Jet and Air India.

The intense competition across all sectors will likely result in fewer airlines in India, analysts say.

"We expect consolidation over the next 12-18 months. At the current level of air travel penetration, the Indian market can only support at the most four strong pan-Indian airlines," KPMG's Dubey said.

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May upgrade Grosvenor House bid if pushed: Cyrus Poonawalla

Serum Institute is not for sale- that's the word from Cyrus Poonawalla, the chairman of the Poonawalla group.

In a free-wheeling conversation with CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan, Poonawalla says he hopes he will win the bid for the Sahara Group's Grosvenor House Hotel in London. But he is neither interested in acquiring any of the Sahara Group's US properties, nor in investing in any other properties outside Mumbai or Pune for the moment.

Poonawalla also came down hard on players in the Indian Pharma sector who have fallen foul of regulators like the USFDA. He says these instances hurt the image of the sector on a global scale and is not good for business.

Below is the verbatim transcript of Cyrus Poonawalla's interview with CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan.

Q: Any comments on your bid for Grosvenor House?

A: We are in touch with Subrata's son Sushanto and obviously he is playing his cards close to his chest and I don't blame him. He is in serious problems and he must be wanting to take a call on how to go about it. As I see it he would probably give first preference to all the three properties being sold in one shot because that is the pressure that has been brought on him by Bank of China, that they mortgage the three properties so that the pledge could be cleared and so on.

Q: You are not interested in any of the other properties? You are only interested in the Grosvenor House Hotel in London?

A: That's right, no interest at all for the US properties and that is where the decision he will have to make.

Q: Do you feel that you are at a disadvantage right at the start?

A: Yes, definitely disadvantage in the sense that he will have to have three or two buyers that could help him also because he could get individually more money than somebody wanting to make a packet. Really we took more interest in it thought it is not really our core business, because we felt that being Indians we understood the situation of how to deal with the Reserve Bank, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and all that which a foreign buyer may get dissuaded. So I don't know really how it is going.

Q: But how serious are you about this bid because I understand that you made your first offer in the month of April, then you revised the offer upwards and that is on account of valuation or to align your valuation to the valuation that has been arrived at by the Bank of China, how serious are you about this. If you needed to make an even better offer would you consider that?

A: Well we made our first offer on May 19, not April and we are very serious because it is a very exciting trophy property and it has got huge potential because there is scope in making better utilisation and upgrading it will have to spend money on it. To your question; first we talked about Rs 475 crore and then it went up to Rs 550 crore which is a very fair value. Actually it is a negotiation so I shouldn't say but if it came to a push maybe we would extend ourselves having come so far.

Q: How much would you think you have the appetite to extend yourself?

A: I don't want to say anything at the moment because I have been warned not to say. But there could be even others who may want to join us if we have to stretch ourselves but unless we get a complete, clear, this is it take it or leave it, then only we want to apply mind. There is no point in applying our mind now and coming to various conclusions and unless he says, okay I want to go with you not with the others and this is what I want.

Q: Why are you not looking at full takeover of Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals ? 

A: My investments has been really bad for almost four years, Mr. Rao has been promising me the moon, just want to get out, don't want to make any money. I had to finally go to court and I have made all the allegations I should, about mismanagement and misappropriation.

He's promising that when the stock price will go up, I can exit and we have got Rs 30 crore cheque bouncing case against them, that prompted me to move faster, he is promising me to pay that and it's a very unfortunate experience.

Q: The offer to acquire  Panacea Biotec if the promoters do decide to sell is on the table, even today.

A: Yes, they know about it and at the moment they are trying to find a buyer, which they may, to take off my 15 percent.

Q: It's nothing or all for you, you don't want to continue with the 14.5 percent that you have?

A: There is no seat on the board, and I have nothing, so what's the sense of continuing with them. I know Mr. Jain very well; they are again playing their cards to their chest and not being transparent.

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Govt corporates must complement each other: Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata, Chairman-Emeritus, Tata Sons Ltd was today conferred the 18th MMA Amalgamations Business Leadership Award  in recognition of his ability to foresee economic trends, manage change, take bold initiatives, sustain values and make an outstanding contribution to business, industry and society.

Speaking at the event, Ratan Tata said both the government and corporations should complement each other in moving the country ahead.

"Government and corporations have a combined task in moving the country ahead – creating a nation that offers equality and opportunity for all and stands out as a nation among democracies where good survives and evil is controlled. Government has the role of improving infrastructure and creating an environment of safety and opportunity based on meritocracy. Industry has to be entrepreneurial and it is this spirit that drives the country", he added

Calling for better collaborations and trust among corporates, Ratan Tata said, "Indian businesses seems to thrive, unlike businesses elsewhere. In the years I have been in business, it has been extremely difficult to get 20 business leaders in a room, to move away from talking about their own companies to taking a position on India as a whole and what they could do, or what they could provide to that new India."

Ratan Tata further said growth should be the by-word for India of tomorrow and that nothing in India limits the corporates from thinking on a global scale like its counterparts in China.

"India should not be fearful of Chinese goods. India needs to confront and compete with them. The government should create a competitive environment and not handicap industry through cesses and taxes", he added

Ratan Tata agreed that there are disparities between big and small companies due to policy."Government needs to remove it and make it equal. That is what has killed the textile industry and many other industries," he added

Ratan Tata has a vision for India in the next 15 years. He said, "In next 15 years I see an India where everyone has equal opportunity, where government and corporates work together to achieve growth and prosperity and I'd like to see an India where people get jobs based on merits. I believe our country is a tremendous country with great potential."

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Will re-establish Jet Airways as master brand: Naresh Goyal

In the first quarter, the airline has posted a net loss of Rs 217 crore- this is lower than the Rs 355 crore loss recorded a year ago.

Pilots at  Jet Airways may have reportedly threatened to go on strike unless the airline clears salary arrears to the tune of Rs 100 crore by August 20. But the airline is not worried. It says it had created a provisioning for these arrears in March 2013 itself. But Jet is seeing some relief when it comes to profitability.

In the first quarter, the airline has posted a net loss of Rs 217 crore - this is lower than the Rs 355 crore loss recorded a year ago.

The company sees this as a sign that its 3-year turnaround strategy is bearing fruit and is targeting a net profit by 2017 on the back of a new 'single-brand strategy'.

Naresh goyal, chairman, jet airways said, "Today, at our board meeting we have received approval for our next critical step, to re-establish Jet Airways as a single master brand. This would mean harnessing our product proud heritage and original values in one consistent predictable and clearly recognized full service brand and also promise you Jet Airways used to be known as a Swiss clock operation, you cannot adjust your clock when you go. This will happen soon."
 

Jet Airways stock price

On August 12, 2014, at 09:20 hrs Jet Airways was quoting at Rs 251.55, up Rs 5.30, or 2.15 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 414.70 and the 52-week low was Rs 210.25.

The latest book value of the company is Rs -196.11 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was -1.28.

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Tata Steel clinches mega UK undersea contract

The four contracts, signed over the past year and worth an estimated 10 million pounds in total, will see the Indian steel giant supply in excess of 55 kms of pipe weighing more than 9,000 tonnes.

Tata Steel  has signed a series of contracts with Subsea 7, one of the world's leading contractors in engineering, construction and subsea services to the offshore industry, to supply undersea pipes to four separate North Sea projects in the UK.

The four contracts, signed over the past year and worth an estimated 10 million pounds in total, will see the Indian steel giant supply in excess of 55 kms of pipe weighing more than 9,000 tonnes.

The pipes will be manufactured at the company's Hartlepool pipe mills in the UK, before being welded and coated at its offshore processing centre, also in Hartlepool.

Also read: Tata Steel shuts Odisha plant due to raw material crunch

"This latest series of contracts further demonstrates the breadth of our offering to the Energy & Power sector. Over the last 25 years we have provided more than 83,000 tonnes of pipe to Subsea 7 for 37 projects worldwide," said Richard Broughton, Tata Steel's commercial manager, exploration and production, energy & power.

The company also announced a global framework agreement to further cement the 25-year partnership with Subsea 7. "Our work with Subsea 7 over the years has been extensive, particularly in the North Sea oil and gas industry, which has become an increasingly important market for us. The new framework agreement will extend the work our companies already do together on a global scale, demonstrating the value of Tata Steel in today's oil and gas industry," Broughton added.

According to industry forecasts, the subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines markets are set for high growth in the coming years.

Under the latest contracts, Tata Steel will supply around 28 kms of carrier pipe, more than 27 kms of sleeve pipe, girth welding and triple jointing and the application of Glass Flake Epoxy pipe coating.

Tata Steel stock price

On August 12, 2014, at 09:24 hrs Tata Steel was quoting at Rs 540.80, up Rs 5.90, or 1.10 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 578.60 and the 52-week low was Rs 220.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 66.02 per share as per the quarter ended March 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 8.19. The latest book value of the company is Rs 629.60 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.86.

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Puravankara to invest Rs 1000 cr on construction in FY'15

Realty firm Puravankara Projects will invest about Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal on construction of its housing projects and targets to cut external net debt by about Rs 250 crore by March next year on improved sales.

Realty firm  Puravankara Projects will invest about Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal on construction of its housing projects and targets to cut external net debt by about Rs 250 crore by March next year on improved sales.

The Bangalore-based company is also targeting to launch 18 million sq ft of new projects this fiscal, of which 10 million sq ft will be under its affordable housing brand 'Provident'.

"We are focusing on the execution of our housing projects. We will invest about Rs 1,000 crore in the current fiscal on construction as against Rs 748 crore last year," Puravankara CEO Jackbastian K Nazareth told PTI.

The company has already invested Rs 235 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal, he added.

Stating that Puravankara has embarked on a "growth" path, Nazareth said the company would launch several projects this fiscal comprising 18 million sq ft of area.

Asked about investment on development of new projects, he said the project cost could be known closer to the launch.

On debt, the CEO said the net external debt stood at Rs 1,266 crore at the end of the June quarter and the same would be reduced to about Rs 1,000 crore by March next year.

As on June 30, Puravankara's net debt stood at Rs 1,487 crore, which included Rs 221 crore funded by the promoters.

Higher investment on construction and reduction in debt would be done through sales realisation, Nazareth said, adding that the unrecognised revenue in the books of account stands at Rs 1,355 crore.

During April-June quarter, Puravankara's sales booking rose by 36 per cent to Rs 350 crore.

Puravankara Projects reported 15 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 58.25 crore for the quarter ended June on higher expenses.

It's net profit stood at Rs 68.17 crore in the year-ago period.

Also Read: Things to remember before investing in a luxury apartment

However, the company's income from operations rose by 25 per cent to Rs 461.62 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal against Rs 368.97 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Puravankara stock price

On August 11, 2014, at 09:20 hrs Puravankara Projects was quoting at Rs 87.20, up Rs 5.10, or 6.21 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 133.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 50.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 4.85 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 17.98. The latest book value of the company is Rs 71.77 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.21.

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Jindal family close to buying Italy's Lucchini: Italy PM

Lucchini, formerly owned by Russia's Severstal, was declared insolvent in 2012 and placed under special administration after falling victim to plunging European demand for steel during the 2008 recession.

A company run by India's billionaire Jindal family is close to finalising a deal to buy insolvent Italian steelmaker Lucchini, Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzi said on Sunday.

Lucchini, formerly owned by Russia's Severstal, was declared insolvent in 2012 and placed under special administration after falling victim to plunging European demand for steel during the 2008 recession.

"Jindal should finalise. It's a matter of days," Renzi said after being asked about Piombino, Lucchini's main production site, during a visit to a Catholic scout group in Tuscany.

Renzi did not specify whether he was referring to Jindal Steel and Power or JSW Steel, respectively owned by brothers Naveen and Sajjan Jindal.

In April sources with direct knowledge of the matter said  Jindal Steel and Power and  JSW Steel were in competing talks to buy parts of Lucchini. Italian media have said Lucchini could be sold for a symbolic one euro.

Indian newspaper Mint said in July JSW Steel had offered to buy parts of Lucchini.

A source close to JSW said on Sunday that talks were progressing quickly. "Work is going on in full swing," the source said after Renzi's comment. "(I) can't say if it's a matter of days but surely things are moving fast."

JSW joint managing director Seshagiri Rao did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Jindal Steel and Power had no comment to make.

Spokesmen for Renzi and Italian industry minister Federica Guidi were unable to say which company the prime minister was talking about or give more information.

Italian labour union FIOM-CGIL said last month that the world's biggest steelmaker Arcelor Mittal was considering making a bid for Lucchini.

Jindal Steel stock price

On August 11, 2014, at 09:19 hrs Jindal Steel & Power was quoting at Rs 280.85, up Rs 3.95, or 1.43 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 350.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 198.25.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.86 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 18.9. The latest book value of the company is Rs 142.79 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.97.

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